Last season: 51-31 (lost in the second round); third in offense, 14th in defenseKey additions: SF Joe InglesKey subtractions: SF Rayjon TuckerDraft picks: PF MarJon Beauchamp (24th), SG Hugo Besson (58th)
Man, the Milwaukee Bucks are a weird team. Most good teams are unusual in some respect, but Milwaukee seems to be its own special case.
Try wrapping your head around both of these ideas at the same time: First, this team has obvious championship equity derived from its superstar centerpiece and two surrounding All-Stars; and second, this team is unable to run more than a crude half-court offense, has limited athleticism across the roster (albeit with one giant, glaring exception) and spends most or all of every game in a drop coverage with two bigs on the floor, surrendering hailstorms of opponent 3-point attempts in the process.
This is what a championship-caliber team looks like in the modern spread pick-and-roll, switch-everything era? Actually, yes. Obviously, it helps to have Giannis Antetokounmpo. The core piece of the Bucks’ weirdness is one of the most unusual players in NBA history, a non-shooting, giant point guard who will dunk on your head if you don’t have a 6-foot-8 Dwayne Johnson clone to match. up against him and also commit more or less the entire help side to pitching in and building a wall.
That was too much for them
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