Can the Milwaukee Bucks’ big 3 deliver an NBA Championship?
With a little over 20 games remaining in the shortened regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks are 32-17 and sitting just 1.5 games back of the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
They may not be winning at the same pace they were winning last year before the NBA’s hiatus, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is still playing at an MVP level, Khris Middleton continues to be one of the best second options in the Eastern Conference, and the addition of Jrue Holiday has paid dividends.
Although, with what lies elsewhere in the East – with how the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers have built out their rosters – you have to wonder if this current core for the Bucks will be good enough to win an NBA Championship in the foreseeable future.
And after the Bucks inked Jrue Holiday to a long-term extension, those questions have only begun to echo louder.
Milwaukee star guard Jrue Holiday and the Bucks have agreed to a four-year maximum contract extension worth up to $160 million, his agent Jason Glushon of @GlushonSM told @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 4, 2021
Milwaukee’s big three of Middleton, Giannis, and Holiday, is now locked in with the team through at least the 2023-24 season, perhaps more.
It’s not exactly surprising that the Bucks signed Holiday to a long-term extension, considering what the team had to give up in a trade to acquire him during the offseason. Milwaukee elected to go all-in during the offseason, in an attempt to interest Giannis in signing his super-max extension, and it paid off.
Though, I’m not sure if a trio of Giannis, Jrue, and Middleton is enough to dethrone what other teams in the East have built recently – specifically, the Nets.
We’ll get a front row seat in the postseason, however. At least for now, you have to like how the Bucks have looked this season. Even though they’re not winning as much as last year’s regular season, this is a team that is built for the playoffs.
It’s not fair to fully judge this team based on a shortened regular season, but we should get a good look at their ceiling once the playoffs come around this season. The last thing that they need, however, is another early playoff exit. If it comes to that, I can’t help but wonder if Milwaukee indeed make a mistake in surrounding Giannis.