National Basketball Association

Opposition Intel: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Brooklyn Nets Preview With Sandy Mui

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Milwaukee Bucks will look to bounce back from an opening loss when they face the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, so we got the lowdown on the opposition from Sandy Mui.

Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to Opposition Intel!

After an underwhelming display in their home opener on Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks return to action on Saturday night with a point to prove.

In spite of a 31 point showing from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee never held the lead against the Charlotte Hornets and never honestly looked like winning Wednesday’s game. Jason Kidd will be hoping for more from Jabari Parker, and at least something from $52 million man Miles Plumlee this time out.

The opponent as the Bucks look to get their first win of the season is the Brooklyn Nets, who are fresh off of a win over the Pacers on Friday. In spite of low expectations, the Nets have proven to be competitive in their two games so far with Boston and Indiana, and the Bucks would be best advised not to take them lightly in this onw.

Ahead of the action, we spoke to Brooklyn Nets writer and friend of the site Sandy Mui to find out exactly what to expect in the game, and to learn about what matchups we should be looking out for.

Sandy writes about the Nets as a site expert over at FanSided’s Nothin’ But Nets. You can follow her on Twitter at @SandyMui1134.

Let’s take a look at what she had to say.

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New Faces, New Expectations

Adam McGee (@AdamMcGee11): With Kenny Atkinson now in charge as head coach and Sean Marks calling the shots as GM, it feels as if the Nets are finally on the right track. What do you see as a realistic timeline for the franchise to return to the playoff picture?

Sandy Mui (@SandyMui1134): This Nets’ rebuild, led by Sean Marks, is one of the most promising ones they’ve had in the past decade. I was impressed with all the moves Marks made this offseason. Some fans even project the Nets to make the playoffs this year. While I am optimistic about the squad, I still don’t see Brooklyn making the playoffs this year.

Contending for the playoffs is certainly in reach though. If the Nets can build around the current roster they have, my call would be in a few years time. Still, the answer any Nets fan can agree on for when the franchise will return to the playoff picture is, “sooner than you may think.”

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Trusting In Youth

Adam: With a mixture of young talent and steady veterans, who are the key players who Nets fans are looking to for growth and development this season?

Sandy: Brooklyn has certainly gotten younger this offseason, and the potential of these young guns is through the roof. I can already tell Nets fans are looking forward to seeing Sean Kilpatrick (who doesn’t love him?), Isaiah Whitehead, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Chris McCullough.

Whitehead was disappointing in the preseason, but showed some bright spots in the final minutes of the Nets’ season opener against the Celtics. Meanwhile, McCullough is an interesting case, since Kenny Atkinson already said he plans on using the former Syracuse star in the D-League.

Fans are also high on rookie Caris LeVert, who has yet to set foot on an NBA court. During the offseason, Marks stated that the Nets’ priority is to develop their youth, so it’ll be interesting to see how all these young guys pan out this season.

Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

Opinion of the Bucks

Adam: What’s your impression of Milwaukee’s current roster and how do you expect them to fare over the course of the season?

Sandy: The Bucks are a fun team to watch. I’ve always enjoyed seeing Giannis Antetokounmpo in action, even if I’m still jealous that you guys have Jason Kidd, and we no longer do. Expectations were sky high for the Bucks this season, but then the Khris Middleton injury happened.

This year, Milwaukee has some more experienced guys in Jason Terry and Matthew Dellavedova, which should boost the team in leadership. I expect the Bucks to make a strong push for the playoffs, as long as everyone else can stay healthy.

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Matchup To Watch

Adam: If you were to single out one matchup as having the potential to be decisive between the Bucks and Nets, what would it be and why?

Sandy: It has to be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Though the Greek Freak is used anywhere from the one to the three, we can expect to see RHJ matched up against him at some point during the night.

If Brooklyn can’t slow Antetokounmpo down, then they have no chance of winning. Having Hollis-Jefferson defend him would certainly limit the Greek Freak’s performance, since RHJ is arguably the Nets’ best defender.

Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

Final Predictions

Adam: What’s your final prediction for how Saturday’s game in Milwaukee will pan out?

Sandy: The Nets are playing back-to-back games and are coming off a stunning victory in their home opener against the Indiana Pacers. It’s always difficult to come out with solely wins in back-to-backs. Brooklyn might be tired having to fly to Milwaukee immediately after last night’s game. After all, the win did come down to a fourth quarter comeback by the Nets, so it wasn’t a complete wipeout.

I was impressed with the Nets’ win last night, but will give this one to the Bucks. That isn’t to say that it won’t be difficult for the Bucks to come out with the win though.

Brooklyn will give Milwaukee a hard time if they play more gritty defense like they did last night in the fourth quarter. One more thing I’d like to point out is in the Nets’ two games so far, it appears the trend for Brooklyn is that they remain competitive in the first half, forget the third quarter exists, then make a strong push for a comeback in the fourth. I can see that happening again tonight, but like the season opener in Boston, I just don’t think the comeback will be enough this time around.

Thanks to Sandy for joining us and giving us some Nets insight. Once again, be sure to follow Sandy on Twitter at @SandyMui1134 and read her work on Nothin’ But Nets.