Roster Breakdown (Starters in Bold)
- PG - Brandon Jennings, Beno Udrih, Shaun Livingston
- SG - Stephen Jackson, Carlos Delfino
- SF - Mike Dunleavy, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
- PF - Drew Gooden, Larry Sanders, Ersan Ilyasova, Tobias Harris
- C - Andrew Bogut, Jon Brockman, Jon Leuer
General Thoughts
There's nothing in life more exciting than the defense-first, Skiles-led Milwaukee Bucks. Firstly, I really like Andrew Bogut, and people consistently overlook him because 1) he plays in Milwaukee, 2) he's not exciting, and 3) he plays in Milwaukee. Brandon Jennings took a perceived step back in year #2, but in actuality, he was slightly better (just didn't have 55 points in a game) in his sophomore campaign. I look for him to take another step forward, raising his FG% over 40%, upping the assist numbers a bit, and with a little less scoring pressure next to S-Jax. Speaking of Mr. Jackson, he's ALREADY on the prowl for a contract extension (typical), but when he's alive and playing, he's a career 16 point a game scorer who has routinely been between 18-20 for the last few years as a legit scoring option. The Udrih/Livingston/Delfino trio is pretty darn solid as backup options, and with the low-cost flyer they took on Mike Dunleavy (2 years, $7.5 million), that's a decent perimeter nucleus. Next to the always-solid Bogut is a smattering of options including Drew Gooden (on his hilarious 9th team before age 30), a young guy I like in Larry Sanders, and the shooting option in Ilyasova. I really kind of like this team, but they HAVE to defend at a Skiles level to be a playoff consideration.
X-Factor
Health. I know that's cheating, but this team was decimated by injuries last year. 63 games for Jennings, 65 games for Bogut, big injuries to Gooden and Ilyasova, and with Dunleavy's history? His production is far from a lock. If Bogut and Jennings play in 60-ish games (shortened season), and Dunleavy stays upright, this could be a playoff team.
Predicted Finish
11th in the East
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