Milwaukee Bucks: Predicting 2019-20 season stat leaders
By Adam McGee
Assists
I promise variety is coming soon in terms of some of the names making these lists, but this is another where the Bucks’ Big 3 look set to dominate. Having said that, from a team perspective that’s by no means a bad thing, as the Bucks’ assist distribution points to one of the team’s most important traits.
Antetokounmpo, Bledsoe, and Middleton were clustered quite closely together in terms of assist numbers last season, which was indicative of the Bucks’ comfort in having different players set up offense, making plays, and generally just allowing the ball to move. This year, it wouldn’t shock me to see an even more even spread where all three average between 5-6 assists per game.
3rd: Khris Middleton
Middleton is the obvious choice for third in this department, but when all is said and done he may not be that far off leading the Bucks in assists at the end of the season. Playmaking has been an area of notable but quiet improvement for Middleton, as his assist numbers have backed up over the past two seasons.
Again to point to the World Cup, in a much more limited role overall, Middleton was often tasked with initiating offense and showed plenty of encouraging signs. In a more familiar setting with the Bucks, he should be able to set a new career-high in that department this year.
2nd: Giannis Antetokounmpo
This isn’t an attempt to definitively suggest that Giannis won’t be the Bucks’ assist leader this season, particularly as if he wants to hold that title, well then he likely will. It’s on that front that an interesting question arises, though. Should Giannis want to lead the Bucks in assists and is that even best for them?
My feeling is that this year Antetokounmpo will look to challenge himself a little bit more as a scorer, in part to prepare for what he now knows will come down the line in the playoffs. My guess is that an uptick in his scoring could lead to the slightest step back in his assists total. It’s not going to be anything major, as Giannis will still see countless double teams and be smart enough to know when to pass out of them. But if he’s looking to use the regular season to further refine his skills, I’m not sure this is an area that needs to be at the very top of his agenda, contrary to what seems to be the current group think coming from the Klutch Sports echo chamber.
1st: Eric Bledsoe
Speaking of Klutch, I’m tabbing Bledsoe to lead the Bucks in assists per game due to a slight shift in the emphasis of his game rather than any meaningful drop-off from Giannis. As I alluded to in talking about his scoring, I’m expecting a somewhat more pared back version of Bledsoe this regular season.
That’s not to suggest Bledsoe won’t have any of the wildcard bursts that often elevate him to a different level when he’s at his best, but I really believe he could emerge as a slightly more diligent and cerebral playmaker this year. Bledsoe needs to take occasional threes to keep defenses honest, but his best for the Bucks will still come from lockdown defense, attacking the rim, and setting up teammates. I’m betting on just a little bit more of the latter this season.