The Milwaukee Bucks have lost three of their last four games. Even though they are still the No. 2 seed in the East, this recent slump has been a cause of concern for fans amidst the firing of their head coach Adrian Griffin, and the appointment of Doc Rivers in the position. The Bucks’ woes this season have been mostly ascribed to their defensive limitations and Damian Lillard has been the most obvious scapegoat. Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas recently touched upon the Bucks’ struggles while taking the blame away from the recently selected All-Star starter.
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The Milwaukee Bucks recently dropped their last game to the Portland Trail Blazers. Not only did the Bucks lose to a team that is in the middle of a rebuild, but they also fell short of Damian Lillard’s former team.
On the recent episode of Gil’s Arena, Arenas talked about the Bucks’ defensive struggles. He made sure to point out that the Bucks’ woes on the defensive end were not due to the addition of Lillard but the removal of some former players.
“Dame is not the reason for bad defense. Losing Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen is the reason that your defense is not where it was yesterday. Right? The defensive schemes hasn’t changed,” Agent Zero said.
Then he diagnosed the real issue with the Bucks’ defense, “One person cannot turn the defense this bad. The problem is they’ve never had a defensive scheme. They have smart defensive players who understood how to play the game.”
There certainly have been some discrepancies when comparing the Milwaukee Bucks’ defense this year as opposed to how they were the last year. The Bucks played hard-nosed defense both in the paint and on the perimeter.
Last year, teams facing the Bucks were ranked in the 18th position when it came to three-pointers attempted. This year, that number has gone up to the 10th spot as opposing teams feel more comfortable on the perimeter. And a lot of it has to do with weak coverage on the three-point line, something Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen brought with them.
The Bucks have also seen a plummet in rebounding, and have way more turnovers than last year. According to Arenas, the Bucks’ 116.4 defensive rating is not because Lillard is a liability on the defensive end. The chief reason is that Milwaukee doesn’t have good defensive schemes. They only rely on the good defensive plays of players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.
What’s next for Damian Lillard and the Bucks?
The Milwaukee Bucks recently fired their head coach Adrian Griffin to hire Doc Rivers in his position. At first glance, there did not seem to be any need for a change in the head coaching position, especially considering their 32-14 record. However, they seem to be off to a rocky start.
During his introductory press conference as the new coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Doc Rivers emphasized on the difficulty of taking over a team mid-season. He also addressed the championship aspirations fans around the league have for the Bucks this year after landing Damian Lillard.
The stakes are high for the Milwaukee Bucks this year. And it already seems like a ‘Championship or Bust’ type of environment surrounding the team. Anything less than a championship would not only hurt the Bucks but would also tarnish Doc Rivers’ reputation as a coach. So the onus is now on him to figure out Milwaukee’s defensive situation as quickly as possible.
