Courtesy of CloseUp360.com Drafted 41st overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, not much was expected out of Pat Connaughton. He had a fine collegiate career at Notre Dame, but didn’t necessarily have any standout skills that would make him a star in the big leagues. In his first three years for the Portland Trail Blazers, Connaughton was a sparingly used bench player who finally showed some flashes of a potential role player in the 2017-18 season. That stint was all the proof the Mil

Benny Sieu - USA Today With just a month to go until the start of a new NBA season, it's time to take an in-depth look at each team’s roster. The Milwaukee Bucks were 60-win team last season; while the roster has stayed relatively intact, there are also several new acquisitions that will play key roles. If the new guys mesh well with the already-solid roster, and last year’s numbers prove to be more than just a mirage, the Bucks will likely be looking at another year of champ

Getty Images The 2019-2020 NBA season starts October 22nd, and to get you ready for tip-off, Off the Glass is previewing all 30 teams. Today we look at the Milwaukee Bucks. 2017-2018 Record: 60-22, 1st in the Central Division. Lost 2-4 to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Final. Season Recap: On the back of Giannis Antetokounmpo continuing his dazzling ascent up the NBA's pecking order, Milwaukee had a fantastic year. Mike Budenholzer’s first stint with this Buck’

Via Sporting News We’ve seen Giannis Antetokounmpo improve year after year. At just 24-years old Antetokounmpo has won a Most Improved Player of the Year Award and this past season earned his first Most Valuable Player Award. Not to mention three All-Star selections, three All-NBA Team selections and two All-Defensive Team selections. The Milwaukee Bucks as a team took their biggest strides last season as they reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Heading into this season th

USA Today Overview Considered to be one of the most sought-after wings on this summer's market (behind only Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard), Middleton's first foray into the free agency may be a short one; the Texas A&M product declined his $13 million option this past week, but is reportedly working closely with the Milwaukee Bucks to reach a new long-term deal that would keep him in green and cream for the duration of his prime years. Middleton is an ideal No. 2 or 3 offens

AP Photo Overview: The NBA postseason can provide a platform for upcoming free agents to shine in the hopes of securing a larger contract. This bright lights of the playoffs can also shine a light on poor performers in a similarly obvious manner, and unfortunately the latter scenario is what unfolded for Nikola Mirotic. After being traded from New Orleans to Milwaukee in February, Mirotic came to bolster the hot-shooting Bucks with even more long-range prowess, and it seemed

ClutchPoints MVP, although most of the time it is. The problem with granting the title of best player to the MVP is that the award tends to take team record into account. Obviously there is a correlation between being a great player and your team winning, however that’s not always the case. For example, guys like Carmelo Anthony, Yao Ming, Jerry West, Isiah Thomas, Paul Pierce and Dwyane Wade have never won an MVP. That doesn’t mean they’ve never been in contention for the be

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via GettyImages Malcolm Brogdon’s season was humming along through the first 64 games of the regular season. The third-year combo wing out of Virginia was averaging a career-high in points and rebounds, and was in the process of recording the 14th 50/40/90 season in NBA history (his splits were 50.5/42.6/92.8). Brogdon had started all 64 games the Bucks had played so far, and during a game against the Miami Heat in March, came up lame halfway through

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via GettyImages Tuesday night was the pivotal Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors. Following Game 3’s double-overtime win for the Raptors, the Bucks were still up 2-1 in the series. Milwaukee was looking to bounce back from the loss to set up Game 5 as a chance to close out the series on their home court. Meanwhile, the Raptors were looking to build upon the momentum from their Game 3 win to tie up t

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via GettyImages Coming into Sunday night, it was a must win scenario for the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Finals series with the Milwaukee Bucks. Anyone who’s followed NBA history knows that no team has come back from an 0 - 3 hole in the NBA Playoffs. Additionally, the Raptors needed something positive after getting blown out by the Bucks last Friday night in Game 2. It took two overtimes, but the Raptors walked away with the

