5 reasons the Milwaukee Bucks are legitimate title contenders

4. Offensive-minded head coach

The Bucks parted ways with former coach Jason Kidd with 37 games left last season. While assistant coach Joe Prunty went 21-16 the rest of the way, he wasn’t considered the long-term solution.

After a thorough search, the front office thought former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer would be the ideal candidate to usher in a new era of Bucks basketball.

"“Mike has played a key role in building successful teams throughout his career,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said, via ESPN. “He’s widely respected and has shown a special ability to teach and develop players. His leadership, basketball intellect, championship-level experience and communication skills make him the right fit to take our team to the next level.”"

During his five-year tenure with the Hawks, Budenholzer went 213-197 and he was named Coach of the Year on the heels of a 2014-15 season in which Atlanta won 60 games en route to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. Additionally, those teams reached the playoffs in four of his five seasons at the helm.

Fast forward to the present, and it seems Budenholzer is making all the right moves in Milwaukee as well. The Bucks are the second-highest scoring team in the league at 117.6 points per contest. They also bolster the fourth-best offensive rating, averaging 114.2 points per 100 possessions, but the story doesn’t end there.

This squad is ranked fourth in field goal efficiency (48 percent), second in 3-point attempts per game (38.3) and 3-point makes (13.4). They also have the league’s best point differential at +10.0.

For good measure, let’s also mention the fact that the Bucks average 54.5 points in the paint per contest — the third-best mark in the NBA — and they are the league’s top rebounding team, pulling down 49.1 boards per contest.

When the Bucks opted to give Budenholzer a four-year contract, it was with the hope he’d help take this team to another level. Needless to say, he has certainly done that during the first half of the season.