NBA news: There’s a lot of hype surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks ahead of the new season. After they successfully re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez in NBA free agency, the Bucks were able to keep their core group intact. Giannis Antetokounmpo will still lead the charge in 2023-24, and with a healthy squad, fans and experts alike are already expecting another title run for Milwaukee this year.
NBA News: ESPN’s Marc J. Spears Has Zero Faith in Bucks
Count ESPN’s Marc J. Spears out of that group. On a recent episode of NBA Today, the renowned NBA insider decided to pour some ice-cold water on all the hype surrounding the Bucks.
Milwaukee emerged as the No. 2 team on ESPN’s offseason power rankings, to which Spears reacted in a negative way. The ESPN broadcaster got brutally honest as he questioned why the Bucks were ranked so highly on the list:
“Bucks? Why do we need to respect the Bucks right now?” Spears asked. “… They lost in the first round of the playoffs.”
He’s not wrong. The show’s host, Malika Andrews, then argued that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury played a key role in their opening-round exit against the Miami Heat. Spears clapped back by saying that Giannis actually returned for the final two games of that series:
“He came back,” Spears responded. “He didn’t save them.
“… Look, that hurt my heart that they got bounced out of the first round,” Spears stated. “I can’t give them (No. 2 on the power rankings).”
.@MarcJSpears is not buying Milwaukee’s latest power ranking 😅
“Why do we need to respect the Bucks right now?” pic.twitter.com/xTLRivT6iP
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 27, 2023
Savage.
NBA News: Bucks Have a Point to Prove
The Bucks will be playing with a chip on their shoulder this coming season. As Spears said, Giannis, in particular, has to prove that he is capable of carrying this team to a championship — again.
The most important thing for Milwaukee is going to be their health. Even when he returned in the Heat series, Antetokounmpo wasn’t a hundred percent. Khris Middleton missed a significant part of the season as well, and he just didn’t look right in the playoffs. However, with a full offseason of rest (assuming that Giannis doesn’t take part in the FIBA World Cup with Greece), the Bucks should be a renewed side in 2023-24. The rest of the NBA better be ready.
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