No contender in basketball will enter the 2019-20 season with more continuity and a more ingrained identity than the Milwaukee Bucks. That's hardly a bad thing coming off a season in which they won 60 games and had the best net rating in basketball, but the playoffs laid bare that Milwaukee wasn't quite the juggernaut its dominant level of play over the preceding 82-game grind indicated.
Here's what to know about, watch for, and expect of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as training camp dawns.
Roster
The Bucks will look a lot like they did a year ago. They return each of the seven players who appeared in all 15 playoff games last season, including Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, and Brook Lopez, the quartet who proved most responsible for their season-long success.
Milwaukee went 11-5 without Malcolm Brogdon during the regular season, and had no trouble sweeping the Detroit Pistons and taking three of four from the Boston Celtics before he returned from a foot injury. But don't let their impressive level of play without him nor his unspectacular per game numbers deflect from just how valuable Brogdon was to the Bucks on both sides of the ball. Jon Horst did well by signing Wes Matthews to a bargain contract, but he's not nearly the penetrator or overall playmaker Brogdon is, and is less versatile defensively due to his inferior quickness. Brogdon is no star, but Milwaukee will really miss him this season, especially under the microscope of the postseason.
There's also no telling that George Hill's stellar performance in the playoffs will carry over to 2019-20, crucial considering he's likely to receive many crunch-time minutes in the backcourt next to Bledsoe. Milwaukee has other options there, too, including Pat Connaughton and Sterling Brown, the latter of whom has a better chance of replicating Brogdon's two-way role if he makes major strides. But neither Connaughton nor Brown is anything close to a knockdown shooter, what this team needs most from its supporting offensive players. While that distinction certainly applies to Kyle Korver, it's been proven time and again he's just too physically limited to hold up defensively in the playoffs. Donte DiVincenzo, last year's first-round pick, is the swing factor here. Any expectation that he'll force his way into major minutes after an inconsequential rookie campaign marred by injury, though, is setting yourself up for disappointment.
Milwaukee is loaded with viable rotation players up front behind Antetokounmpo, Middleton, and Lopez. Ersan Ilyasova is a favorite of Mike Budenholzer's, but his physical deficiencies on defense rose to the fore the deeper the Bucks went in the playoffs. They would undoubtedly be best served by D.J. Wilson cementing his place in the rotation, a possibility complicated by not just the presence of Ilyasova, but also Robin Lopez, who will try and follow in his brother's footsteps by developing legitimate three-point range more than halfway through his career.
Expectations
It's pretty simple for Milwaukee. The Toronto Raptors won the title last season, but are a different type of defending champion after losing Kawhi Leonard. The Philadelphia 76ers no doubt built basketball's biggest, baddest collection of all-around talent with thwarting Antetokounmpo in mind, but have many questions to answer on both sides of the ball before being considered among a small handful of teams likeliest to play in June.
The East, depending on how the revamped Sixers coalesce, could be the Bucks' for the taking, and nothing less will satisfy a competitor of Antetokounmpo's drive and desire. Milwaukee will again rack up wins with ease during the regular season; its real test will come in the Eastern Conference Finals or with the Larry O'Brien Trophy on the line, just like last season.
Notable Games
10/24 at Houston Rockets – Milwaukee's season-opener will serve as another example for peers across the league as how to best defend James Harden. But with Russell Westbrook in place of Chris Paul, will that strategy prove as effective now as it did last season?
11/6 at LA Clippers – The Bucks' title hopes turned on Nick Nurse siccing Leonard, hobbled by injury, onto Antetokounmpo after the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. Has the reigning MVP made enough progress from a shooting and skill perspective since May to fare far better when matched up one-on-one with the reigning Finals MVP? We'll begin to find out on November 6.
12/25 at Philadelphia 76ers – These teams' battles in 2018-19 were some of the most entertaining regular games in recent memory. Milwaukee and Philadelphia's first meeting comes on Christmas day, the perfect opportunity for either to stake their claim as the best team in the East.
3/6 at Los Angeles Lakers – No pair of contenders are built more differently than the Lakers and Bucks. Will Los Angeles' star power of LeBron James and Anthony Davis trump the all-for-one approach Milwaukee employs around Antetokounmpo?
Projected Record: 61-22
The Bucks won 60 games last season. Purely from a talent perspective, they aren't quite as good now as they were with Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic in the fold. But with a full year of experience playing under Budenholzer and even subtle progress from Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee could beat last season's win total. What that means for its prospects come playoff time, though, will remain to be seen until May.
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