It might sound cliché, but as the Milwaukee Bucks look forward to building on their strong 2014-15 campaign, head coach Jason Kidd is sticking to the old adage of taking it one game at a time.

Expectations are high after the Bucks made the playoffs last year and added, among other players, a top-flight big man in Greg Monroe this offseason. However, Coach Kidd told the media this week that his team must do what it did to find success last year: focus on each game as it comes rather than looking ahead.

“It’s about being patient,” Jason said. “That’s what we were last year and we’ll be patient again this year. We’re here to win, but we have to learn how to win as a young team. These guys have had a great camp. Now it’s time to keep track of records and stats, but again the big picture is to learn how to win games.”

Milwaukee Bucks v Cleveland Cavaliers

Milwaukee finished with the worst record in the NBA before Jason arrived, and the Bucks reached new heights last year. They finished 41-41 as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. They took the No. 3 seed Chicago Bulls through a thrilling six-game series. Jason’s squad went down 3-0 but reeled off valiant back-to-back wins before bowing out in Game 6.

The Bucks added Monroe from the Detroit Pistons in free agency, and now, naturally, fans are hoping the Bucks will continue their rise. Charles Gardner, Bucks beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently talked about the new challenges that face Milwaukee for the upcoming season.

“Now you’re talking can you go and beat San Antonio? Can you go and beat some of the top teams in the East—Cleveland and Chicago? That’s going to be the test for the Bucks. Can they do this?” “Last year, they just pounded the teams below them. Their record was something incredible against the teams below them in the East—the sub-.500 teams—they crushed them. They didn’t mess up with that. But, they never really beat the good teams. So, that is a big step that they have to take.”

MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 30: Head Coach Jason Kidd of the Milwaukee Bucks participate in training camp on September 30, 2015 at the Nicholas Johnson Pavilion in Madison, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Jason knows exactly what expectations his team faces going into the new year: to become one of the East’s elite. However, he has cautioned fans that the Bucks—who were the youngest team to make the playoffs a year ago—are still just that: a young team.

Milwaukee has only one player over the age of 28 on its roster, and at age 25, Monroe is its oldest projected starter. Additionally, three players who could be key contributors—Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker and Rashad Vaughn—are all under the age of 21.

“We’re still new,” Jason said. “We have young players, guys who went from 19 to 20 years old, not 20 to 25 years old, so they’re still learning how to play the game. We also have a young coaching staff; coaches are going to make mistakes, just like the players are going to make mistakes, but we’re going through it together. The vision is three or four years down the road so we have to go through it — the good and the bad — but hopefully as we go through it, we get wiser and we get better.”

At least for their opener, the Bucks will be without Antetokounmpo and Parker. Parker is still recovering from the ACL injury that ended his season a year ago, and is expected to make his debut in early November. Meanwhile, The Greek Freak will miss the opener while serving a suspension earned when he was whistled for a flagrant-2 foul in Game 6 against the Bulls.

“Nothing to be said; next guy up,” Jason said. “Working Jabari back in is something as a team we’ve got to get used to, because that’s just what it is,” Kidd said. “But in the bigger picture it’s just to get everybody healthy and everybody going. That’s our main objective right now.”

ST. FRANCIS, WI - SEPTEMBER 28: (L-R) Giannis Antetokounmpo #34, Head Coach Jason Kidd and Jabari Parker #12 of the Milwaukee Bucks pose for a portrait during Media Day on September 28, 2015 at the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin Training Center in St Francis, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

While getting his team healthy and rolling is the big-picture goal, the objective short-term is to start the season with a win. The Bucks will don their new uniforms and play on their newly designed court for what will be their first season opener at home in 30 years. The Bucks hosted rookie Michael Jordan and Co. during the 1984-85 season but have started on the road every year since.

Milwaukee’s opponent, the New York Knicks, finished in the cellar of the East at 17-65, but they made several new additions this offseason. Coach Kidd isn’t taking this first game of the season lightly.

“They’ve gotten better,” Kidd said. “Derek has those guys playing hard. They’re playing at a quicker pace. It’s another year under their belt with the triangle (offense) so they’ll be better at that. They added some pieces with (Derrick) Williams and (Kyle) O’Quinn so they’ve got some veteran guys who know how to play, and they had a good preseason.”

The regular season begins for both squads at the BMO Harris Bradley Center at 7 p.m. CT.

The Bucks open the 2015-16 season hosting the New York Knicks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center at 7:00 pm CT. The game will be locally broadcast on Fox Sports Wisconsin.

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