Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: Nov. 30 at Portland Trail Blazers
By Adam McGee
Major key for Milwaukee – Remain flexible defensively
The Bucks have spent the best part of their last three seasons rigidly sticking to a defensive strategy that has let them down repeatedly, but on Tuesday night in Sacramento there were finally some glimpses of adjustment.
Milwaukee’s defensive scheme has often presented itself as proactive to the point of recklessness, but against the Kings it was a little more reactive and the team was able to reap the rewards.
The Bucks used their length to switch more often than they normally would, maintaining solid position and generally working to ensure they kept a man in front of their opponents. The more aggressive style generally employed by Jason Kidd has meant even the slightest of breakdowns can result in a clear path to the rim or a wide open three-pointer, but on Tuesday the Bucks showed greater discipline, and also that they can still create havoc with their length in that structure.
Kidd has expressed his concerns about whether a young team is capable of staying diligently focused to adequately execute frequent switching, and as a result, like a crutch, he may choose to resort to a scheme that his team has proven time and again that they aren’t capable of executing.
If the change from the last game sticks, though, maybe we’ll get a sense of whether the promise shown on Tuesday was something worth getting excited about, or just a product of playing the Kings.