By a small sliver, the Milwaukee Bucks are projected to have the best record for the 2020-21 NBA season, according to ESPN’s RPM projections.
With less than three weeks away to the start of the 2020-21 season, the excitement surrounding this Milwaukee Bucks season is starting to ramp up.
The new-look Bucks are set to open training camp this Sunday with everyone in the fold, even as some major questions still remain unresolved. And with that, the Bucks are set to contend for next season’s NBA title and be near the top of the league as they have been for the last two years.
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As ESPN’s Kevin Pelton ($$) detailed in his annual season preview that uses RPM to project the records of all 30 teams, the Bucks are projected to have the best record for the 2020-21 season at 44.5 wins, which has been adjusted for the 72-game campaign as well.
That mark comes ever so slightly higher than the reigning NBA champs, the Los Angeles Lakers’ 44.3 projected wins that tops the Western Conference, which Pelton noted was decided by the difference of schedules the respective teams will have.
Explaining the rationale behind the Bucks’ 44.5 projected wins, Pelton noted that the blockbuster addition of Jrue Holiday may make up the some of the depth losses they experienced over the offseason. Certainly all Bucks fans will be hoping that is the case when the Bucks’ season tips off.
While the Milwaukee Bucks may project to have the best record for the 2020-21 season, the season will be anything but predictable.
ESPN’s RPM projections may favor nicely to what the Bucks have built going into this coming season, but it certainly can’t prepare for the unique challenges that will occur over the year.
For a Bucks team that changed over their roster significantly over the last few weeks, getting up to speed and integrating all of their new additions, with Jrue Holiday leading the way in that regard, will be a challenge they have rarely faced in the Mike Budenholzer era.
But by far the biggest obstacle hanging over the Bucks and the other 29 NBA teams is avoiding positive COVID-19 cases. Needless to say, the Bucks are a long way away from the bubble and we’re already seeing a couple of unnamed players from the Golden State Warriors deal with positive cases that has delayed the start of their training camp.
The looming threat of injuries surfacing, especially after such a short runway from the end of the 2019-20 season, and the inevitability of positive cases are an uncomfortable reality that all teams will have to live with. It’ll come down to the most disciplined teams on and off the court to be able to fend off the many challenges that hang over the 2020-21 season.
Whether the Bucks will be among those that can cleanly navigate through this strange season is the biggest question, but it certainly doesn’t dull what will be a truly exciting season.