The 2023-24 season is shaping up to be a crazy adventure for Milwaukee Bucks fans with the arrival of Damian Lillard. But how are national writers shaping the Bucks’ chances? Several have offered predictions with the 2023-24 season starting Tuesday night and the Bucks kicking off on Thursday.
Spoiler alert: pretty much everyone thinks it’s Boston or Milwaukee in the East.
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USA TODAY predicts big things for Bucks and Milwaukee natives
Scooby Axson Projects the Bucks vs. the Suns in a rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals, Milwaukee topping Boston for the first time in the Eastern Conference Finals, and he selects Jon Horst as Executive of the Year.
Cydney Henderson expects the Bucks to win the championship against Denver after beating the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, and Henderson also picks Giannis Antetokounmpo to win his third league MVP. Most improved player? None other than Milwaukee native Jordan Poole, now with Washington.
Jeff Zillgitt picks the Bucks to fall to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, although he picks Greenfield native Tyler Herro as the league’s most improved player. Heather Tucker also picks the Celtics, although she picks Horst as Executive of the Year and Herro as Most Improved Player.
Yahoo! Sports: Writer thinks Bucks will clean up awards races
One of four authors making selections for Yahoo! (Vincent Goodwill) selected Antetokounmpo as MVP, Bobby Portis as Sixth Man of the Year and Adrian Griffin as Coach of the Year, and another writer (Jake Fischer) selected Brook Lopez as Defensive Player of the Year.
All four authors project Milwaukee vs. Boston in the Eastern Conference finals, with Goodwill and Dan Devine selecting Milwaukee to advance to the finals. The first chooses the Bucks to win it all, the second chooses the Nuggets.
ESPN thinks Bucks will go 54-28
Generally, the Bucks are ranked second in preseason trailing Denver, projected 54-28.
“With the blockbuster addition of Lillard, the Bucks have a championship team but little flexibility,” Bobby Marks wrote. “Milwaukee has no first-round picks to trade, is not allowed to trade firsts in future seasons and has two second-round picks: 2024 (via Portland) and its own in 2027. The list of the Bucks’ best players includes nine players who earn between $1.1 million and $2.6 million.
“The Bucks could be a landing spot for players bought out of their contracts during the regular season, but because they are past the second apron, Milwaukee is not allowed to sign a player who was waived and had a salary above $12.4 million with his previous team.”
Bleacher Report doesn’t see a title for Milwaukee
The site chose Denver to win the title but I expected Giannis to score more efficiently than ever.
“More than anything else, Lillard’s presence means Antetokounmpo won’t be tasked with creating shots on his own or handling late save tasks, completely eliminating his less effective looks,” Grant Hughes wrote. “Antetokounmpo finished with 57.8 percent shooting in 2018-19. He will set a new career high this season.”
CBS Sports categorically chooses Boston over Milwaukee
Ouch, the six writers interviewed here picked the Celtics to take first place in the East, with the Bucks second on five of the six writers. All six picked the Celtics to beat the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Ringer is about 50/50 on the Bucks making the Finals
During the site’s 2023-24 season “entry survey,” writers discussed a number of topics, and the Bucks came up frequently.
When it came to predicting the outcome of the season, Howard Beck chose the Bucks over the Lakers, Rob Mahoney chose Denver over Milwaukee, Logan Murdock chose the Bucks over six over the Lakers, Danny Chau chose the Suns over the Bucks and the other four writers chose Boston to qualify for the final.
