Milwaukee Bucks Roundtable: Ready for the 2019-20 season to begin
By Adam McGee
2. What are you most excited about ahead of the start of the Bucks’ regular season campaign?
BS: I’m pumped to see guys like D.J. Wilson and Donte DiVincenzo hopefully have breakout years. With how our roster is set up, we are one injury away at the PF or PG position from disaster. Donte and D.J. can play cover for both positions and I personally see them both having “most improved” calibre season. P.S. Seeing Giannis go back-to-back for MVP also excites the hell out of me!
DL: I’m excited to see how this team responds to what happened in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Milwaukee was a historically great team by several metrics, but came up just short of their ultimate goal. If it wasn’t for an all-time performance from Kawhi Leonard, and, of course, Fred VanVleet in games four through six, Milwaukee may have very well won the title. They’ve pretty much kept that team in tact (minus Malcolm Brogdon) and added a bit around the edges of the roster this summer. If they’re the great team many of us think they are, their loss in May will be what helps catapult them to a title next June.
RD: I am most excited to see the role of our bench, as well as the improved three-point shooting plan. I think that last season being our first season with Budenholzer showed only a glimpse of what this team can do. I love the fact that the Bucks added a few more three-point shooters to aid Giannis and give him the ability to drive down the lane and kick out to an open player. I also love the addition of Kyle Korver, and the fact that Giannis really is taking advantage of any tips Korver can give him to improve his own three-point shot. I’m also excited to see some of the young guys and how they can make a name for themselves on a dominant roster.
LB: Depth. Depth. Depth. Many of this team’s key contributors logged heavy playoff minutes and then had a pretty quick turnaround to FIBA action. That can add up quick! I would expect a few more scheduled rest days for guys and I’m curious who out of Sterling, D.J., or DiVincenzo will step up. Can this team sustain long term injury concerns from Bled or Khris? We’re about to find out very shortly.
BO: I’m most excited to watch Giannis continue his domination of the NBA. Let’s be honest, that’s what everyone’s really excited about. He is an absolute beast unlike anyone else who’s ever played the game. Everything else is secondary to me. We need to enjoy every second he wears that Milwaukee Bucks jersey. But if I had to choose something else, it would be the Lopez twins. They’re going to provide a great dynamic that is sure to bring us lots of laughs. I look forward to them battling for the better three-point celebration and three-point percentage. (hot take: Robin will win both)
JC: I think the most exciting thing this season will be watching the team be really successful on the national stage, and being in the limelight of the national media. As Bucks fans, I think it is easy to say that this franchise has been much forgotten, painted as the underdog, or as a tanking franchise. This might be the first real season going in that everyone has a strong belief that this team is Finals caliber, and they aren’t wrong!
Also for some odd reason, I always love watching the bench and role players play. It’s always fun watching the non-starters trying to earn minutes and finding roles within the team. Last year with all of the blowouts, a lot of opportunities existed on that front. There’s a lot of unknowns in terms of which group will contribute off the bench, and that could be a lot of fun to watch with a lot of surprises.
JT: I don’t know if I can highlight any one thing that I’m excited for going into this Bucks season. That might honestly be a reflection of just how good this team projects to be after such a wonderful season last year. Even with all the added pressure and the bright spotlight that will hang over the team all throughout the year, in ways we’ve never seen associated with the Bucks before or potentially in the future, I don’t see this year’s squad dropping back or resting on their laurels, given how their playoff run ended against the eventual NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors. Let’s just hope we see a better outcome by season’s end.
AM: I’ve got Kyle Korver fever. As many of you likely know by now, my formative years taking in the NBA were spent watching the Atlanta Hawks. One of the high points of that experience came in watching Korver shoot the lights out every night, with Coach Bud drawing up plays for him on the sideline. He may be 37, but that shot remains as pure as ever, and I’m extremely confident that he’s going to be a game-changer for the Bucks this season. Korver is capable of turning a game on its head like few other players in the league, as Bucks fans already got a taste of in his preseason outburst against the Jazz. Pairing him with Giannis, and having that duo learn each other’s games, should make for incredible entertainment.