Milwaukee Bucks: Ersan Ilyasova’s growing importance defensively

As the Milwaukee Bucks resorted to switching in Game 2 against the Boston Celtics, Ersan Ilyasova‘s defensive impact came to the fore.

Over the course of the regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks proved themselves not just to be one of the best teams in the NBA, but one of the deepest too.

Discussion of depth often focuses on the sheer number of players capable of taking to the court and giving quality minutes, which in turn leads to the misnomer that depth is less important in the playoffs when rotations are more likely to be short.

More from Bucks News

• Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
• Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
• Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
• Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
• New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited

One of the most important elements of real depth, though, is for a team to not only have extensive options, but to have real versatility among that group. Only then will a team have sufficient counters for the various looks that will inevitably come their way in a deep playoff run.

By and large, this is an area where the Bucks score extremely well. Still, in no area of the court is this more apparent than in the frontcourt.

Between Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Ersan Ilyasova, Nikola Mirotic and D.J. Wilson, Milwaukee has a plethora of styles and strategies that can be explored from the frontcourt.

With the exception of Antetokounmpo, that variety also means that certain matchups suit some players better than others. We’ve already seen how the Celtics’ pick-and-pop offense has made Lopez more ineffective in this series than he’d be in almost any other, but on the more positive side of the ledger, there’s another Bucks big who is perfectly suited to what Boston is currently throwing Milwaukee’s way.

If it wasn’t clear already from Game 2, this really could be Ersan Ilyasova’s time to shine.

Ilyasova is a polarizing figure among Bucks fans, which is unsurprising given just how well they know his game. Ilyasova is in his third spell as a Buck, has played over 500 regular season games for the franchise, and has therefore shown Milwaukee both the best and the worst of him over the years.

Particularly at this point on his career, when Ilyasova is on the verge of turning 32, there can be no doubting that the Turk has undeniable and very pronounced limitations.

His game has never been predicated on athleticism, and that certainly isn’t about to change now. Ilyasova has never been known for his outstanding foot speed, and there are no surprises in that regard either. But Ilyasova has a lot going for him, particularly when matched up against a corps of big men such as Boston’s.

With the Celtics predominantly rolling out Al Horford, Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes across their frontcourt spots, they don’t necessarily have an elite athlete in the front court. Instead, they have three notably strong bigs, who are just relatively mobile for the position.

Ilyasova is neither the quickest, strongest or most athletic when compared to that group, but one of his greatest strengths may in fact be that he has just enough of all three elements to make him capable of guarding three players with such radically different styles.

On the most recent episode of the Lowe Post, ESPN’s Zach Lowe noted that although he thinks Ilyasova is good, he gets “a little queasy” when the Bucks turn to Ilyasova, and would prefer the Bucks to lean into lineups featuring Giannis and Mirotic more frequently.

It’s not tough to understand why Lowe, and many others, may share that sentiment, as Ilyasova’s game is not all that aesthetically pleasing and arguably creates a greater sense of vulnerability from an optics perspective than ever really manifests on the court.

Part of the reason why Ilyasova may be able to buck that trend, though, was then explained by Lowe’s guest, and a former coach of Ilyasova’s, Stan Van Gundy:

"“The Bucks are a team that are good on both ends of the floor. They’re the No. 1 defense in the league. I think Mike [Budenholzer] looks to that, and Ersan’s a very, very good team defender. We saw him take the charge. He’s always going to give up his body. And regardless of what’s gone on this year with him not taking as many threes, or making them, he’s still a guy that’s a threat. So people are still going to play him when he’s on the floor, and give him space.”"

Van Gundy’s mention of Ilyasova’s team defense is essentially a nod to Ilyasova’s exceptional defensive intelligence. What the veteran lacks in terms of physical advantages associated with individual defense, he can often make up for with his exemplary positioning. Ilyasova’s willingness to take charges is important, but he couldn’t have set a new NBA record for the most charges drawn in a single season, as he has done this year, if he wasn’t elite at anticipating his opponents’ moves.

As a result, Ilyasova’s teams are frequently formidable on the defensive end when he’s on the floor, and that’s certainly a reality that has come to pass for the Bucks so far in the postseason.

Averaging just under 20 minutes per game, Ilyasova ranks second behind only George Hill among all Bucks players in terms of both net rating (23.5) and defensive rating (91.3) so far this postseason.

In Game 2, when the Bucks unleashed their switching scheme, Ilyasova logged 17.8 minutes and led both categories with a defensive rating of 70 and a net rating of 49.5.

This isn’t Ilyasova’s first time producing such an impact either, as just last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Turk posted stellar ratings in both defensive (96.4) and net rating (10.8) while playing a similar role.

Perhaps even more importantly, although Ilyasova found himself on the wrong side of a five-game series loss to the Celtics last season, that can’t be attributed to his performance in any way.

The 76ers outscored the Celtics by 9.8 points per 100 possessions with Ilyasova on the floor in last season’s playoffs, while he posted a defensive rating of 96.1. Of players who played at least 10 minutes in the series, only T.J. McConnell boasted a better defensive rating, while Joel Embiid had to settle for third behind Ilyasova.

In other words, there’s real precedent for Ilyasova’s presence on the floor flummoxing this Celtics team. It was even evident in terms of the impact he had on Al Horford’s play during the Bucks’ meetings with the Celtics in the regular season.

If asked to name the rotational big best suited to switching, most Bucks fans would understandably name D.J. Wilson, due to his quickness and athleticism. If asked to nominate the strongest Bucks big, most would likely turn to Brook Lopez, while Nikola Mirotic would be the obvious pick in terms of deadliest shooter.

Ilyasova is not the best option in terms of any of the attributes required for this particular matchup, but it’s arguably more notable that neither is he the worst in any one area. That makes him the safety net of sorts, and that’s mostly what Milwaukee needs from that spot at present.

If Ilyasova can continue to hold his own on both ends, it just makes it all the easier for the Bucks’ more talented players such as Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe to hammer home their respective advantages.

Across his play in the last two seasons against Boston, Ilyasova has offered every piece of evidence to suggest he is tailor-made for this matchup.

Expect to see plenty of him and Giannis combining as an interchangeable 4-5 combo in the games ahead, and based on a pretty significant sample at this point, that approach should make for good news for the Bucks.