Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 116-91 win over Brooklyn Nets

Bucks’ defense gets stingy

Milwaukee’s defense has been lackluster throughout this season. With the length and athleticism possessed by the players, this has been hard for fans and the front office to digest.

Twitter campaigns and disheartening sound bites aside, giving up way too many points is probably the reason Jason Kidd was shown the door.

Fittingly, the Bucks turned in their best defensive half of the season just two games into the Prunty era. The Nets scored 15 points in the first quarter, and followed that up with 20 in the second.

Their 35 points in the first half were the fewest allowed by the Bucks in any half so far this season. Shooting 25.6 percent from the field, and 20. percent on three pointers, Brooklyn nearly shot themselves out of the game in the first two quarters.

While the defense appeared to switch more pick-and-rolls than usual, it is hard to give all of the credit to any tweaks Coach Prunty has implemented just yet. The Nets had enough good looks that part of Friday’s first half can be attributed to variance, but kudos to the Bucks for playing a slightly more conservative style, helping them stay in position to contest shots at the arc.

It also helped that a certain floor-covering monster was in action for the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s return to the lineup was bad news for Brooklyn.