CBS Sports The Milwaukee Bucks are legit. Paul Pierce is backtracking faster than James Dolan scurrying off to band practice. Giannis Antetokounmpo has returned to looking like the MVP of the 2018-19 Season, and the Boston Celtics are in some trouble. The Bucks won Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals 123-116, winning the game in the third quarter, where they outscored the Celtics 40-31 — the difference in the other three quarters between the two teams was actually +2

USA Today Sports What a year for the Milwaukee Bucks. After opening up a new state of the art arena, the team has proceeded to win the Central Division for the first time since 2001, gained home court advantage for the first time ever in their 30 plus years of being in the Eastern Conference, and won 60 games for the first time in almost 40 years. Needless to say, it has been a fun season of basketball in Milwaukee. While injuries have hit the team hard since early March, th

All year we’ve watched the best of the best play this wonderful game of basketball. The season has concluded and the OTG Staff is making their award selections. Defensive Player of the Year is full of many worthy candidates, making this one of the tougher races. Jeremy Freed - @JeremyFreed3 Defensive Player of the Year: Giannis Antetokounmpo Via Complex Defensive Player of the Year is as close a race as I think we have this year, but I like Giannis to take home the hardware.

All year we’ve watched the best of the best play this wonderful game of basketball. With the season concluded it's time to determine who put their franchise in the best position to win. The OTG Staff make their picks for Executive of the Year. Nik Cuvalo - @NiikCuvs Executive of the Year: Elton Brand Via USA Today In my opinion, this is one of the most competitive award races of the 2018-2019 NBA season. Masai Ujiri (or, rather, Bobby Webster) has flexed his executive muscle

All year we’ve watched the best of the best play this wonderful game of basketball. Now we’re in the final stretch of this season and the playoffs are almost here! The playoffs being just around the corner also signals it being time to start thinking about the award races. The Coach of the Year Award once again is full of many candidates, making this one of the tougher races. Members of the OTG Staff give their picks: Alder Almo - @alderalmo Coach of the Year: Mike Malone Via

10. Nikola Jokic 2018-19 Stats: 20.2 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 7.6 APG, 50/32/84 The Denver Channel The Nuggets rise to genuine Western Conference contender has been off the back of the sublime talents of big man Nikola Jokic. Jokic is a wizard with the ball in his hands. He might even already be the best passing center in the history of the league. His defense is still shoddy but has made minor improvements. What he does on the offensive end more than makes up for it. 9. Kyrie Irving

Golden State of Mind You made your pick, now our writers make theirs! Dennis Dow: Houston Rockets Reading that team name makes you think that I might be confused and think that it is last year, but I assure you I am referring to this year. The Houston Rockets have had a difficult season and they have managed to stay afloat thanks to a historic stretch of scoring from James Harden, probably the NBA's least liked superstar. While the Warriors at times have looked unbeatable t

The Arms Race in the East NBC Sports LeBron has left the East and the Big Four now each thinks it has a chance to make the NBA finals. Three of them were very aggressive at the deadline; let's start with the Philadelphia 76ers. After coming up empty-handed in free agency this past summer, the Sixers determined that their best course of action was to go into free agency owning the best players’ Bird rights. They acquired a very valuable set of rights in Jimmy Butler early in t

NOP Receives: PG Eric Bledsoe, PF Thon Maker, SG Donte DiVincenzo, SG Pat Connaughton MIL Receives: PG Jrue Holiday, SG Ian Clark Almost all the talk in the NBA these days is centered around the final destination of Anthony Davis -- and with good reason! But if New Orleans is moving him, there's no reason for them to keep a piece as big and expensive as Jrue Holiday. So...they don't. The biggest name and biggest contract coming back belongs to Eric Bledsoe. Though this is his

The NBA universe is awash with Anthony Davis trade rumors. This should come as no surprise. After all, the league’s two most accomplished franchises - the Lakers and the Celtics - are widely believed to be pursuing the All-Star big man. There’s plenty of reason to think that this time next season, Davis will be in either Los Angeles or Boston. He may very well remain in New Orleans as well. Still, there are 27 other teams in the league. No doubt they’ve all pondered an Anthon