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The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a tough exit after a seven-game tussle with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals this season.
The Bucks' offseason will include addressing key bench pieces Bobby Portis Jr. and Pat Connaughton. Both are unrestricted free-agents in 2023. Additionally, the Bucks will need to address bench depth and Khris Middleton's extension.
NBA front-office insider Bobby Marks outlined the immediate future for the Milwaukee Bucks:
"Once you remove Khris Middleton from this lineup, it's Giannis on an island and hopefully you can get 25 points out of Jrue Holiday because your supporting cast is not good enough to get to a conference finals without Khris Middleton."
"There's a couple of focuses here, the one is certainly Middleton, as far as what do you do with Khris Middleton? Out for the playoffs after Game 2 in that Chicago Bulls,...he's extension eligible."
Marks underlined Middleton's regression, stating:
"Here's my question, there's a little bit of regression we're starting to see with Khris Middleton, certainly three years in a row of averaging 20 points a game, shot 39% on shots off the dribble, down from 45.9% in last two years...turns 33 in first year of the extension, be careful as far as what number you're thinking about."
Portis' outstanding season will lead to him opting out of his player-option this season, and so will Connaughton. Both have established bird rights.
The Milwaukee Bucks' championship contention is an Eastern Conference cornerstone
Despite the loss that the Milwaukee Bucks suffered this postseason, Milwaukee makes the strongest case to win an NBA championship for any team in the Eastern Conference next season.
The caveat to that claim is, of course, Khris Middleton's health and retention of their bench.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday took the Celtics to seven games. They were eliminated in a 81-109 blowout loss. However, with a healthy Khris Middleton, the Celtics might not have progressed to the conference finals.
Giannis averaged 33.9 points, 14.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists in the semifinals, and despite being knocked out of the second-round, he led the league in points per game in the playoffs along with the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic.
Giannis' 44-point, 20-rebound double-double performance in Game 6 vs. the Celtics made him the second player ever to put up a 40/20 statline in the playoffs since 2000. The other is, of course, Shaquille O'Neal, who performed the feat four times.
Guess the Lakers players!
