“Eyes to the Horizon: Milwaukee Bucks Basketball and the Playoff Push of 2023”
As we approach the home stretch of another NBA regular season, Milwaukee Bucks fans have a lot to be grateful for. The Bucks are playing good basketball. They’re playing not only their best basketball of the season, but arguably of the past several seasons, including the year of their 2020-2021 championship run. They have the best record in the NBA (51-20), are the #1 ranked team in the Eastern Conference, and have won 25 of their past 28 games. They’ve had multiple players miss large durations of the season due to injuries, but as a team they’re finally getting healthy. The big three of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday are competing at high levels. Role players like Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, and Grayson Allen are doing the big and little things to help connect the dots. Muscle. Grace. Shooting specialists. Shut-down defenders. Team chemistry. Depth. Selflessness. Playoff experience. Poise. Winning Attitude. This year’s Bucks have it all. The path to another Larry O’Brien Trophy will be beset with challenges—both known and unknown. The Bucks are certainly capable of another title run. They have a coaching staff and a core group of veteran players who understand what it takes to win a championship. They’ll stand their best chance for success if they continue to work together, and for anyone who’s been watching them play of late, there are obvious reasons for believing in them.
There’s a big difference between a team that believes they’re capable of winning a championship, and one that knows they can do it. This year’s Bucks know they can win, and you can see it in the way they’ve been closing out games.
The talent pool of the NBA is beyond belief. There are so many young, up-and-coming players and teams that have star power and seemingly limitless potential. Across the country, fans are looking ahead to the playoffs and wondering if their favorite teams will have what it takes to make a run at the title. The NBA has proven that any team, when healthy, can beat another on any given night. While this is (mostly) true, the path to an NBA title is one of the most relentless tasks in modern-day sports. Four rounds of best-of-seven-game series to determine the winner, this coming at the end of an already too long 82-game regular season schedule. As the playoffs advance, each series, game, quarter, and possession becomes more critical. Fans can feel the heaviness of the situation while teams stand face to face, their best players trading punches in the face of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. One thing that has become evident with this year’s Bucks is that they aren’t going to back down from big moments. There’s no set of circumstances on a basketball court that will shake them. They have multiple players who can take and make big shots, and they believe in one another’s abilities. I watched them play a game on TV recently against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are a nice example of a team on the rise. They’ve fluctuated between the #2 and #3 ranked team in the Western Conference for much of the season. They have the #1 ranked offense in the NBA, rising stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, and a solid collection of young role players. The game was being played in Sacramento before a raucous, sold-out crowd. At one point, the Bucks were trailing by 15, with the Kings scoring at will both inside and out. The Kings ended up making 21 three pointers in the game, and had stretches of time in the early and late stages where they simply couldn’t miss a shot. Smiling and having fun; nothing could go wrong for them. The Kings were in attack mode, hitting Giannis and company with everything they had, yet to the Bucks’ credit they never folded. They took the Kings’ punches while continuing to land just enough strategic counter-shots of their own, getting the ball to their playmakers, working together defensively, and above all showing no signs of distress. With six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the score tied at 108-108, and Jen fast asleep on the couch beside me (Pacific time zone game), I can recall saying out loud, “There’s no way we’re losing this game.” Sure enough, the Bucks went on to win 133-124, closing things out rather comfortably despite the Kings’ persistent hard play. When I made the statement, I did so because the Bucks looked unshakeable. They were showing a killer instinct that I haven’t seen from them in regular seasons past. Their performance reminded me of the way they looked at the end of their 2020-2021 championship run when, after losing the opening two games of the NBA finals, they put the Phoenix Suns down in four straight to capture the title. I’m thrilled to see the composure from them, especially at this point in the year, knowing that if they can hold onto it there won’t be many teams capable of standing in their way.
The superstar: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Is there a player in today’s NBA who can guard Giannis one-on-one on the full court? No. Has there ever been a player in the history of the NBA would could do it? Good question. For the Bucks to have continued success this postseason, they’re going to need Giannis to keep doing the things he’s become famous for. Attacking the basket. Making plays at the rim defensively. Stretching the floor. Using good judgment for playing through and passing out of double-, triple-, and (yes, it does happen) quadruple-team coverage. Are there areas to Giannis’s game that he needs to improve? Free-throw, mid-range, and three-point shooting are obvious ones that come to mind. He’s made progress since he’s entered the league, especially at the free-throw line, where now he at least looks like he’s going to make most of his attempts. Perimeter shot selection will be important for Giannis, specifically with how well he can keep the deep stuff a situational aspect to his game, as opposed to forcing it to be foundational. Aside from free-throw shooting, the other two biggest challenges he’ll likely face will be how well he can avoid offensive fouls when he attacks the basket, and whether he can remain healthy. The way he plays the game is so physical. The motions, turns, and changes in direction he puts his body thorough are as violent as they are unparalleled in the sport. There are a number of playoff teams who the Bucks will still be able to beat if they lose Giannis to injury, along with a few who they probably won’t. He’s proven himself to be durable throughout his career, as well as a fast healer. He made an amazing comeback from what looked like a catastrophic knee injury during their last title run. Let’s just hope this postseason doesn’t present the same challenge.
The super sidekicks: Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Bobby Portis.
