At 7-0, the Bucks are Off to a Historic Start

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Before the season began, it would have been hard to imagine the Milwaukee Bucks as the only undefeated team left in the NBA come November. Well, here we are on All Hallows’ Eve and this is no trick. The Milwaukee Bucks are in fact the best team in the NBA at 7-0 after defeating the previously undefeated Toronto Raptors on Monday night. Although the game didn’t feature stars Giannis Antetokounmpo (concussion protocol) and Kawhi Leonard (rest), the Deer still left no doubt by matching a season-high 19 made three pointers in a 124-109 win at the Fiserv Forum.

The seven-game win streak to start the season matches their best in franchise history dating back to 1971, the year after they won their lone NBA championship. Anyone can start the season out hot with a couple of good wins, but there’s no disguising it when you go out and simply run over teams night in and night out. That’s what the Bucks have done thus far beating teams by an average of 15.8 points, with their only single-digit win coming on opening night in a one-point win over the Hornets. They are playing with so much confidence while being unselfish and believing in one-another no matter who is on the floor.

For the last couple of years fans have been waiting to see this team’s potential and what they are capable of, which is controlling the pace by using their length and athleticism to get up and down the floor and wear opponents out. On top of that, new coach Mike Budenholzer has instilled his offensive system that fits the modern NBA, including jacking up threes from all over the place. The results have been astounding. Bud, who is the fourth coach in NBA history to lead a team to a 7-0 start in his first season, has transformed Milwaukee into one of the most difficult and dangerous teams to face every single night. Yes, Giannis is playing at an MVP level once again, but even he has taken it up another notch.

No Rookie Jitters

Flying under the radar this season has been the Bucks 17th overall pick Donte DiVincenzo. The 21-year-old has already forgotten about his abysmal summer league and rough preseason that had many questioning whether this would be another wasted Bucks pick. DiVincenzo has made the most of his opportunity as of late scoring in double figures in back-to-back games including a season-high 15 point against the Magic on Saturday night. He followed that up with 12 points and eight rebounds against the Raptors while playing a season-high 23 minutes and knocking down a pair of triples. He is starting to look like the kid who exploded onto the scene during March Madness and earned the 2018 Final Four MVP. The best part about him is that he knows what is expected of him and understands the role that Milwaukee needs him to play. He’s exactly the kind of player the Bucks wanted him to be.

Thon Time?

Four games into the season, Bucks 2016 10th overall pick Thon Maker was nowhere to be found and left many wondering where his place would be with this roster; especially after seeing newcomer Christian Wood receive minutes in the first couple games of the season. During a blowout win over the Timberwolves last Friday, Thon got his first minutes of the season playing the entire fourth quarter while dropping eight points on 3-4 shooting from the field. While it was garbage time, it earned him time in the next two games and he made the most of his extended playing time Monday night against the Raptors by scoring 11 points to go along with seven rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes. Keep in mind that was with Giannis out of the lineup, but it’s still a good sign for a guy that seems to have the style of game suited for coach Bud’s system.

It should also be noted that the team did exercise his fourth-year contract option this week along with the third-year option on forward D.J. Wilson. It’s no secret Thon has had a difficult time finding some consistency with his play during his NBA tenure, but he’s shown plenty of good flashes to know that he has tremendous value to the organization moving forward.

Wilson on the other hand is still quite the mystery. While reports say they like him and the skillset he has to offer, it is taking a lot longer for him to break through. Granted his chances have come few and far between, but he also hasn’t shown he deserves those opportunities. Hopefully Wilson will get some time to refine his skills and get some much-needed confidence down at the G-League level when the Wisconsin Herd begin their season on Friday night.

Bottom Line

As much fun as this season has been thus far, the Bucks aren’t going to finish 82-0. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the tremendous success they’ve had these first seven games, including leading the league in three-point makes at 15.6 per game with contributions coming all over the roster. Their toughest test to date, though, comes on the road tomorrow night against a 5-2 Boston Celtics team that has welcomed back Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. It’s another nationally televised game for the Deer, their second of 24 total this season. While many still seem to remain higher on other teams in the East such as the Celtics, 76ers and Raptors, all the Bucks can do is continue to go about their business and ride this flame as much as possible. It’s been tough to get respect from the national media but if they keep winning games in the fashion they have, you can bet that will change quickly and it will truly be time to Fear the Deer.