Milwaukee Bucks are the best team in Eastern Conference

After a surprising 2018-19 season in which the Milwaukee Bucks won 60 regular season games, they are once again the favorite in the Eastern Conference.

The Milwaukee Bucks were expected to take a leap forward last season. They were coming off a mediocre 2017-18 season which saw them win 44 games. Although that wasn’t quite what they were looking for, it did mark the third consecutive year the team improved their win-loss record. Analysts expected an internal improvement from players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon. Furthermore, Mike Budenholzer took over as the new head coach and was another source of optimism.

Even with this new hope, not even the biggest fans could have predicted the type of season the Bucks had last year. They ended up winning 60 games in the regular season and finished with the best record in the entire NBA. They led the Eastern Conference standings for most of the season and was able to secure home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Milwaukee went 10-1 in their first 11 games of the postseason and looked poised to clinch an appearance in the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, they hit a brick wall and lost four straight games to Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. The team went cold from the field and couldn’t quite figure out the Raptors defense. In the end, the Bucks were sent home before they could even figure out what happened.

Leonard has since signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, rendering the Raptors a non-threat in the East. This makes the conference vulnerable to Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo comes back for another season and will likely only get better. The next phase in his development is clear: Develop a consistent jump shot. That will be the focus of his offseason regimen, as he looks to take his team to the next level.

The Bucks did lose Malcolm Brogdon, Tony Snell and Nikola Mirotic, the latter of which was completely ineffective in the postseason. However, they added veterans Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez to replace any depth they may have lost. General manager Jon Horst also believes his core can take another step forward in their development and play looser in their second year in Budenholzer’s system.

As far as challengers go, they seem to be far and few in between. The Raptors are no longer a threat at the top and the Boston Celtics appear to have taken a step back as well. The Indiana Pacers and, specifically, the Brooklyn Nets could be better. However, they aren’t quite to the top of the mountain.

The only real challenger is in Philadelphia. The 76ers lost Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick, but replaced them with Al Horford and Josh Richardson. It’s a weird fitting team, but certainly one with a lot of talent. Fortunately, the Bucks have pieces of the puzzle that actually fit together and will have favorable matchups when they two teams meet.

The Bucks will certainly walk into the 2019-20 season with both swag and a chip on their shoulder. They know what type of force they can be, but their work is not finished. That may be the perfect blend of spices, as the Bucks look to own the Eastern Conference for a second straight year.