Welcome back to “Regular Dude Talks Bucks Basketball” first and foremost, fuck Mike Dunleavey. Now that that’s out of the way let’s get to rambling. Today we’ll be covering the Bucks’ backcourt and what we can expect from each respective member along with a peak into my wildest fantasies about these athletically gifted men. As always don’t assume I did any research about past statistics (I didn’t).
TLDR: Our backcourt might be special or it might just be meh. We’ll have to wait and see.
Kevin Porter Jr:
Statistical predictions:
Optimistic: 20+/5/5 2.5 stocks on 48/38/80 shooting
Realistic: 15/3/5 1 stock on 45/35/80 shooting
Outside of GA, KPJ will have the ball in his hands more than any other Buck this year. He’s played as a lead guard before, albeit for a pretty lousy team, and had some pretty healthy averages. I expect a full season with GA allows him to fully become a steady second option. We don’t need him to light the world on fire but we do need him to quietly produce on decent efficiency. Do I expect a few bumps in the road along the way? Of course, but I think he has the raw talent and feel for the game to take this opportunity and run with it.
Gary son of Gary:
Statistical predictions:
Optimistic: 17/3/3 2.5 stocks on 50/40/90 shooting
Realistic: 15/2/2 1.5 stocks on 47/38/85 shooting
With suddenly many mouths to feed around the perimeter I don’t expect Gary to touch 20 ppg but we don’t need him to. I do expect him to continue to be a menace in the passing lanes and hit big shots. If he can manage 50/40/90 and show a level of night in night out consistency I don’t think he quite has yet we’re looking at one of the best bargains in league history.
AJ Green:
Statistical predictions:
Optimistic: 16/3/2 1.5 stocks on 50/40/90 shooting
Realistic: 12/2/2 1 stock on 50/40/90 shooting
A shooter of AJ’s quality should be a perennial 50/40/90 guy imo. There might be too many mouths to feed for him to get up 7+ 3PA a night but if anything that should help his efficiency. Barring Kuz and Sims there’s nobody in the rotation teams will be comfortable helping off of which should mean plenty of open looks for Dairy Bird. If he can manage to reign in his foul troubles on the other end he will cement his must play status to close games.
Cole Anthony:
Statistical predictions:
Optimistic: 18/4/4 1.5 stocks on 47/37/80 shooting
Realistic: 14/4/2 .5 stocks on 45/35/80 shooting
I expect a lot of effort, heat check 3s, and rim pressure from CA. Honestly this one’s the hardest for me to say as I don’t watch any nba games outside of the Bucks lol. With that being said I expect some high highs and some low lows as CA figures out his role in the offense. If he can show some development as a playmaker on his drives you can color me surprised. Although, playing next to GA should give him plenty of open catch and shoot 3’s and we should see his best shooting season come from it.
Ryan Rollins:
Statistical predictions:
Optimistic: 12/5/4 3 stocks on 48/37/80 shooting
Realistic: 9/4/3 2 stocks on 45/36/80 shooting
I expect Ryan to show quite a bit more offensive consistency following an offseason to heal his shoulder. He will absolutely still be a menace as an on ball and help defender leveraging his wingspan and athleticism to disrupt passing lanes and challenge shots. My wildest fantasies see RR as a top 5 perimeter defender in the league but he’s gonna have to prove it night in and night out. If his on ball jitters from last season were because of his shoulder my optimistic prediction may be a little low but I’m comfortable with that.
Overall:
As I said in the previous post I’m most excited to see what the backcourt guys are made of this year. KPJ, RR, and AJG especially. If they’re able to live up to their potential we will see a very dangerous Bucks team capable of competing with just about anyone in the league. If they only make marginal gains from last season I still see us as a solid team, albeit not a true contender.
As always go off in the comments about how bad/good my takes are I love to hear it but don’t get mad if I disagree 🤷🏼♂️
10 comments
I expect all 3 in the GOAT conversation by the all star break, anything else is a failure
I like your comments, I agree that it needs to be by committee…. I think KPJ is going to break out and be in running for most improved player this upcoming season
If you think about it KPJ has a very SGA style game. I hope the coaching staff gives him the reigns to be our #2
Expecting Career years for pretty much every player is pretty silly ngl
Play and feed the hot hand. None of them should be forced to do anything, find who has the touch or matchup for the night and utilize it.
Kind of an irrelevant question but did KPJ shave his eyebrow during the playoffs?
Just a few years ago KPJ averaged 19/5/5 for the Rockets when given a prominent starting role. He’s only 25, it is possible he could return to that level of production with a big role. Am I counting on that actually happening? No. But the possibility is exciting.
I would lean heavily towards your realistic outcomes for most of them, especially KPJ, AJ and Cole. KPJ and Cole should be splitting minutes, so either getting near or eclipsing 20ppg seems far fetched for me.
AJ I could see averaging 12 for the season, but I think it’ll be closer to 10 just because of his shot diet. It’d take 8-9 3PA to get him to 12ppg in my eyes because he doesn’t take many shots inside the 3PT line.
i really think this team is gonna be solid, championship level, possibly (as long Giannis is there) i can def see them making a run if they stay healthy
While many people are aggressively pessimistic, we definitely don’t have a superstar backcourt. However, there are a few reasons I’m optimistic:
1. KPJ has shown that he has excellent compatibility with Giannis. He isn’t the scoring master that Dame was, but I think he can really work well with our front court, and be really productive.
2. AJ Green is constantly underestimated. He’s always been one of my favorite players, and I think he’s on track for a true breakout year as he’s been slowly getting better every year.
3. Gary Trent Jr. was incredible in a heartbreaking playoff series, a real sharpshooter, and proving himself on a minimum. He’s a true asset, and we’re lucky to have him.
4. We have a lot of fresh blood and young guys with a lot to prove with energy and grit. That tenacity can go a long way.
It’s not gonna be an easy season, and we’ll need to see if that Dame waive and stretch really was the right call, but I’m optimistic and looking forward to a fast, dynamic, and younger team in a wide open East.