The first month of the 2024-25 NBA season has been rough for Bucks fans. The Bucks have gone four and eight as of November 15, and while they seem to be turning it around as of late, they’ve also lost to teams that they should be able to beat. The team has two superstar players in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but they’ve still had a lot of difficulty stringing together wins.
The team has been without starter Khris Middleton due to bilateral ankle surgery that he underwent during the offseason. With Lillard’s recent concussion, the Bucks have had to adjust their lineups to compensate for the missing offensive players.
Doc Rivers, the Bucks head coach, has begun giving many of the younger players on the team significant minutes, including spots in the starting line up. During their expanded playing time, young players Andre Jackson Jr., A.J. Green, and Ryan Rollins have all had positive impacts on the way the Bucks are playing, from scoring to improving the defense and athleticism. All three of them have earned starts during the first 12 games of the season, and they’ve shown that they deserve their minutes.
Although Rollins is still a two-way player, splitting his time between the Bucks and their G-League affiliate, he had a strong showing in the Bucks game against the Toronto Raptors on November 12 that earned him a start against the Detroit Pistons on the 13th. He left the Pistons game early due to a shoulder injury, but his time on the court led to a career high 12 points as well as five steals.
Jackson Jr. has gotten multiple starts so far this season, and despite not being a big offensive threat he has shown that he belongs on the Bucks. His defensive effort and athleticism are things that might not be clear on a stat sheet, but anyone watching can tell that he cares about the team and does his best to bring energy and effort to the defense. He’s also fun to watch, especially when he gets the opportunity to dunk and show off how high he can jump.
Despite some tough losses, it’s been good to see the younger players getting significant play time. The Bucks are one of the oldest teams in the league, and the younger players bring a much needed athleticism to the team.
This doesn’t change the fact that for many of the games, the Bucks have seemed listless. When the team is putting in the effort they’re fantastic to watch, but when they start to make sloppy mistakes and play like they’re falling asleep it becomes incredibly frustrating. The media doesn’t help this.
When the Bucks aren’t playing to expectations, the NBA starts to circulate the idea that Antetokounpo will be asking for a trade despite him never expressing that he would like to leave Milwaukee. He’s said before that what he wants is to play with a team that wants to compete, and it seems like the Bucks are finally regaining that fire after a poor start.
The upside of being a small-market team on a losing streak is that the people at Bucks games are almost always people who care about the team. The games are incredibly loud, and even over the broadcast it’s obvious that the stands are full of people who care. It changes the atmosphere of games when it’s clear that people are excited. Bucks fans have shown that they have that passion for their team even when they aren’t playing well, because the Bucks matter to Milwaukee.