Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: March 21 at Portland Trail Blazers

2 of 5

Dec 7, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) holds the ball away form Milwaukee Bucks guard Tony Snell (21) and center Greg Monroe (15) during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 115-107. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Major Key For Milwaukee: Play Some Defense

The Bucks are 16th in defensive rating since the All-Star break. That’s a decidedly average number, but if Milwaukee can play some above-average defense on Tuesday night they’ll have a much better shot at winning.

Portland is a team that needs to score to win ballgames. The Blazers have the NBA’s fourth-best offense since the break, but the Blazers are 19th in defensive rating over that span. When Portland isn’t scoring, the team tends to be losing.

For the entirety of the season, the Blazers have scored less than 110 points 32 times. They’ve won just eight of those games, and lost the other 24 of them, obviously. When the Trail Blazers aren’t scoring in bunches the team typically can’t hold other teams back either.

The Blazers improving their defense to nearly league-average has helped this team a lot lately–Portland is 9-4 in the last month of play. Only the San Antonio Spurs have won more games over that stretch. For Milwaukee to hand the Blazers an L, the Bucks will have to prevent Portland from running wild on offense.

Home/Bucks News