The NBA is back after the brief All-Star break, and the Wizards’ first game is against the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena. I’ve got you covered with all the facts, stats, and storylines you should know heading in.
The Bucks sit at 30-24 on the season after a devastating 1-6 start. It is a disservice to the sport that this team, led by two future first-ballot hall-of-famers in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, is not a real title contender.
Chalk it up to whatever you please — the insane talent of today’s NBA, the presence of Doc Rivers, the trade for a certain former Wizard — but this Bucks team is simply underperforming.
Kyle Kuzma returns to DC
Kuzma spent three and a half seasons in DC after arriving by way of the Russell Westbrook trade in 2021. At one point his eccentric personality and wardrobe made him a fan-favorite, but he wore out his welcome among fans toward the end of his Wizards tenure once he began to inhibit the rebuild.
The Bucks flipped one of their greatest-ever players in Khris Middleton to the Wizards in exchange for Kuzma. Middleton is an over-the-hill former All-Star that was shipped out for salary reasons, plus the Bucks thought they could resuscitate Kuzma into a high-level role player.
Kuzma is obviously not cut out to be a top option on a serious team, so in theory playing as a fourth or fifth starter for the Bucks should increase his effectiveness. The jury’s out so far. He’s played only 4 games since the trade, and his shooting splits are still X-rated, but he’s substantially upped his per-game rebounding average from 5.8 to 8.2.
Dawn of the oldheads
Middleton and Marcus Smart are both off the injury report and thus are slated to make their Wizards debut versus the Bucks. The two veterans were traded to Washington in salary-shedding moves at the trade deadline, but neither has played yet.
Bobby Portis suspended
Bucks center/forward Bobby Portis was suspended yesterday for 25 games after testing positive for one of the NBA’s banned substances.
Just In: The NBA has suspended Milwaukee Bucks' Bobby Portis for 25 games for violating the league's anti-drug policy, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/FeSDo4jb0k
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2025
The Bucks have 28 games remaining on their schedule, so Portis could appear in the last couple games of the season, which could be critical to the Bucks for seeding purposes. Milwaukee is vying for the fourth seed alongside the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons.
The Portisless Bucks will likely look to Kuzma to replace a good chunk of the big man’s production in his absence.
Conclusions
I feel like I say this in a lot of game previews, but the Bucks need a get-right game, and there is nobody better in the league to be paying in that situation than the Wizards.
It should be interesting to see how Middleton is embraced by his former teammates after the trade. Middleton is second all-time in Bucks history in games played behind Antetokounmpo and third all-time in points behind Antetokounmpo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.