Behind the Bucks Pass
Fansided

Milwaukee Bucks: The NBA’s new scheduling is great for Milwaukee

By Ti Windisch

MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 27: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks warms up before Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Toronto Raptors during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center on April 27, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images))
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 27: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks warms up before Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Toronto Raptors during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center on April 27, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Every NBA team seems to like the new scheduling methods used for the 2017-18 regular season, but the Milwaukee Bucks should benefit more than most.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver previously being somewhat vague about dealing with the problem of NBA teams resting players during big games makes sense, now, as the new schedule for the 2017-18 regular season cuts back on back-to-backs and long road trips, and completely eliminates stretches of four games in five nights.

That’s good for the Milwaukee Bucks, as it is good for every NBA team. In addition to their players likely being more rested throughout the season and thus the teams playing better, the league should be stronger with less DNP-rests throughout the season, especially those high-profile ones that took place during nationally-televised games in the past.

The Bucks, and other teams like the Bucks, benefit more than some other franchises do, at least in terms of actual on-the-court basketball stuff. Milwaukee has one star player: Giannis Antetokounmpo.

More from Bucks News

Jabari Parker is a rising star, but he won’t play for at least half the season and he’s not in the same stratosphere Giannis is in right now. Khris Middleton is quite good, and he might become an All-Star, but again, he’s not in top-ten discussions like his lanky, Greek teammate is.

Although the plus-minus numbers didn’t necessarily bear it out very strongly in the regular season, I’m willing to go out on a limb here and say the Bucks are better off when Giannis is playing for them. A wildly hot take, but indulge it for now.

Without Jabari for the first half of the season, Milwaukee becomes very thin in any games the team would have to play without Giannis. The team’s forward depth is lacking, and more importantly all of a sudden Khris Middleton is forced to carry a team, which is not an ideal situation for a franchise hoping to vault to the top of their conference in the very near future.

Teams with more than one star–your Golden State Warriorses, your Cleveland Cavalierses, your Houston Rocketses–can afford to sit one of them more than the Bucks can. The Warriors survived without Kevin Durant for a significant stretch last year because they had Stephen Curry to step in.

More from Behind the Buck Pass

The Rockets now have both Chris Paul and James Harden in the fold–if one is hurt or needs to sit out, the other could step in and at least kept the ship righted. The Cavaliers have Kyrie Irving (for now!) and Kevin Love around, although Cleveland tends to sit everybody at once because the team doesn’t win much without LeBron James active. Still, the Cavs could trot out two All-Stars even if LeBron is not playing on a give night.

Anyway, the point is this: with a schedule designed to cut back on both wear-and-tear injuries and the need for sitting players out to rest, teams with fewer stars are lightly to gain slightly more than their loaded counterparts. The Oklahoma City Thunder could afford to play for a little while without Paul George or Russell Westbrook–the Bucks cannot afford Giannis-less basketball.

Next: 5 must-see Bucks games next season

Milwaukee was 0-2 without Giannis last season. The sample size there is small enough for it to be insignificant, but also still somehow fitting. Hopefully the Greek Freak only has to take another game or two off this year, and he can spend the other 80 making the Milwaukee Bucks the best team they can be.

Home/Bucks News