He ranked second in voting for Kia Defensive Player of the Year, again proving solid on the boards and capable of stretching the floor with his 3-point shooting. Lopez is coming off perhaps his best season in Milwaukee, encouraging for a player who missed virtually all of the previous season with a back injury. He’s also a reliable scorer, though less of an efficient volume shooter his scoring average and shooting percentage have dropped three straight years. He’s not the defender that he was but remains solid. Middleton opted out of his option year and took two additional years (three total) instead, a smart move for him because of his age (32) and his recent injury history. So Bucks general manager Jon Horst chose continuity, even at the risk of tapping out sooner than later with this core, and will take his chances with a team that averaged 55 wins the last five regular seasons. It's Team Day on NBA TV! □ /wnJFCzY9JQĪnd really, what was Milwaukee’s other option this summer? The salary cap put limits on what the Bucks could do, and the idea of rebuilding during Giannis’ prime seems silly. Yet they compliment Giannis quite well, and the Bucks are all about winning now, so if there’s a serious drop-off from Middleton and Lopez at the end of those contracts, the Bucks are apparently OK with that. It’s a combined $150 million for two starters who, while obviously productive and critical to the success of the last three years, are on the back end of their careers. With that said, re-signing Middleton and Brook Lopez to extensions cost the Bucks. ![]() This won’t come without some risk, and perhaps they didn’t really have much choice, but the lineup we’ve seen the last three years will be the same 2023-24. This played a major part in the thinking inside the front office when it came time to make decisions this summer.Īfter giving it some thought, and really not much debate, the Bucks decided to run it back with the championship core for a third straight season. They’re arguably the best team in the NBA. At least the Bucks in 2022-23 if nothing else demonstrated where they stand when healthy and Giannis was once again in the conversation for Kia MVP. And in the end it cost Budenholzer his job. Instead of a dynasty, it was a die-nasty for this franchise because of crummy luck. You could argue that had Khris Middleton stayed healthy in 2022 and Giannis last season, the Bucks would have at least one more title, maybe two. Obviously, there was a reason for this – Giannis Antetokounmpo was injured and missed 2 1/2 games of that playoff series, which proved costly.īut has been same-old, same-old for the Bucks ever since their 2021 championship. It was a humbling experience for Milwaukee. The Bucks went from bang to bust in the span of several months when, after compiling the NBA’s best regular-season record, they were ambushed in the first round of the playoffs by a Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament qualifier and eventual conference champion Miami Heat. ![]() Coach Adrian Griffin, G Malik Beasley (free agent), C Robin Lopez (free agent).1 Miami Heat (47-26) by only 1.0 games with nine to play.Two-time Kia MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is locked in pursuit of his second title, and will run it back with the 2021 championship core. ![]() The Bucks (46-27) have won 10 of their last 12 games and are just ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers (45-27) and Boston Celtics (46-28) for second place in the Eastern Conference. An updated injury report Thursday showed Antetokounmpo also wouldn’t be available. The injury report Wednesday night indicated Middleton wouldn’t play against the Wizards. We’ll see how he does in the next day or two, but as of now, I’d expect him to be on the flight and we’re hopeful that he’ll play.” “I think I’d go as far as to say we’re hopeful he’ll play against Memphis. “I fully expect him to travel with us to Memphis,” Budenholzer said. “I don’t think it’s anything long-term or anything significant, but we’ll see whether he travels tomorrow and make decisions on the game Saturday as we kind of see how he feels and learn more,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before Thursday’s game.īudenholzer was more confident about Middleton’s chances of making the trip to Memphis. Thursday marked the end of a two-game home stand for Milwaukee. The two-time MVP returned to action Tuesday and had 25 points and 17 rebounds in a 126-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The Bucks won without them, 114-102.Īntetokounmpo wasn’t available for the 138-119 loss at Minnesota on Saturday. Middleton missed his second straight game due to a sore left wrist Antetokounmpo was out for the second time in the last three games because of a sore right knee. ![]() MILWAUKEE (AP) - Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton sat out the Milwaukee Bucks’ game Thursday night as they hosted the Washington Wizards.
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