Milwaukee Bucks: Predicting 2019-20 season stat leaders

Rebounds

The Bucks dominated the glass last season, leading the league in rebounds per game, ranking second in defensive rebounding percentage, and fifth in total rebounding percentage.

Based on the players that have returned from last year’s team, along with the new additions this offseason, particularly box-out artist Robin Lopez, all signs would point to the Bucks potentially improving even further in that category. How would that look individually, though?

3rd: Khris Middleton

Middleton was quite clearly the Bucks’ second best rebounder last season, setting a new career-high in averaging 6.0 boards per game. I’m not entirely convinced that he’ll repeat at quite the same level, but given his size and his occasional spells at the 4 in small lineups, he’ll undoubtedly remain one of Milwaukee’s best rebounders.

Above all else, Middleton is one of a small number of players for whom it’s in the team’s interest for them to grab the rebound. Part of what makes the Lopez brothers’ ability to box out so valuable is that it allows teammates who are better equipped to carry the ball up court and make something happen to do so instantly, therefore upping the number of transition scoring opportunities.

2nd: Eric Bledsoe

Expanding upon that idea, I can see Bledsoe potentially overtaking Middleton in rebounds this season, and given their skills that may well make more sense for the Bucks. Bledsoe has always been a good rebounder for his size, but there’s real potential for him to emerge as one of the Bucks’ best in that category this year.

Picking the 6’1″ guard in this category may be a little out of the left field, but it’s a byproduct of the Bucks’ approach to team rebounding and how it often means the centers aren’t coming down with the ball themselves. Bledsoe has the athletic tools to grab and go in a fashion reminiscent of Russell Westbrook, and he’d be much better utilized as the player pushing the ball off the rebound, trying to blow by a defender to the rim, or finding Khris Middleton for a transition three, than Middleton is when the roles are reversed. Bledsoe as a rebounder is something the Bucks should actively look to use to their advantage.

1st: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Of course, no Buck is better as a one-man fastbreak/human wrecking ball than Giannis Antetokounmpo. The combination of Giannis’ size, strength, determination and nose for the ball all make him Milwaukee’s best rebounder, and that’s only further accentuated when Brook is clearing space for him to secure the board.

It’s in Giannis’ nature to dominate the glass, but it’s also in Milwaukee’s interest for him to be the rebound recipient giving the wide variety of options his skill opens up from there. Giannis’ defense will help him to clean up with gaudy rebound totals, while his offensive abilities ensure that can be an ideal starting point from which the Bucks can attack moving down the other end of the floor.