The Milwaukee Bucks sport the best overall record in the NBA. At 57-22, this has been the second-highest win total in the Mike Budenholzer era since his first season at the helm where Milwaukee went 60-22 in the regular season before bowing out in the Eastern Conference Finals against Toronto Raptors in six games.
I bring that up because the difference between Budenholzer 2018 team and this year’s team is night and day. For instance, In 2018, Milwaukee added Brook Lopez, Ersan Ilyasova, and Pat Connaughton. Two impact guys who are currently on the Bucks roster today and a guy in Ilyasova who had a penchant for shooting, rebounding, and drawing charges.
For trades in 2018, Milwaukee added George Hill, Nikola Mirotic, and if you can remember, Pau Gasol in the buyout market. Looking at this 2018 team, they were three impact guys (Hill, Lopez, and Connaughton.) Those were considered good under-the-radar moves for Milwaukee and General Manager Jon Horst.
The moves made in 2018 were good, but they don’t hold a candle to what Jon Horst did in the 2022-2023 season regarding free-agent signings. So, here are three roster moves that are paying off for the Bucks this season.
3 Roster moves that are paying for the Milwaukee Bucks: Signing Joe Ingles
This has been one of the more underrated signings for the Bucks this season.
Ingles is averaging seven points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 44 games this season.
Coming off an ACL injury, the main question was how Ingles was going to look once he came back, but he has exceeded expectations and has been one of the reasons why Milwaukee has gone back to being a dominant regular season team.
What Milwaukee was missing last year was another guy who could run the offense. George Hill had missed time with injuries, so Milwaukee didn’t have another guy. This year, they have shored up that spot with Ingles because he can initiate the offense, and he’s a wizard with the basketball.
Ingles can hit the corner three, but watch how he sets up his teammates. It’s something not a lot of people notice, but it’s one of the more underrated aspects of his game.
Another underrated aspect is Ingles’ intensity on the court. Now look, every player on the court is intense or has that competitive fire, but Ingles has proven himself to be a willing trash-talker and a guy who will mix it up with some of the NBA’s best players.
Every championship-level team needs players like Bobby Portis, Jae Crowder, Ingles, and even Brook Lopez, who can be thrown into the mix guys who won’t back down from a potential altercation.