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Milwaukee Bucks Were Ahead Of The Curve In Testing The Warriors

By Adam McGee

Dec 12, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams (5) reacts in front of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) after a Bucks basket late in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bucks beat the Warriors 108-95. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 12, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams (5) reacts in front of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) after a Bucks basket late in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bucks beat the Warriors 108-95. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the Oklahoma City Thunder find success against the Golden State Warriors, it’s not hard to spot the seeds sewn by the Milwaukee Bucks earlier in the season.

The Milwaukee Bucks mightn’t be invited to the playoff party this year, but I hope they’re paying close attention.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder in the process of turning the Golden State Warriors historic season on its head in the Western Conference Finals, there’s a lesson to be learned for the Bucks and the NBA’s other 27 teams.

Interestingly, it might have been one which the Bucks laid out the fundamentals for to begin with too.

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After the Thunder opened up a 3-1 lead in the series following a Game 4 blowout win in Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Arena, it was difficult not to allow the significance of the result to register. It didn’t mean the Warriors were done, nor should it really impact the perception of their greatness, but it proved at the very least that they were beatable.

Viewed as a puzzle that couldn’t be solved for the best part of the season, finally it seemed like the NBA might have an answer. Of course, it’s not easy to replicate a formula that’s centered around talent of the quality of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but there could be a shape and a style to take away from behind that.

Writing for The Washington Post, Tim Bontemps described the Thunder’s ability to take control “by using a roster full of long, explosive athletes to overwhelm the record-setting Warriors defensively and then attack them in transition and on the glass.”

For as much as the 2015-16 Milwaukee Bucks were an overwhelming disappointment, upon hearing that description you can’t help but be reminded of how the team matched up with Golden State.

The Bucks famously earned the honor of being “streak-busters” when they consigned the Warriors to their first defeat of the season, ending a 24 game winning streak, before a week later pushing Golden State to the brink before ultimately falling just short in Oracle Arena.

While the rest of the NBA obsessed over how to match up with the small ball that the Warriors were utilizing to tear teams apart, the Bucks played within themselves and their own style. Milwaukee’s team is big, long and explosive, and against Golden State embracing that identity paid off beyond what most would have imagined to be possible.

Greg Monroe‘s season may not have been what Bucks fans had hoped for, and it’s true that at times he looked akin to a big man from a bygone era, but he never looked more effective than he did against the Golden State Warriors.

For two games against Golden State, Monroe averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds, 5.5 assists and made 16-28 of his attempts from the field. The fact that it has been widely accepted that he’s far from an ideal fit for Milwaukee, but his size and influence inside caused so many problems for the Warriors speaks volumes of where their greatest vulnerabilities appear to lie.

Across the whole team, Milwaukee’s length agitated Golden State. Defensively their long armed closeouts held the Warriors to shooting only 28 percent from three-point range. They also held their own on the glass as the league’s fourth worst rebounding team against the league’s fourth best rebounding team.

The Thunder may be playing with a roster that on current ability is in a completely different world to Milwaukee’s, but the blueprint of how the “lowly” Bucks managed to compete with the defending champs is evident in their performance.

At the time the extent to which the Bucks seemed to irk the Warriors was puzzling, but perhaps it has become easier to understand in time. Of course, the Warriors didn’t truly fear or feel threatened by the Bucks, but maybe they caught a glimpse of the kind of team that could cause them problems down the line, and that didn’t quite sit right with them.

"We’re a long way past trying to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in December. We’re trying to compete for a championship."

What might have come across as a petty and dismissive comment from Draymond Green following Golden State’s revenge win over the Bucks at Oracle, may in time prove to be a lesson that the Warriors didn’t quite take onboard.

The frantic pace of an NBA season doesn’t necessarily accommodate for soul-searching (particularly for a team chasing history), but if the Warriors never truly answered why the long-armed Bucks caused them trouble, they’re unlikely to find a miraculous answer for the Thunder.

What Oklahoma City are doing is a breath of fresh air as it acts as a reminder that NBA teams shouldn’t be trying to just catch up to the mark.

Next: Win In 6 Podcast #56: Milwaukee Bucks Power Forward Targets

How the best teams become the best teams is by embracing their own style and setting the standard. That’s what the Warriors have done, it’s what the Thunder have done, and it’s what the Bucks need to aim to do moving forward.

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