The Buck Stops Here Roundtable #7: 2016-17 Predictions
By Tim Wray
What or who stood out to you as your biggest takeaway from pre-season?
Jordan: I rather focus on the positives than the negatives to save us all time as well as keep up the good feelings for the start of the season, so I’m going with Jabari’s play throughout the preseason. While there wasn’t anything groundbreaking in his performance throughout the preseason, seeing Jabari come out of the gate as a consistent scorer was reaffirming what he had done after the All-Star break last year (Jabari averaged 17.2 points per game in the preseason).
Obviously with Middleton out, there’s more added pressure on Jabari to step in and possibly become the team’s top/go-to scorer this season. If what he did in the preseason is a taste of what’s to come in the regular season, I think that would leave all Bucks fans satisfied with how far he’s come since returning from his injury just a year ago.
Rohan: Jabari Parker easily stood out for me the most during the preseason for the Bucks. Going on stats alone, he led the Bucks in points, rebounds, and minutes per game. Parker clearly looks like he is ready for an enlarged role this season, especially in light of the Khris Middleton injury.
If Jabari can come close to his pre-draft hype of the next Carmelo Anthony type four, Bucks fans should be delighted to see what this kid can do.
Lukas: After signing with the team this offseason, I thought both Matthew Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic looked extremely comfortable with the team during the preseason. Teletovic has absolutely no hesitation on his jump shot as well as being very proficient from behind the arc. As long as Telly stays healthy, his ability to stretch the floor both in transition and in the half court will help Giannis and Jabari attack the basket.
As for Delly, he not only looked sharp from three, but also as a playmaker. He seems to have developed great chemistry with the other players on the team, which allows him to throw alley-oops and dish out for three-pointers with great accuracy.
Tom: The Bucks have some guys that can make three pointers! And maybe, just maybe, Jabari Parker is one of them. Though even if he isn’t, Jabari showed more than enough to keep hopes of a breakout season alive. He looked fantastic! There were worrying offensive lulls in several games and consistency was a bit of an issue on both ends, but that is sort of the nature of the pre-season beast.
Adam: Jordan sort of stole my thunder on this as I’ve talked him to death on the podcast in recent weeks with my burgeoning love for Jabari, but I thought he was great in preseason. Consistency is the key for him moving forward, and although effort and desire have always been there for him, it’s his understanding of the game that at these early glimpses looks to be improving.
I feel Jabari’s no-nonsense, all business demeanor is important for this team. The Bucks have a great mix of personalities in the locker room, and lots of guys who want to win, but I think Jabari has something different. For the most successful, it’s often not the desire to win that drives them, but a fear of losing. Jabari HATES losing, and that leaves me very excited for his future.
Tim: Major Positives – Everything about Jabari. The ease with which Giannis dominated his man on the inside. The impact of Delly’s fluid ball movement and shooting. Teletovic’s willingness to fire from anywhere behind the three-point line. A couple of games with solid contributions from Henson (+7.3 net rating). Novak’s 187.1 offensive rating and +79.8 offensive rating.
Disappointing Negatives – Vaughn shot 15.4% from the field and 11.1% from deep (although he only played two games due to injury). Monroe’s missed lay-ups. Beasley’s shot selection is as bad as advertised. Plumlee did not look anything like the 2015-16 PlumLord. Thon averaged under 15 minutes per game.