"We expect to have a good season. We expect to be playoff team and that’s the goal." - Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond in the preseason.

The mission from the Milwaukee Bucks front office was clear at the very start of the season – make the playoffs for the first time since 2010. That was reinforced at the trade deadline when Hammond acquired J.J. Redick rather than dealing Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings or even Samuel Dalembert.

The Bucks clinched the eighth seed with a win over Toronto on April 6, then proceeded to lose five straight. They finished the season 6-15 to go from two games over .500 to the only team in the NBA playoffs with a losing record (38-44).

"It’s exciting," countered Bucks center Larry Sanders, who is participating in his first playoff series. "It was a goal of ours. We worked hard. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to play this year but we still accomplished our first goal, which was to make the playoffs. Now we’re here."

The reward is a series with the defending champion Miami Heat, a team that won a league-best 66 games, a total that featured a 27-game winning streak and a season-ending eight game winning streak.

"Obviously it’s a monumental challenge for us," Bucks swingman Mike Dunleavy said. "It’s a team that’s lost four games in the last 40 or 50 and we’ve got to manage to do it in seven, so I think our best approach will be to just try to get one game. If we get one game, you try and get another game. It’ll be a lot easier to beat these guys once as opposed to four times. If we can break it down like that, we give ourselves a better chance."

For these Bucks, a chance is all they need.

To many pundits, a chance is something they don’t have.

"Who else do you want to play in the playoffs except for the champions?," Sanders asked. "Eventually you want to play them – we just get to play them first.

"Consistently, they are better team than us. They’ve got the best record in the league, but this is seven games, 48 minutes a game and just because you won a lot of games doesn’t mean you can win that game. You’ve got the odds against you but those are just the odds. You still have to perform. I think we’re going to be ready. It’ll be a good series."

Ellis echoed that sentiment, raising his voice above his usual hushed tones.

"We know that they’re capable of losing to us," Ellis said. "We just have to go out with the right mindset, do the things that we do well and capitalize on the mistakes that they make. Pretty much be physical and be prepared because it’s going to be a great series. It’s not going to be easy for both teams no matter how it look – it’s not going to be easy for both teams."

Jennings made news earlier in the week when he predicted the Bucks would win the series in six games, which led to a deluge of criticism. This followed an earlier assertion that he wanted to play the Heat as the defending champions were a good matchup for the Bucks.

"At the end of the day, we’re getting bashed on ESPN," Jennings said. "We’re getting bashed on TNT anyway, so now that I said that we’ll win in six, now it’s a problem."

He said that at some point, the Bucks had to stick up for themselves as a playoff team. They’ve all heard the criticism, and the jokes, about their presence in the NBA postseason. It has created a pretty heavy chip the team has fully embraced.

"The game is played between these lines," guard Marquis Daniels said. "You gotta go out there and play and compete and if we compete, and play hard, I like our chances against anybody."

"It can be done," added Ellis. "We just gotta go in with the mindset and like I said, limit our mistakes and capitalize on theirs and make it a great series."

While the goal may have been making the playoffs, just being there isn’t something this team is resting on. Players like Sanders and rookie John Henson who have never experienced the postseason are understandably excited, but none of the veterans are just "happy to be there."

"No, you can’t be satisfied," Daniels said, shaking his head. "You gotta go out there and still be hungry to accomplish more and that’s something that this team is looking forward to doing. No one is giving us a chance so we just gotta go out there and compete and just go out there and play our hearts out."