All New MILWAUKEE BUCKS thread, the everlasting title contenders!

[Shawshank]

Butler was sensational,but it helped alot when best league player missing 60% of series and remaining 40% playing rushed back not healthy

[usagre]

Epic choke job losing in 5 in the first round to the Private Messages seed. More and more it’s looking like 2021 was the outlier or fluke. Seems like Giannis peaked with that 50 point NBA finals close out masterpiece. His game has not improved and some can argue even has slightly regressed. Window for this unit to win a second championship has closed in my opinion. They need to make major changes around Giannis this off season to get back and have a legitimate shot at another title.

[Buckalis]

Bucks with the best record in the league (yet again).... Bucks also favorites to win it all this season by all odds... Fingers crossed, starting on Sunday this is projected to be the best season the Bucks have ever had, ending up with a 2nd title in 3 seasons... BUCKS IN 6!

Lets go... LET IT HAPPEN!

[Buckalis]

The addition of Jae Crowder reminds and even improves on the roster which won the title back in 2021... Crowder simply replaces on what the Bucks had when the added P.J. Tucker.

However, with Giannis looking to be on the best form of his career and Brook Lopez having his best season with the Bucks, as well as the addition of Jevon Carter, Grayson Allen and Joe Injles, which all seem to be very efficient within the Bucks roster, the Bucks look extremely dangerous and the 10-0 run seems to confirm that...

It looks like a Bucks vs, Bucks 2023 finals in repeat of the 2021 finals is very possible indeed...

[Buckalis]

For another season, the Bucks look good... VERY GOOD... Better than ever before I would dare to say...

If healthy (fingers crossed) this time, It can be a 2nd chip in 3 seasons.

[Buckalis]

Two articles of mine which explain the financials, the survive ability of the roster and why Allen gets traded this season

Part 2 contains a link to Part 1... https://wisportsheroics.com/assessin...72C9-N0WkpggOM

[Buckalis]

Keep it humble, keep a low profile Bucks fans... We are the best cause we have the best player in the world (BY FAR) playing for us... We can do this even with Khris injured and out!

Even if we won't repeat this season cause of Khris being out, we are still the best and we have many championships coming given Giannis' age! Therefore let them expose their big mouths and we will speak last!

[Buckalis]

BUCKS with full cylinders running, ALL SET TO REPEAT!

[Buckalis]

Clearly the Bucks are building a dynasty...

I have to say, I was expecting that the Bucks would strengthen up for the upcoming season, but this exceeds the highest of expectations...

The (active) Bucks bench now looks like this:

- George Hill is back, the depth and the quality within the guards is stellar on both sides of the court with Holiday & Divincenzo starting and Hill coming from the bench to rotate on both of them.
- Grayson Allen added, the Bucks add even more defense, stellar shooting and significantly decrease the age average of the team to co-line with Giannis future career.
- Semi Ojeleye added, even more defense, even more long shooting ability, age average decreases further.
- Jordan Nwora on an advanced role for the 2020 draftee.
- Rodney Hood landed in Milwaukee! More defense, more shooting, flexibility on switching between playing small or big within the game, more depth within the bigs.
- Booby Portis denies more lucrative offers in free agency to come back with the Bucks... He "wouldn't let down this amazing environment for anything" he says.
- Pat Connaughton, perhaps the most athletic player in the entire league had a stellar post season and will surely take a step ahead in this up coming season too.

Surely the Bucks now have the highest quality and deepest bench in the entire league... One adds to this the state of the art starting roster which is at least on par with the best out there and there can be no other conclusion than "the Bucks look scary"!

But... Have the Bucks finished for the upcoming season?

I very much doubt it... One should naturally expect the Bucks to improve the starting roster further and of course the most obvious improvement can be no other than replacing aging (34 next season) Brook Lopez.

Additionally, one shouldn't forget that the Bucks are among the most desirable destinations for free agents, therefore when the time for contract buyouts comes, the Bucks will have the finest available to enter the 2022 post season... A repeat at large! Lets go Bucks!

[Jazz]

I know I'm a bit late with this but I wanted to congratulate you Buckalis on the Bucks winning the NBA title and on the historic performance from Giannis in game 6. You've certainly been a very strong supporter of them on these forums. It was a very deserved victory so congrats!

[Buckalis]

The Bucks have now achieved all their goals for the 2021 season...

1. WON THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP

2. Giannis Antetokoumpo has renewed his contract and will be with the Bucks for at least another 5 years.

3. Jrue Holiday signed a 4 year contract.

4. The team finished the season ending up below the lux tax threshold which secures contending for the championship for many more years to come...

The challenges for next season are all minor, but it will be interesting to see how the following will turn out:

1. If Bobby Portis stays... (He seems to be willing to stay)

2. If Donte Divincenzo's will be evaluated as "injury prone" and will therefore be traded, or if he is still considered the valuable 4th piece in the starting roster.

