Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
Milwaukee Bucks
2011-12 Vitals:
31-35, 3rd in Central Division, 9th in Eastern Conference
99.0 PPG/98.7 OPP PPG
2012-13 Roster:
Samuel Dalembert – C
Mike Dunleavy – SF
Monta Ellis – SG
Drew Gooden – PF
Tobias Harris – F
John Henson – PF
Ersan Ilyasova – PF
Brandon Jennings – PG
Doron Lamb – SG
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute – SF
Joel Przybilla – C
Larry Sanders – C
Ekpe Udoh – PF
Beno Udrih – PG
Offseason Additions:
Samuel Dalembert, John Henson, Doron Lamb, Joel Przybilla
Offseason Subtractions:
Carlos Delfino, Shaun Livingston, Kwame Brown, Jon Leuer, Jon Brockman
Projected Starters:
PG – Brandon Jennings
SG – Monta Ellis
SF – Mike Dunleavy
PF – Drew Gooden
C – Samuel Dalembert
Season Outlook:
The Milwaukee Bucks are in a difficult spot in the Eastern Conference. They are good enough to sneak into the playoffs, but that’s the worst place a team can be. They’ll never get a high lottery pick and never win a championship.
Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings are both looking to get extensions and I fully expect one of them to be traded. Ersan Ilyasova is coming off a career year and was locked up to a five-year contract. Again, it leaves the Bucks in a precarious position because they’re decent. In the NBA, you have to be really good or really bad.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bucks as a low seed in the playoffs, but they can’t hold a candle to the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics. Big changes should come next summer in Milwaukee.
Best-Case Scenario:
Jennings and Ellis play with reckless abandon as they chase a high-dollar contract and the Bucks move into the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. That earns them a match with the Boston Celtics, who beat the Bucks in five games.
Worst-Case Scenario:
The inconsistency, especially on defense, haunts the Bucks as they teeter between five-game winning streaks and seven-game losing streaks. They finish tenth in the Eastern Conference and are stuck with another middle first-round draft pick.