Goal 1. Win the Central Division

Getting home court advantage would be huge for the Milwaukee Bucks. Getting a top four seed in the East should be a reasonable goal for them, too. The Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, and Indiana Pacers (I’m not sure on the order) are the other true contenders for the East crown. In my opinion, those are all better teams on both ends of the floor than Milwaukee. However, with Budenholzer’s ability to maximize his roster and get the best out of his ancillary pieces, the Bucks are more than capable of grabbing a top-4 seed.

Antetokounmpo is a bonafide MVP candidate and Middleton is one of the most underrated players in the league. If those two players can play effectively in first-option roles with the other getting rest, that will be huge, as Tjarks demonstrated.

With those two and a ball-dominant Bledsoe on the floor together, the ball can stop moving. I would expect Budenholzer to play a deep bench, and stagger between traditional and small-ball lineups. If Maker, DiVincenzo, Brown and Connaughton can provide some bench consistency, that will go a long way.

The Pacers, Celtics, Sixers, and Raps all can play varying styles. They all have stars and depth, but Milwaukee has the East’s best player and a much better coach. Middleton had over 20 points on 57.7 percent true shooting, 5.2 boards and 4.0 assists per game last season.

He’s more than enough for a number two. Plus, Bledsoe is still a good two-way point guard when motivated, and Brogdon is steady.

Although it’s not going to be easy, Milwaukee can definitely get home court advantage in the postseason. Some more veteran leadership should increase that possibility, and it would give their core a lift. Milwaukee is going to need to grind out wins to advance in the postseason. They have the talent to compete with Boston, Philly, and Indy, though. LeBron James is no longer in the East, and the time is now for Antetokounmpo’s deep postseason run.