As the Milwaukee Bucks returned home for the annual MACC Fund game, a loss to the Chicago Bulls couldn’t cover over a number of striking positives from the team’s performance.
A quick glance at the final score of Saturday’s preseason meeting between the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls at the Bradley Center may show a 21 point blowout win for the visitors, but it doesn’t come close to telling the story of what was really a successful tune-up game for the hosts.
Although the lopsided final outcome makes it a little harder to believe, the Bucks actually led the game by double figures for the majority of the 48 minutes, only succumbing to the Bulls in dramatic fashion in the final period after Jason Kidd had wrapped his star players up for safety.
The Bucks moved the ball well, were active defensively as they continued to look to trap and switch as they had done in previous outings of late, and perhaps most importantly of all, they got big performances from the men who are most central to their plans for the coming season.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker stole the show for the majority of the time they were on the floor, with a more than able cameo performance from Matthew Dellavedova also playing a key role in facilitating Milwaukee’s star duo’s stellar play.
Having finished last season with very well defined weaknesses, the evidence so far suggests that the Bucks are at least making progress towards improving upon their deficiencies. Even without Khris Middleton, they should be a more competitive team on a nightly basis in the coming season.
What were the highlights and most important takeaways from Saturday’s game with Chicago though? Let’s take a closer look.