Some people celebrate Jan. 8 as Elvis Presley's birthday. To the Milwaukee Bucks, that date will have a whole other meaning.

Consider Jan. 8 a day of liberation for the Bucks, who on that Tuesday in Oakland will play their final Western Conference road game of the regular season.

That, more than anything else, demonstrates the brutality of the Bucks' early schedule. In a span of less than 10 weeks they will have played at all 14 Western opponents. That is a concentrated adult's dose of competition, a stretch that is very much a part of the 14 road games they are currently playing in 18 appearances.

While careful not to make it an excuse for his team, Bucks coach George Karl said it is probably the most difficult schedule run he has ever been involved with in about 20 years in the league.

"It's made this Christmas kind of Scroogey," said Karl, whose team returned home in the wee hours of Christmas Eve after a four-game Western Conference trip.

That is why games like tonight against Atlanta are so important to the Bucks. As one of just four home games for the Bucks in a five-week span, they cannot afford to throw one away against a team they are supposed to beat.