Moving the ball
Although spacing and three-point shooting tend to grab the lion’s share of attention, equally core to Mike Budenholzer’s offensive philosophies as a coach is ensuring his teams purposefully and actively move the ball.
Through two games for the Bucks, the sense of that message being in place is already apparent. The Bucks have consistently ranked among the league’s best assists teams in recent years, but that had never really equated to the brand of free-flowing, extra pass sequences that have already reared their head through two games.
/defense has to load up vs. Giannis in transition
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) October 8, 2018
/out of position for the pick and roll
/nice Middleton pass
/perfect short roll pass by Lopez
/extra pass
/extra pass
Middleton open 3. pic.twitter.com/jNPEkoDUfG
Still, by no means does that mean the Bucks have figured it all out.
After recording 28 assists against Chicago, that tally dropped to just 24 against Minnesota. Speaking after that second game, star player Giannis Antetokounmpo voiced his dissatisfaction about the way the team moved the ball.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a strong performance and the Bucks won by 18 points, but after the game Giannis clearly wasn't satisfied. He thinks the team's doing things better than last year, but they're still not where they want/need to be. Here's what he said: pic.twitter.com/hU0SzTpTDA
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) October 8, 2018
As Antetokounmpo was quick to point out, the difference between last season and this season is night and day for the Bucks, but the more important point is that Milwaukee is not looking to just be a little better than they were 12 months ago.
The plan is to fully embrace Budenholzer’s system and its core tenets and then reap the rewards. By no means have the Bucks failed in that department through two games, but don’t be surprised if they come out with an extra hunger to prove a point to themselves on Tuesday night.