HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Held back last year due to injuries, the Bucks are now healed up and looking to get back to the playoffs. Prior to last season, starting point guard Brandon Jennings felt like they had the potential to be a top four team in the East. While that may be a bit lofty, this Bucks team is talented and well-coached. Getting back to the playoffs is not out of the question at all. Staying healthy is obviously important for them, as is the continued growth of Brandon Jennings. He only improved marginally in his sophomore year, can’t be the case here in his third year. With a veteran team surrounding him, the Bucks should only be behind the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls in the Central Division.

3rd Place, Central Division

- Yannis Koutroupis

The Bucks haven’t done much to improve their outlook since the end of last season, and will apparently depend on having a healthy Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup as their primary means of improvement. They do have some interesting young talent that could evolve this season, and the addition of Stephen Jackson gives the team a firey leader both on the court and in the locker room. Playing in a weak division will help, but they are at best a bubble team come playoff time.

3rd Place – Central Division

- Bill Ingram

Like a lot of people, I really thought that the addition of Stephen Jackson was going to make the Bucks a much-improved team this year, but if his contract extension (or lack thereof) is going to be a headache for the team all season, I have a hard time looking at this team as a true competitor in the Central Division. If Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut can stay healthy this season, they’ll at least be better than a year ago, but is that good enough for a playoff berth? I’m not so sure. A happy Jackson pushes this team over the hump, but if he’s going to stew all season long, slate them for a lottery pick come June.

3rd Place, Central Division

- Joel Brigham

The Milwaukee Bucks have been notoriously slow starters at the beginning of each regular season under head coach Scott Skiles. The delayed jump out of the gates in 2011 cost the franchise a shot at its second consecutive playoff berth and sapped the momentum brewing after a strong 2010 season. The team decided to make some roster changes by trading away veterans Corey Maggette and John Salmons and acquiring guards Beno Udrih and Stephen Jackson. Unfortunately for Bucks fans, Jackson is seeking a two-year contract extension and will enter the campaign seemingly disgruntled. Center Andrew Bogut should finally be healthy and seriously compete for his first All-Star appearance after an assortment of injuries over the past eighteen months, while point guard Brandon Jennings looks to rebound after a disappointing season distributing the ball. The Bucks should be in competition for one of the Eastern Conference’s last two playoff seeds in 2012 – especially if Jackson comes ready to play.

3rd Place, Central Division

- Lang Greene

Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks were one of the biggest disappointments in the league. Rather than take the next step forward after an impressive 2009-10 season, Milwaukee took a step back and missed the playoffs. After a failed Corey Maggette experiment, the Bucks have added Stephen Jackson. He’s exactly what Milwaukee needs: a strong leader, reliable scorer and tough defender. He was an excellent addition and will help the Bucks climb in the standings, possibly back into the playoffs. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers have both improved significantly which will make the Central Division much more competitive than in recent years. In order to head back in the right direction, the Bucks will not only need production from Jackson but also improvement from their young talent, especially Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut.

3rd Place, Central Division

- Alex Kennedy

Top Offensive Player: Stephen Jackson: The Bucks were the lowest scoring team in the NBA last season averaging fewer than 92 points per game. During the offseason, the Bucks attempted to remedy this problem by trading for shooting guard Stephen Jackson. Last season Jackson averaged 18.5 points per game, shot over 81% from the free throw line and averaged 3.6 assists. One question surrounding Jackson is whether or not he will be able to fit into head coach Scott Skiles offensive system. Historically Skiles has played a slowed down grind it out type of offense, which doesn’t fit into Jackson’s free flowing style of play. Either Jackson will need to master the half court offense, or Skiles will need to allow his players more freedom when they have the ball.

Top Defensive Player: Andrew Bogut: Andrew Bogut is the perfect anchor for Skiles’ defense. The 7’0’’ center has averaged over 2.5 blocks per game and 10.5 rebounds during his last two seasons. Bogut is an excellent team defender and has the ability to make up for whatever mistakes his teammates might make on the perimeter. Bogut’s 7’3’’ wingspan alters as many shots in the paint as he blocks which will help the Bucks be one of the top defensive teams in the league for the second straight year.

Top Playmaker: Brandon Jennings: Third year point guard, Brandon Jennings, has the ability to control the tempo of the game with his end to end quickness and set up his teammates with his ability to break down defenses in the half court sets. Jennings only averaged 4.8 assists compared to 2.3 turnovers per game last season, but newly acquired shooters Stephen Jackson and Mike Dunleavy, as well as a healthy Andrew Bogut, should help Jennings get his assist to turnover ratio closer to elite status.

Top Clutch Player: Stephen Jackson: Last season with the Bobcats, Jackson finished 18th in the NBA in clutch scoring (clutch time is defined as the 4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points). He has the ability to knock down the three, set up his opponents and he rarely turns the ball over late in games, averaging less than one turnover per 48 minutes of clutch time. Jackson should help the team improve in close games, last season they were only 9-10 in games decided by five points or less.

