Fear the Deer?
Going into the bubble the Milwaukee Bucks were the best team in the NBA and also had the best defense in the league. The Bucks are 1st in scoring and 1st in rebounding. Since entering the bubble the Bucks are 2-4 but this doesn’t reflect how much they’ve dominated the league this year behind last season’s MVP and this season’s MVP Finalist Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis aka the Greek Freak has been scoring more points than last year despite playing less minutes. The Bucks have a stellar starting 5 of Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Wesley Matthews, and Brook Lopez. Both the Greek Freak and Khris Middleton were all-stars this season. The bench also features career snipers Kyle Korver and George Hill along with NBA veteran Marvin Williams, and the other Lopez twin Robin.
Unfortunately for the Bucks being the number 1 overall team in the NBA this season doesn’t mean that they’ll have home-court advantage through out the NBA Playoffs. This year the Bucks will have to prove that they truly can defeat anyone anywhere. The Greek Freak leads the Bucks in scoring and rebounding with averages of 29.8 and 13.7 respectively. He also leads the team in assists with 5.7 per game. Khris Middleton contributes a solid 21 point per game. Whether PG Eric Bledsoe emerges as the Bucks consistent third scorer in the NBA Playoffs could be the make or break for the Bucks season. Bledsoe is currently averaging 15 pts a game. Middleton, Hill, and Korver are all shooting better than 40% from 3 point land this season and that’s part of what makes these Bucks so deadly. When the double team comes for Giannis, he has these snipers to kick the ball out to. On the inside Brook Lopez is also very skilled and has an array of moves he utilizes to get buckets. The Bucks lead the league in scoring with a whopping 118.7 points per game average. Defensively, the Bucks grab 77.6% of the defensive rebounds, are 3rd in blocks, and have a points differential above 10.
Ultimately, how good the Bucks will continue to be and will be in the future rests on the broad shoulders of the Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo. He is the heart and soul of this team. The Bucks begin and end with him. So far he’s done a great job and should win his second straight MVP. Giannis, along with Khris Middleton, and Eric Bledsoe will definitely be looking to get some things done this post season. If the Bucks can stay healthy and can get back to playing the type of defense that they’ve been playing all season, this is going to be a hard team to knock out. The Bucks at full strength have proven that they are as good as any other team in this league.
It’s time to fear the deer because once this team gets it going there’s virtually nothing that can stop them.