Milwaukee Bucks ‘disappointed’ not to be on Christmas list

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks will not play on Christmas Day this season, the first time since 2017 that the team may not have been on the NBA regular-season schedule.

Their absence from the schedule was noted by coach Doc Rivers during the team’s media day on Monday to highlight a sentiment shared by some of the leaders in the Bucks’ locker room: that they are being ignored heading into the season 2024-2025.

“I think we’ve been somewhat overlooked,” Bucks forward Khris Middleton said. “We were supposed to have a Christmas Day game, I think. But the NBA felt different. I don’t need that as extra motivation… but it was a little disappointing.”

“We’ve always been overlooked,” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo added.

“We’re all paying attention,” Rivers said. ‘We see it, we read it. I don’t think I’ll have to use it, it’ll use itself, if you know what I mean.’

Both the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers made splashy offseason additions for All-Star players this summer to improve their rosters. The Boston Celtics just completed a historic run to the NBA Championship.

Meanwhile, the Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after their team was injured during a series against the Indiana Pacers. After upgrading their roster before training camp last season to acquire Damian Lillard and making a midseason coaching change to hire Rivers, the Bucks had a relatively quiet offseason.

Still, they enter the season expecting to compete with the NBA’s best.

“We’re definitely in that group,” Middleton said. “You definitely have Dame and Giannis. You count myself, Brook and the rest of the crew – we’re definitely one of the top contenders in the East, regardless of who else they’ve (added) there or who else has won in the past, I’m sure those teams also think the same about themselves.”

A big reason why the Bucks expect a bounce-back year is because they will enter the season with some stability.

After being traded from Portland on the eve of 2023 training camp, Lillard called his first season in Milwaukee “a blur” and said he felt much more comfortable leaving his home to report for camp this year. He reported feeling much better shape at camp this year after not being able to train consistently last summer before the trade.

“This year they got the real version of me,” Lillard said.

Lillard stayed in constant contact but didn’t get a chance to spend time with Antetokounmpo this summer. Antetokounmpo spent the summer playing for Greece in the Olympics — “one of the best experiences I’ve had as a basketball player,” he said — while rehabbing an injury suffered at the games and then marrying his long-time wife partner. Maria, this summer. But Milwaukee’s two stars both said they have a foundation to build on from last season, rather than starting from scratch.

They also appointed Rivers as coach from the beginning of this year. When he started last season in late January, he recognized how difficult it would be to manage a team after starting mid-season. That’s why he wanted to hold a training camp at UC-Irvine in California this week to strengthen ties with the team before the start of the season.

“Last year we felt like we were all over the place,” Antetokounmpo said.

Rivers also cited health as one of the biggest challenges the Bucks will face this season. Milwaukee has one of the oldest rosters in the NBA with four projected starters over the age of 30, including Middleton, who had surgery on both of his ankles this summer.

The Bucks were optimistic about Middleton’s status as he entered training camp on Monday. Middleton said he is feeling great and will participate in some activities during training camp even though he is not cleared to play live action 5-on-5. Middleton was limited to 88 regular-season games the past two seasons.

“I think I’ll miss a little bit of important time with the 5-on-5 action, but otherwise I can be there,” Middleton said. “That’s important for all of us to be on the field together, reading, talking, figuring out where our distance is.”

Middleton said those training camp reps before the start of the season will be important for the Bucks to build on their foundation from last year.

“I feel like it’s great because we’re not playing catch-up,” he said. “Last year we tried to catch up as much as possible and even then we learned as we went. During competitions we tried to teach each other. Last year we had a full year where we came a little bit. I feel like this summer we were able to talk, and Now that we have this training camp, I feel like we’re in a smooth transition into the season.”