October 23, 2024

Previewing Sixers-Bucks with Frank Madden

A refresher on all things Milwaukee Bucks before the Sixers host Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. in their season opener.

By Adam Aaronson
PhillyVoice Staff

Jeff Hanisch/Imagn Images

Tyrese Maxey will lead the Sixers into battle for their season-opening contest against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

For the first time in nearly six months, the Sixers will play a game that counts tonight. Joel Embiid and Paul George will not suit up as they nurse their left knees, but the Sixers will play host to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday in hopes of starting 2024-25 with a victory.

Before every Sixers game, we will preview the contest at PhillyVoice by hosting a Q&A with someone who covers the Sixers' opponent on a daily basis.

In the first preview of the season, let's chat all things Bucks with Frank Madden. Frank is the founder/editor emeritus of Brew Hoop and host of Locked on Bucks.

Adam Aaronson: Doc Rivers has become a villain of sorts in Philadelphia. What are your expectations for Rivers in his first full season as head coach of the Bucks, and how have Bucks fans taken to him?

Frank Madden: It was always going to be difficult to evaluate Rivers’ first season in Milwaukee given the chaotic circumstances of the Adrian Griffin Era and the injuries to Giannis and Dame in their first round loss to the Pacers, so Doc was largely given a pass on his first half season in Milwaukee. In a weird way, losing amid a slew of injuries let everyone off the hook from confronting the realities of an aging roster around Giannis – and allowed for a bit of a quieter summer than we might have seen if they had, for instance, lost in the second round with a full complement of players.

But with Doc’s trial run behind him and a full offseason of preparation in the bank, expectations will justifiably be elevated for the Bucks this season. The good news: Doc’s got everyone saying the right things and he’s assembled one of the most experienced coaching staffs in the league, with Darvin Ham returning to Milwaukee after his two-year stint in Los Angeles and new defensive coordinator Greg Buckner arriving from Cleveland. Ham was a steadying and beloved presence as the lead assistant under Mike Budenholzer, while Buckner will look to resuscitate a Bucks defense that fell from fourth to 19th a year ago. Buckner architected an elite defense around two rim-protecting big men and undersized guards in Cleveland, so his mandate in Milwaukee is at least a familiar one.

While bringing a more credible, professional approach than Griffin isn’t a high bar, the hope is that Doc can get his veterans bought into a more structured system that will allow his stars to flourish and role players to just…hold things together, kinda? The Bucks were a mess whenever they went to bench-heavy lineups last season, which spoke to the limits of a top-heavy roster, their lack of a tactical foundation, and their struggles to execute when it wasn’t Giannis, Dame and Khris relying on their natural talent. If Doc is going to lead this team back to contention it starts with rebuilding an identity that came to be taken for granted previously.

MORE: Rivers reflects on time in Philadelphia

AA: It's opening night, so let's dream a little bit: if 2024-25 is the year the Bucks return to the mountaintop of the NBA, how will they get there?

FM: Coming off two injury-marred first round exits, the Bucks are definitely an eye-of-the-beholder team heading into the season, but if they play up to their full potential the recipe should be fairly simple: Giannis continues to do what he’s been doing for the last half-decade, Dame is a more consistent and efficient version of the guy we saw a year ago, and the supporting cast has enough structure — especially on defense — to keep the ship afloat when they rest.

For all the hand-wringing about the chemistry between the Bucks’ two stars, last year’s team was elite when their top guys played together: Lillard, Beasley, Middleton, Giannis and Lopez had the best net rating (+15.5) of lineups with more than 600 possessions, and they were almost as good when The Artist Formerly Known as Jae Crowder subbed in for Middleton (an all-too frequent occasion). The trio of Lillard/Middleton/Giannis was even better (+16.3) and in all of these lineups their much-maligned defense was (surprisingly) as elite as the offense.

I’m not sure they have enough defensive depth on the wing to beat the Celtics in May, but a slightly-above-average defense and elite offense are reasonable goals. Lillard may never get back to his 22/23 Blazer form, but it’s reasonable to expect improved efficiency and consistency after a rollercoaster first year on and off the floor. Khris Middleton’s shot-making and playmaking were once again elite when he was able to be on the floor, and he was great in the first round despite playing with two bum ankles that required offseason cleanups. Brook Lopez won’t be around forever but has looked good in preseason and remains an essential piece. And the Bucks made the most of their spending limitations this summer by grabbing Gary Trent Jr, Delon Wright, and Taurean Prince — who should be upgrades on the outgoing trio of Beasley, Pat Beverley, and Crowder. It might not be fashionable to put them in the same group as the Knicks and Sixers, but given the uncertainty around each of those teams, it shouldn’t really surprise anyone if Milwaukee ends up ahead of both in the final standings.

MORE: Eastern Conference Preview: Milwaukee Bucks

AA: It may be opening night, but this is Philadelphia. In that vein, what would the Bucks' worst-case scenario -- injuries aside -- look like in 2024-25?

FM: The consistency of Mike Budenholzer’s tenure in many ways spoiled both Bucks fans and the organization itself – complain as much as you want about Bud’s playoff adjustments, but the Bucks were consistently fantastic in the regular season. And while the team’s health came apart just in time for the playoffs, you can’t point to health as an issue last season. Middleton may have missed his now-customary 27 games, but Giannis and Dame both played 73 games and Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis were once again fixtures in the lineup night in and night out.

That’s why the Bucks’ struggles in the second half were notable: it was really the first time since Jason Kidd departed that it felt like they might just not have it for extended periods. While the defense improved under Doc, the offense fell off its elite pace, which is a tradeoff that won’t work this season. Dame looked better heading into the playoffs and poured in 31 ppg against Indiana, but his night-to-night consistency wasn’t there and he was one of the guys who seemed most impacted by the change in officiating we saw over the course of the season. As good as they were when their best players were on the floor, their struggles without them hinted at an underlying fragility to their structure and overall chemistry.

Ultimately this is an aging team that has failed to develop any young talent over the last five years, shrinking both their margin for error and presumptive contending window. Jon Horst has done well managing around the edges of the roster, but he hasn’t developed a young rotation guy since drafting Donte DiVincenzo in 2018. AJ Green made nice strides last year and Andre Jackson Jr has the tools and energy to be a disruptive defender, but MarJon Beauchamp’s development has stalled and rookies AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith look miles away from NBA readiness. Overall we saw little indication in Vegas or the preseason that any young player was a lock for rotation minutes or even a clear-cut piece for the next few years. That’s probably not a huge issue this season – especially with Trent, Wright, and Prince papering things over – but it’s a bigger worry long-term.

All of which makes you wonder how resilient they can be through injuries or if one or more of their key veterans’ games begins to slip more than expected. Their ceiling may still be title contention, but their floor – probably 7th given the drop-off thereafter – feels the lowest it’s been since the Kidd era, especially with the top half of the East playoff bracket as competitive as it’s been in ages.