Milwaukee Bucks: 2017-18 NBA season preview
The Milwaukee Bucks hope to build on last season’s success. What does the 2017-18 NBA season hold for Giannis Antetokounmpo and company?
The Milwaukee Bucks are the Eastern Conference version of the San Antonio Spurs, standing largely still while the league erupted in chaos and movement around them. Not only will the Bucks’ starting lineup stay unchanged from the end of last season, but their entire rotation largely stayed the same.
Instead of adding a flashy new piece or shuffling the bench deck, the Bucks will be counting on health and internal development to take a step forward. Young forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is knocking on the door of superstardom, taking a large step forward each and every year of his career. Will he do so yet again?
Around him, head coach Jason Kidd and the front office have assembled a team designed to play a swarming, aggressive style of defense that may or may not work in today’s NBA. But if it could work, it will be this team that makes it work, with long and rangy athletes at every position around Antetokounmpo.
If it doesn’t, then despite the Bucks’ unexpected rise into the postseason last year, Kidd could find his job on the line. For the first time in years Milwaukee is dealing with the prospect of expectations, and anything shy of 46 wins or more and at least a top-5 seed would fail to meet them. How does this team respond to that sort of pressure?
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Surrounding the primary questions are others, no less important. When will Jabari Parker return, and will he be the same player? Is Thon Maker a budding star or something less? Will big seasons from Greg Monroe, Tony Snell and Malcolm Brogdon prove to be outliers or the new reality?
In the end, this season is not about winning a title but growing a contending team around a superstar. Antetokounmpo provides the primary ingredient in a contender, and Milwaukee needs proof that it isn’t wasting his prime. Once LeBron James passes the torch, this team wants Milwaukee to be ready to catch it out of the air.
2016-17 Vitals
42-40, 2nd in Central Division, 6th in Eastern Conference
103.6 PPG (20th)/103.8 OPP PPG (22nd)
109.9 Offensive Rating (13th)/110.1 Defensive Rating (9th)
Team Leaders
Scoring: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 22.9 PPG
Rebounding: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 8.8 RPG
Assists: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 5.4 APG
Steals: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 1.6 SPG
Blocks: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 1.9 BPG
Honors
All-Star: Giannis Antetokounmpo
All-NBA Second Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Most Improved Player of the Year: Giannis Antetokounmpo
All-Defensive Second Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Rookie of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon
All-Rookie First Team: Malcolm Brogdon