Milwaukee Bucks Make Bold Predictions After Releasing 2024-25 Season Schedule

If you asked Milwaukee Bucks fans about last season, many of them would probably refuse to discuss it at length. And it’s easy to blame them. To delve into the Bucks’ 2023 campaign is to conjure up some melancholy memories. From a coaching change that halted momentum to an early playoff exit, there’s nothing Bucks fans want right now other than a more productive year. While there’s no guarantee it will happen, there are signs that it will.

Quality additions like Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince are leading the roster shakeup. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Olympic run with Greece suggests he’s back in top form. Doc Rivers now has a full offseason to prepare. Khris Middleton may be recovering from arthroscopic ankle surgery but is expected to be healthy when the season begins. All in all, it looks like this productive summer reset will likely pay dividends for the Bucks come October.

With that in mind, here are some bold predictions for the team this year.

Doc Rivers records 50-win season

It’s easy for fans to point the finger at Doc Rivers. After abruptly replacing Adrian Griffin at the helm, Rivers has struggled to pick up wins, as evidenced by his 17-19 regular season record with the Bucks. Still, what Rivers has done has been no easy feat, even for any other coach.

A new head coach doesn’t necessarily mean a completely new system. After all, the Bucks’ offense will always run through Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, regardless of whether Rivers or Griffin are on the sidelines. But different coaches still have different ways of doing things. The set plays, the preferred defensive schemes, the lineup usages based on matchups, the sudden changes in the middle of the game — no two coaches are the same in these areas. In other words, the players will need time to get used to the details of their revamped system.

Now imagine a new coach coming in mid-season. Of course, there will be no adjustment period, and players will have to test the system changes during the games themselves.

Give Rivers a full preseason, and the numbers would likely improve. Historically, Rivers has 20 regular seasons above .500. Put superstars under him, and things look even better. In five seasons with the Boston Celtics trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen (2007-12), Rivers had just one season with fewer than 50 wins. He also had a strong winning record when he led the “Lob City” duo of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Given his experience managing superstars, Rivers could find the right formula for the Antetokounmpo-Lillard tandem with a full offseason.

There will be no championship predictions as of yet, but the Bucks will definitely have at least 50 wins this season.

Bucks will make progress on defense

One of the main issues that plagued the Bucks last season was defense. Under Adrian Griffin, the team tended to stretch toward the perimeter. A specific example of this would be Griffin reportedly favoring a pick-and-roll defense that had Brook Lopez — a zone defender — attacking the point guard instead of dropping back near the shade, according to ESPN. This allowed for too many open lanes and attacks to the rim, and the Bucks were ranked in the bottom half of the league defensively before the All-Star break.

When Rivers arrived, Milwaukee became the third-best defensive team in February alone (108.9 defensive rating, per NBA.com). They tried to block the paint more, using their size and giving up fewer points on the block. That’s a sign that the team will likely be a much better defensive unit this year. Add that to the 50-win argument, too.

While there are theories about how the Bucks’ offseason changes could affect that projection, all they’ve done is replace what they lost. Gary Trent Jr. will take Malik Beasley’s place as the team’s primary sniper. Jae Crowder’s replacement is Taurean Prince, a seasoned 3-and-D wing. To compensate for Patrick Beverley’s departure, veteran guard Delon Wright will join the guard rotation. Same roles, just different faces.

Final Thoughts

The Bucks are a strong team, no doubt about it. Still, the East is full of heavyweights like the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks. If the Bucks want to be the top seed, they need to be at their best, and being at their best means that both the players and the coaching staff are on the same page.

Oh, and staying healthy definitely helps. Assuming Milwaukee doesn’t have the kind of injury problems it had in the playoffs, things should go smoothly this time around.

With games starting in just over two months, fans won’t have to wait too long to see the Wisconsin team in action again.