Milwaukee Bucks Grades, Reactions To 102-98 Loss To The Houston Rockets

Reactions: The Bad

• The three-point shooting was not pretty in any way. The Bucks attempted more long balls than their recent average in spite of the Rockets weak interior defense without Dwight Howard, but the real problem was that they couldn’t make any. 3-14 from deep is not a lot of help.

• It hasn’t been talked about much because his past reputation still seems to buy him a pass in many ways, but Giannis Antetokounmpo has not been particularly good defensively this season. He has regular concentration lapses and there are some fundamental errors creeping in. A great example here is his defense on Trevor Ariza in the third quarter. Already caught out behind a screen and a switch, Giannis goes to close out Ariza in the corner. Ariza fakes Giannis out, but the Greek Freak makes the cardinal sin of turning his back and basically gifts Ariza a clear path to the rim.

• 15 turnovers isn’t the most that the Bucks have had in any game this season by any means, in fact it’s just below their average, yet it was the timing of them that cost the Bucks in this game. When the team starts turning it over, they have a habit of doing so in bunches. They need to do a better job of regrouping from mistakes.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks Grades: Starters