Let’s ease back into Bucks basketball
Believe it or not, the 2024–25 Milwaukee Bucks season is upon us (sort of) today as they tip off their preseason slate across Lake Michigan against the Detroit Pistons. After five months without Bucksketball, we get our first preview of this year’s squad tonight as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, and company gear up for another go at an NBA championship.
Where We’re At
Milwaukee retooled the middle of its roster this offseason, rearranging their rotation around their core four starters. Out are Jae Crowder, Patrick Beverley, and Malik Beasley (he is on the other sideline, though); in are Taurean Prince, Delon Wright, and Gary Trent Jr. We’ll get our first look at how the new dudes in town mesh with the longtime starting core of Giannis, Middleton, and Lopez plus last year’s big edition of Dame Lillard. Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton are also still around. Then there are all these young guys, most prominently 23rd overall pick AJ Johnson. As the big names take it easy, look for AJJ, Andre Jackson Jr., AJ Green, MarJon Beauchamp, and Tyler Smith to try to impress during whatever run they get.
Meanwhile, the long-suffering Pistons trot out yet another young roster, supplemented by veteran role players, hoping to improve upon last season’s abject disaster of fourteen wins. The usual young cast of Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Jaden Ivery, and Jalen Duran remain, plus last year’s rookies Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser. They’re joined by free agent acquisitions Tobias Harris, former Buck Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Paul Reed. New GM Trajan Langdon seems likely to flip at least one of these vets at the deadline, but he hopes they’ll rub off on their young core first. Former Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is the new boss on the sidelines, charged with mixing the right balance between those established role players and Detroit’s youth.
Injury Report
While the NBA doesn’t provide official injury reports in the preseason, we still know a little bit about what’s going on. For the Bucks, all eyes are on Khris Middleton, who underwent clean-up procedures on both ankles this offseason. He participated in everything but live scrimmages during Milwaukee’s training camp out in Southern California and is currently said to be day-to-day. It seems unlikely we’ll see him tonight, but every other Buck is good to go.
Ausar Thompson is still dealing with the blood clot that cut his rookie season short and was not cleared for practice in training camp. He’s done some conditioning, strength, and non-contact work, but there’s no time for his return as of last week. Beyond him, Detroit is healthy.
Player To Watch
Preseason is usually the time for young guys to experience rotation minutes against more senior competition, so we’ll likely see Doc Rivers mix in some young Bucks alongside the likes of Giannis, Lopez, etc. As Milwaukee’s first-round pick, AJ Johnson is the young guy I’m most looking forward to seeing alongside the vets after he really impressed in Summer League. A lot of other Bucks fans probably are too. It’s my hope we’ll see him out there alongside Giannis, and Doc gives him the keys to the offense for a possession or two, but I’d also like to see how he works off-ball alongside Dame.
How To Watch
ESPN at 7:00 PM CDT (no Bally Sports WI broadcast for this one).
Editor’s note: as usual, no game threads in the preseason. This post functions both as the game preview and thread.
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