The Milwaukee Bucks

[RB34]

Are people overlooking the Bucks?

With both Philly and the Knicks making huge acquisitions as well as Boston bringing everyone back. Have the Bucks slipped through the cracks?

Giannis is still at the peak of his powers despite the recent injuries.

Dame now has a full offseason in Milwaukee.

Aging All-Star Middleton definitely showed he still has some gas left.

Discuss.

[scrabbarista]

Nobody wants to talk about Milwaukee unless they win a championship or trade for Bronny.

[scrabbarista]

I'm just messing with you, OP. They were underwhelming all of last season. They never really felt like contenders, and they didn't win a title, add Paul George, or add Mikal Bridges. Also, their roster is old. And they've had two bad playoffs in a row. People are definitely sleeping on them, but there's no mystery as to why. Plus, small market blah blah blah. I'm not going to ever doubt prime Antetokounmpo, but the Bucks are in the "show me first" stage right now.

[SlimShady83]

Nobody wants to talk about Milwaukee unless they win a championship or trade for Bronny.

We'll trade Bron/Bronny for Giannis any day lol

[Triple M]

Sometimes i agree that the bucks are overlooked but sometimes it's hard for me too overlook their struggles of last year.

The pros are
Giannis looks as dominant as ever and might be klin the discussion for best player again
Middleton looked more like himself in the playoffs

The cons are
Their age which ties into being more susceptible to injuires
They dont have their starting line up yet. I think they need to get another wing player. I think Brook is a concern too

The jury is out on Dame. I expect him to be better in year 2 but consistency is going to be key to their sucess

Overall i think it is foolish to overlook teams in the parity era. Especially wouldn't overlook Milwaukee's experience

[levon]

I don't think they're a serious contender.

[Hatrick Ewing]

My friend called them the Milwaukee F**s when we were completely f*cking sh*tfaced the other night and I thought it was funny.

[Richard4444]

They have a strong team. But they will have the main 8 rotation players above 30 years old by the next playoffs.

Lillard 34/Delon 33
Pat 32
Middle 33 /Prince 31
Giannis 30
Lopez 37/Bobby 30

[zimpy27]

Additions of Delon and Prince are good actually.

They will be a lot better this year.

[Lalouie]

Are people overlooking the Bucks?

With both Philly and the Knicks making huge acquisitions as well as Boston bringing everyone back. Have the Bucks slipped through the cracks?

Giannis is still at the peak of his powers despite the recent injuries.

Dame now has a full offseason in Milwaukee.

Aging All-Star Middleton definitely showed he still has some gas left.

Discuss.

i don't buy the dame excuse. their roles don't conflict. they're vets with savvy and one has a ring so the 'your turn my turn' is no excuse.

trading for dame was just a flat out bad idea. mil broke up a set ring team, fired a coach and traded a core player all because 1...giannis got injured and 2...giannis loved dame

it was all a panic move because of giannis

[shi-woo]

I wouldn't say they are overlooked, just that we know what we are getting from them. They also have a lot more variance compared to the other teams that are contending, and it's not all injury related.

I dont think the Bucks were ever this world beater team, nor do I view Giannis as the end all be all of a series. They are on the same level as Philly, and will be one of the better teams in the conference still.

Coaching and team chemistry should be much better this year without the drama of last. Dame will be in better space given what he had going on, and Middleton will hopefully be 100.

I think their biggest mistake last year was simply not playing the young guys, and we'll see if Doc will actually do that this year. Their team is still missing length and athleticism outside of Giannis, and they aren't getting that from any of their veterans. Beachamp, Green, and Jackson all need to be in the rotation this year, and see minutes regularly. Bucks have done a decent job of getting guys with NBA talent, they just need to develop them better this year. Playing the corpse of Crowder and Pat Bev should not happen again this year.

