Milwaukee Bucks: 3 candidates for a breakout season in 2018-19
1. Thon Maker
Thon Maker enters his third season much as he entered his second: coming off a strong playoff run and full of potential for a breakout season. Maker was part of a Bucks’ youth movement in 2016-17 and started every game of a hopeful (if ultimately unsuccessful) playoff series against Toronto.
Then last year began, and Maker regressed to a player similar, if not worse, than his rookie self. His shot struggled, he did not protect the rim and overall his production was inconsistent and insignificant. That is, until the playoffs, where Maker was thrust onto the court due to injuries and made his mark, blocking 10 shots over two games and showing himself to be the unicorn-threat everyone hopes he can be.
The question for Maker and the Bucks is whether he takes that step forward this season, or if he again falls apart after the offseason. At just 21 years old, he has plenty of time to grow into a strong two-way contributor. Many people around the organization and league are optimistic.
Maker has all of the tools to be a solid rim protector, and in a more conservative scheme under Mike Budenholzer, he might be able to settle better into his strengths. Offensively, he needs to hit outside shots more often, and again, Budenholzer has a track record of guiding big men to perimeter success. The coach-player pairing could be most poignant between Budenholzer and Maker across the roster.
It is not out of the question for Maker to become the player he has shown flashes of, averaging a pair of blocks and a pair of 3-pointers per 36 minutes on solid percentages. That player not only fits this roster’s needs, but he can be the long-term answer at center for a Bucks team searching for that since trading Andrew Bogut.
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Maker has the highest upside of any young player on the roster, and joins Brook Lopez and Sterling Brown as prime breakout candidates on the roster. 2018-19 could be a banner year for this organization, and Maker could be at the center of it.