NBA Season Preview 2019-20: The 5 biggest questions for the Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are one of two premier teams in the Eastern Conference. Here are their five biggest questions for the 2019-20 NBA season.

1. What should the Bucks have learned from last season’s highs and lows?

That the highs will far outweigh the lows in quantity, but that the lows can come at inopportune times and must be avoided at all costs when the playoffs arrive. Or, as I like to call it, the Eric Bledsoe Corollary.

Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is only going to keep getting better at 24 years old. Khris Middleton is still in his prime at age 28. The Bucks have plenty of shooters in well-defined roles. But with Malcolm Brogdon replaced by an older Wesley Matthews, the margin for error in the backcourt has gotten slimmer than Rookie Year Giannis.

Keeping George Hill is a good bit of insurance in the event of another Bledsoe postseason meltdown, but Milwaukee really can’t afford that to happen again in 2020. Outside of the Greek Freak and maybe Middleton, the Bucks have a lot of role players who are incapable of taking over a playoff game. Kawhi Leonard heading West means Giannis should dominate any individual postseason matchup he sees, but if last year’s conference finals taught us anything, it’s that Milwaukee runs out of options quickly on the nights he’s not firing on all cylinders.

2. What if Dragan Bender is like, kind of good?

He’s not. As someone who’s covered the Phoenix Suns in person for Bender’s entire career, I can confidently tell you that he’s not … yet.

He’s also not bad like he’s perceived to be, so who knows? We’ve seen dozens of guys suddenly transform into real NBA players after escaping the aimless wanderings in Phoenix’s development-barren wasteland. On a contender like the Bucks, playing alongside an MVP-caliber talent and without the expectation of being a franchise pillar, he’ll actually be put in positions to succeed.

Bender showed signs of competence when he took over the starting power forward spot last season, but he’s still a reclamation project at 21 years old. If he can actually carve out minutes off the bench, block a few shots and be somewhat reliable from 3 (he shot 36.6 percent from deep in 2017-18 before completely falling off last season), he’ll be, like, kind of decent.

3. How many 3-pointers does Giannis Antetokounmpo make this season?

Through the first six years of his career, here’s how many 3-pointers the Greek Freak has made and attempted:

• 2013-14: 41-for-118 (34.7 percent)
• 2014-15: 7-for-44 (15.9 percent)
• 2015-16: 28-for-109 (25.7 percent)
• 2016-17: 49-for-180 (27.2 percent)
• 2017-18: 43-for-140 (30.7 percent)
• 2018-19: 52-for-203 (25.6 percent)

The percentages aren’t pretty, but you’ll quickly notice his career high in made 3s was last season’s mark of 52. Over the last three years, he’s made an average of 48 triples, so it’s tempting to put the line at somewhere around 50-55 3s.

With that being said, Giannis went 40-for-125 (32 percent) from 3 last season after the calendar flipped to 2019, showing *some* progress in that area. He’s gone on record about wanting to improve this area of his game, and at age 24, he can still do it.

Antetokounmpo won’t become a 3-point sniper overnight, but he should crack into the 60s and could even reach the low 70s depending on his progress. We’ll set the bar at 65.

4. Will the playful rivalry of Brook and Robin Lopez work as some sort of metaphysical amplifier, dramatically increasing their powers? Or will they be too busy arguing about comic books to make meaningful contributions?

I’ve always said that there’s no better bonding activity — between teammates and siblings alike — than kicking the crap out of an NBA mascot together. Putting these two oddball brothers and notorious mascot antagonizers on the same roster will only bring out the best in each of them, both on and off the court.

When they’re not debating the intricacies of the MCU, they’re going to be dominant in their respective roles as the Bucks’ 1-2 punch at center. Brook Lopez thrived last year as a stretch-5, posting 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a night while shooting 36.5 percent from 3 on 6.3 attempts per game.

Robin Lopez, meanwhile, spent his season behind Wendell Carter Jr. until the rookie went down with an injury. At that point, he showed flashes of nifty post moves (I’m serious) and the kind of quality interior defense that could still land him a starting job in this league still. He’s more than suitable as a backup 5 on a Bucks squad that needed frontcourt depth, and on a contender feeling the pressure of keeping Giannis happy, these two will bring the right amount of goofiness and comic relief to the locker room.

You can’t have “twinning” without “winning,” and the Lopez brothers are about to prove it.

5. What is the Bucks’ most important five-man unit?

Operating under the premise that the Philadelphia 76ers are the only team in the East capable of preventing Milwaukee from reaching the NBA Finals, the Bucks’ most important lineup has to account for Joel Embiid.

On the one hand, they could go with a traditional center (one of the Lopez brothers) to match up with Embiid’s size and strength. Brook Lopez would pull Embiid out of the paint with his 3-point shooting, while Robin’s defense might make him the best matchup on the other end.

However, the Bucks could also try and space the floor with four shooters around Giannis, deploying him as a small-ball 5 in short stretches that would either force him to guard the reigning MVP or pull him away from the hoop and onto the perimeter. Would Bledsoe, Hill, Matthews and Middleton be able to space the floor and defend well enough to take advantage? It’s difficult to say, especially after Philly added another defensive stalwart on the interior with Al Horford.

A traditional Bledsoe-Matthews-Middleton-Giannis-Brook lineup should do just fine in the regular season. In the postseason, though, going small with the Greek Freak at the 5 (and replacing Bledsoe with Hill if need be) might be worth a more extended look.