The Milwaukee Bucks are struggling in the initial stage of the season. They’ve lost the last three games of the four they have played so far. After a terrible loss against the Brooklyn Nets, coach Doc Rivers analyzed the areas where his team needs to work on to improve their record in the upcoming contests.
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The Bucks head coach then shared some of the pointers of his assessment with ESPN’s Marc J. Spears.
On NBA Today, Spears revealed that he texted Rivers about the team’s early struggles. He got a text back from the coach which listed out five things that the Bucks need to get better at,
“Pace needs to be better” and the team is “playing too slow” were Rivers’ first two pointers. The Milwaukee side has great players, but their pace is not at par with the competition they’re facing. This can be attributed to their lack of chemistry during complex offensive maneuvers.
Rivers also noted that “Giannis needs the ball more”. In the game against the Nets, Antetokounmpo only made 11 field goal attempts. Damian Lillard shot the most with 13, but he wasn’t effective at all.
In the Celtics game, Giannis made 26 field goal attempts, showing improvement. He shot 14-26 in his 30-point performance, but couldn’t save his team from the loss.
What Rivers probably means is that Giannis should have a higher usage rate because he is not used to playing as an off-the-ball power forward. The presence of an elite point guard for the first time on the team has diminished the Greek Freak’s usage and that may be affecting the Bucks negatively.
Doc in a text to ESPN on the Bucks struggles:
– Pace needs to be better
– Playing too slow
– Giannis needs the ball
– Not physical enough on defense; not concerned
– Need consistency pic.twitter.com/8KkqZRq9PU— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) October 28, 2024
The fourth issue that Rivers noted in his team was that “they’re not physical enough” on the defensive end. The departure of Jrue Holiday has hindered Milwaukee’s hustle defense. So they have to reignite that same energy, which has been slightly difficult with the presence of a defensive liability like Lillard on the team.
However, the coach added that he’s not “concerned” about these issues, even though Spears is not buying it. The final pointer that Spears mentioned was that the Bucks “Need consistency.”
They started the campaign with a dominant 124-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, playing a near-perfect game with six of their players scoring in double digits including Giannis with 25-14-7 in just 31 minutes. However, the team’s tandem has put up lazy efforts since then, which has invited their current woes.
Since then, it’s all gone downhill for the Bucks.
Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo need to build chemistry
It’s no secret that the success of the Bucks will largely depend on how Dame and Giannis play throughout the season. Even with a brilliant supporting cast, these two will have to do the heavy lifting for the most part, because the team simply lacks depth in their ranks.
Dame was asked on the Knuckleheads Podcast, “What is something you and Giannis have to do to get that ultimate goal of a championship?”
He said, “Me and him have got to be able to hold each other accountable. And I don’t mean yelling at each other all the time, I just mean like, I’ve got to be able to say something to you and you’ve got to be able to say something to me at all times.”
Dame said that both of them have leadership qualities. While Giannis has done it for the Bucks, he was doing it for the Blazers for a long time. But they have to find a way to work together as complementary pieces, not as two superstars trying to be the hero.
