Behind the Bucks Pass
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Milwaukee Bucks Roundtable: Reflecting on the streak

By Adam McGee

MILWAUKEE, WI - DECEMBER 11: Milwaukee Bucks huddles up before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on December 11, 2019 at the Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images).
MILWAUKEE, WI - DECEMBER 11: Milwaukee Bucks huddles up before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on December 11, 2019 at the Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images). /
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DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 4: (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 4: (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) /

We’re over one-third of the way through the 2019-20 season and the Bucks have compiled their greatest start in franchise history, even better than the 1970-71 championship-winning team. That begs the question are we seeing the second-best Bucks squad in the team’s history?

DL: It’s certainly possible that they could be the second best team in team history, but it’s still too early to say that definitively.

For the Bucks to prove that they’re a top two team in team history, they’ll have to continue their dominance throughout the remainder of the regular season, and prove themselves in the NBA playoffs this coming spring. Regular season runs like this are extremely rare, and highly suggestive of a team that is more than capable of winning the title. However, the Bucks need to demonstrate they can do this in April, May, and June if they’re truly going to approach or exceed their 1970-71 season. Their playoff performance is what’s ultimately going to define how we remember this team.

JT: We obviously won’t know the answer to this question until the Bucks are (hopefully) able to secure a potential second NBA title when all is said and done. But there’s certainly an argument that this Bucks team has the chance to go down as the second-best team in franchise history, especially with reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo elevating his play to yet another level.

And as Dan said, the ultimate test will come in a few months time when the postseason rolls around and the Bucks look to avenge their shortcomings from last season’s Eastern Conference Finals collapse. And that’s where the crux of any concerns that fans and followers have regarding the Bucks’ talent and depth lies.

BO: Although the stats might consider this team one of the best in Bucks history and NBA history, I can’t say that until we see it in the playoffs. I fully expect the Bucks to continue their dominant play throughout the regular season, but if they can’t go further in the playoffs this year then I can’t even say they’re better than last year’s team, much less the 1970-71 championship team.

Personally, I believe last year’s team was more talented and had a higher upside. This year’s team is just deeper, so the regular season should be easier. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s more important, talent or depth, come playoff time.

BR: A third of the way through the season is far too early to call any team anything definitively. The regular season is too long and teams are ever-changing as the year progresses. However, this Bucks team seems as inevitable as they come. It’s insane how drastically Mike Budenholzer has raised the floor of this team in such a short period of time. Now, all that’s left to prove is their ceiling, which can’t be done until the postseason. If this team matches or surpasses its 60-win total from last year and makes it to the Finals, I think it could certainly make a case for the second-best Bucks team of all time.

AM: The 1973-74 Bucks should hold that title at present as one of just two teams the franchise has ever had that progressed all the way to the Finals. They lost in seven games, and should really have won it all. Even if the Bucks go on to win 70 games this regular season, it will take getting to the Finals, and performing when they get there, to enter into that conversation.

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