We are less than one week away from the start of the 2024-25 NBA Season! To continue our preseason preview series, we will be diving into the Milwaukee Bucks, who had a chaotic 2023-24 season after making an offseason splash for Damian Lillard . Let’s not waste any more time and jump into it!
What happened last year?
The Bucks sent shockwaves around the league days before the start of training camp by acquiring Damian Lillard in a three-team trade with the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns. Milwaukee started 30-13 with the second-best record in the East before shockingly firing head coach Adrian Griffin ; it was revealed later that the team, namely Giannis Antetokounmpo , grew frustrated with the team’s shift schematically on the defensive end because they moved into a hyper-aggressive team under Griffin, which didn’t suit the team’s personnel. They hired Doc Rivers out of the ESPN booth, a stark adjustment for everyone involved. They went 17-19 under Rivers and finished as the No. 3 seed in the East before getting eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in six games.
Offseason Recap:
Considering the Bucks entered the offseason in the second apron, they did a great job making marginal upgrades around the roster. They signed Gary Trent Jr., Delon Wright and Taurean Prince to minimum contracts–all upgrades over Malik Beasley , Patrick Beverley and Jae Crowder , respectfully. I was confused why they threw a dart at AJ Johnson in the first round, but I think he’s got solid long-term prospects; I do like how they drafted G-League ignite forward Tyler Smith , who has some 2-3-level scoring juice with solid shot-blocking capabilities, in the second round. All in all, Milwaukee added a few complementary players at good value.
Projected Starting 5:
Damian Lillard, G – Lillard believes he still has juice left in the tank and will be entering his age-34 season. He was good-not-great last year, so I’m interested to see if he can build on his on-court chemistry with Giannis Antetokounmpo with a better supporting cast around him.
Gary Trent Jr., G – In the second apron economy, we’re going to be living in a world where certain free agents receive minimum contracts when they shouldn’t. Trent, a very good 3-and-D complementary piece, is one of them.
Khris Middleton , G/F* – Middleton had offseason surgery on both of his ankles, which feels troublesome. I can’t tell if it’s good or bad for a player who’s been oft-injured entering his age-33 season. Oh, and have we figured out who the next Khris Middleton is yet?
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F/C – Antetokounmpo is still a top-3 player on the planet. Nothing’s changed there. Next!
Brook Lopez , C – Lopez will be entering his 17th NBA season in 2024-25. He’s still chugging along playing 30-plus minutes per game, for better or worse!
Delon Wright, G – I’m still curious as to why Erik Spoelstra didn’t utilize Wright more off the Heat bench last year (in favor of … Patty Mills ?!?!) when they snagged him off the buyout market. That’s neither here nor there. Bucks were a below-average defense, so Wright’s infusion will help mitigate that concern.
Taurean Prince, F – At times, Prince had too much leash under Darvin Ham and the Los Angeles Lakers last year. For the minimum, the 6-foot-6 wing is a near-steal.
Bobby Portis , F/C – With Lopez not getting any younger, Portis will be as needed as ever off the bench for at least 20-25 minutes a night.
Biggest X-Factor: Competency on both ends
The Bucks had a better defensive process under Doc Rivers. The rotations were sharper and it looked like there was better attention to detail. Milwaukee, however, still finished with the 19th-worst adjusted defense in the NBA — can it at least be average? It improved around the fringes and it has one of the best defensive players on earth–surely it can’t be this poor again, right?!?
Season Projection:
I have the Bucks as the No. 4 seed in the East and project them to finish around 49 wins once again.
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