The Milwaukee Bucks failing, while making a complete spectacle of themselves in the process, might seem like a big deal. It isn’t. Trust me.
Sure, no team in any sport would like to be nearly doubled up (120-66) in a season-ending Game 6 loss, but sometimes the story of a series isn’t the singular embarrassment of a poor performance in an elimination game. Sometimes, the story can still be positive — it can shine a light on a team’s ability to stand ahead of the curve.
Were the Bucks going to win an NBA title this year? Of course not. Were they even projected to make a deep run in the playoffs? Only if someone was trying to be a contrarian. Milwaukee, more or less, had its season end when it was supposed to, and that was without having the full “idea” of its roster at its disposal.
Really, there were more question marks going into the 2014-’15 season then there were definitive sets of expectations for the Bucks. Jason Kidd was still trying to showcase his ability to coach; Jabari Parker needed to prove he was worth the hype, but got hurt; Larry Sanders — a good player who never played a minute this season — left the sport; and a plethora of other, unknown factors entered the picture as well. These various occurrences made most people think of this team more along the lines of just being another possible playoff team, instead of one that would look competitive (mostly) against a presumed Eastern Conference finalist such as Chicago.
Part of the issue for the Bucks was their limited roster. It is very much comprised of journeymen, a few what-could-have-been types, and one or two not-quite-yets. Despite that, even with losing someone who seemed to be a vital piece for this season in Parker, Milwaukee exceeded most sets of expectations.
The Bucks do have their fair share of guys people did expect quality games from. Giannis Antetokounmpo, while still growing as a player and very limited on a larger level, is a player of value and a solid part of the foundation being built by Bucks’ management. Then you had the aforementioned Parker, who looked good when he played, yet lost plenty of experience to injury — he only played 25 games in his rookie campaign.
We can go on and on. Michael Carter-Williams’s performance suggests that he could become a slightly above-average guard, something better than a waffling journeyman of the future. Khris Middleton continues to show glimpses of being more than just a role guy, and players such as O.J. Mayo, Zaza Pachulia, and Jerryd Bayless all found roles under Kidd’s regime.
It wasn’t perfect. This roster isn’t close to being built in such a way, either. No matter. Only Pachulia is over 30 years of age. The rest of the players are, more or less, puppies in the grand scheme of things. More importantly than that, the Bucks’ foundational players — Parker, Antetokounmpo and (even) Carter-Williams — are younger than your pizza delivery guy. Heck, only MCW (23) is currently old enough to legally buy an adult cocktail.
It doesn’t hurt that Jason Kidd has not only become more than competent as a basketball coach, but has put his players in positions to succeed. After such an embarrassing loss to Chicago on Thursday night, it would be much easier to come crashing down on his ability as a coach, yet he’s seemed to do a good job of developing his players and even getting guys to max out on their abilities.
This can’t be understated: All of the great things the Milwaukee Bucks did this season were mostly without Jabari Parker, who most agree will be their franchise player going forward. No, he wasn’t going to be an eater of worlds this season, but his 12 points per game, the depth he added to the roster, and his ability to open up the offense certainly did no favors for Kidd when he went down with an injury.
Continuing with the “can’t be understated enough” discussion: Milwaukee’s season was not a failure. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Would fans have preferred to not lose by a billion points at the end of the season? Well, yeah. However, the future is so bright for the franchise that Bucks fans need to wear darkly-tinted sunglasses.
It is hard to predict what Milwaukee’s roster will look like next season. The NBA being a league of always moving parts, it is as likely the Bucks will look less like they did this season and more like a team that’s gone through a near-complete overhaul. Nevertheless, that shouldn’t deter people from thinking the right pieces are in place to help them become regular players in the Eastern Conference.
The NBA is a league of stars. Teams need at least one — but preferably three — to compete at the highest levels. While the Milwaukee Bucks have zero confirmed players of that ilk, they do have a few that could possibly become that type of player — or at least close enough to it.
The best-case scenario calls for the Bucks to hit on Parker, the Greek Freak and MCW. They already have three pillars of their foundation in place. The worst-case scenario simply calls for similar teams to be thrust onto fans’ TV sets over the next few years, which isn’t exactly a horrible thing. More likely, however, the Bucks will end up somewhere between both of those scenarios, with maybe Parker becoming a transcendent superstar, and other fan bases regularly fearing the deer.
Regardless, there are endless possibilities in Milwaukee, so much so that there’s actual, tangible hope for a very good run of success in the near future. Seriously, though, what else can a fan base ask for?
As anyone who watches the NBA knows, one year’s playoff pain can be the stepping stone to something much bigger in future seasons.
