Milwaukee Bucks Best and Worst: December 30 – January 5
By Adam Coffman
Worst: Slow Starts
Although the Bucks’ string of success of late might lead you to believe otherwise, the team has put themselves in some serious holes to begin games.
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Milwaukee has found themselves down early 34-21 against the Timberwolves, 11-1 against the Bulls, and 13-4 versus the Thunder. Looking back farther, one can see that this is not a new issue, as the team fell behind quickly in their two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers as well.
in the latter two contests this week, the Bucks would come back to win, but they would unquestionably be better off had they not put themselves in such a position. In games such as the Timberwolves’, the slow start could have made the difference in the games’ outcome, as Milwaukee ended up falling by 17.
The slow starts could be attributed to the Bucks’ lagging offense. The team is obviously best when playing at a fast pace in transition; for whatever reason, their halfcourt sets seem fairly rudimentary and stagnant.
As I mentioned last week with regards to the Bucks’ clutch performance, scoring drops for Milwaukee when the tempo decreases. Perhaps the Bucks’ proverbial engines take a while to rev up, or maybe a youth-led team has trouble coming out of the gate strong.
Either way, it’s an issue that needs to be looked at by the coaching staff, as the Bucks won’t always have the ability to rectify their mistakes in-game and come back as they have recently, especially if they are to make the playoffs.
Next: Giannis Antetokounmpo Receives Second-Most All-Star Votes
That’s it for this week’s Best and Worst, make sure to check back soon where we’ll go through all the new items of note the Bucks have left for us!