The Milwaukee Bucks are now a much better team than they were a month or so ago. As expected, this new-look team has developed some much-needed chemistry as they continue to navigate the early stretch of the season.
There have been a few ups and downs over the course of the campaign but all in all, the Bucks are in a pretty good place at the moment.
Milwaukee Bucks Ranked No. 3 in The Athletic’s Power Ranking
Zach Harper of The Athletic recently published their updated NBA Power Rankings for all 30 teams. This is after the teams have played out nearly a third of the regular season.
Bucks fans will be glad to know that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. have climbed the leaderboard by one spot. At this point in the campaign, Milwaukee has been ranked as the No. 3 team in the league.
According to Harper, the Bucks can credit their rise to the fact that they have one of the best records in the NBA (16-7 entering Wednesday’s showdown against the Indiana Pacers) despite the fact that they haven’t reached their peak form yet.
“I have two conflicting thoughts on the Bucks, one of which I’ve mentioned in this space before. The Bucks look pretty flawed but are still winning games. That could and maybe should be viewed as a positive. On the other hand, they’re winning games with some bad habits, especially on defense. Is that reinforcing some bad stuff for them? There’s also this weird perception that Adrian Griffin is under fire as the coach. Ultimately, I think they’ll be fine, but this might be more fragile than their record indicates,”Harper wrote.
Harper also points out a couple of caveats for the Bucks, though. As expected, this team still needs a lot of work on the defensive end, among other things. Milwaukee will want to address these issues at the soonest possible time so as not to fall into the trap of relying too much on their star power to carry them through.
At the end of the day, that just won’t be a sustainable business model.
Timberwolves Reign Supreme
Sitting atop the updated power rankings are the Minnesota Timberwolves. In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Wolves currently have the best record in the NBA (they are tied with the Boston Celtics at 17-5). This is also why they have maintained the No. 1 spot in The Athletic’s power rankings.
“I’m not sure the Wolves could have earned a better start to the season than what we’ve seen. Even with Anthony Edwards missing a little time, the train kept rolling. The Wolves have the NBA’s best defense by a wide gap. That was what they expected when they made the Rudy Gobert trade last year. The offense needs to take better care of the ball, but that’s nitpicking an otherwise great start,” Harper wrote.
At this rate, it would not be surprising if the Timberwolves end up representing the West in the NBA Finals this year. It’s still a long shot at this point, but if they are able to remain consistent, Minnesota could end up shocking the basketball world this season.
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