NBA Countdown: No. 25 Milwaukee Bucks

Note: Sportsnet.ca will unveil a team preview every day from Oct. 1-30 counting down in reverse order where we believe the teams will finish.

At No. 25, the Milwaukee Bucks:

2011-12 record: 31-35 (Division: 3rd Central; Conference: 9th Eastern)

Key additions

Samuel Dalembert (Acquired from Rockets); John Henson (Drafted); Joel Przybilla (Signed from Blazers).

Key subtractions

Kwame Brown (Signed by Sixers); Jon Brockman (Traded to Rockets); Carlos Delfino (Signed by Rockets); Jon Leuer (Traded to Rockets); Shaun Livingston (Traded to Rockets).

Key player: Samuel Dalembert

The Montreal-native has some pretty big shoes to fill since he is essentially replacing Andrew Bogut as the team’s No. 1 centre. He will certainly be an upgrade on the defensive end of the ball and might be the perfect fit with the team’s shoot-first backcourt.

Outlook

The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the hardest teams to decipher in the NBA.

At the trade deadline last season, the team made a move that changed the face of the franchise when former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut was shipped to the Golden State Warriors for one of the NBA’s best scorers in Monta Ellis. Since then, the team has made several other changes that has made its picture even murkier.

Ellis will pair with Brandon Jennings to provide a lethal set of scorers for the Bucks. It remains to be seen if they will be able to stop anyone, but they certainly will be able to fill the bucket.

The dynamic duo does have help with regard to defending. In the offseason, the team dealt Jon Brockman to the Houston Rockets for Samuel Dalembert, one of the game’s best shot-blockers.

Dalembert, Drew Gooden and Luc Mbah a Moute provide the Bucks with an underrated frontcourt rotation, but the X-factor up front has to be first-round draft pick John Henson.

By all appearances, his game is similar to that of Toronto Raptors forward Ed Davis. They are both long, lean lefties out of North Carolina, but Davis has yet to reach his potential. If Henson adjusts to the pro game at a quicker rate than the Raptor, it would go a long way to this team finishing higher than predicted.

After a breakout season, Ersan Ilyasova rounds out the Bucks’ starting five. He was locked up to a long-term deal over the summer and can play multiple positions for Milwaukee.

The team does have talent, but it will need a few breaks to reach its potential. The Bucks are as likely to finish sixth in the Eastern Conference as they are 12th.

Prediction:

31-51 (Division: 4th Central, Conference: 12th Eastern).

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