Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Loss To Memphis Grizzlies

Defense Isn’t Cured

As the Bucks have stormed up the standings of late, they’ve also shown significant defensive improvement. Khris Middleton’s presence has been important, but it had seemed as if there was something more going on too.

Posting a defensive rating of 99.4 for their six-game winning streak, the Bucks were stifling their opponents and therefore not feeling the full brunt of missing offensive talents like Jabari Parker and Michael Beasley.

This had led some of the more optimistic Bucks fans to speculate about the defense having been fixed, but Monday proved it’s still far too early to make such proclamations.

Having tightened up on three-point defense of late, the Bucks allowed the Grizzlies to let fly in the early running, and were made to pay. Although the Grizzlies’ shooting would eventually slow down and Milwaukee would hold their own by making a good clip in their own right, it became a matter of having left themselves too much to do.

Vince Carter was able to do whatever he wanted (more on that later), while a steady diet of easy inside scores for Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph eventually took its toll.

In short, the scheme hasn’t changed and there’s no simple fix. Milwaukee’s recent uptick can likely be attributed to greater focus and communication as the team looked to remain in the playoff push. They can afford brief lapses, but will need to bounce back next time out or their recent surge will quickly become irrelevant.