By: Zach Cook
The 2014-2015 season for the Milwaukee Bucks was nothing short of remarkable. They came into the season with extremely low expectations, coming off a franchise worst 15-67 campaign.
Many Bucks fans, including myself, expected this team to be preparing for the NBA Draft at this point of the season – but that is not the case. Instead, they are playing the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The team finished with more than 40 wins for just the second time since the 2004 season – and they did so without their No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker. A midseason trade of Brandon Knight shook up the roster and left many Bucks fans confused as Knight looked like the future at point guard.
New owners Wes Edens and Marc Lasry pegged their rebuild mode as a “three-to-five year process” – and even they could not have predicted his quick of a turnaround.
As this young Bucks team gets its feet wet in the playoffs, there are three things I am keeping an eye on.
1. Youth Development
The Bucks enter the postseason with the least playoff experience on their roster as only five players on the current roster have played more than 10 playoff games. The Bucks were the fourth-youngest team in the NBA this season with an average age of only 25.
Playoff experience this early in the #OwnTheFuture movement for the Bucks is critical in the development of future cornerstones like Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo. And while no one is expecting this team to advance to the second round – something they have not done since 2001 – just being in the playoffs this early into their careers is crucial.
It is one thing to play in “playoff-like atmosphere” games during the regular season but playing in the actual playoffs is something completely different. It will be noteworthy to see how this young team responds to being down in the playoffs and going on the road to a hostile environment like the United Center.
2. Rotation
Jason Kidd’s coaching style this year was a bit unique in terms of what a normal NBA rotation consists of. More often than not, NBA coaches play a rotation of nine to ten players and have their stars playing 35+ minutes a night.
Kidd, however, regularly played 13 guys a night and had only three players average more than 30mpg on the season. That statistic stands out because with such a young team, one would think that they could take a heavier workload in terms of minutes played because it is easier to recover at a young age.
In order to prepare the young core of this Bucks team for future playoff experiences, Kidd needs to increase the minutes of MCW, Middleton and Giannis so they can soak up as much as possible in what could be a short series. Jarryd Bayless and Jared Dudley have been key in getting the Bucks to where they are right now – but they are certainly not in the team’s future plans so their workload should decrease.
3. Fan Turnout
Whether at Miller Park or the Bradley Center, Chicago fans seem to always have an alarmingly large presence in Milwaukee. The buzz around the Bucks has not been this high probably since their run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001.
Within the last month, blueprints for a new arena have been released as well as the introduction of three new logos and new colors. It also helps that the team finished with its best record since 2010 and avoids playing a No. 1 seed in the first round.
The Bucks have done a terrific job offering great ticket packages in order to get the Bradley Center filled, so the turnout should be in the Bucks’ favor.
Their most recent promotion gave fans tickets to the first two home games, and the final regular season game, for just $35. So it is clear that the front office is doing their part to make it affordable for Bucks fans to make it to Milwaukee.
It certainly would be a shame come April 23 when the Bucks host the Bulls for Game 3 if the arena consists of anything less than 75 percent Bucks fans. Not only is it affordable to make it to the game – it is also worth it because the product on the court is the best it has been in some time.
Prediction: Bulls in 7
Zach Cook is an intern with The Fan and a student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. You can hear him on the Saturday Morning Showcase 8:00-10:00 and follow him on Twitter @ZCooksTweets.
