Milwaukee Bucks: An ongoing case of missing identity
By Adam McGee
Q.3 – Considering the current roster and performance levels, which NBA team past or present do you think the Bucks should be looking to emulate in the next stage of their development?
If the Bucks are failing to live up to expectations and hoping to take significant strides in the future, the obvious next question has to be what’s the template they should follow?
Much has been talked throughout the process of the Bucks’ current development of similarities with other NBA teams. Out of teams past and present, which teams should be held as the gold standard for Milwaukee’s next few years?
While it goes without saying that teams like the current crop of Golden State Warriors and LeBron James‘ Miami Heat team reliably received plenty of support, the overwhelming responses suggested a different kind of team.
The Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs were the most popular suggestion of non-current NBA teams with 16 percent of voters selecting them, with notes being made about their consistency and longevity. For a team as wildly inconsistent as the Bucks are presently, and as a franchise undergoing a lengthy drought in terms of meaningful success, it’s no surprise that the Spurs hold a special appeal.
The kind of team-based system implemented in San Antonio seemed to get an even greater endorsement through some of the league’s best two-way teams at present. The most popular response overall was the current Toronto Raptors who earned 17 percent of the vote, while their Eastern Conference rival Boston Celtics picked up 12 percent.
While both of those teams contain incredibly talented rosters, building a roster with that level of ability shouldn’t be viewed as unattainable, particularly from a starting point that includes Antetokounmpo. Both the Raptors and Celtics are well-coached, highly competent on both ends of the floor and capable of overcoming any individual limitations with a strong collective effort in a well-defined system.
The Raptors, specifically, are even more interesting when considering how they’ve adjusted their approach from the end of last season to where it is now. Toronto built a more modern offense and retooled their defense over the span of a summer, leading them to being a top-five team on both ends of the floor.
Bucks fans seem to be hoping for a more team-focused approach that can be refined to maximize performance levels on both ends, and if the Bucks could do so with the speed of Toronto’s next step that would be even better again.