Milwaukee Bucks Roundtable: Expectations for the year ahead

Q3. What do you expect to be the biggest jump the Bucks make this season thanks to Mike Budenholzer and his staff, and the coaching change the franchise made in the offseason?

TK: Offensive production in the halfcourt will be the biggest difference for sure. Spacing and ball movement will be far superior. The pace will be higher as the Bucks will be able to get good looks early in the clock more often. I also expect improved defensive discipline, but on the rebounding side of things I am not that hopeful.

JK: I agree with Theo. I believe I saw somewhere that the Bucks led the league in offensive efficiency during the preseason, much thanks to Bud’s style of ball movement and shooting. After a year or two of working well, Kidd’s ultra-aggressive defensive scheme was figured out by the league and has been atrocious these past few years. Bud generally does not opt for the most conservative defensive scheme either, but it should be an improvement from Kidd’s. I am optimistic that the Bucks’ corner three vulnerability will be mitigated by the scheme as well.

AM: On the defensive side of the ball, I believe there’s a lot of fixing and a lot of teaching required to break the old habits and form new ones, so I’m not holding out hope for a stunning turnaround although I do expect some improvement. I think the sky is the limit offensively, though, and considering how turgid its been in recent years that’s impressive. Offensive talent was never Milwaukee’s issue, but with spacing and fluid ball and player movement, they realy should be among the league’s elite offensive units.

RK: While I do agree that the offense will be stronger than ever with Budenholzer at the helm, I do think that Milwaukee can be a dominant defensive team as the season progresses. Again, it was only preseason play, but there was already improvement shown and that is with players still unfamiliar with the system. There was less scrambling rotations compared to the Jason Kidd era, and Bud seems to be using the length of Milwaukee’s roster in a more sensible way rather than just hoping that a long mess of limbs will cause turnovers (I’m looking at you, Sean Sweeney).

IS: Ball movement. There were some Spurs-esque possessions in preseason, just beautiful passing. A team showing a willingness to pass and displaying the ability to do so fluidly in preseason can be expected to continue in games that count.

BP: Specifically this season, I think the most notable changes will come on the offensive side of the ball, and I think the changes will be pretty widespread. The movement, tempo, and emphasis on three-point attempts alone will create more room for the three stars, which should cause an uptick in their stats and more importantly, their efficiency. There also seems to be more freedom given to the role players, specifically the freedom to shoot it from deep. This should instill more confidence in the rest of the rotation players, especially those that were on the roster for the previous coaching staff.

JT: (tries hand at doing a poor Gary Oldman impression) EVERYTHING! I mean, the list is too long to really pinpoint just one thing, which just speaks to the state of the Bucks all throughout last season under the previous coaching regime. The offense is already humming to midseason form and while it hasn’t been as smooth of an adjustment yet, the Bucks’ defensive potential and the mere possibility of seeing adjustments to the defensive scheme throughout the year gives me plenty of optimism on that front.

All the quotes from the holdover Bucks players throughout the preseason has just been one extended shade factory towards the Jason Kidd era that the change in voice, direction and overall culture has already improved the outlook surrounding the team immensely.

RG: I think on the offensive side of the ball as a whole. Their improvement has already been very clear in how they worked on that side of the ball in pre-season. Their ability to pull away so easily against the Timberwolves in the last game was very impressive, especially after a start that was lackluster. The spacing that will now be provided to Giannis through the new players and scheme will make their offense nearly impossible to stop.