The Milwaukee Bucks are in a strange position if you consider the public’s opinion of them as championship contenders. They have what it takes to make a deep playoff run when you consider the roster the front office has created over the offseason. Any opposing coaches would find it difficult to contain a squad boasting Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard on the starting lineup.
However, analysts and fans don’t look at the Bucks as perennial title contenders compared to their contemporaries in the Eastern Conference. Their exclusion from the league’s Christmas games this year shows how even Adam Silver doesn’t see Milwaukee as a team that even the most casual fans should look out for.
There are multiple reasons why the Bucks aren’t considered as heavy favorites. The age and health of their core players is a serious issue. The lack of high-impact signings in free agency is another probable cause. Lillard’s inability to maximize his production is another cause for concern.
Regardless of what happened last season, Milwaukee Bucks fans hope for better things from their team in the 2024-25 campaign. The team’s GM even went forward and talked about the team’s chances for a championship during the team’s media day.
Milwaukee Bucks GM Jon Hurst discusses the team’s chances in Damian Lillard’s second year
During the team’s media day, GM Jon Hurst talked about how the roster has developed with the team in its second year of the Antetokounmpo-Lillard experiment. He explained that he expects the team to perform a lot better than what they showed last spring.
Per Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski:
“I think like we do every year but even more so this offseason, we took a deep, critical look at our team to try to figure out how we can improve. I think the balance of this roster and the talent of this roster, we feel like we’ve improved. I think some of the key things, maybe more generally speaking, we talked about this in some of the draft settings, was kind of catch-and-shoot ability, positional size, guys who are either at or approaching their primes, guys that can really defend and defend with physicality and be defensive playmakers. I think we did the best that we could with the spots that we had available.”
Lillard had a disappointing run during his first season in a Bucks uniform. The 34-year-old guard averaged 24.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.0 steals a game. His shooting clip also got noticeably worse (42%/35%/92%) compared to his percentages in his final season with the Portland Trail Blazers (46%/37%/91%).
If Lillard and the rest of the players Hurst added to the roster play to his expectations, it wouldn’t be strange to see the Milwaukee Bucks make the NBA Finals and see a happy Giannis Antetokounmpo spurn suitors like the Golden State Warriors in the process.
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