Bucks Aim for Best Season of the Millennium

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Where expectations are concerned, this Bucks team is in an ideal place. Giannis Antetokounmpo and his deep supporting cast are expected to improve on their 42-40 record from last season as their franchise gets stronger by the year. Plus, all of the pressure is on the overwhelming favorites, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.

As the hopes get higher for the Bucks, we should look back for some perspective, which means recalling the 2000-01 Bucks. Because, somewhat surprisingly, that squad remains the gold standard of Deer on the floor in recent memory.

Under coach George Karl, All-Stars Ray Allen and Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, with help from crafty vet Sam Cassell, led the Bucks of the new millennium to a 52-30 record, a Central Division crown, a victorious postseason series, and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals against the 76ers in which they came up a game shy of making a trip to L.A. to play the Lakers for the title.

The feats of the new millennium Bucks have gone unsurpassed in franchise history, but that’s bound to change soon—maybe even this season. With one eye on the past and the other on the season to come, let’s break down the chances of the 2017-18 Bucks matching or outdoing the squad that survived the Y2K crisis.

Record: Fifty-three wins. If these Bucks could add 11 wins to last season’s total and finish with 53 wins, Giannis and his deep supporting cast would surpass the mark that was set almost 20 years ago. It’s a longshot, but it’s conceivable, too. The bad news is that the NBA is rife with super-teams bolstered by Big Threes, and even something closer to a Large Four in the case of the defending champion Warriors. The landscape of basketball was a lot different during the era of Allen/Big Dog/Cassell. Today, exceptional players are banding together on select teams to form juggernauts, and the current Bucks are more of a high-ceiling underdog than a juggernaut. The good news is that, in Giannis, Milwaukee might have the best player in the world who’s not on one of those pesky super-teams.

Last season, when he turned 22, the Greek Freak became only the fifth player in NBA history to lead his team in points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks. In doing so, he joined an elite group that includes LeBron James and Scottie Pippen. The reigning Most Improved Player is an athletic wonder who’s still improving, and while Milwaukee may not have a Big Three, they’ve surrounded their superstar with something like a Satisfactory Seven.

Giannis is a safe bet to be sensational, but if the Bucks are to win 53, that seven in the supporting cast will make the difference. In Malcom Brogdon, the team has an ascendant young point guard who averaged 10.2 points and 4.2 assists per game. In the veteran Greg Monroe and the blossoming Thon Maker, they have two effective big men to protect the rim and contribute buckets. Wing players Khris Middleton (14.7 PPG) and Tony Snell (8.5 PPG) add to the depth of talent.

The real X-factor in having a chance to win 53 will be the recovery of forward Jabari Parker, who suffered a torn ACL in February. (Rehab rates vary, but expect him back roughly a year after the injury.) If Parker can regain his form from last year (20.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG), then the Bucks could conceivably get hot enough in the springtime to challenge the win total they established way back when their starting center was Ervin “Not Magic, Just Ervin” Johnson.

Division: If the Bucks are to finish atop the Central Division, as they last did when Bill Clinton was still the president and Tim Thomas was a semi-relevant name to drop, they’ll need to best LeBron’s juggernaut in Cleveland, which seems like a longshot. Cleveland’s busy summer began with trade demands from disgruntled All-Star and flat-earther Kyrie Irving, whom they dealt to Boston for All-Star Isiah “not Zeke” Thomas and power forward Jae Crowder. Then the beast in the East really splurged by signing guards Dwayne Wade and Derrick Rose.

That means the Bucks could tally 53 W’s and still fall short of topping the Central—which is perfectly fine. They’ll play Cleveland four times, and the same goes for the other teams in their division, the softer Bulls, Pacers and Pistons. The Bucks finishing second seems like a safe bet, which means waiting until next year for that elusive division title.

Eastern Conference Finals: A trip to the NBA’s final four is another lofty goal. Both the Cavs and the new-look Celtics, who went 53-29 a season ago before ultimately losing to the Cavs, present roadblocks. Boston may have changed its nucleus by acquiring Irving and free-agent prize Gordon Hayward, but they still present the biggest threat to Cleveland in the East. Plus, the Wizards and the Raptors will be in the mix due to their dynamic backcourts.

Unluckily, the field of competition is tougher now than it was when Ray Allen was just entering his prime, in that hazy slice of time after Jordan’s second retirement and before his third retirement. The Marshall Mathers LP-era Bucks had to advance past forgotten teams like the 43-39 Magic and the 46-36 Hornets to face Allen Iverson and the Sixers in the East. A deep run like that won’t come as easy for the Eminem Who Disses Trump-era Bucks. Thankfully, the most important and attainable goal for the Deer comes next.

Win a Postseason Series: The huge leap forward of advancing in the playoffs escaped the Bucks when they lost to the third-seeded Raptors in six games last spring. The Deer have lost seven straight postseason series since ’01, and that’s got to change. With a playoff seed likely between 3-6, Giannis and Co. are ready to topple teams like Toronto and Washington. Reaching the Eastern Conference Finals could take a few more years.

First thing’s first, though! The next goal is to prevail in a best of seven and make that huge leap forward. We know that Giannis is ready to launch from the free-throw line, and that he’s being orbited by several high-ceiling underdogs. Be a part of what could become the best Bucks team you’ve ever seen, and please send those “Get Well Soon” cards and tweets to Jabari Parker.