Milwaukee Bucks Roundtable: Regular season return

Either as a starter or off the bench, which Bucks player do you expect to surprise this season by being more important than anticipated?

Sewell: Mirza Teletovic has had a big offseason from all reports and his shooting can be of great importance to the Bucks this coming season. He averaged 12 points per game while shooting almost 40 percent from three in his last season in Phoenix. Something similar this season could be the difference for Milwaukee.

Joe Sliwinski (@jay_winski): Not sure this qualifies as a surprise player, but I am going to say Khris Middleton steps up huge this year. He only had 29 regular season games and six playoff games last season after coming back from his torn hamstring.  He now has had a full offseason to get back to his old self, and with teams daring Giannis to shoot jumpers and doubling down on his drives, that is going to leave Middleton (and others) with kick-outs, knock down jump shots, and increased playmaking opportunities.

Middleton will also have more of an impact on the defensive side of the ball. With Giannis getting in foul trouble so much last year, Middleton should be able to take some of that off of him by guarding the best player from time to time so that Giannis can conserve energy for offense.

McGee: I’m buying into the bounce-back year. I believe and expect that both Mirza Teletovic and Matthew Dellavedova will come back stronger this year, and if they can both provide positive contributions it would completely transform the quality of Milwaukee’s depth.

Bossetti: Thon Maker continues his improvement from last season and is a consistent starter and defensive presence by year end.

Katti: Even though his name has been recently floated in trade rumors, I can see how Rashad Vaughn could have a big year for the Bucks. Maybe this is the year he finally finds his confidence to play in the NBA.

The past three summers Vaughn has shown he is capable of being a good role player in Summer League, so maybe he just needs to be hypnotized into thinking every game is in Las Vegas. The Bucks would love to have him become a deadly scorer, and he could be that this season.

Treske: This should come as no surprise for anyone who has followed the site for at least the last year or so, but I have to go with Mirza Teletovic.

Last year obviously didn’t go as planned, but with that now in the past, we saw some encouraging signs in Mirza’s effectiveness shooting the ball when he got some run on the floor. And as I will continue to shout from any high vantage point, cliff or canyon of some grand size, Mirza has a history of rebounding in a big way after experiencing a poor shooting season (just go to his Basketball-Reference page and behold all the glory, people).

Needless to say, I’m all in on the Mirza-ssance (it’s a working title) and all Bucks fans should be too.

Wray: Predictably, much like Adam, after underwhelming first years with the Bucks, I’m desperately hoping for much improved performances from Matthew Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic.

For Delly, it can’t be understated just how much his first full summer of rest, without a run to the NBA Finals or Australian national team commitments significantly shortening his offseason, should help lift his performance for the Bucks. Of course, this is in addition to the benefits of a full year to acclimate with the team, and conceivably using him more off-ball next to Giannis.

As for Telly, it’s no secret that he loves a bounce-back season. With the positive impact of his LASIK surgery already evident in the preseason and focus on practising the types of three-point looks he gets with the team, I wouldn’t be surprised if #MountMirza is active and he reignites the flamethrower.

Added contributions from key role players like Dellavedova and Teletovic could be a difference maker for the Bucks down the line this season.