Going into this season, many Pistons fans are penciling their team in as a top-four team in the Eastern Conference and the second-best team in the Central divison behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the Milwaukee Bucks have quietly had a great preseason showing after an interesting offseason and can still be a major factor in the East playoff picture. The Bucks still have the Pistons' number and could give them a run for their money this season.
The Bucks are one of the NBA's most underrated teams
The Bucks still have one of the league's best players in Giannis Antetokounmpo. He might not have a co-star of the same caliber as Damian Lillard anymore, but the Bucks have built a surprisingly well-balanced team around him. New addition Myles Turner perfectly complements Giannis' game as a three-point shooting, shot-blocking center. The rest of the roster is also filled with willing shooters who will take advantage of Giannis' gravity.
The Pistons already saw firsthand how deadly the Bucks' shooters can be in their most recent preseason game. In last Thursday's matchup, the Bucks finished the game 18/36 from three-point range while eviscerating any zone defense that the Pistons threw at them. Bucks leading scorer AJ Green shot a perfect 5/5 from the field, with all of his shot attempts being threes.
The Bucks shooting against the Pistons was already scary, but becomes even more deadly when you realize that Giannis didn't play that game. With Giannis in the lineup for the first time this preseason, the Bucks ramped up their three-point volume even more to shoot 20/48 from three. Their supporting cast is seemingly getting more confident with each game, and that will open up the floor for their superstar.
Defensively, the Bucks did look lost against the Pistons when Cade Cunningham was in the game. Cade got whatever he wanted on the way to 26 points and 6 assists in the first half. But again, it's worth noting that Giannis' absence significantly hurts the Bucks. Although Giannis would likely not guard Cade directly, his range on defense makes all of his teammates better and his presence in the paint would make life tougher for Cade at the rim.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the league's most competitive superstars and is still loyal to the Milwaukee Bucks until proven otherwise. He is now surrounded by a cast of overlooked and hungry players willing to do whatever it takes to win. The roster might not look the strongest on paper, but they have the perfect formula to be a surprising underdog and upset a lot of teams, especially those in their own division. The Pistons still haven't beaten the Bucks since January of 2022, so they better not take them lightly.