This Milwaukee Bucks were easily one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA last season. After acquiring All-Star point guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trailblazers for Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen, many expected Milwaukee to dominate the regular season. After all, the combination of Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, in theory, should be one of the most unstoppable duos in the NBA.
However, the team never had enough time to prepare for the regular season, as the trade occurred just before training camp began. Lillard was also struggling with a very public and ugly divorce, which he admitted affected his play on the court.
Of course, the Bucks have also had some instability regarding the head coaching position heading into the 2023-24 NBA season. After firing Mike Budenholzer following a first-round exit in the NBA playoffs, Milwaukee hired former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as head coach.
Long story brief, it didn’t work out and Griffin was fired mid-season despite a 30-13 record. The Bucks replaced him with Doc Rivers, who finished the season 17-19, but only Giannis, Lillard and Khris Middleton were hearty and played together for a total of six games.
The Milwaukee Bucks built their roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard this summer.
Milwaukee finished the season 49-33 and third in the Eastern Conference, but they couldn’t overcome the loss of Giannis, the two-time NBA MVP, who suffered a strained soleus and missed the entire series, while Lillard was confined by a nagging Achilles injury.
These issues, along with a shortage of supporting players, led to the Bucks being eliminated from the first round of the NBA playoffs for the second consecutive time.
In general manager Jon Horst’s defense, he didn’t know the Bucks would have a chance to trade Lillard until After He had already built a roster around Giannis. It was clear early on that Milwaukee didn’t have the right combination of players to complement him Both superstars.
With very few options this summer in terms of salary cap space, the Bucks were able to make three popular free agent trades. Horst was able to sign point guard Delon Wright, forward Taurean Prince and guard Gary Trent Jr. to veteran minimum contracts.
Wright will slide in as Lillard’s backup point guard, a role he filled last season with the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat. He’s coming off a year in which he shot 37 percent from three, averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 assists in just over 15 minutes per game.
Prince comes to Milwaukee after spending last season playing for Darvin Ham (who returned to the Bucks on Rivers’ coaching staff) and the Los Angeles Lakers. He shot just under 40 percent from three, averaging 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Trent is expected to take over the shooting guard position vacated by Malik Beasley, who signed with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent. Trent shot 39 percent from three last season, averaging 13.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for the Raptors.
Better long-range shooting and more goals off the bench, as well as a healthier squad, should translate into significant improvement in 2024-25.
However, NBA analysts are not so sure.
NBA analyst predicts Milwaukee Bucks will win 51 games in 2024-25 season
In an article in which he predicted the results of every NBA team, Andy Bailey of The Tribune Report predicted the Bucks would win 51 games this upcoming season, which would be just two wins better than last season’s tough run.
Bailey argues that the uncertainty surrounding Giannis’ health, the ages of key supporting players and Doc Rivers’ postseason failures are reasons he’s hesitant to predict more wins for Milwaukee:
“The defense ended the season classified in the bottom half of the league. Lillard, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton are on the other side of their best years. And Rivers has become known as much for his playoff shortcomings over the past 15 years as for his 2008 title.
“But the Bucks still have Giannis, one of the two or three most physically dominant players in the league. And if he’s available, they expect to get wins in the regular season.
“It also helps to get good veterans like Gary Trent Jr. and Delon Wright on small deals, but that over bet hinges almost entirely on Milwaukee’s Greek superstar.”
It should be noted that Giannis’ 73 games played last season were his most since the 2017-18 season, when he played 75. His ability to play for Greece at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is evidence that he is not suffering any long-term effects from the calf injury he suffered at the end of last year’s regular season.
It’s obvious the Bucks need to be careful and keep him healthy, but the same can be said about every NBA team and its superstar.
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