For as lucky as Bucks fans should feel to have a generational talent like Giannis in their lineup, they should feel equally fortunate to have each and every one of the players listed above on the same roster. These guys know their roles on this team. They’re intelligent, hard-working, unselfish, and highly skilled basketball players. Middleton is proficient in every aspect of the game. He’s the team’s proven shot-maker in the clutch, and was the missing piece from last year’s playoff roster that eventually fell to the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Best of all, he appears healthy for the first time in almost a year, shooting and driving with the ball the way we’ve grown accustomed to seeing him during his past 10 years of being a Buck. Holiday is the team’s floor general, and one of the best man-to-man, backcourt defenders in the NBA. Like Middleton, he too has the confidence to take and make big shots, and is an exceptional finisher at the rim with either hand. Lopez is currently playing at one of the highest levels of his 15-year career. He’s a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and outside of Giannis, arguably the most irreplaceable piece of the Bucks’ playoff puzzle. Fact: there is no one on the Bucks roster who can do the things that Lopez does. When he was injured for the better part of the regular season last year, the Bucks were nowhere near the team they are today. He’s a game-altering defensive presence as a rim-protector, and one of the most successful three-point shooting big men in the history of the league. As for Portis, he’s the ultimate garbage man. He works hard in every aspect of the game, which Bucks fans know and love him for. There’s a different energy he brings to the floor, particularly at Fiserv Forum. He’s a double-digit scorer and rebounder almost every time he steps onto the court, and perhaps the team’s biggest X-factor offensively.
The intangible players: a long, but important list.
The fact that the Bucks have as many as eight additional players who can be difference makers on the court is a testament to the work of their front office. Grayson Allen is an elite-level three-point shooter who could start for almost any team in the NBA. He’s one of the Bucks’ best defenders, which says a lot considering how many other good defenders are also playing alongside him. Jevon Carter was signed near the end of last season after being waived by the Brooklyn Nets. In his first full year with Milwaukee, he has played an indispensible role as a reserve player. He can score from anywhere around the basket, is second on the team in 3-point shooting percentage (42.2%), and brings a demonstrative defensive intensity to the backcourt. Out of everyone on the Bucks’ roster, no player has exceeded my preseason expectations this year to the extent that Carter has. Pat Connaughton and Wes Matthews are additional shooting specialists who defend well and play with high basketball I.Q. Both have battled injuries throughout the year, but should be healthy come playoff time. Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder are more recent additions who are settling into what will likely be prominent bench roles during the postseason. Ingles is a crafty international player. He has a quick shot and can pass well in the half court or in transition. Crowder provides a physical presence cut from a similar mold to P.J. Tucker. Like Tucker, he’s a defensive stopper who plays well in all aspects of the game, and even though he won’t be leaned heavily upon for offensive purposes, he’s a capable shooter who can make teams pay for underestimating him. All of the intangible players I’ve mentioned here add value to the team without taking anything from it. They serve valuable roles and bring unique skill sets to the floor. The Bucks will have games this postseason when they might need an extra 8-10 points from an unlikely source. Even guys like A.J. Green and Marjon Beauchamp, who’ve slipped on the depth chart due to the additions of Ingles and Crowder, are capable of serving that role. Needing contributions out of a 13th or 14th guy from a team with the likes of Giannis, Middleton, and Holiday already on it might sound farfetched, but…mark my words in that it could happen.
The coaching staff: Coach Bud and company.
Give Coach Bud and his assistant coaches credit for understanding their players’ strengths and playing to them. The Bucks know their brand of basketball. They run an efficient offense that utilizes space by spreading all five players around the three-point line. This allows playmakers like Giannis to attack the basket, which in turn leads to shots in the paint, trips to the free-throw line, and kick-out passes for high-volume threes. Not only do Coach Bud and company encourage players who are open to shoot, they reprimand them for not doing so. The system is based on trust. If the coaching staff believes in players enough to put them on the floor, then they expect those same players to pursue scoring opportunities when they arise. Defensively, Lopez is back as the team’s primary rim protector, but the other defenders are doing a much better job of sticking close to three-point shooters. What’s resulted is the #1 team defensive rating in the NBA. In other words, the Bucks surrender less points to their opponents than any other team, per 100 possessions. Players enjoy the style of play that the coaching staff has designed for them. They’re a team that believes in their system and in one another. I recall Coach Bud’s pregame pep talk that he gave prior to Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals: “Play fast, play random, play together, do it together. Go compete, compete, compete, have some fun, play some basketball.” At the time, members of the mass media took exception to Coach Bud’s words, as they found them less inspiring then what the moment was calling for. In hindsight, I actually think he gave them pretty good advice. The fact that they went on to win the series and the World Title proves to me that he knew which buttons to push then, just the same as he does now.
The NBA playoffs approach, leaving us to debate, wonder, and wait. Competition for this year’s championship will be as fierce as ever. Boston and Philadelphia loom large in the East, while Denver, Phoenix, and the Los Angeles Clippers offer a glimpse of what’s waiting in the West. This year’s Bucks are deeper and more battletested then the ones of playoffs past, so stay tuned as the season continues. Like many of you, I have a good feeling about their chances! If they can continue to play their game while avoiding major injuries and distractions, then we’re going to have plenty of exciting basketball in store.
Take care, everyone! As always, your time is appreciated and your feedback is welcomed.
- Todd
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