The Milwaukee Bucks are the hottest team in the NBA and are in the midst of a 12-game winning streak heading into the All-Star break. Yet, for some reason, they continue to fly under the radar and, for the most part, remain out of the spotlight in the national media.
This is probably a good thing for the Milwaukee Bucks. All they care about and all they continue to do is win, while at the same time having no drama or controversy surrounding them.
It seems as though the national media, specifically ESPN’s First Take and FOX’s Undisputed with Skip and Shannon, prefer to continue discussing the 13th-place Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns having become the favorite to win the NBA championship after the addition of Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets’ debacle of not winning a championship with their old Big 3, which led to them blowing up the roster. This is all fine and dandy and should be for Bucks fans.
To this day, it seems as though the Bucks still don’t get the recognition they deserve, even though they have the greatest basketball player on the planet in Giannis Antetokounmpo. There is still talk and mention from time to time of how the only reason they won the championship in 2021 was because of the size of Kevin Durant’s shoe.
The national media and public obscurity continue to fuel this narrative. This is both insulting and a slap in the face to all Bucks fans alike.
The fact of the matter is that since coach Mike Budenholzer has taken over as head coach five years ago, not only do the Milwaukee Bucks have the best record in the league overall, but they continue to be one of the most, if not the most, stable franchises in the NBA.
Some may argue that they are long in the tooth, the roster is getting up there in age and the team lacks youth and athleticism. With the ultimate goal of another championship, Bucks fans should not even be concerned about this, even if there is a nominal amount of truth to this to some degree.
The Milwaukee Bucks continue to build, develop and grow their roster the right way…from the ground up and overall in a generic fashion. There is never any drama within the organization or the players, there are no diva’s on the roster and most importantly…no egos!
The Bucks have a 41-17 record and have won 12 straight games heading into the All-Star weekend. With 24 games remaining in the regular season, the break couldn’t come at a better time, especially with the recent right wrist (minor) injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This team is in need of both a mental and physical break from basketball for a week. They need to continue to get healthy and get their bodies right.
A week’s rest for Khris Middleton and his right knee, along with Giannis’ right wrist, is exactly what the doctor ordered. Not only that but the excitement and anticipation of Jae Crowder joining the rotation and contributing to the team’s continued success on both ends of the floor provides a huge boost to them winning their second championship in three years.
Additionally, center Brook Lopez is having his best season in five years with the Bucks and is second in the league in blocked shots per game at 2.44. Second-time All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday is also having a spectacular season by averaging 19.4 points per game and has catapulted to being the best two-way guard in the league.
The bottom line is that the Milwaukee Bucks will never be loved by the national media, nor will they receive the recognition they deserve. They continue to dispel the myth that small market teams cannot continue to maintain a winning environment and atmosphere.
This is just the way Bucks fans should like it. Lack of national media attention has no bearing on winning a championship anyway, which is the ultimate and only goal of every player on the roster, the coaching staff and the front office.