Defending champions always get the benefit of the doubt. The basic rule of thumb is that no matter how much they stumble in the regular season, especially in the early part, we can never discount the possibility of them rediscovering the magical elixir that led them to glory the previous season.
This has generally proven to be a good rule, curtailing overreaction at various times to short-term slumps and/or regular-season lollygags that proved meaningless in the long term. Ever since the 2001 Lakers, we’ve understood elite teams can sandbag the regular season and still trick everybody in May and June.
And yet … that same mindset can also lead to blind spots. Last season we gave the Lakers and Heat a pass right up until the day they were summarily dismissed in the first round …  after they spent all year looking and playing exactly like teams that get eliminated in the first round.
So, in that spirit, and in the wake of Milwaukee’s 136-100 home-court humiliation Sunday at the hands of the Nuggets, allow me to at least whisper the question … when is it OK to start worrying about the Bucks?
The loss was Milwaukee’s eighth in its past 14 games and dropped the Bucks to fifth place in the East at 31-21. Oddly, they’ve beaten the heavyweights in this stretch, with wins over the Warriors,
