Yes, we know the Bucks are in the Eastern Conference, but we’ll have to play them twice this year (spoiler alert: they’re not making the Finals).
You may or may not be aware (you are probably not, we understand) that their top draft pick Brandon Jennings has been playing relatively well. There was some concern that Jennings might fall out of the lottery as his pre-draft workouts were poor and he ran his mouth a lot. Here’s why the Bucks decided to go ahead and draft Jennings, from an article by Chad Ford:
“Jennings has so much upside,” a Bucks source told me hours before the draft. “Sometimes you have to gamble a little. The great teams take calculated risks. I think we need to take a calculated risk.”
Right. So let’s take a look at the “great” teams of the past couple of decades: Pistons, Spurs, Celtics, Lakers, Mavs (in no particular order). These team didn’t become great because Shaq might blossom in the right situation or because, given the right coaching, Tim Duncan might just turn out okay. Even the personnel moves that didn’t immediately seem like slam dunks to the majority of people (Parker, Bryant, Dirk, Ginobili), were only underrated because people had never heard of them. They weren’t long shots. Teams didn’t draft them because they hoped they would do well. They were not “gambling” on “upside.” No, they were outworking, outsmarting and outscouting everyone to find these players and make the right decisions.
Great teams don’t luck into it, they get help from the refs (see: Lakers/Kings Game 6 2002). I kid, I kid. But hey, if you’re a gambling person like the Bucks front office, then by all means, place some money on them when they play the Mavs later this month. We’ll be glad to take your money.
