A magical night for the city of Milwaukee marks the final page of a historic season. On Tuesday night, the Bucks received their championship rings in front of a sellout crowd. Fans looked on as the banner was unveiled, cementing the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks’ place in history. While the moment was great, Khris Middleton took to the microphone to let the fans know that he and his teammates were now starting the quest all over again. With that, the last page was turned. The hungry Brooklyn Nets were laced up and ready to go as the Bucks looked to begin their title defense. The Energy from the ceremony carried over to the game as the Bucks got out to a big lead and never really looked back as they beat the Nets 127-104. The Freak poured in 32 points to go along with 14 boards and 7 dimes. Connaughton and Middleton also contributed 20 points each. A 1-0 start for the defending champs. So, what can we take away from this game? While many fans tend to make big over-reactions to early season games, there are a few realistic takeaways from last night’s game. 

DEPTH

We certainly can’t declare a championship favorite, but we can say that the Bucks have a deeper bench than they did last year. Even with Rodney Hood, Bobby Portis, Semi Ojeleye, Donte Divincenzo out, and Holiday leaving after the first quarter, Milwaukee still managed to put up 127 points including 45 points from the bench. Other than Divincenzo, the rest of the above players are slated to return very soon. In addition, second year player Jordan Nwora looked much improved from last year. He had 15 points on 3-6 shooting from three point land. Nwora didn’t have much of a role last year, but he could certainly be a consistent scorer off the bench this season. 

LOAD MANAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT

After an extremely impressive first quarter, Jrue Holiday left the game with a heel contusion. As exciting as it is to be back, this was one of the shortest off seasons in NBA history, and health is more important than playoff seeding. The Bucks should rely on their bench, especially against weaker teams in order to keep the starters fresh and healthy. They also shouldn’t rush anybody back from injury this early in the season. 

THIS WILL BE A FUN SEASON

My final takeaway from last night is that this team will be fun to watch. After a long stretch of mediocrity, the Bucks are a consistent top 5 team in the league. Giannis plays hard every minute he is on the floor and you never know what you might see night to night.