Players believe team set to elevate its game
ST. FRANCIS – Signs of progress were everywhere for the Milwaukee Bucks during their just completed season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo blossomed into an all-star starter and a leading candidate for the league’s most improved player award.
Rookies Malcolm Brogdon and Thon Maker made major impacts on a playoff team, and Brogdon is in contention for the rookie of the year award.
The Bucks regrouped after Jabari Parker went down with a knee injury in February, and their 14-4 record in March catapulted them to the No. 6 seeding in the Eastern Conference.
But despite all the positive signs, one discouraging situation did not change. The Bucks dropped their eighth consecutive playoff series, falling, 4-2, to the Toronto Raptors after taking a 2-1 lead against the third-seed-
ed team. They still have not won a playoff series since beating Charlotte in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2001.
What will it take for the Bucks to break through and advance in the playoffs?
“We were a couple shots falling from this series going to Game 7, and in a Game 7 anything can happen,” Bucks center John Henson said.
“I think it’s going to fuel the hunger next year. But you win your first playoff series by getting the higher seeds. That’s what we want to do.
“Being in the top four, that’s when the expectations come on you to win. You get home court first so if you can get a couple home-court wins, the pressure is on them.”
Breaking into the top four in the East is no easy task. Boston, Cleveland, Toronto and Washington all have advanced out of the first round this season with no upsets occurring.
But the Bucks’ plan of building with young talent has caught the attention of league observers.
Antetokounmpo, Parker, Khris Middleton, Matthew Dellavedova, Maker and Brogdon are under contract next season, and Greg Monroe could opt in for the final year of his three-year deal.
“I think it’s going to take experience in the playoffs, and that’s what we got this year,” Brogdon said. “I think we’ll refocus. The training staff has said every year the team comes back in better shape.
“This is a young, very talented team. There is no limit to what we can achieve.”
There are certain to be some roster changes and trades are possible during the summer. The Bucks will have the 17th overall pick in the June draft.
But a talented core of players will return.
“I think it’s strong,” Brogdon said. “I think it’s going to be one of the strongest in the NBA, as long as we’re able to stay together and as long as we’re able to stay healthy.
“I think we’re going to be one of the best teams in the NBA.”
The Bucks rebounded from a 33-49 season in 2015-’16 to go 42-40 in coach Jason Kidd’s third season with the franchise.
Now it’s important not to falter next season, which will be the team’s final year in the BMO Harris Bradley Center before it moves into the new downtown arena for the 2018-’19 season. The Bucks will begin using their downtown training facility this fall.
“This was the start of something beautiful,” Bucks reserve guard Rashad Vaughn said. “With the new arena and the practice facility, just this team being young and you’ve got so may guys blossoming.
“Giannis was an allstar this year; Jabari is going to be back; Khris played well, but he was coming off an injury as well. So, I think with this summer those guys are going to get better, they’re going to be back and I think some of those other guys too.
“You’ve got Tony Snell; he had a great year. He’s going to come back with confidence and put in good work.”
Snell is a restricted free agent and helped his stock rise with a solid season after being acquired in a trade with Chicago in October.
Parker is scheduled to return at some point during next season. The team announced a 12-month recovery after he suffered his second anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee on Feb. 8.
“I think he’s an all-star level player, a great kid,” Henson said of the 22year-old Parker. “If we add him into what we do now, with Khris and Giannis, it could be scary.
“Hopefully we can get all of them on the court at some time next year and see what happens.”
Dellavedova displayed his toughness during the Bucks’ playoff series against the Raptors and played a critical role in the huge comeback in Game 6. His grit was evident as the Bucks rallied from a 25-point thirdquarter deficit before losing a 92-89 decision to be eliminated from the postseason.
“I don’t think we’re really concerned with how other people view us,” Dellavedova said. “It’s more just what our goals are and what we want to achieve.
“For us, it isn’t just getting to the playoffs or just winning a round. We really want to do something special here. Unfortunately, it wasn’t this year, but I think we can all learn a lot from this year and what happened in the playoffs and during the season and we can improve on a lot of things.
“We’re not going to be satisfied with just making the playoffs one year and not doing anything next year.”