Keys to Turning the Milwaukee Bucks Season Around

Dec 20, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward

(11) is separated from Milwaukee Bucks guard

(right) in the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Bucks defeated the Suns 101-95. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Discipline

The first thing the Bucks need to improve on is their discipline. Throughout the season, the team has struggled with discipline on both sides of the floor.

Currently, the Bucks rank 20th in the league in turnovers per game. They’re also second in the league in technical fouls, trailing only the notorious Los Angeles Clippers in that category.

The problem of discipline, however, goes beyond fouls and turnovers. The Bucks have also struggled to stay in position defensively, getting caught in the air on pump-fakes and over-helping on the ball-handler.

At times, this aggressive strategy pays off, causing numerous turnovers and creating chaos around the floor. However, for much of this season, the over-aggressiveness has resulted in wide-open threes and clear lanes for others to drive through, resulting in easy basket after easy basket.

Dec 23, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard O.J. Mayo (3) pressures Philadelphia 76ers guard

(0) during the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

If the Bucks are going to improve their fortunes, they’ll need to improve their discipline, especially on the defensive end. This means picking better times to double the ball-handler, avoiding triple teams, and staying on the ground when someone makes a shot fake. Too many times this season, the Bucks have given up fouls on overly difficult shots because of they’re jumping to contest the shot.

Picking better spots to engage and be aggressive will result in a much better defensive performance. Every player, starter or role player, has been guilty of being too aggressive on the defensive end.

The team’s also been guilty of too many bad turnovers and shots on offense. They’re forcing passes which have little prospects of getting to their man. They’re also taking too many poor shots, especially earlier in the shot clock when there’s still time to make something happen.

This is especially true when the Bucks are in the lead. Too often this season, the Bucks have let teams back into games because of poor decision-making on the offense end.

If the Bucks are going to improve on offense, they must be more patient and wait for things to develop, especially when they’re ahead in games. Controlling the pace and being smart with the ball when ahead is one of the key differences between being a good or bad team.

Next: Movement