Friendly Bounce Open Run: The Milwaukee Bucks young core continues to grow

The Bucks’ young core continues to grow
By: Ryne Prinz

Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks shocked the entire league by improving their win total by 26, making the playoffs and giving the Chicago Bulls a tough first-round matchup. They won basketball games almost solely on defense, using their length and athleticism to switch and trap in the halfcourt. Their defensive efficiency ranked second by the season’s end, behind the eventual champions.

Milwaukee hoped to continue their success and carry it into the 2015-2016 season. They traded away veterans in Zaza Pachulia and Jared Dudley in hoping to make a big free agent signing, which they found in center Greg Monroe. However, the first half of the season didn’t go as planned. The loss of Dudley and Pachulia impacted the team in more ways than one. Pachulia served as the team’s defensive anchor last year, so replacing him with the slow-footed Monroe hurt their defense immensely, which now ranks 21st in the NBA. Dudley did a little bit of everything, primarily playing small-ball four and providing a consistent shooter.

Regardless of the disappointing record and standing, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker have all shown out as of late. Since the All-Star break, all three have been putting up incredible statistics, and it’s been a blast to watch. Giannis is averaging 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in this stretch. As his line may have indicated, he has also posted three triple-doubles in the last three weeks as well. Middleton is far and beyond Milwaukee’s best shooter and scorer. He has shot 44% from beyond the arc and averaged 21.8 points per game. Jabari Parker is performing excellently as well, scoring 21.5 points per game and grabbing 7.4 rebounds as well.

In hindsight, the Dudley, Pachulia and last year’s Brandon Knight trade were perhaps a mistake. All three were experienced players who fit well with Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Parker. Simultaneously, now the Bucks are really depending on these three to be the team’s future. And although they aren’t in the playoff hunt this season, they’re surely a team to watch out for in the next five seasons or so.

GS reigns supreme, but we can still enjoy the Durant/Westbrook Thunder
By: Taylor Smith

There’s a pretty good chance Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook wind up finishing second and third respectively in MVP voting this season. This is kinda insane considering the Thunder are a second-tier team in the West, but it also serves as a way of explaining just how much they mean to this team. OKC has a roster full of on-paper talent, but in the end it always comes down to KD and Russ.

Wednesdsay we saw Durant and Westbrook at their collective best. The Thunder talisman combined to score 55 points to go along with 27 assists and 23 rebounds in OKC’s relatively easy win over the Clippers. This was a huge game that extended the OKC cushion to 2.5 over games over the Clippers for the third seed in the West. This is huge considering whichever of the two teams winds up with the three spot likely avoids the Warriors until the Western Conference Finals.

We live in a Steph Curry world, but Kevin Durant has been unbelievable lately. He got off to a so-so start to the year, but if Curry didn’t exist, Durant would be right at the top of the MVP race. Since the calendar flipped to 2016, Durant is averaging 29.6 points (on 50% shooting from the floor), 9.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.

Durant is a legit seven-footer that shoots nearly 40% from three and is also averaging a career-high in rebounds. He’s only 27 but would be a Hall-of-Famer if he retired today. Westbrook scored 25 points, handed out 20 assists and grabbed 11 rebounds in this game. Yet it seems that the conversation with him more often than not skews toward why he’s a poor fit with Durant. It’s a shame.

Because the Warriors exist, as long as Durant and Westbrook are together it seems as though they may be destined to be this generation’s Shaq and Penny: two generational talents on the same team that are completely overshadowed by another powerhouse in their conference going on one of the greatest runs of all-time.

We hear a lot about how Westbrook takes away from KD’s greatness and that it would be more fun to watch Durant play with a more traditional point guard, but we should really be appreciating the routine greatness that the two are able to produce together.

That 90s Magic team is still thought of as one of the most fun teams of that decade despite never winning it all. This decade’s Thunder squad may wind up suffering the same ultimate fate, but we should enjoy them as they are now. The team may not be good enough to ever win a title, but winning championships shouldn’t be the ultimate measuring stick for greatness. As frustrating as they can be, there’s a reason they remain a must-watch on a nightly basis.

The Warriors probably have the title locked up, but we should still enjoy what may be the last hurrah for the KD/Westbrook Thunder.