The Milwaukee Bucks are gearing up for the 2024-25 NBA season with a fresh coat of optimism and a few new faces in the locker room. After a rollercoaster of a previous season, marked by defensive woes and coaching changes, the Bucks have been busy this offseason juggling the severly curtailing 2nd apron and adding key players to their arsenal.
Offseason Moved and Developments
In an effort to patch up their leaky defense and add some firepower, the Bucks have brought in Gary Trent Jr, Taurean Prince, Delon Wright and Stanley Umude. The addition of Trent Jr. is most notable for due to his low-cost contract ($2.6M, 1-year) which is a remarkable drop-off from the nearly $52M 3-year contract he signed with the Raptors in 2021. In his own words, this paycut makes up for the ability to play alongside arguably two of the greatest players in the game and the opportunity to win a ring alongside them.
With teams no longer able to afford adding more and more players on expensive contracts, rookies will have the ability to affect their teams’ winning chances. AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith are here and eager to prove that they’re more than just fresh faces on the bench. Of course, with every addition comes a subtraction. The Bucks bid adieu to Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverley, hoping that their new recruits can fill those shoes—or at least not trip over them.
Projected Wins
The crystal ball (or what I call my laborious analytical model trained on some 20 years worth of data) predicts around 46 wins for the Bucks this season. This is slightly less than the 49 predicted by others (HoopsHype, The Athletic, etc.) partially because I factor in their average injury lay-offs to their stars and the turnover in key players like Malik Beasley and Patrick Beverly. To put this in perspective, the average win over the past few years has been around 42 (magical number – the answer to life, the universe, and everything) which puts them in contention for the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Celtics, Knicks, and Sixers respectively.
First Games
They’ll tip off against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 23rd, where Damian Lillard will look to silence critics faster than you can say “defensive liability.” With Embiid out and the bookies heavily favouring them in the home opener against the Chicago Bulls, Doc Rivers and co. can ease some of the concerns from last season with two quick wins.
Season Outlook
With Doc Rivers at the helm, the Bucks are aiming for an offensive explosion while hoping their defense doesn’t implode. Rivers’ track record with multi-star teams is as mixed as a bag of jelly beans, but fans are hopeful he can unleash Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard like never before. If Rivers can get the offense to look somewhat organised (and not just hope Lillard and Giannis cook up their own magic themselves), Milwaukee might just find themselves back in championship contention.
As they embark on this season, the Bucks are not just looking for regular-season success; they’re eyeing a deeper playoff run. With a revamped roster and renewed strategies, Milwaukee hopes to solidify its position as a formidable force in the NBA—or at least keep us entertained trying.
