Observations

The emphasis on three-point shooting is for real:

Coach Bud emphasized that he wanted the Bucks to take a lot more threes this season. However, that kind of talk is very common to hear in preseason, and the transfer rate to the regular season is  usually limited. Therefore, it’s great to see that so far, the Bucks have really taken Bud’s words into action. They are currently taking 44 percent of their shots from three, a mark that would have placed second in the entire NBA last year, and a vast contrast to their distribution last year, which was 25^th in the NBA at 30 percent. It’s quite possible that their current number trails off as teams guard for the three against the Bucks, but they’re certainly going to attempt far more threes this season than last.

The Bucks are rolling with a nine-man rotation:

It’s become more common in recent years to see NBA coaches expand their rotations in order to conserve players and spread the minutes load. Bud, however, is going with just a nine-player rotation to start the season, and hasn’t experimented much with his lineups yet. Those nine players have seen almost the entirety of the Bucks’ minutes, with four other players getting only garbage time appearances.

Eric Bledsoe’s assist to turnover ratio is insane:

Eric Bledsoe is in his ninth season in the NBA. In his previous eight seasons, he has never had an assist to turnover ratio greater than 1.85. So far this year, Bledsoe is averaging a ridiculous 7.7 assists to 1.3 turnovers, a nearly 6 to 1 ratio. That’s simply not going to hold, though Bud’s system should help keep Bledsoe’s passing numbers cleaner than they ever have been before.

Questions

Can the Bucks rely on Donte DiVincenzo for regular rotation minutes?

DiVincenzo has played 20.7 minutes per game through the Bucks first three contests, a pretty high number for a non-lottery rookie on a team that views itself as a contender. Donte hasn’t been awful – he looks like he belongs on the court at least – but his numbers also leave quite a bit to be desired. He’s shooting 35.7 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three so far, shooting percentages that just won’t cut it considering one of his purported strengths is as an outside shooter. He’s also struggled with turnovers, a common rookie issue, as he’s averaging 2 per game to just 0.7 assists. DiVincenzo should improve as he gets adjusted to the NBA, but if he doesn’t get going soon, one of Pat Connaughton, Matthew Dellavedova, or Sterling Brown might creep above him in the rotation.

Can Coach Bud keep Giannis’ minutes low?

So far, Giannis’ playing time has been quite reasonable: he’s averaging 34.7 minutes per game. Still, as the season goes along and games get tougher, Bud will need to be careful not to overload Giannis with minutes. Giannis has averaged over 30 minutes per game each of the past four seasons, and has only missed 12 games in that stretch. So, injuries aren’t really a concern. But those are still a lot of minutes in recent years for the modern NBA, and considering the Bucks want to make a deep playoff run this year, they need to try to keep superstar as fresh as possible. Staying under 35 would be ideal, so Bud is doing well so far. Just something to keep an eye on.

Prediction

Khris Middleton will make the All Star Game this season:

There’s no way Middleton keeps up his current shooting efficiency, but even if it regresses somewhat, his overall stats and his position as the second-best player on a likely 50 win team should be enough to win him his first All-Star berth.