The Milwaukee Bucks’ defense pivoting to switching has turned their series with the Celtics on its head, but it’s also added an interesting new wrinkle.
After an embarrassing defeat in Game 1, Mike Budenholzer and his Milwaukee Bucks team made an adjustment that may ultimately prove to be one of the most important moments of this year’s playoffs.
It would have been understandable to give a scheme that had propelled the Bucks to the league’s best defense in the regular season even one more game, but Milwaukee at least temporarily pushed their dropping defense to the side in favor of constant switching.
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With three consecutive wins in the time since, it’s safe to say the results have been spectacular.
But there are also important byproducts that have come from that adjustment that are worthy of further exploration.
Speaking to Tim Bontemps and Malika Andrews on the most recent episode of the Lowe Post, prior to Game 4, ESPN’s Zach Lowe made an interesting comment about Milwaukee’s defense.
"“Boston is losing the turnover battle in this series, which I don’t think is tenable for them. The Bucks don’t force turnovers. Boston can’t lose that battle.”"
The Bucks forced just 13.4 turnovers per game in the regular season, which ranked 21st in the league. In other words, the general sentiment of that statement is fair, and by no means untrue. Or at least that used to be the case.
Since embracing a switch-heavy defense, the Bucks have forced the Celtics up to 14.3 turnovers per game. At a point of the postseason where turnovers are generally expected to decrease, only the Warriors (16.0) have forced their opponent into more turnovers on a nightly basis since that point.
In Jason Kidd‘s time as head coach, the Bucks’ length and their defensive potential were frequent topics of conversation. There was always validity to those narratives, too, even though those tools were greatly misutilized under Kidd’s watch.
The value of the Bucks’ length was showcased in the more conservative scheme employed throughout the year, simply by forcing opponents to try to overcome the long arms when they’re no longer frequently out of position. But in changing to switching, the Bucks have gone on the front foot in terms of weaponizing that length again, albeit with a discipline and control that was absent when the aggression was dialed up in the past.
Speaking to Zach Lowe, Khris Middleton described the team’s mindset on the defensive end, and summed up the shift that has changed the shape of the series.
"“That’s what Bud has been preaching in film sessions. We are long and athletic. Just fly around.”"
What kind of impact does that have on the opposing team? In a post-game press conference that delivered a variety of quotes that will get considerably more air time, Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving delivered a detailed and lengthy description of exactly what the Bucks’ defense has been putting his team through.
"“Mike Budenholzer is putting myself, other guys, in different positions where you’re asked to think multiple moves ahead, and if you’re not, then they’ll force you into a tough shot. They’re clogging the rim, they’re help side, they’re making sure they’ve high hands in the passing lanes, they’re putting Giannis at the rim contesting everything. So they’re making things difficult in the paint. We could sit up here and say we need to do this right, and we need to do this right, but at the end of the day, they’re still going to make you think.”"
To tally up what the Bucks have now offered up across the course of the season, they’ve proved they can be the league’s very best defense while playing diligently, conservatively and relying on forcing misses rather than turnovers. But now we’re also seeing a version of Milwaukee that can unleash next level switching, prevent an opposing offense from finding any comfort and rhythm, and employ a more aggressive style where their formidable length can lead to their opponents coughing possession up more frequently.
If the Bucks advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, and at this point it’s the probable outcome, how will their opponent hope to figure out their defense? Milwaukee is completely comfortable in two entirely different looks, both of which they’re elite at, and the personnel required to pivot from one to the other isn’t very different.
The fully realized version of the Bucks may end up being an amalgam of both approaches, a team that can transform from one possession to the next, that can make reads and adjustments as it suits them, and never even let the best offensive players and teams get settled.
The Bucks’ uptick in forcing turnovers should terrify the remaining postseason teams, as it’s just the latest piece of evidence to suggest their defense is increasingly lacking in weak spots. To be even more specific, the Bucks have yet to come up against an offense that they won’t have a strong defensive counter for. Their offense will still have to uphold its end of the bargain, but that’s a strong base to build from.