Circle the dates! Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will begin playing regular season games early in October! That's just two months away!

There are, of course, a good number of questions arising from the newly released regular season schedule.

When would the actual season begin, and would the Bucks play their home opener? How many nationally televised games will the Bucks have? What kind of road schedule will the team have? How many back-to-backs will the 2021 champions play?

The Bucks want to reclaim their throne at the peak of the NBA, and they tip their campaign off on October 20 against a loaded Philadelphia 76ers squad.

The 76ers and the Boston Celtics, along with the Bucks, appear to be on most peoples' list of title contenders and surely among the best in the Eastern Conference.

Right now, after winning the 2021 NBA title, the Bucks no longer have much pressure to prove they're a championship team. Instead, they want to test whether they have what it takes to reach their championship form once again. Those are two very different things.

Looking ahead, with the way games against the top four East teams are spaced, the Bucks will have plenty of opportunities for those games as the season marches on.

Must-Watch Games on the Bucks’ Schedule

at 76ers, Oct. 20

The Philadelphia 76ers may be the greatest foil to challenge the Bucks or Celtics for conference supremacy. That's even if the 76ers are still facing many unanswered questions as the new season approaches.

One living, breathing question mark is James Harden. Following his trade to Philadelphia, Harden averaged 21.0 points, 10.5 assists, and 7.1 rebounds per game. He also shot 32.6 percent from beyond the arc in 21 games. Those are not MVP Harden numbers. More troublingly, he pulled another disappearing act in a pivotal playoff game, finishing 4-of-9 for 11 points and 9 assists in a defeat to the Miami Heat in Game 6 earlier this year.

In the present, Harden has every reason to get back to his old self after agreeing to a short-term contract with the Sixers that pays less. He also still has yet to win an NBA title. That's a deep motivation for the former MVP.

His matchup with Khris Middleton will be top-of-mind when the Bucks and 76ers face off for the first time on Oct. 20. Both have a lot to prove, after all. Middleton wants to rise, while Harden wants to reclaim his place among the true elite.

The Bucks also want to test themselves. They want some of the aforementioned questions answered, and how they fare in their first matchup with the 76ers should provide those much-needed answers.

vs. Nets, Oct. 26

A few days after battling the 76ers, the Bucks will host an embattled Brooklyn Nets side. Since this is still very early in the 2022-23 season, it's reasonable to assume that at least a big chunk of the Nets' big three will still be around. Heck, they might still even be complete.

In that case, this promises to be a barn-burner. On one hand, the Nets undoubtedly have the bigger names and the more illustrious stars. On the other hand, the Bucks have a more productive team and more reliable on-court performers.

It'll be star power against good old efficiency.

The head-to-head between Kevin Durant (assuming he's still around) and Giannis Antetokounmpo will certainly banner this game. Having said that, the matchup in the backcourt between Kyrie Irving and Jrue Holiday should provide fireworks as well.

The Bucks should win this because efficiency should trump star power anytime.

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at Celtics, Dec. 25

Following their journey to the NBA Finals, the Celtics haven't undergone any significant transformations just like the Bucks. It's not for lack of trying, though.

Remember that Boston was reportedly willing to trade Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets for Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a lottery pick. The news didn't appear to excite Brown all that much. Boston is certain to play a role in the East title race once more unless these trade talks persist and fester into a bigger problem within the locker room.

The Celtics also now have another playmaker in the backcourt in Malcolm Brogdon, and Danilo Gallinari should help spread the floor after they were 14th in three-point shooting (35.6 percent) in 2021-22. Their prospective matchup with the Bucks should be very interesting. It also helps that this will be a nationally-covered contest on Christmas Day.

In 2021–22, Boston and Milwaukee had identical overall records but split their season series. These teams are not only arguably the best in the conference, but the outcome of their head-to-head matches might also determine who gets the home-court advantage in the 2023 playoffs.

vs. Heat, Feb. 24

What makes this particular matchup with the Miami Heat quite interesting is that it'll take place after the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend and presumably also after the 2023 NBA trade deadline. This means that the rosters of both East contenders should be pretty much set already.

It's also a rematch of their 2021 Playoffs pairing. Recall that in 2021, the Bucks not only eliminated the Heat. They swept Miami out of the postseason. It was an unceremonious exit for a team that played in the NBA Finals just a year prior.

Some payback will be on the Heat's side here, while the Bucks would like to send a strong message to their opponents. By this time, with both rosters relatively set in stone, fans should also get a clearer picture of how strong each team will be heading into the last legs of the regular season.

at Warriors, Mar. 11

If you come at the kings, you best not miss. That will be an interesting subtext for when the Bucks play in the Bay Area on March 11, 2023.

Some feel that a healthy Bucks squad would have run it back in the 2022 postseason and perhaps posed a much stronger challenge against the Warriors in the Finals. We can find out if there's a bit of truth in that in this matchup.

By this time, both squads should have no more additions and curve balls as well in terms of their personnel. This should give fans a more accurate picture of how they stack against each other.

If the Bucks and Warriors meet each other in the 2023 NBA Finals, this would be a nice preview. If they don't, then at least we get to see these two heavyweights trade punches at a critical time in the regular season.