Sunday Best: My latest around-the-league NBA Intel

Lots here. Let's hoop ...

Around-the-league NBA notes on a Sunday?

With only two weeks to go in the regular season?

As it should be!

To the latest from my notebook on the Bucks, Warriors, NBA Europe and more:

The 20 teams that will participate in the NBA postseason are set.

The Milwaukee Bucks were the last of the league's bottom 10 teams to be officially eliminated from Play-In Tournament consideration thanks to a 32-point home loss Saturday to San Antonio that makes even 10th place in the East out of reach for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co.

The NBA Players Association took the surprising step earlier this week of issuing a statement imploring the Bucks to activate Antetokounmpo, insisting that the All-Star forward is "healthy and ready to play" and implying that Milwaukee has been holding him out for tanking reasons.

Strong disagree here. Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee on March 15 to derail his season yet again after two previous calf strains and an adductor strain. How many more bad things have to happen before the Bucks rightfully shut down the most important player in The 414? Whether Milwaukee intends to keep or trade the 31-year-old this offseason, it needs Antetokounmpo, first and foremost, to get right physically. Absolutely nothing can be gained by letting him return now.