Bucks News: Expert Sleeping on Projected Over/Under for Crucial 2024-25 Season
As the Milwaukee Bucks get ready for the new NBA season, they are looking to go further than they did last season. This team was bounced out in the first round of the NBA playoffs, in part due to major injuries to their star players at an inopportune time.
But Milwaukee believes that they are due for a bounceback year and are hoping for better health this time around. They still have stars Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the charge, giving them some relevance within the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.
However, some aren't as high on the Bucks as many others are.
Matt Moore of The Action Network is going with the under on the Bucks' projected win total for the season. Milwaukee is set at 50.9 victories, while Moore's projection lands at 49.1 for the season.
Winning around 50 games should get the Bucks one of the top seeds in the East and then anything can happen in the postseason. But it all comes down to the health of their two-star players, both of which were hurt during the playoffs last year.
Milwaukee knows that some people are sleeping on them and they don't really care. They know that with the talent they have on the roster, success should come if they are on the court.
It will also be a full season with head coach Doc Rivers. Rivers took over the duties midway through the season and struggled to find any form of consistency with the team.
But along with the two stars, the role players around them will need to step up. Guys like Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez will be key in making sure that this team stays contenders all year long.
"Maybe the depth the Bucks added with Delon Wright, Taurean Prince, and Gary Trent Jr. changes the makeup and reinforces their defensive floor. But with Middleton 33 and Brook Lopez 36, the supporting structure has diminished returns. The offense might be good enough to compensate if they can optimize it, but the Bucks profile since 2019 when Mike Budenholzer took over was elite defense and a Giannis-led offense. This is a mediocre defense with a Lillard-Giannis offense. It's just different, which means our expectations should be different."
2024 could be a special year for the Bucks but they will have to come together on the court. If they can execute the game plan, Milwaukee will be a force to deal with in the East this season.
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