Bucks dynasty dream may collapse

It is not easy to bounce back from two losses in the first two games. However, the Bucks were able to put a finger on the Phoenix Suns in four consecutive games and win the Larry O’Brien trophy.

But far from any hint of conformism and when the celebrations had not yet died down, a question was already floating in the wind: can Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. repeat? Do they have the talent to start creating a new dynasty? Or will they simply be a one-day flower, like the cactus?

THE TITLE DEFENSE began immediately. While rivals scrambled to reinforce in free agency thinking about how to dethrone them, the Bucks front office aimed to retain the heart of this team intact and make the necessary adjustments if they lost a member of the roster.

The departure of PJ Tucker was not pleasant news, especially since he was leaving to play a direct rival like the Miami Heat. However, the goal of keeping the group as united as possible was more than achieved.

The start of the season was not as steady and dominant as the previous one. In the first 10 games they had more losses (6) than victories and it was not until the 17th game of the season that they managed to get into the standings with a positive record (9-8).

There were enough reasons for this to happen. Giannis Antetokounmpo was absent in 6 of the first 32 games played, Khris Middleton missed 11 games, while Jrue Holiday missed 7 games.

Today the Bucks (20-13) are in second place in the Central East Division, one game behind leader Chicago. But if we look at the Conference, we find them in third place 2.5 games behind the leader Brooklyn Nets (21-9) and 4.5 ahead of the first team that would not be in playoff positions which is Atlanta Hawks with a record of 14 and 15.

Although they are still close to the leaders, they do not have much to spare with respect to their pursuers.

Looking at the statistics, we discover that with the exception of rebounding, where they are in third place of the best averages with 47.1 per game, in other categories they do not manage to get close to the top 5 of the league.

Let’s see: their scoring average of 110.5 per game finds them as the eighth best offensive mark in points. They are also the eighth best team in terms of points scored/allowed differential at +2.8.

The three-point percentage is not bad, since with 35.9% overall it is among the 11 best in the competition, but in the effectiveness of the court ranks 17th with a discreet 45.1% of success.

THE OVERALL STATS, without a doubt, have been affected by the absence of the main trio of Antetokounmpo, Holiday and Middleton. Sometimes coinciding two of them in the same game.

If we decide to take a look at how the team fared in terms of wins and losses every time one of them was absent, we will discover the importance of their respective contributions.

For example: Jrue Holiday played 26 of the team’s 33 games to date, recording a record of 17 and 9 when he was on the court for only 2 wins and 5 losses while he was a spectator. In six games he scored the most points for the Bucks and on 12 occasions he was the assists leader.

Khris Middleton’s numbers are quite similar: 16-6 is Milwaukee’s record with him in uniform, while without his presence the team accumulated 4 wins and 7 losses. On four occasions he was the team’s best assist man and once its best scorer.

But Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to be the team’s lighthouse and leader. In his 26 games played, the Bucks have a 17-6 record when he was on the court and a 3-4 record in the games that saw him sitting on the bench. He accumulated 16 double-doubles and one triple-double so far. In addition, he is the leader in points (27.0), rebounds (11.6) and blocks (1.6).

The trio averages 62.6 points per game (56% of the team’s average), 21.7 rebounds out of the Bucks’ total of 47.1 (46%), 76% of the assists and 50% of the blocks.

A TRUE RUSSIAN MOUNTAIN has turned out to be the season for the defending champions. As mentioned at the beginning, they started with a hesitant start, were dominant in the middle of the stretch and ended with more wins than losses so far in December.

November was the best Milwaukee has seen so far this season. In the 14 games played they accumulated 10 wins, including 7 in a row in 11 nights. The losses were by an average margin of -12.75, while the difference in wins was +15.3.

October was the worst month with 3 wins and 4 losses. Of the four occasions in which they left empty-handed, on only one occasion did they surpass 100 points, while allowing 114.75 points to their rivals.