By The Associated Press

The Milwaukee Bucks believe they're younger and more athletic after undergoing a roster overhaul the last eight months. They're certainly different. The departures of Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton leave two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo as the only current Bucks who were part of the 2021 championship team. The Bucks have added former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner and believe his combination of rim protection and 3-point shooting make him an ideal complement to Antetokounmpo. They created salary cap room to sign Turner by waiving injured seven-time all-NBA guard Damian Lillard.

Milwaukee Bucks

LAST SEASON: 49-33, lost to Indiana in first round of playoffs

COACH: Doc Rivers (Third season with Bucks, 65-53; 27th season overall, 1,162-816)

SEASON OPENER: Oct. 22 vs. Washington Wizards

DEPARTURES: G Pat Connaughton, G Damian Lillard, C Brook Lopez

ADDITIONS: G Cole Anthony, F Amir Coffey, G Gary Harris, C Myles Turner

BetMGM Championship Odds: 55-1

What to expect

The Bucks wanted to get younger and more athletic as they conducted an overhaul that began with the February trade of Khris Middleton to Washington and continued with the offseason signing of Turner and waiving of Lillard, who was going to miss the 2025-26 season anyway due to his torn Achilles tendon. The idea is to have the ball in Antetokounmpo's hands as much as possible while maximizing his playmaking ability by surrounding him with shooters. The Bucks tried that approach and won their last eight regular-season games last year while Lillard was unavailable due to deep vein thrombosis. Antetokounmpo had four triple-doubles in his last five regular-season games. Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green and Taurean Prince could thrive in this style after combining for 6.3 3-pointers per game last season. Turner is coming off a season in which he made a career-high 156 3-pointers.

Strengths and weaknesses

The good: Antetokounmpo is coming off a season in which he ranked second in the NBA in scoring (30.4), sixth in rebounding (11.9) and 13th in assists (6.5). The Bucks' faster pace should enable him to contend for a third MVP award if he stays healthy. The Bucks led the NBA in 3-point percentage (.387) last season but ranked 18th in 3-point attempts. Rivers wants the Bucks to take more 3-point shots to capitalize on their long-range accuracy. Turner is eight years younger than Lopez and should provide the same type of quality rim protection and 3-point shooting. The Bucks should benefit from a full season of Bobby Portis, who served a 25-game suspension last season afer he mistakenly took the painkiller Tramadol - which is banned by the NBA - rather than Toradol.

The not-so-good: Antetokounmpo is the only player on this roster who has ever appeared in an All-Star Game. It's fair to wonder if the Bucks have enough talent around their superstar. The Bucks lost eight of their first 10 games last season, and a similarly slow start this year will ramp up the speculation about whether Antetokounmpo might request a trade. Antetokounmpo said he's "locked in" with the Bucks but added that "if in six, seven months I change my mind, that's human, too." Although the Bucks got accustomed to playing without Lillard late last season, they may have trouble replacing his production. The seven-time all-NBA guard averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists in 58 games last season. Kyle Kuzma has struggled to carve out a niche in Milwaukee since coming over in the Middleton trade.

Players to watch

Everything obviously starts and ends with Antetokounmpo, who finished third in last season's MVP balloting. The Bucks are counting on Turner to emerge as an ideal fit alongside Antetokounmpo after signing the former Indiana Pacers center to a four-year, $108.9 million contract. The Bucks also need their role players to step up. Kevin Porter Jr. was impressive last season after coming to Milwaukee at the trade deadline. Now he must try to build on that success. Milwaukee's emphasis on 3-pointers could lead to a big year from Green, who shot 42.7% from beyond the arc last season.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA