A significant setback: The Milwaukee Bucks have made it official that they will be selling the all-time great player who wasn’t the main target for sale.
Doc Rivers’ first few weeks as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks were not good. After a difficult road trip and several injuries, along with the usual transition period following a mid-season coaching change, the Bucks and Rivers had a 3-7 start that made them the focus of All-Star Weekend.
But ever since everyone got back from Indianapolis, the Bucks have appeared to be a different squad. They defeated the Timberwolves in their first game back in Minneapolis, kept their next four opponents to fewer than 100 points, and then stunned the Clippers in the fourth quarter without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
They earned the top defensive rating in the league for the six games they were winning. Their rating was 102.6.
That was done by They had their best defensive stretch of the year during that five-month period, and for the first time in the season, they appeared to be the serious contender that everyone had anticipated.
Subsequently, they began yet another road trip around the West Coast, losing badly to the Golden State Warriors, and their defense appeared completely disoriented. Which begs the question: do you think the Bucks’ success since the All-Star break is real or fake? Has Rivers resolved their issues? Or were they largely defeated on a lenient schedule?
Here are the opinions of our experts ahead of their Friday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers:
Maloney, Jack: Right now, I’m buying it, but not entirely.
They are far more prepared and polished under Doc Rivers compared to how virtually unreal they were under Adrian Griffin’s leadership. They finally appear to be a competent defense, and Damian Lillard is becoming more at ease as a result of the team using some of his favorite setups from Portland. Rivers has returned them to being a legitimate club that can compete with any team in the NBA in just over a month.
Having said that, before I fully return, I would like to see them continue this way for a longer period of time against stronger opposition. Both the victory over the Timberwolves and the comeback victory over the Clippers were noteworthy. But they greatly exaggerated several of their stats, especially when it came to the ball’s defense.
destroying bad teams when on a six-game winning streak. They still struggle against teams that can move the ball and shoot well, as demonstrated by their 35-point loss to the Warriors on Wednesday.
Colin Ward-Henninger: Jack takes a much closer look at the Bucks, and it’s difficult to see past their apparent status as Boston’s greatest Eastern rival. The Bucks were never truly a horrible club because, despite their evident shortcomings, they still had a very decent record under Griffin. This is the first thing we need to acknowledge. Now that Rivers has instilled a defensive mindset, they have the potential to excel.
During their time playing the Warriors in the Bay, Rivers expressed his desire for his team to “be big” and use their size, which entails using Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez’s length on defense and even inserting Danilo Gallinari into certain double-big lineups. In an effort to confuse opponents, they have also been varying their defensive coverage. For example, they have shocked teams by switching to one-through-five or zoning out of a timeout. They’ll probably find the ideal lineup by the time the playoffs roll around, and if Khris Middleton is healthy, there’s no reason to doubt their ability to put the Celtics to the test in May.
Brad Botkin: Since the beginning, I have been skeptical about Milwaukee because they cannot reliably stop penetration with their starting lineup.
Damian Lillard and Malik Beasley are in the backcourt. Is Dr. Rivers acting in a way that makes sense to appease their staff? Yes. However, that is fundamental information. He won’t create a plan to truly cover the defense’s underlying weaknesses, which Jack points out have recently been statistically inflated due to a schedule that is heavily stacked with games against the Bulls and Hornets. Minnesota’s offense is in the bottom ten. Embiid isn’t in Philadelphia. These recent outcomes, aside from one outstanding performance against the Clippers that was quickly offset by a Warriors thrashing, are hardly enough to start piling into Milwaukee’s defensive stocks.
The concern around Milwaukee has always been whether or not their offense can be strong enough to compensate for Jrue’s departure.
Holiday, which may appear much more significant during the postseason, but in reality propelled them forward. The biggest likelihood of that is with some of the higher-spread pick-and-rolls that Damian Lillard is getting more of, which Rivers is using more of. However, I haven’t seen enough evidence to believe that Lillard is going to start going bonkers on a regular basis just yet. Despite some of his numbers and standout clutch moments, he has simply had a poor year.
It sounds like I’m criticizing the Bucks for all of this. I’m not. They simply aren’t in Boston’s league, and I believe they would have trouble playing against any of the second-tier East clubs, including Miami, the Knicks, and Philly, with all of Embiid healthy.
A couple strong performances against some lower-tier offensive opponents don’t make me reconsider that.
