Richard Jefferson Says The Milwaukee Bucks Are Going To Finish First In the East: "They're The Sleeper Team."

Sports Illustrated

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With all eyes on Brooklyn and L.A., the Milwaukee Bucks have flown mostly under the radar this summer.

Save for a few notable moves, the Bucks really haven't done anything to update their roster, seemingly choosing to run it back with the same crew that won the NBA Championship just a few months ago.

And while there aren't many who are giving the Bucks a chance to compete with the NBA's top teams, Richard Jefferson is one of the few who believes they can make some real noise:

(via Road Trippin')

“The sleeper team I think is going to be Milwaukee. That’s my sleeper. That catches you off guard. I think that so many people think that because of injuries, which I think did contribute to some of their success, I think that they are going to exceed what people think with everyone healthy. I think everyone’s going to be healthy, and they’re still going to play better than what people think. I think they’re going to exceed expectations. And I think they’re gonna finish first.”

(start at 23:27)

It sounds rather taboo to tag the defending NBA Champions as a "sleeper team" but it's an accurate description based on what we know about the upcoming season.

The Bucks were able to beat out some stiff competition in last year's playoffs, but there is a case to be made that they wouldn't have gotten past the second round if the Brooklyn Nets were at full strength.

With a full offseason to recover, prepare and re-tool, there is no reason to believe that Brooklyn will fall short of expectations again.

Unfortunately for the Bucks, they might be destined to find out just how powerful the Nets really are when fully healthy.

So, with the Bucks running it back, and the competition having only gotten stronger, Giannis and his crew are going to be in for quite a challenge over this next campaign.