Top 3 keys to success for your 2009-10 Milwaukee Bucks

October 29, 6:02 PMMilwaukee Bucks ExaminerKris Gilson

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Can BJ3 develop into a star point guard? (Photo NBA.com)

The Milwaukee Bucks' regular season opener in Philadelphia tomorrow night will mark the team's 42nd season in the NBA.

The Bucks would probably like to try and forget about last year, one lost due to injuries and poor defense.  The nice thing about the beginning of the year is every team starts out with playoff hopes, and the Bucks are no different.  Here's the top 3 things they must do this season to be successful.

1. Keep Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut healthy.

Failing to do this will end in disaster, much like last season.  There just isn't a whole of scoring capability on the Bucks roster outside of these two, so they will have to prove that last year's injuries are behind them.

Having a new point guard like Brandon Jennings will help Redd and Bogut get easier looks, as Jennings has shown a real knack for getting into the lane and finding an open teammate.  His drive and dish game bodes well for both Redd and Bogut.

  2.  Play some defense.

Last year's team gave up an average of 100.4 points per game, which was good for 15th in the league.  That looks all fine and dandy until we see that the team only averaged 99.3 points per game, again good for a place in the middle of the pack.  One of those two numbers has to improve for the Bucks to be successful.  Since I mentioned that points will be tough to come by this season, improving on the defensive end is a good place to improve if the team wants to be competitive.

Being in the top 5 in team points per game in 2008-09 didn't necessarily mean much, as none of the Warriors (2nd), Knicks (4th), and Pacers (5th) made the playoffs.  However, if you look at the teams who gave up the least amount of points per game last season, the top 8 teams made the playoffs (Cavs, Spurs, Celtics, Blazers, Hornets, Magic, Rockets, Pistons).

Coach Scott Skiles has stressed defense from day one, and the Bucks showed that they are certainly capable of having consistently solid defensive performances.  They had a nice run towards the end of the preseason where they were rebounding well and holding the opposition to a lower field goal percentage, both incredibly important to win games.

The health of Bogut will certainly help the team's defensive effort, as he can grab 10+ rebounds a game and is slowly but surely developing the skills necessary to block shots.  The acquisition of Kurt Thomas and the maturing Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will also help the team's defense.

   3.  Hope Brandon Jennings develops into a potentially dominant point guard.

Many draft experts thought the Bucks drafting Brandon Jennings 10th overall was a bit of a reach, but he's proving all his doubters wrong.  He had a pretty solid preseason, averaging over 6 assists per game.  He has always been criticized for his shooting ability, and the fact that he only made 33% of his shots in the preseason certainly didn't help matters.  He has shown the ability to hit a jumper at times, but having him hoist up too many jumpshots during a game will only be detrimental to the team at this point.  His defensive ability was also shaky at best, as he didn't show the ability to fight over screens, guard bigger point guards, or keep up with the quicker ones.  As he matures and gets bigger, he should improve all those skills.

That said, BJ3, as he is now known, has wonderful court vision and can get anywhere he wants on the court.  His upside is tremendous, and Scott Skiles has even rewarded him with the opening night start tomorrow in Philadelphia.  Skiles attributed his decision to wanting BJ3 to get some work in with the first team, while experienced backup Luke Ridnour will be able to work with the second unit when Jennings needs a rest.

We will really see what Jennings is made of after the first few games of the season.  At this point, he has drawn consistent positive reviews from teammates and coaches, and there's no reason to think he will won't continue to get better.  If he is able to develop into a top point guard, the Bucks will have a great piece to build around.

There you have it.  If the Bucks can do these three things, they should be able to remain competitive for the entire season.  It's clear Skiles has this team moving in the right direction, making the Bucks a very exciting team to watch in 2009-10.