The Milwaukee Bucks have looked better of late, but what has changed?
Things are finally starting to work themselves out for the Milwaukee Bucks. After struggling to find any sort of consistency for much of the season, the Bucks are beginning to show signs of improvement, as although they’ve lost their last two, they won three straight prior to that.
Even in defeat, such as in their game against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, the Bucks are beginning to show fight and a new found competitiveness that wasn’t present in many of their defeats earlier this season.
Given the improved play in recent games, it begs the question: why are the Bucks suddenly playing much better?
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The truth is simple. The Bucks are finally embracing their new identity as an offensive-minded team.
For much of this season, the Bucks tried to rekindle the defensive form which made them one of the NBA’s most surprising teams in 2014-15. Despite growth from their core players and signing an offensive-minded center, the team continued to try and scrap out games with their aggressive movement and double-teams.
The major changes in player personnel, particularly in the starting five, should have served as a warning sign that a change in style was needed.
Signing Greg Monroe, a man who has struggled with defense throughout his NBA career, wasn’t going to make things easy for the Bucks defense.
For much of last season, the Bucks were able to rely on a veteran anchor in Zaza Pachulia who, despite not being an elite shot blocker, was an above average defender for his position. What Pachulia may have lacked in flash, he made up for in shear physicality and defensive IQ.
Monroe, on the other hand, is not as good of an individual defender as Pachulia, and many of the smart rotations Pachulia made have not been matched by Monroe.
Getting Jabari Parker back, a man who struggled with defense at the collegiate level, wasn’t going to help either. Parker was forced to play center for much of his tenure at Duke, harming his ability to learn how to defend the wing effectively. Thus, it’s no surprise that Parker has struggled to make many of the decisions needed of someone playing against more athletic wings and bigs.
One final warning sign came at the tail end of last season. Despite holding teams to low score totals, the Bucks were beginning to show signs of weakness in their defense, leaving the three open on a consistent basis. With aggressive ball movement, teams were beginning to bypass the aggressive double teams and find their open guys, breaking down the defense in an instant.
Despite these signs, the Bucks entered the regular season with the same exact approach which worked a season ago. The results, however, were much different. After posting the second best defensive efficiency in the league a season ago, the Bucks were 29th, giving up too many open shots and failing to protect the rim.
The defensive struggles nearly ended the Bucks season before the half-way mark, putting them between six to eight games out of the final playoff spot. Suddenly, the team was closer to picking in the top five of the draft than making the playoffs.
In recent games, however, the Bucks have shown a new identity, adapting to the personnel they have now rather than forcing the personnel to adapt to their style. Under the guidance of Interim head coach Joe Prunty, the Bucks have embraced their identity as one of the league’s better offenses.
Ball movement, a major problem for much of the season, has increased significantly. Instead of making two or three passes per possession, the Bucks are moving the ball more effectively, making multiple passes until they find the open guy. This style has improved the quality of shots the Bucks are getting and is essential for a team which lacks range at almost every position.
The off the ball player movement has improved as well. Too many times earlier this season, guys were standing around, waiting for something to happen instead of making something happen.
Now, guys are getting to open spots on the floor and making aggressive cuts to the lane at the right times. There’s a chemistry and understanding between the players that didn’t exist just a few weeks ago.
The team’s also begun to up the tempo, getting out on the break as much as possible. Despite playing with one of slowest paces in the league earlier this year, the Bucks were still boasting of one the league’s worst defenses. By upping the tempo and running the break, the Bucks have utilized one of their key skills, athleticism, and begun to create easier scoring opportunities without hurting their defense.
These elements, passing, movement, and an increased tempo, have helped the Bucks find consistency on the offensive end. As a result, the team’s beginning to compete much better on a nightly basis.
Last season, playing at a slower pace and focusing on defense made sense. The Bucks lacked consistent scoring options outside of Brandon Knight and simply couldn’t afford to try and outgun teams on a nightly basis.
This year, however, the Bucks have shown they have the tools to compete with the league’s better scorers. Giannis Antetokounmpo has made major strides in his game and has found ways to score on a relatively consistent basis.
Khris Middleton in recent weeks has shown himself to be a premier scoring option, hitting shots and creating opportunities for himself and others.
Even Jabari Parker has begun to find his footing, hitting his mid-range shot and devastating teams with his ability to get to the rim.
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It will be very difficult for the Bucks to get back into the heart of the playoff race this season. However, as their recent stretch of games shows, they’ve finally begun to their embrace their new identity as an offense-mined team. As a result, the team will be a lot better off for it.