Questions are good; they beg for answers. The Milwaukee Bucks have some question marks.
Every NBA team has questions and holes to fill. With the NBA regular season now two-thirds over, we have data sets and game statistics to project future performance from the 2023-2024 NBA season into the upcoming 2024 NBA playoffs.
Looking at all of the data and analytics, it is clear the Milwaukee Bucks are a good basketball team capable of going deep in the playoffs. If the team can keep its health and continue to play the defense they have been playing (flirted recently with a top eight defensive team efficiency rating) they can be a team that expects to move to the second round of the NBA Playoffs and beyond.
It helps to have two superstars: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
It also helps to have questions that have possible answers.
But as we look more at the qualitative data, the heart and feel of this team, what is one broader question each player has to answer? Let’s look a little closer and attempt to ask the right questions.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Can Giannis Antetokounmpo's health hold up?
For most of the season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has clung to third place on the weekly MVP trackers, and many could make the case that he should be higher.
The only thing that seems to be able to stop Giannis of late is Giannis himself.
Something that comes up quite a bit is that Giannis is still relatively “new” to basketball. He started playing when he was 13. He was 18 when he made his NBA debut. His past and all the hard work it took for him and his family to simply survive have been well chronicled.
That bodes well for healthy outcomes for Milwaukee as a franchise looking to win.
The league-wide perception is that Giannis never takes off any plays or that he never gives less than 110 percent. That seems remarkably true. The only thing that seemed to stop him in the first half of the season was his hamstring soreness and load management. His downhill, attack-the-basket playing-style might not hold up over a twenty-year career. But that seems like a “future Bucks fan problem,” not something anyone is worried about now.
However, he's had moments in the NBA playoffs where Bucks fans cringe. If Giannis goes down, does this team even have a realistic chance?
Khris Middleton
Can Khris Middleton score consistently from three?
Khris Middleton is the engine that makes the Bucks go, but he simply has not been able to play enough because of injuries. The injury question is too obvious for Middleton. Honestly, at this point in his career, the “injury” issue may feel like a constant. The more obvious question is ”What type of performance can we expect?”
Middleton offers so much to this team. He can shoot the three and is great at creating his own shot.
But when the playoffs roll around, can Middleton make and hit threes?
If he is not able to take pressure off Giannis and Lillard, the Bucks may not have the playoff run the franchise and its fans are hoping for.
Brook Lopez
How is Brook Lopez's back holding up?
Lopez isn’t getting any younger, but he has really been a true beacon for this Milwaukee Bucks team.
Brook Lopez is playing well. After missing so much time two years ago with a back injury, Lopez really looks “right.”
He is a rim protector. He is a shot blocker. He is also a little older. If Lopez can continue to stay healthy for the Bucks, that could be an omen for a strong playoff run ahead.