Beasley leaving was a blessing, as that alone will make their defense better. Starting him and Dame all year was a disaster, and the main reason their defense took such a huge hit. I would expect them to have another year Top 10 in that regard.

Lopez- Portis
Giannis- Prince- Smith
Middleton- Green- Beachamp
Jackson- Connington
Dame- Wright

I want to see the Bucks start someone other than Pat at the 2 spot. Get a young defender in there, who can also hit a shot and play hard. Dame and Giannis are going to get most of the shots, so I like Jackson here, and his ability to play tough defense, and generate easy offense in transition or forcing turnovers.

I also think this team is just waiting for Giannis to commit to playing center, but it probably will never happen. I wonder if they floated that idea by him when they were talking about trading Brook, but i'm sure he's not about that life. Their team would be a lot scarier if they had Brook coming off the bench at this point

I think their offseason additions are nice, and they will be getting from Prince and Wright what they thought they were getting from Crowder and Bev. How much of a difference that makes is in the eye of the beholder.

I view this Bucks team as the clear 4th best team in the conference with the ability to be #3, and the clear 5th or 6th best team in the entire league. I expect 50-55 wins, Top 8 in both offense and defense, and have the ability to make a finals run if they can keep their composure

[SweaterBae]

They are an older team with not great depth. They seem to be getting worse. Losing Holiday and Allen for Dame was a disaster last year.

[slos]

Bucks are in a 2022 Warriors situation. Nobody counted them as contenders because they were old and had many injuries the previous two seasons. But then they had a healthy playoff run that lead to another title.

I’m OK with people sleeping on Bucks. It’s another reason I have them as favourites to win it all if they catch a break and have Dame/Midds/Giannis all available when it matters.

[UglyBugBall]

The Bucks are done. Giannis is a shell of the defender he once was. His decline on the defensive end is reminiscent of Klay Thompsons. Lopez is old and can't anchor a good defense either anymore. Dame is a bad defender and no longer a superstar on the offensive side either. They lost Jrue. Middleton is OK.

They're just old, and honestly, washed. Yes, Giannis can still give you 30/10 but without the defense he's basically Lebron now, except he reached that stage 10 years younger than Bron did.

[bastillon]

Are people overlooking the Bucks?

With both Philly and the Knicks making huge acquisitions as well as Boston bringing everyone back. Have the Bucks slipped through the cracks?

Giannis is still at the peak of his powers despite the recent injuries.

Dame now has a full offseason in Milwaukee.

Aging All-Star Middleton definitely showed he still has some gas left.

Discuss.

Ain't nobody worried about a Doc Rivers-led team with horrible athleticism outside of Giannis and bottom 10 perimeter defense. Their ceiling is 2nd round exit.

[Chuck Everett]

When you look at the ages, they don't look THAT old, but then you realize these guys have been together since like 2019 (other than Dame) for the most part and you kind of realize that it's over. They have like an extra two seasons worth of games on their legs coming into this season.

Bucks are more likely to be in the play-in than they are to have HCA this season. Middleton is still a very good basketball player, but his body is not long for competitive NBA basketball. Not sure how they can compete without him healthy when it matters most.

[Rendei]

Giannis didn't play a single minute in the playoffs this year, and Dame was hobbled. So we never got a proper look at the playoff version of this Bucks team. That said, the regular season version was underwhelming. They desperately need an injection of youth and energy. If the Bucks still had DDV/Allen to play next to Lillard I'd feel a lot better about it.

[JShuttlesworth]

The problem is that this team is old. Lillard is turning 34 in two days, Middleton is turning 33 in August, Lopez is already 36. Regardless of the fact that Giannis is still in his prime years, it's hard to win a ring with an aging group like that

[Gary Cokeman]

Dame is cooked.

[youngcrev]

They are an older team that didn't appear good enough last year and didn't make any major additions. Maybe getting healthy and building more chemistry helps. I'm not completely ruling them out of contention, but I've got them a tier lower than they were going into last year.