Milwaukee Bucks
It is amazing how fast things — especially our perceptions of things — can change.
Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks arrived.
Coach Bud showed up and implemented a system that transformed Giannis from Next to MVP.
Just like that.
Going into last season, Vegas had the Bucks Over/Under set at 46.5 wins. That OVER was one of our Stone Cold Locks of the Century. The Bucks had 47 wins before the calendar showed March (!!) and Milwaukee finished with 60 wins, the most in the NBA.
The 2018-19 Bucks were a cut above:
Defense Rating: 1st
Offensive Rating: 4th
Net Rating: 1st
Pace: 2nd
Points per Game: 1st
The list goes on.
In her “Boys, Bye” piece, Haley O’Shaughnessy perfectly stated: “Milwaukee’s opponents found themselves squaring up with the future, a basketball-themed cowboys vs. aliens where the lead alien was actually a unicorn.”
We have to ask: Could Giannis be the unicorn of all unicorns? If he develops a 3-point shot, it’s definitely possible. And even if he doesn’t, it still might be on the table.
As we subtly mentioned at the end of our Pelicans preview, Shoals wrote a blog post back in the day about how, “Some players expand possibilities; others leave categories in liquid ruin.” That 2010 blog post was actually about John Wall and Blake Griffin. Shoals said he expected Wall to rip through the fabric of the game, which we have now bestowed upon Zion. But what in holy hell is Giannis out here doing?? He’s disintegrating the fabric with laser beams shooting from his robot unicorn eyeballs.
Giannis Antetokounmpo owns the restricted area. It is his personal property now. He dominates the paint like Shaq in ways that leave opponents guffawed and bamboozled. “What the fuck am I supposed to do against that?” He’s nailed down LeBron’s spin move. He has an all-seeing court vision and can zing rope-a-dope passes to teammates essentially anywhere on the court. Giannis will get fouled ridiculously hard, you think the play is over, and then he’s somehow found a way to pull off a power dunk.
And because we just can’t help ourselves, Tyler Parker alert!
“He’s listed at 6-foot-11 and 242 pounds. You could tell me he was a Transformer and I would ultimately know you were joking but it would take me a bit to get past thinking that that’s not the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. He’s the size of a moose and he moves like a dancer. An alien with brooms for arms and thumbs the size of corn dogs. That’s not overstating it. His thumbs are the size of corn dogs. He’s so physically gifted it’s confusing. It’s confusing seeing someone that big do the things he does. It’s confusing seeing someone have hands the size of lobster traps. It’s confusing seeing someone leap into the air and touch the edges of the mesosphere. The man is a spaceship. He’s science fiction. In this world, but not of it.”
Giannis has the look. The mean mug. He wants to destroy everything in his path and he knows he can.
The rest of the Bucks roster around The Freak is pretty damn deep. But Malcolm Brogdon is no longer here, and Brogdon’s additional playmaking, shooting and defense will absolutely be missed, especially when the playoffs roll around in six months.
Brogdon is gone so that Kris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Eric Bledsoe and George Hill could remain. But the question that Milwaukee’s top brass might be left asking themselves: “Should we have said, ‘Fuck it,’ and gone into the luxury tax to keep Brogdon as well?”
To that we would tell them that opportunities for Larry OB’s do not grow on trees. You have Giannis, yes, but who knows what will happen in Free Agency come summer 2021…
The Bucks other All-Star, Kris Middleton, was re-signed for 5 years and $177 million. That might seem like a stretch, but he’s the perfect 3-and-D fit next to Giannis, and Milwaukee knows it is still no free agent destination. (Yet another reason why we think not bringing back Brogdon could bite the Bucks in their deer ass.) Middleton was an All-Star for a reason, but now that he’s got a fucking bag, he’s going to have to prove that his game can remain at this high level. Milwaukee might even need him to take another step. You know, cause Brogdon’s no longer here.
Okay, we’ll admit there has been more salty talk of no mo’ Brogdo than we anticipated. And really, Coach Bud can stop gap with newly signed 10-year vet Wes Matthews, 17-year vet (!!) Kyle Korver and the youngin’s Pat Connaughton, Donte DiVincenzo and Sterling Brown. This shouldn’t be a problem during the regular season at all. Yes, Jim Mora, we’re talking playoffs!
Brook Lopez a.k.a. Splash Mountain was an imperative part of Coach Bud’s spread it out and let the 3 fly offense. Robin Lopez is in Milwaukee now, too. BroLo and RoLo actually aren’t the only set of brothers on this team. According to Basketball-Reference, we’ve also got the Thunder bros: Ersan Ilysova as Turkish Thunder and Pat Connaughton as Vanilla Thunder. Yeah buddy!
Eric Bledsoe signed a 4-year, $70 million extension in March, but we can’t help but wonder if Bucks GM Jon Horst wishes he could have that one back after Bledsoe’s sub-par performance in last year’s playoffs. While Bledsoe’s offense was consistently inconsistent, his defense is a necessity for the Bucks to maintain their top flight D, which was a key part in setting up their best offense, in transition, where Giannis wreaks the most havoc. Bledsoe will miss the first few weeks of the season after a small rib fracture in the preseason.
George Hill will slot in during Bledsoe’s absence. No biggie, the Bucks were better with Hill in the playoffs than with Bledsoe. After missing those free throws in the 2018 Finals, it feels like George Hill will always play with a chip on his shoulder. (And we ain’t talking ‘bout Championchips.)
Speaking of Chips, the Bucks went from being an expected above average Eastern Conference team to Championship or bust.
Just like that.
League Pass Notes
Giannis = power dunks galore.
We are intrigued by The Dragan Bender experiment. Yet with such a deep roster, we are wondering how many minutes he’s actually going to see. But going from the Suns to the Bucks should be a drastic change in scenery for the Croatian Sensation.
The many perplexed faces of Coach Bud deserves its own running thread. Big shout out to the one and only @WorldWideWob who’s already got one going.
The Final Questions / The Final Take
How much will Brogdon actually be missed?
Who’s going to stop the Bucks?
Nobody. In the regular season. (Except maybe/probably Philly). OVER 57.5 wins.