Before the beginning of the season, the bar was set low for the Milwaukee Bucks.They were expected to struggle in the standings with an improved Central Division holding Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Paul George and the Indiana Pacers, and Dwayne Wade and the Chicago Bulls. Proven stars with track records of success.
Factor in the major injuries the Bucks would face throughout the year with two out of three of their core players, Khris Middleton (torn hamstring) and Jabari Parker (torn ACL) experiencing long-term injuries. Anyone would assume the Bucks would be having a terrible season.
Not the Milwaukee Bucks. The emergence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the steady play of rookies Malcolm Brogdon and Thon Maker and a revamped roster has led to a resurgence of Bucks basketball.
The following are the reasons it’s FINALLY time to get excited for Milwaukee Bucks basketball:
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo aka the “Greek Freak”
You can’t mention the Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo coming to mind first. His list of accomplishments this season have been spectacular. He has led the Bucks into the heart of playoff basketball in the Eastern Conference. He is the only player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He’s the first Bucks All Star since Michael Redd (2004) and the first starter since Sidney Moncrief (1986). He also is in the running for the Most Improved Player (MIP) award for his stat jumps from 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks up to 23.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.9 blocks… Did I mention he JUST turned 22? Giannis is going to be making the Bucks good for a very long time.
2. Playoff Push
As stated above, the bar was set low for the Milwaukee Bucks. They’ve shattered those low expectations. They have already eclipsed last year’s win total of 33 by 7 games with their record currently at 40-36. They have also won 8 out of their last 10 games and they’ve won the most games in a calendar month (14) since 1971. The team is hitting their stride at the right time. If this surge is any indication, the Bucks are FINALLY ready to make some noise by making the playoffs and they look like a major threat.
3. New Arena
In case you haven’t been in downtown Milwaukee in the past year, there has been a lot of construction happening. The Bucks and several local businesses are fully invested into building a new multi-million-dollar entertainment district in downtown Milwaukee with the Bucks new arena being the crown. I know what you’re thinking, “Why should I be getting excited about this?”. To answer that question this new arena will be built in a “intimate bowl design” to allow for more fans to get and feel closer to the action. No more lack of oxygen if you’re sitting towards the top. Rumor has it that the NBA is looking how construction goes to potentially decide if the Bucks host a future All Star festival once the arena and entertainment districts are complete.
An added bonus of this new entertainment district will be the attraction of more top notch performers. If you’re from Milwaukee, you know we constantly miss out on many A-list performances when it comes to musicians. They typically go from Chicago straight to Minneapolis and skip over Milwaukee because we didn’t have a great arena for them to perform at. (The RAVE does NOT attract many A-list performers) This will change once the arena is built.
Closing
In closing, you can see all the great reasons to start getting excited about Bucks basketball again. The future is suddenly appearing bright for the Bucks. They have the talent and drive that Milwaukee has been lacking in sports and soon they’ll have a new arena to showcase their skills. As all of Milwaukee and the rest of the NBA world should learn to do, “Fear The Deer”.
Statistics via: Basketball-reference.com, Bucks.com
