Milwaukee Bucks: 2015-16 Season Outlook

For a team that finished exactly at .500, the Milwaukee Bucks generated a considerable amount of hype last year. Though they wouldn’t have come close to reaching the playoffs out West, in the East, Jason Kidd‘s young Bucks were one of the feel-good stories of the conference, going from the NBA’s worst record in 2013-14 to the sixth seed in the playoffs.

Though the team wasn’t quite the same after trading away Brandon Knight, the Bucks saw plenty of signs that should reassure everyone they’ll be okay after avoiding a summer overpay. But with the rest of the playoff teams out East improving this summer, what can be expected of a Milwaukee squad that already exceeded expectations last year?

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Luckily for the Bucks, they didn’t just stand around and wait for their young players to bloom as their only means of improving the roster this summer. With the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers both touting max cap space, no one expected Greg Monroe to choose Milwaukee as his free agency destination, but in the end, that’s exactly what happened.

In the process, the Bucks added a bonafide low-post presence who should help upgrade the team’s middling offense. The top of the East is slowly improving, and the Bucks might not contend for much more than a second round playoff exit this season. But with the addition of Monroe and a core of young, high-upside players locked in, Milwaukee has a brighter future than it’s had in about 15 years.

2014-15 Vitals
41-41, 3rd in Central Division, 6th in Eastern Conference
97.8 PPG (22nd)/97.4 OPPG (8th)
102.7 Offensive Rating (26th)/102.2 Defensive Rating (4th)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Brandon Knight, 17.8 PPG
Rebounding: Zaza Pachulia, 6.8 RPG
Assists: Michael Carter-Williams, 5.6 APG
Steals: Michael Carter-Williams, 2.0 SPG
Blocks: John Henson, 2.0 BPG

Honors
N/A

Next: 2015-16 Roster