Milwaukee Bucks
Mid-season grade: C+
After a truly terrible start to the season, there were many who were quick to bury the Milwaukee Bucks. After the first few weeks of the season, it was safe to assume that the demise of the Bucks had been much exaggerated. And their play over the last couple of months of the season has very much supported that idea. Even though the Bucks are far from a championship contender in the Eastern Conference at the moment, there's no question that this team has begun to piece together more consistent, play of late.
The big question for the Bucks, of course, is whether or not they'll be able to re-emerge as a legit contender down the stretch. Right now, with the continued inconsistencies that they continue to battle against, it's hard to envision that plane out. However, as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are healthy, the Bucks are gonna have a shot against any team in the seven-game series. I can't help but wonder if the key to the Buck re-emerging as a contender could lie in what move they end up pursuing at the NBA Trade Deadline. All that said, with as much talent as this team has on its roster, it's hard to feel good about anything the Bucks have done through the first half of the season.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Mid-season grade: C-
As what was somewhat of an expectation for the team, heading into the start of this season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are a team that has struggled for much of the first half of the year. Even though they're still on pace to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, this is not a team that appears to have the ability to make another deep play upfront as they did last season. Many will be quick to point at the trade of Karl-Anthony Towns as one of the biggest reasons why the Wolves have taken a big step back to season, but I'd argue that this team was going to take a step back in their play either way.
The move of KAT was always one that was not going to show true dividends until a couple of seasons down the road. Even though the Wolves may never admit it, this year was always considered to be somewhat of a gap season for the team. Despite that, it's still hard to give this team a high mark for how they perform through the first half of the year. The wolves have much to figure out and I'm not sure they are any easy decisions regarding their future.