Milwaukee Bucks: 5 biggest questions heading into the 2019-20 season
Can they be better than last year’s squad?
Ah, the big question that all Bucks fans will be asking throughout the season.
Surpassing 60 wins, getting the first seed in the East, being an elite unit on both ends of the floor and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Bucks did throughout last year, is a tough proposition to top, regardless of the surroundings they find themselves in with a weakened Eastern Conference.
Even for a team that made meaningful free agent additions that has their collective depth arguably looking better than it did at any point last season, the Bucks’ starting lineup did take a hit with the loss of Brogdon. With that said, this is still a Bucks team led by a 24-year-old superstar reaching the peak of his powers in Antetokounmpo, and all of the key supporting cast pieces such as Bledsoe, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez could shine even brighter by being emboldened with another year under Budenholzer and Co.
Reading too much into the Bucks’ preseason play can easily be foolish, but many of the same storylines and flashes that appeared this time last year held true over the last couple of weeks and there’s just a certain expectation that can be made of the Bucks if they’re at full strength.
Ultimately, defining how this Bucks team can be better than last year’s version can have a few different interpretations. It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the Bucks fall short of another 60-win season, yet reach the NBA Finals, something that all Bucks fans would easily trade off, I’d say. The inverse of that would be less welcome for Bucks fans, given what’s at stake with their long-term future.
We’ll find out all of the answers to these questions and more this season, and it will all start out Thursday night when they face off against the new-look Houston Rockets.