Milwaukee Bucks: 2017-18 NBA season preview

Predictions

This team will be better than last year’s team, simply by virtue of Khris Middleton being available from the start of the season. With no history of frequent injuries, Middleton projects to be available for the full year, and as a strong two-way player he will help this team win more games than last season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo also projects to improve, as impossible as that seems given last year’s totals. He will not lead the team in every major category, as Thon Maker will catch him in blocks, but otherwise will continue to be a devastating two-way force. While he does not become a sniper, he will bring his 3-point shooting up to 32 percent, and increase his attempts.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

Maker and Greg Monroe will continue their dynamic pairing at center, and Maker will become one of the league’s better mobile big men defensively. Malcolm Brogdon and Tony Snell won’t shoot quite as well as they did last season, but defensively will be even better.

The wild card is Jabari Parker, whose health can only be guessed at. But given his return from the last injury, he should come back as a useful bench scorer. It won’t be until next season, however, that he is at full strength. That is the season that this team will truly become dangerous.

Over the course of the year, head coach Jason Kidd will slowly begin to tweak his aggressive system, still putting pressure on ball-handlers and forcing turnovers without giving up so many open corner 3-pointers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo will again be an All-Star starter, and Khris Middleton will join him as a reserve selection. The Greek Freak will repeat as a Second Team All-NBA performer, advance onto the First Team All-Defense squad, and finish fifth in MVP voting.

Next: Minnesota Timberwolves: 2017-18 NBA season preview

This team will finish 47-35, second in the Central Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. They will drop their first round foe and push the Cleveland Cavaliers to six games in the second round.