So, I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself getting pretty aroused lately. And if you’re a hoops fan, I’m pretty sure you know how I’m feeling.

Everybody knows that March Madness is right around the corner, which is certainly one of the most entertaining sports events around; but what really whets my whistle is the stretch run of the NBA season, as teams jockey for their final playoff positions.

The Eastern Conference’s final four playoff spots will be hotly contested, with Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukee, Miami, and Charlotte all similarly positioned. Of course Miami (Dwayne Wade), Toronto (Chris Bosh), and Chicago (Derrick Rose) have the three best players, but that certainly doesn’t mean that they’ll end up with the better seeds.

Miami probably has the weakest supporting cast. Toronto has a brutal schedule to close the season, which becomes considerably tougher because of Bosh’s injury. And Chicago traded John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas (two big contributors on a team that took the Celtics to seven memorable games last year) because they were looking ahead to this summers’ free agent class, and in doing so they lost a good deal of their offense artillery, which could really come back to sting ‘em in the ass.

Charlotte and Milwaukee are different teams, in that they have more formidable all-around talent, not to mention the two best coaches. Charlotte got a huge boost when they traded for Stephen Jackson earlier this year, and now they have two players (the other being all-star Gerald Wallace) who can finish games. Milwaukee gained a similar advantage when they upgraded from Hakim Warrick to John Salmons. Since Salmons acquisition they’ve only lost at Atlanta, a game that they probably should have won, but lost in overtime.

The stretch run will probably come down to two factors: strength of schedule and injuries. The current standings (as of March 3) have Toronto in the fifth slot, Chicago in the sixth, Milwaukee in seventh, and Miami in eighth, with Charlotte on the outside looking in. The thing is though, there’s a month and a half left in the season, there’s no telling what kind of wild happenstance may come about, so there’s really not much to gain by speculating about it. But as a Bucks fan, and NBA fan in general, there’s just no other choice.

Strictly looking at schedule strength, Miami has the clearest advantage (their schedule gets ridiculously easy the last two weeks of the season). Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Charlotte all have very comparable schedules, so their respective fates will very likely come down to health.

But if I had to put money down, (which actually sounds a little appealing), I’d wager that Milwaukee, Toronto, and Chicago make the playoffs, with Charlotte channeling their historic mediocrity and winding up in the lottery once more.

Quite frankly, I think Milwaukee has a great shot to keep the seventh spot, and maybe even move up to the sixth position in the East. They’ve got six players who average double figures (and that doesn’t even include crafty veteran Jerry Stackhouse), so they can hurt teams from a lot of positions. And shit, Andrew Bogut has finally been able to stay healthy this year. And when he stays on the court, he’s a double-double every night (have you seen that lefty hook shot? It’s out of sight!).

So, sure, I’m not denying that I’ve got a little bit of a Bucks bias, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong about their chances this year. They create the most match-up problems of any of the teams fighting for playoff position, they play good defense, and they’ve got great coaching – all things that are of paramount importance if a team is going to be a legit playoff contender.