How good are the Milwaukee Bucks?

How good are the Milwaukee Bucks? Did they get better this offseason? Where do you expect them to finish in the Eastern Conference?

Added: Joe Ingles, MarJon Beauchamp

Lost: none

Daniel Poarch

Giannis Antetokounmpo is very likely the best basketball player on the planet, and as long as he’s healthy, the Milwaukee Bucks will be threats to return to the NBA Finals. They gave the Celtics all they could handle in a seven-game series loss in the second round of last season’s playoffs, and that was without the services of sidekick Khris Middleton. With Middleton returned to the lineup and a quality rotation of useful role players complementing Milwaukee’s Big Three, it’s a safe bet to expect the Bucks to finish near the top of the Eastern Conference once again. One X-factor: newly signed Joe Ingles, who would fit Mike Budenholzer’s system to a T if he can overcome his age and recovery from a torn ACL to provide productive NBA minutes once again.

Adam Spinella

Let’s be honest: this season could have ended very differently for the Celtics with a healthy Khris Middleton and a few different shooting performances in the postseason. Milwaukee is still an incredibly tough opponent with the best player in the East, an All-Star pair of guards next to him, and experience throughout the organization. Milwaukee’s flaw is in their depth, which renders them unable to survive one injury to the core. Giannis alone can propel this team to the top seed in the East. They didn’t necessarily get better this summer, but I don’t think they really got worse either.

Jack Simone

The Bucks are the best team in the East outside of the Celtics. And they might even be better than the Celtics. The Joe Ingles addition was nice, but the real prize was them re-signing Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton to longer deals. If you look at the East from a tiered perspective, it should be Boston and Milwaukee on top, then a huge gap, then the next group. They’re the real deal, and as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo is there, that will remain the case.

Jeff Clark

Giannis is flat-out the most unstoppable force that there is in the NBA right now. At times the Celtics have been able to frustrate him, or get him slightly off his game plan. But that only means a 25 point night instead of a 35 point night. His team knows how to play with him and play off of him and their defense is top notch. They didn’t improve much this offseason, but they were good enough to be a legit Finals contender last year and should be again this year.