Milwaukee Bucks 2014-15 Season Review: Jared Dudley

Apr 23, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jared Dudley (9) during game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Chicago Bulls at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 113-106. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Overview

Every team needs a Jared Dudley. I’m not sure the Bucks even fully understood that at the start of the season, but it sure did prove to be true.

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To a young team that started the season without any true identity, Dudley as one of the locker room’s true veterans played a larger role than most in helping the Bucks to find out what they are.

For those who have long been familiar with Dudley’s personality and style of play, it’s not hard to recognize that that identity mirrors the 29-year-old’s own in a whole host of ways.

It was Dudley who coined the nickname of the “Milwaukee Grinders” for the team, and because it was him it didn’t feel forced in any way.

Dudley is about as game as they come in the NBA, and at some stage this season he has probably played in each one of the five positions on the court for the Bucks. He always does so with aplomb too. At 6″7′, being asked to play power forward would daunt some players, but Dudley stepped right up and didn’t give an inch whenever he was required to do so.

Dudley became the voice of the Bucks, “because they didn’t have anyone” as he would explain to Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The reality is that they probably couldn’t have had anyone better to fill that role.

Let’s get into the nitty gritty of Jared Dudley’s first season as a Buck.

Next: Strengths