Milwaukee Bucks: 3 steps they must take to repeat as NBA champions

Steps for the Milwaukee Bucks to repeat as champs: 3. Insert Bobby Portis into the starting lineup

Bobby Portis played an inspiring brand of basketball during the Bucks post-season run to the NBA championship. It seemed as if he was always at the right place at the right time. Either he was getting a blocked shot or taking a charge on defense, or hitting a timely 3-pointer on offense. He was the definition of a sparkplug. While productivity off the bench is important to any team with title aspirations, it is time to move Portis from the second unit to the starting lineup.

Brook Lopez is still a solid NBA center. His time as a productive player is far from over. However, there were times in the NBA Finals when his decreased mobility was exposed by the Phoenix Suns. While Lopez has improved tremendously as a defender over the years, youth is on the side of Bobby Portis and his ability to fight over ball screens quickly and rotate to the open man. If Lopez were to move to the second unit, he would be one of the best backup centers in the league while still being an important part of Milwaukee’s rotation.

Milwaukee wouldn’t be the first NBA champion to make a change in the starting lineup immediately after winning the title. In 1992, Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson decided it was time to insert BJ Armstrong into the starting lineup and move John Paxson to the second unit. In the 1993 NBA Finals, Paxson hit the series-winning 3-pointer with Armstrong on the court as part of Coach Jackson’s small-ball lineup. All’s well that end’s well. The Milwaukee Bucks are hoping for a similar outcome this upcoming season.