3. Who will be the additional combo guard the Bucks are obviously in urgent need for.

4. If aging Brook Lopez will be replaced this season... This could highly depend on if Portis will come to a long term agreement, but in any case if Brook will be traded and Bobby will replace him in the starting roster, there will surely be a back-up "big" which will be needed.

5. Who, if any out of the young assets the Bucks have will be evaluated as "future promising"... IMO opinion, this season's rookie Jordan Nwora looks to stand out from the rest of the team's youth.

6. If P.J. Tucker will come in an agreement with the F.O. and stay to close his career with the Bucks...

IMO, the ideal would be if the Bucks can next to starting line up of Giannis, Middleton, Holiday, Divincenzo and Portis can retain Thanasis, Nwora, P.J. Tucker and Pat Connaughton and then look to add a mixture of young talents and valuable veterans in the six roster spots which will need to be refilled... Surely the Bucks being a top destination for free agents and players willing to be traded after winning the championship helps further.
In any case, the Bucks are clearly in a position to significantly advance further the roster and therefore their chances to repeat this season's success in many years to come...

THE BUCKS ARE CLEARLY BUILDING A DYNASTY in the NBA!

[Buckalis]

Mother of all battles starts tonight with the Bucks handicapped as much as a team can ever be...

-Giannis out and not expected to play before the series returns in Mil and then, won't he need sometime to adopt his game on the needs of the game?
-Divincenzo out for the season, which in combination with Giannis absence, causes Middleton & Holiday to play the entire game...
-Only 7 players in the rotation the coach can rely upon for more than 5 mins on the court...

Yet the Bucks must win at least one without Giannis if they can hope to win the championship this season... Never the less, Lets go Bucks, lets do this!

[Buckalis]

As things turn, the Bucks are in the NBA finals after 47 years they've been there before and will fight to win the NBA title exactly 50 years (or half a century) after they've won it before in 1971...

It of course is an historic achievement, but never the less, the Bucks aren't the favorites to win this over the Suns...

The reason of course is Giannis' injury but Donte Divincenzo's injury too... There are of course hopes that Giannis may play at some point during the series, but of course nobody expects him to be able and contribute to the max of his abilities.

In any case and despite some media reporting that Giannis may play in game -1 (he better not play IMO) I will fully agree with Burkley's statement last night through National T.V. broadcast...

"Bucks winning in Giannis absence has done a lot of good for this team" he said... (and it may prove to be the Bucks secret weapon in these finals I may add...)

Bucks winning the Eastern finals without Giannis made clear on how Khris and Jrue may be most efficient for the Bucks... But most important, it clearly showed how can Giannis be integrated back to the team with his roll adjusted so that it only adds to Khris' and Jrue's game...

If this happens, Giannis returns before game 3 of the series and he is 80% or better ready... Then the Suns stand no chance!

[Buckalis]

It means a lot... The Bucks were keeping the financials under control and were carefully avoiding to pass over the lux tax threshold for ages!

What are the consequences?

In one word: Huge!

The Bucks have their "big trio" on Giannis, Middleton and Holiday "locked" for another three seasons and are still under the lux tax threshold for this season!

What it means?

It practically means that the Bucks will be able to case another three titles after this season's one, without ever having to wary about becoming "repeaters tax eligible"... Which again, it practically means that the Bucks will still have at least two out of their "big trio" with the team four seasons later and will still be able to contend for as long as Giannis career lasts!

From this POV, winning the title already from this year, was never a priority, it comes as a bonus if achieved and it may establish the Bucks as "the most successful team ever in the NBA;s history" if it can happen, given that the Bucks will for the three seasons which will follow be a vastly superior team than what they now are!

[Buckalis]

Haha damn, you're the first person I've ever interacted with who has such a negative opinion of Ersan Ilyasova. Fifth all time in franchise games played, taker of ten thousand charges and giver of twenty thousand pump-fakes. I'll always have love/root for Ersan. Lifelong Buck in my book.

He landed with the Utah Jazz by the way, and his been in the States working out in anticipation for the tournament in Canada.

He still was a starter with the Bucks when they "achieved" their worst record in the team's history, he then was traded to the Hawks and the Bucks made the playoffs a season later and then Budenholger "brought him back" only to pull him out of the rotation for good before we got rid of him and started doing really good!

The idiot was so arrogant that he bought a pair of new shoes as a gift for Giannis after the Greek freak was drafted by the Bucks and he did so, because he read that "Giannis didn't have the money to buy snickers when playing in Greece and he was forced to share shoes with Thanasis at the dates"... Giannis of course accepted "the gift", but never used it, because his manager already got him a deal with Nike (for 10K annually) and he had the supply of new snickers secured... five season's later, Giannis had a contract renewal with Nike, which led to the "most successful shoe of all times" and only half of the endorsement's worth, exceeds by far what Illiasova ever earned from the NBA... Yet. the Greek freak never forgot the irony of Ilyasova's "welcoming" to the best player the game has ever seen...