The Unheralded Player: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute: One dimensional offensive players are praised for their ability to change the game, but defensive standouts who can change the game are often overlooked. Such is the case with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who is certainly limited on the offensive end. However, he is a big physical defender capable of guarding three positions and when playing alongside center Bogut, gives the Bucks one of the best defensive frontlines in the NBA.

Best New Addition: Mike Dunleavy: The lowest scoring team in the league added more fire power this offseason then just Jackson, with recently acquired small forward Mike Dunleavy. He may not grab the headlines the same way Jackson does, but Dunleavy should provide an instant offensive spark off the bench. He is an efficient scorer who shot over 46% from the field, 40% from the three-point line, and averaged more than 11 points per game in only 27 minutes of action last season.

- Mark Nugent

1. Scott Skiles: The gritty defensive minded head coach is entering his third season with the Bucks, and it’s likely he will either get his team back into the playoffs, or they will quit on him completely and he will lose his job. Scott Skiles’ track record has proven he can wear out his welcome, and it usually occurs in the third year. With the Chicago Bulls, Skiles took them to back-to-back playoff appearances, and then was fired when he went to management and said he lost the team. With the Phoenix Suns, Skiles again got his team to the playoffs in two of his three seasons, but was let go after a down year. If the team buys into Skiles’ defense first philosophy and takes on their coach’s fiery personality, it’s likely the Bucks will be back in the playoffs and Skiles will be around for at least one more season.

2. Shaun Livingston: After suffering a horrific, potentially career ending knee injury, Shaun Livingston is finally healthy and starting to live up to the potential that made him the fourth pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. Livingston is capable of playing both point guard and shooting guard and last season played in a career high 73 games while shooting better than 46% from the field and 86% from the free throw line.

3. Tobias Harris: The 19 year old rookie may not crack the rotation this season, but his potential should help the Bucks for years to come. The 6’8’’ forward has a 6’11’’ wingspan; a 37.5’’ vertical leap and averaged over 15 points a game as a freshman last season at Tennessee. Outside of Jennings, Tobias Harris is likely the team’s most athletic player and he has a chance to be a terror on the both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball within the next few seasons.

4. Larry Sanders: Larry Sanders doesn’t have the type of offense that will change the outcome of too many games, but he is a defensive player that averaged over a block per game in just over 14 minutes a night. One of the keys to this year’s Bucks team should be getting Sanders more minutes at both the power forward and center spot (one way to do this would be to send Drew Gooden to the bench permanently) so he can wreak havoc in the paint and provide the type of defense that coach Skiles is always looking for.

5. Ersan Ilyasova: Ersan Ilyasova is a classic ‘stretch four’. He’s a 6’10’’ power forward who is more comfortable roaming the perimeter than getting anywhere near the paint. When Ilyasova gets hot he can change the game with his touch from behind the arc, but he’ll have to improve on the defensive end if he hopes to steal minutes away from Sanders, Gooden, and even Harris.

- Mark Nugent

The Bucks are a defense first team, that’s the way Skiles coaches and that’s the way they are going to win. Last season the Bucks finished third in opposing points allowed and sixth in opposing field goal percentage. With the addition of Jackson on the perimeter, the development of defensive minded players like Sanders and Mbah a Moute, and a full season from Bogut, those numbers could easily increase. With Skiles at the helm, the Bucks could end up being the top defensive team in the league this year.

- Mark Nugent

Offense, offense and more offense. Last year nothing about the Bucks offense was positive. They were last in league at 91.9 points per game, 43% from the field and 18.8 assists per game. It’s virtually impossible, no matter how good a team’s defense, to win games when you are last in the NBA in three major offensive categories.

- Mark Nugent

The key to our season is improvement in terms of passing efficiency on the offensive end. What we need is to change our approach from a team that played a fair amount of 1-on-1 basketball into a team that shares the ball a little more, finding teammates for plus one passes, and assists on a large number of made field goals. Our defense is top tier – but our offense has been entirely too much looking for the home run play. Brandon, that starts with you. If you want the legacy of your career to be a guy who reminded people of Kenny Anderson (looked great and was fun to watch mostly, but never wins), then continue playing the way you are. If you want to actually build a reputation that moves into elite status, we will feed off of that. Andrew, hopefully you are healthy for the year. I like many of our additions, and I think we can be competitive and fight for a playoff spot – heck, we could even upset some people – but it’s all about our ability to share the ball.

- Anthony Macri

Can the Milwaukee Bucks Stay Healthy?

Much of the Bucks struggles offensively last season were due to injury. Andrew Bogut missed 17 games, and even when he was on the court he appeared to playing injured. Brandon Jennings missed 19 games and last year’s big free agent signing, Drew Gooden, missed 47 games. Last year 15 players missed more than 260 games combined. If the Bucks can’t stay healthy this year, there is little chance they will return to the playoffs; regardless of the moves they made this offseason.

- Mark Nugent