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6 Milwaukee Bucks storylines to watch this season

By Todd Welter

Oct 2, 2023; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0), forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), center Brook Lopez (11), and forward Khris Middleton (22) pose for a picture with head coach Adrian Griffin during media day in Milwaukee. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2023; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0), forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), center Brook Lopez (11), and forward Khris Middleton (22) pose for a picture with head coach Adrian Griffin during media day in Milwaukee. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /
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Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

Khris Middleton becoming the third option.

Lillard’s arrival means Middleton moves down to third on the team’s superstar pecking order. It will be interesting to see how he handles that role after being Giannis’ sidekick.

Sidekick might be harsh to label. Middleton as elevated himself to hero in crunch time since Giannis is weak at the free throw line.

The good thing is Middleton is an excellent shooter, so maybe his shots will not decrease too drastically, especially now that he has a better playmaking point guard.

Also, the team does not have a ton of depth at point guard. That means Middleton will still need to handle the ball occasionally.

It is not like he is going from All-Star to the end of the bench.

Who will take over the final open starting/closing spot over the season?

Dame, Giannis, Khris, and Lopez are penciled in as the team’s starter. That means Griffin has to figure out who will fill that last starting spot.

More importantly, he has to figure out who will fill that last spot in the crunch time rotation.

MarJon Beauchamp, Pat Connaughton, Bobby Portis, Jae Crowder, and Malik Beasley are the players Griffin will have to choose from.

It might depend on matchups when it comes to making that decision. It will also come down to who can three-and-D the best, as that is what the lineup needs out of the spot.

Jae Crowder filling the P.J. Tucker role.

Speaking of Crowder, he is back after being acquired last season at the trade deadline. He was brought back to the city where he starred during college with the thinking that he could fill the role P.J. Tucker did so well on the 2021 championship team.

That role is chasing the other team’s best offensive player, so Giannis does not have to spend so much energy.

Budenholzer, for some reason, did not trust Crowder in that role in the playoffs.

Maybe all Crowder needs is to play an entire season to be ready to go in the postseason. If the Milwaukee Bucks are to win back the Larry O’Brien trophy, they need Crowder to play at a high level in the three-and-D role.

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