Milwaukee Bucks: 3 bold predictions for 2019-20 NBA season
1. Milwaukee will win the title
The Los Angeles Lakers have the greatest player of his generation now flanked by a worthy co-star and supporting cast. The LA Clippers have the reigning Finals MVP as one of two new elite wings surrounded by a roster that made the playoffs without them. The Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers all made significant moves to make a run at the title.
All of that is meaningful and will likely have a major part in telling the story of this year’s championship. Yet what is missed amidst all of the transactions and insane player movement is that the championship favorites should be the team at the top that didn’t remake its starting lineup, the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Milwaukee has continuity on its side, returning 84.5 percent of its postseason minutes. While they lost a starter in Malcolm Brogdon, they replaced him with two veterans in Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver with a combined 171 playoff appearances. The rest of their starting lineup and most of their bench is intact as well.
The Bucks were no fluke team last year, winning 60 games but with the underlying stats for an expected 64 wins. They only lost back-to-back games once all year until the Eastern Conference Finals when they lost four straight to the eventual champion Toronto Raptors. This was a true contender last year, and coming into this season they now have the one thing they lacked a year ago: Postseason experience.
Las Vegas will put the Los Angeles teams at the top of the title odds to generate business, and many statistical models favor the 76ers or Rockets because they don’t calculate well the diminishing returns for high-usage players teaming up. The Bucks, however, have defined roles, continuity, a superstar and the easiest path to the NBA Finals.
Next. Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons to be excited for 2019-20 NBA season. dark
Mark them down for another 60 wins, the best record in the league and a much-deserved championship for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mike Budenholzer and company. This is the year of the Bucks.