The Milwaukee Bucks have gone from fringe playoff team to championship contender over the past year. Which breakout players have helped that rise in 2019?
The Milwaukee Bucks are the league’s best team by nearly every metric, with the league’s best record, best net rating and the MVP frontrunner. While one can make an argument that another team has a slight edge based on star depth or championship experience, the Bucks are passing every challenge asked of a title contender.
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Extending back to the beginning of the 2019 calendar year, no team has more wins than the Bucks’ 55 (the Toronto Raptors are second with 46 wins) and their net rating is a dominant plus-10.0, well ahead of the second-place Raptors and Houston Rockets (+6.7).
While led by superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and a collection of strong veterans in the starting lineup, including Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, to sustain their dominance the Bucks need to continue developing players. They have done just that, to the tune of what is likely the league’s deepest roster.
That includes the growth of young players in addition to veterans placed in the right position to succeed. D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown are playing well as examples of the first, while Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez fit the second. The Bucks are a tide raising all boats.
The boats raised the most are a trio of guards who are filling out the rotation for this frontcourt-blessed team. They fill a variety of different roles, fitting for players who come to the Bucks from three different paths. George Hill is a player on the downside of his career who has found new life playing with the Bucks.
Pat Connaughton is a reserve who joined the Bucks’ bench and has had huge flashes of brilliance. Donte DiVincenzo is a second-year player drafted by Milwaukee who is coming into his own.
We begin with the old hand, who is perhaps not having a “breakout” so much as a “re-break” of his career.