Milwaukee Bucks: Best and Worst (March 23 – April 1)

Best: On the Road Again

As good as Brogdon, Middleton, or Giannis have been individually, there have to be other factors behind the Bucks’ surge. For one, the Bucks have been incredibly (and also unsustainably) good in the clutch.

In the month of March, Milwaukee has the league’s second-best clutch net rating, behind only the San Antonio Spurs. They’re also 8-0 in these games, which while certainly reflective of their stellar play, reeks of chance.

Nobody can maintain this pace forever, and it bears out that at least a few of the Bucks’ tightest wins have been on the merits of luck. That’s certainly not a bad thing by itself, and it doesn’t take away from what the team has done to achieve such a feat, especially considering how poorly they rated in close games earlier this season.

In addition to their work late in the fourth, the Bucks have also displayed resilience in their performance on the road:

Playing at Khris Middleton’s slower, more deliberate pace helps here, as his calm and fluid demeanor seems to have spread throughout the team, making them less susceptible to emotional mistakes.

Even if this trend doesn’t continue in full effect, the ability to win on the road is an essential one for any team like the Bucks, who will not have the luxury of home-court advantage in any series they appear in.

Much like in late-game situations, Milwaukee’s road record could be prone to regression, but for the moment, it’s a major factor behind their wins in the month or March and hopefully, going forward.