The Milwaukee Bucks are often in the thick of just about any discussion about the league’s rising, talent-laden teams. Expectations for the Bucks were high this season, especially given the rise of star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo last season and his Kia MVP-worthy performances on the regular throughout 2017-18.
Yet after last night’s 115-106 home loss to the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee sits at No. 7 in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks’ high point of the season, record-wise, came after a Dec. 9 win over the Utah Jazz that moved them to five games over .500 (15-10). In short, Milwaukee is still figuring out how to transition from young team to consistent team, a point coach Jason Kidd made clear after last night’s loss.
Matt Vasquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more:
The Bucks were the youngest team in the NBA in 2015-’16. In the two seasons since, though, they’ve have kept their core together and added some experience, including players who have played on championship-winning teams. They now sit around the league average in age and each of their five starters on Tuesday had logged at least five seasons.
At what point are the Bucks no longer considered a young team?
“We’re not learning about it, it’s the truth,” Kidd said. “You guys can write that we’re a super team and that we’re really good and we’ve got the ‘Big 3’ or the ‘Brew 3.’ We’re a young team that’s learning how to play the game at a high level with expectations that are a little bit too high. Understanding that no one in that locker room has ever won, so we’re learning how to win as a team.
“There are going to be tough nights like tonight where you’re going to have to come out and you’re going to have to give a little bit more energy on the defensive end and we just didn’t do that tonight.”
