Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Bucks fans and fans across the country.
New coach. New team. New identity. With a malleable roster full of youth and potential, the Bucks could look any number of ways in the season ahead (and beyond). At points I’m sure they’ll look a number of different ways in a single game—or even quarter. But, overall, who should they become? More pertinently, who do you want them to become?
With 2021 feeling like a codeine dream and the Bucks playing the last few years as John Doe—or at least without an identity we could be proud of—this might be hard to determine. So, let’s revisit some of the more distinguishable identities of recent eras.
Run and Gun (think Seven Seconds or Less Suns)
Mike D’Antoni and Steve Nash revolutionised NBA basketball in the mid 2000s, eschewing conventional post play and double bigs for a run-and-gun philosophy that became the foundation of the modern game. The key, play fast. Always. While the Bucks don’t have Nash—or Amar’e Stoudemire—they do have a garage full of cars with low mileage and full tanks of gas.
Defend to Death (think Going to Work Pistons)
In juxtaposition to the Suns, the Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups-led Pistons ground games to a halt, holding teams to fewer than 70 points on the regular—and bringing them to celebratory fist pumps if they got there (even if they lost by 18). Built on toughness, grit, and good old-fashioned hard work, these Pistons weren’t reliant on individual brilliance but a collective hive mind that protected the nest. At all costs. Stylistically, this seems the most natural fit for Taylor Jenkins and these Bucks—and there’s actually a lot of archetypal overlap in the potential starting lineup (save Big Ben).
Poetry in Motion (think The Beautiful Game Spurs)
Have you ever seen a team change so much? The Twin Towers Spurs metamorphosed from a pound-the-paint defensive juggernaut to a team built on grace and fluidity. And they destroyed the league doing so. Equal parts ballet and jazz, these Spurs moved the ball so beautifully you’d marvel at the extra pass’ extra pass. Of course, these Bucks are nowhere near those Spurs, but that doesn’t mean they can’t begin to try.
Aerial Attack (think Lob City Clippers)
Rim-rockin’, gravity-defyin’, highlightin’, these Clips cut clips for clicks. But they were legitimately good too. The formula? The lob, the jam! Beyond that simplification, spam the pick and roll to attack the paint, vertically space, and deter help with shooters. Again, these Bucks have a ways to go individually—they certainly don’t have a point god—but the raw ingredients are there. For one, they have willing and capable lob throwers. Two, they have a pair of lethal dunkers ready to catch bodies—Kel’el Ware finished eighth in the league last year with 137 dunks, while Jericho Sims finished 26th with 95 (while leading the league in percentage of field goal attempts that were dunks at 57.8%, more than six percentage points higher than second best).
There you have it, four potential team identities the Bucks could embody. Which do you want? Cast your vote below and, as always, share your musings in the comments.
