We’re officially approaching the 2022-23 NBA season, as the Milwaukee Bucks ended their media day on Sunday.
Unlike in years past, the Bucks didn’t make everyone available for questions from the media. Wes Edens, John Hurst, Mike Budenholzer, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Guru Holiday, Joe Ingels, Bobby Portes, Sandro Mamokilashvili, Serge Ibaka and George Hill were the only ones who took the podium. That means no Grayson Allen, Thanassis Anticonmo, Margot Beauchamp, Jevon Carter, Pat Connaughton, Brooke Lopez, Wesley Matthews or Jordan Nora.
The event was broadcast live on ESPN+ and broadcast live by several of the site’s media outlets. Let’s check out six takeaways from Sunday’s event.
Continuation
The Bucks completely recreate their essence and most players seem to be excited about it. Giannis Antikonmo He said“We have 16 guys. I love playing with the people I’ve played with before. You know (their game) and what kind of people they are. It’s good to have the same people around you. We have a team full of greats.”
These 16 players he is referring to are: Hill, Carter, Allen, Portes, Lopez, Holiday, Middleton, Matthews, Velosa, Connaughton, Ibaka, Antitokonembus, Wiggington, Nora and Mamukilashvili.
Vacation is too Joy On continuity, “Everyone’s comeback puts us first.” He continued to talk that this is the lowest turnover on the roster he was a part of and he’s excited about what this season means.
Bullshit
Perhaps the continuity is what paved the way for the bright and funny atmosphere of the media event. Everyone relaxed, made jokes about each other and even interrupted a couple of sessions here and there.
With the addition of Ingles, the trash talk came up a bit. Middleton He said In the nicest way possible, โJoe is a great competitor. Everyone knows about him and his goofy talk.โ Portes She weighs too, “I have a question for you guys, who gets more tech: Joe or Bobby?” Holiday wasn’t kind in his assessment, “Joe is one of those people you hate playing against. He’s an idiot who plays against him, he’s not going to lie… He’s kind of sloppy and trash-talking, boy. But now that he’s on my team, I’m happy.”
Engels was able to respond with his own assessment of his new teammates, “Junior and Khris don’t talk trash. Khris really doesn’t talk in general, you guys know that.”
Saleh Joe Engels
Speaking of Engels, he and his colleagues seem pretty excited about how he fits in with his dollars. He will not be ready to start the season and there is no clear timetable for when he will be ready, but he said he underwent ACL surgery on February 23. When he comes back, it looks like he and Antetokounmpo will be ready to tear it up, Engels said “I’m excited to play with Giannis”, “The first thing I thought of was picking and winding up with Giannis. It looks like he’s going to make things very easy. I heard Grayson say it’s different being like this.” openness “.
Engels also spoke about creating shots for others, “One thing I’ve been feeling throughout my career is making games. I think it’s my best trait. They’ve got a lot of players who need the ball and I think my way of playing can help make an impact there.”
George Hill’s retirement and injury
Hill is coming off the worst season of his career. We knew he had an injury last season, but he shared no one knows how bad it was, a very frustrating year, Hill said, “I had a neck injury, and no one knew how serious it was. I did my best to go out and play, and as I felt like I was back, I had a ruptured abdomen. It was a bad year.” He said he didn’t end up having the off-season surgery.
Most Bucks fans agree with his latest statement and assessment of last season. Hill was deeply involved in contemplating retirement, but decided to come back because he didn’t want to come out like that.
Khris Middleton will not be ready to start the season
Speaking of injuries, Middleton is also battling one of his own. He underwent an arm surgery in the summer and was unable to do basketball activities. He doesn’t have the cast anymore and it was removed about two weeks ago.
Middleton shed some light on the mysterious injury, “The injury happened sometime around the All-Star Game. Just kind of not going.” He will not be ready for the start of the season, but he expects to be able to play “at the beginning of the season” according to to Horst.
Bobby Portes is getting better
Portis feels he has another level in his game and wants to thank the Boston Celtics for helping him get there, โThe Celtics streak was just what I needed to take the next step in my career. I worked a lot in the off season. I’m ready now. It woke me up a bit and made me come back to The drawing board and I watch the movie a lot.”
Portis averaged 9.9 points and 9 rebounds per game against Boston in the second round of the playoffs, but fired just 39.4 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from the three-point streak. With the Bucks desperate for someone to step up in Middleton’s absence, Portis was unable to provide that extra punch. We’ll see what he has in store for this season.
