Future for the Bucks and the Suns as the Season Ends.
Fifty years in the making and the Milwaukee Bucks are champions again. The Suns fought hard, but unfortunately for them Giannis and the Bucks were too much for them taking the series in six games.
One thing that I think most NBA fans can be happy about is that no matter who won this years Finals, every player would be winning their first championship. It was a breath of fresh air for fans and the league alike. The question remains however, will these teams be able to replicate their performances next season and beyond, or was this supposed to be the year for both teams.
To start with the Bucks, to repeat as champions is obviously the most difficult task in the league, but it certainly isn’t impossible. They have in my opinion the best player in the world in Giannis Antetokounmpo, an absolute crunch time killer in Khris Middleton, and a terrific two way player in Jrue Holiday as their core. Role players like Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, PJ Tucker, and Pat Connaughton should be back to try and defend their title so this Bucks team should like pretty similar heading into next season.
What could hold the Bucks back? The answer to that lies within the health and rebuilding of certain eastern conference teams. The Bucks just snuck past the Nets in 7 games, and that was without Kyrie Irving and a staggering James Harden for Brooklyn. That team when healthy is one of if not the deadliest teams in the league, so it will be interesting to see how they bounce back.
Then there are the Sixers. Philly’s process may be headed in a different direction if they decide to ship Ben Simmons away. If they can get the right price for Simmons in order to remain a contender in the east they could cause some trouble. We also didn’t get to see these two teams matchup in the playoffs this year, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against each other if that matchup happens next year.
The Suns are in a bit of a different position. Their young core of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, and Cam Johnson will still be in tact next season, but some questions remain around the rest of the team. Will key veterans like Chris Paul and Jae Crowder be around and be able to produce at the same level next year?
It was also clear that the Bucks bench was much stronger than the Suns bench was in this series. Another question could be whether or not the Suns look to sign a new face in the off-season, or try to grow their bench unit that they have now.
The toughest part for the Suns if they want to get back to the Finals will be the competition of the Western Conference. It’s not a secret that every team they beat in this year’s playoffs had a major injury during that series. The Lakers lost AD, the Nuggets lost Jamal Murray, and the Clippers lost Kawhi. Those three teams will surely be much more dangerous when healthy next year. Then of course teams like the Jazz, Mavericks, and Grizzlies all shower they can win playoff games as well, so making it out of the West in consecutive seasons is certainly a tall task.
Both the Bucks and the Suns had tremendous seasons this year, but I see the path back to the finals for both teams next year to be extremely difficult. However both of these teams surprised everyone this year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they shocked the world again.
Fifty years in the making and the Milwaukee Bucks are champions again. The Suns fought hard, but unfortunately for them Giannis and the Bucks were too much for them taking the series in six games.
One thing that I think most NBA fans can be happy about is that no matter who won this years Finals, every player would be winning their first championship. It was a breath of fresh air for fans and the league alike. The question remains however, will these teams be able to replicate their performances next season and beyond, or was this supposed to be the year for both teams.
To start with the Bucks, to repeat as champions is obviously the most difficult task in the league, but it certainly isn’t impossible. They have in my opinion the best player in the world in Giannis Antetokounmpo, an absolute crunch time killer in Khris Middleton, and a terrific two way player in Jrue Holiday as their core. Role players like Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, PJ Tucker, and Pat Connaughton should be back to try and defend their title so this Bucks team should like pretty similar heading into next season.
What could hold the Bucks back? The answer to that lies within the health and rebuilding of certain eastern conference teams. The Bucks just snuck past the Nets in 7 games, and that was without Kyrie Irving and a staggering James Harden for Brooklyn. That team when healthy is one of if not the deadliest teams in the league, so it will be interesting to see how they bounce back.
Then there are the Sixers. Philly’s process may be headed in a different direction if they decide to ship Ben Simmons away. If they can get the right price for Simmons in order to remain a contender in the east they could cause some trouble. We also didn’t get to see these two teams matchup in the playoffs this year, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against each other if that matchup happens next year.
The Suns are in a bit of a different position. Their young core of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, and Cam Johnson will still be in tact next season, but some questions remain around the rest of the team. Will key veterans like Chris Paul and Jae Crowder be around and be able to produce at the same level next year?
It was also clear that the Bucks bench was much stronger than the Suns bench was in this series. Another question could be whether or not the Suns look to sign a new face in the off-season, or try to grow their bench unit that they have now.
The toughest part for the Suns if they want to get back to the Finals will be the competition of the Western Conference. It’s not a secret that every team they beat in this year’s playoffs had a major injury during that series. The Lakers lost AD, the Nuggets lost Jamal Murray, and the Clippers lost Kawhi. Those three teams will surely be much more dangerous when healthy next year. Then of course teams like the Jazz, Mavericks, and Grizzlies all shower they can win playoff games as well, so making it out of the West in consecutive seasons is certainly a tall task.
Both the Bucks and the Suns had tremendous seasons this year, but I see the path back to the finals for both teams next year to be extremely difficult. However both of these teams surprised everyone this year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they shocked the world again.
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