Bucks’ Win Total Jumps to 56.5 After Opening at 54.5

• Milwaukee led the NBA last year with 60 regular-season wins
• Minus Malcolm Brogdon, the Bucks roster remains largely intact
• Should you take the over or under 56.5 wins?

Soon enough, we’re going to find out if last year’s Bucks team was legit good, or a solid smoke and mirrors campaign from the heady work of coach Mike Budenholzer, who once coaxed a 60-win juggernaut out of the Atlanta Hawks before crashing back to mortality.

The main difference between Bud’s Hawks and this team? He’s working with one of the top-five talents in basketball, who only scratched the surface of his abilities in an unreal MVP season.

Milwaukee Bucks NBA Win Total Odds

* Odds taken 07/25/19. For a full list of team win total odds, click the link in the table.

It’s likely because of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s otherworldly abilities that sportsbooks have rejigged Milwaukee’s NBA win total from 54.5 on July 15 to the current 56.5. What side of the betting line should you be on?

Greek Freak Still Improving

For all intents and purposes, Antetokounmpo is Cleveland MVP LeBron James reincarnated. Simply put, trotting him onto the court and letting him do his multifaceted thing should be enough to get the Bucks back to around that 60-win mark they enjoyed in an incredible 2019 season – one that led to him being named MVP.

His numbers were staggering: 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game on 57.8% shooting from the field – all in under a tidy 33 minutes a night. His 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks a contest don’t properly tell just how imposing a defender and game-changer he is on that end of the court.

His only glaring weakness? Antetokounmpo shot a paltry 25.6% from three-point range.

Giannis Antetokounmpo believes he is only at “60% of his potential”, via @espn.

If he is right, the rest of the league should be terrified.

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 14, 2019

That element of his game didn’t come to light until the Eastern Conference Finals, when the Toronto Raptors’ team defensive philosophy dared him to shoot jumpers that he was not equipped to do.

But the regular season is a different beast. Teams aren’t solely game planning for one player in an 82-game slog.

Giannis working on his shooting with Korver 👀

(via bigsack42/IG) pic.twitter.com/YEJNfQtDjo

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 23, 2019

That means Giannis will get to run out and get easy buckets in transition, while breaking down defenses in a spread offense, working to get to the paint, or to a willing shooter to gash the defense. That formula is virtually unstoppable in the regular season, folks.

What’s the Best Bet to Make?

Losing Malcolm Brogdon to free agency hurts, but this team brought back the other important parts, like Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and George Hill.

While you should always worry about regression, a determined Giannis and supporting cast that came close to the Promised Land should be more than enough to avoid any hangover.

PG: Bledsoe/Hill
SG: Matthews/Korver/DiVincenzo/Brown
SF: Middleton/Connaughton/Thanasis
PF: Giannis/Ilyasova/Wilson
C: Brook Lopez/Robin Lopez

Milwaukee Bucks 2019/20. East champs? pic.twitter.com/KuZ93loAyB

— Matchup Brasil 🇧🇷🏀 (@MatchupBR) July 20, 2019

Looking at the East landscape, there’s an opportunity for Milwaukee to take the reigns and run with it: Toronto lost Kawhi and didn’t retool enough to be a force, Philly is trying to bring all the parts together of a gigantor roster construct, Boston has Kemba but is weaker overall, and Kyrie is without his star partner Kevin Durant for a season.

Continuity and the reigning MVP should stockpile Ws early and often again this season and land the over.

The Pick: Over 56.5 wins (+105)