Turnovers still a problem
Ok, so, not everything is 100 percent perfect. We’ve got to nitpick some things about the Bucks, right?
If there’s one thing that has continually been a weakness for the Bucks it’s been turnovers. Going into this game, the Bucks were 27th in the league in turnovers per game at 17.2, which will only get higher after Milwaukee coughed it up 18 times against the Raptors.
This problem has especially plagued Giannis and one could hope that without Giannis handling the ball so much in this game the turnovers would go down, but no such luck. No one player was especially bad — Middleton had three turnovers, Bledsoe too, Brogdon had a couple — but they all added up to some sloppy basketball for a few stretches of the game.
The Bucks’ turnovers were a major reason why the Raptors were able to hang in the game for as long as they did, keeping Milwaukee within reach for a majority of the game despite a poor performance from Lowry and bad shooting from the team overall. For most of the game, the Bucks were up by three or four possessions, but it always felt like it should have been more.
It didn’t end up hurting them in this game, but against a better team it could rear its ugly head and ultimately end up being the reason they eventually lose a game. A stretch of poor shooting along with sloppy basketball is a recipe for disaster against contending teams.
Granted, some of this is still growing pains from a team with a new coach and entirely new style of offense. As impressive as the Bucks have been on offense, not everything is going to be perfect right away. Many of these turnovers are live-ball turnovers coming off miscommunications on passes or when the ball-handler gets stripped going towards the basket.
For now, Budenholzer will live with them as the Bucks are still working out the kinks, but right now it’s probably the only thing holding the Bucks back. Which is a weird thing to say about a 7-0 team but, honestly, they still have room for improvement.
If the Bucks can shave their turnovers per game average by five, six or seven, watch out.
The Bucks look to move to 8-0 on the season as they travel to Boston on Thursday to take on the Celtics at 7 p.m. CT.