The Milwaukee Bucks made two big trades this past week. They acquired a healthy Jabari Parker and Brook Lopez in exchange for Larry Sanders, Ekpe Udoh, and Andrew Bogut. The moves are good news for the team as they make a push to win the Eastern Conference title.
The “bucks starting lineup 2022” is the Milwaukee Bucks’ projected starting lineup for the 2022-2023 season. The team has made a number of acquisitions recently, so there are some questions about who will be playing where and when.
After capturing the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1971, the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks are seeking to make it two in a row. For the first time this season, Antetokounmpo, Giannis, Middleton, Khris, and Holiday Jrue are healthy and playing together regularly.
Only five games separate the first-place Miami Heat and the seventh-place Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference, and the Bucks are in the thick of it.
Milwaukee, along with the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers, are in a group 2.5 games behind the Heat.
The Sixers made their well-publicized stretch run addition, while the Cavs made a huge boost when Caris LeVert was acquired from Indiana. Meanwhile, the Bucks were involved in one deadline day transaction and have since signed two of the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade’s victims.
What would the starting lineup and roster look like if Milwaukee’s roster is primed for a run at back-to-back championships?
Serge Ibaka, De’Andre Bembry, and now Jevon Carter have all been acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Guard Jevon Carter plans to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks, his agents Mark Bartelstein and Reggie Brown of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Carter will clear waivers on Wednesday after Brooklyn released him to sign Goran Dragic.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 22, 2022
Serge Ibaka, a veteran big man and former NBA champion, was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in a four-team deal on deadline day. However, the Bucks lost Pat Connaughton to a broken hand the next night after trading Donte DiVincenzo.
The team’s backcourt depth was quickly called into question, but general manager Jon Horst responded well.
Horst snatched up De’Andre Bembry, a fifth-year winger who had been waived to make place for Brooklyn’s newcomers in the Simmons trade. The former lottery selection is a 6-foot-5 veteran who can do it all and is shooting a career-high from three-point range.
Milwaukee was a strong contender for Goran Dragic, the most valuable player on the buyout market, but Dragic opted to join the Nets. Brooklyn waived Carter to create way for him, and he signed with the Bucks after clearing waivers.
Horst is hoping that one team’s garbage will be another team’s gold.
What will the starting lineup for Milwaukee look like now?
During a game at Fiserv Forum, Serge Ibaka of the Milwaukee Bucks defends Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. | Getty Images/Stacy Revere
Since the season’s opening game, the Bucks have been without starter center Brook Lopez. Giannis and Bobby Portis is a professional basketball player. have done a fantastic job holding down the fort, but it was necessary to make the move for Ibaka.
Milwaukee’s starting lineup should stay the same for the time being, as it has for the most of the season:
- Holiday Jrue
- Grayson Allen is an actor who has appeared in many films.
- Middleton, Khris
- Bobby Portis is a professional basketball player.
- Antetokounmpo, Giannis
Signing Serge provides head coach Mike Budenholzer with another option for filling in for Giannis if required or if he so desires.
However, since the beginning of the calendar year, Bud’s top-rated and most popular lineup has been the one shown above. However, Connaughton, DiVincenzo, or a combination of both have appeared in six of the Bucks’ seven most often utilized lineups. Milwaukee’s depth will be crucial in the coming months if they don’t get them.
Which takes us to the new rotation for the Bucks.
How will the rotation be structured?
Small sample size alert: Ibaka has replaced Portis and Jordan Nwora has replaced Allen as Milwaukee’s first two players off the bench in the two games since Serge came.
The Bucks’ depth chart has looked somewhat like this:
- George Hill has a holiday.
- Wes Matthews, Allen, Connaughton, DiVincenzo
- Nwora Middleton, Middleton, Middleton, Middleton, Middleton
- Portis, Antetokounmpo, Giannis, Thanasis Antetokounmpo
- Antetokounmpo, Giannis, Portis
Hill has been injured this season and hasn’t performed well even when fit. Connaughton might be sidelined until mid-March if DiVincenzo is gone for good. As a result, Bembry and Carter will have to come in right away and play at least some important minutes.
Matthews is a 35-year-old woman. He has flashes of brilliance, but he isn’t going to play 30 minutes every night. Nwora has been underappreciated off the bench all season, but he has yet to play in a major game. Even if Lopez returns, Ibaka will be vital for the remainder of the game.
First and foremost, the Bucks go via Giannis. Middleton is now a three-time All-Star, and Holiday is still one of the NBA’s most underappreciated players. After then, it’ll be hit-or-miss based on matchups and who’s on fire.
Milwaukee possesses the star power and familiarity that most championship teams need. If the Bucks are to go back-to-back, Horst’s late-season, under-the-radar signings will play a factor at some time.
NBA.com provided all data.
RELATED: The Milwaukee Bucks Need the Old Middleton, Khris Back if They Hope to Win a Second Straight Championship
The Milwaukee Bucks roster will be a little different next year. The team has acquired some players in their offseason that have been added to the starting lineup, and also made some changes to the rotation. Reference: milwaukee bucks roster 2020-21.
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