EI think we all thought they’d be better with the new staff and complimentary pieces. Just a competent coach gets them further than in previous years. But they’re on pace for 57 wins, which would be a monumental achievement.
But what I didn’t expect is the way other teams are struggling in the process. In the West, Denver tops all teams with the best record. Houston stumbled badly out of the gate. Golden State seems to have lost their edge, at least at this point of the season. They’ve been blown out at Oracle more times this year than in several years combined. Now granted, GS still is #2 in their conference, but they’ve shown to be quite disinterested to start the season.
Meanwhile the East has Milwaukee, Toronto, and Indiana at the top- no Boston, no Philly. Boston took 2 months to figure out a rotation that works, and still they’re only just finding their stride. Philly needed to trade for Butler to get their motor running. They seem fragile psychologically, as Embiid has struggled to adjust to having a third, bona fide star.
And for all this talk of Anthony Davis as an MVP, they’re 4 games under and have lost games to the Spurs, Wizards, Miami... all very bad teams. And with Lebron engaging earlier this season just to get them over .500, it’s tough to say what will be left come April.
It is fantastic that the Bucks will finish the calendar year at the top of the EC, and the league’s best winning %. But it only matters in the end... when you’re no longer the hunter, but the hunted.