For years now, the Milwaukee Bucks have been one of the oldest, if not the oldest, teams in the NBA. However, with an offseason focus on retooling the roster around youth, this team has an opportunity to play much faster every single trip down the floor, something that hasn't happened much. One NBA analyst thinks it could be the key to helping them get back to their winning ways.
Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor had this to say on the recent episode of The Kevin O'Connor Show:
"If they play fast, I think this team can be really good. It wouldn't shock me necessarily if they're a true contender in the East. Not to beat a Western Conference team necessarily, but to actually make a Finals. I wouldn't rule that out for the Bucks."
Bucks need to play quicker with remodeled roster
Playing faster doesn't simply guarantee success, although the OKC Thunder and Indiana Pacers, who faced off in an action-packed NBA Finals, ranked top seven in pace during the regular season and top three in the playoffs. With the league becoming dominated by young, full of life players who can race up and down the floor in a hurry, it only makes sense that the Milwaukee Bucks got with the times.
Last season, the Bucks ranked 14th in regular season pace. The year before that, they were eighth. Tenth the year before that. Those are significant drop-offs compared to when they were second in 2020-21 and third in 2021-22. Uncoincidentally, those were the last two years that the Bucks not only won a playoff series, but they also won a title. It's time to get back to that pace.
What's been the issue? Aging certainly hasn't helped. Players like Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez got older, unable to get up and down the court like they used to. Older veterans like Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder didn't help the issue. Simply, the Bucks were living and dying with veterans who weren't who they used to be, and it held the team back from a pace standpoint.
Players had a free lane to the rim on a breakaway because the Milwaukee Bucks' transition defense was so lacking. No one got back because they simply couldn't. On the other end, one could argue that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the team's only legitimate transition threat. Those are two things that can't hold true in today's NBA.
Thankfully, the Milwaukee Bucks understood this and revolved their entire offseason philosophy on getting younger, faster, and more athletic. With Taurean Prince being the oldest player at just 31, the Bucks now have a plethora of talented young players who can help this team move up and down the court much closer to how they did in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Rather than just Giannis getting out in transition, he has players like Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins who can also get to the hoop, while Gary Trent Jr. and AJ Green can wait on the perimeter for triple tries. On the other side of things, they can run the floor to make sure there are no easy looks given to opponents looking to cash out offensively.
Again, none of this guarantees success, but it gives them a better shot than they've had recently. Milwaukee's youth movement is well underway.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.