Milwaukee Bucks owning the paint on the defensive end

With the Milwaukee Bucks rounding into form, the team’s defense is close to impenetrable for opposing teams in the paint.

After a sluggish start on the defensive end, the Milwaukee Bucks have clawed their way back to a level on that side of the ball that’s much closer to the output of their league-best defense last year.

The Bucks are now up to ninth in the league in defensive rating, allowing 102.9 points per 100 possessions, and there’s little reason to believe they won’t continue to improve in that department over the remainder of the season.

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There is one area where the Bucks are already matching up to the sky-high defensive standards they set last season, though, and that’s with their early season paint defense.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez as anchors at the heart of the scheme, one of the key principles of the Bucks’ defense last year came in limiting opponents in terms of opportunities for easy points at the rim. Nothing has changed so far in this 2019-20 season.

Part of that comes from forcing teams into less efficient shots, such as mid-range jumpers and floaters, although the latter of those have been falling at a high rate against the Bucks early on.

There may well be room for some of those tough shots they force to fall less frequently yet, but as it is the Bucks are incredibly stingy when it comes to allowing points in the paint.

Last year, the Bucks led the NBA in opponent points per game with 42.2, while so far this year that number has dropped to 39.5, unsurprisingly keeping Milwaukee in that top spot.

Of course, there are a number of key elements and stats that go into that ranking, which further illustrate how well the Bucks are set up on that end of the floor.

With 51.9 rebounds per game, the Bucks’ early pace on the boards has them again ranked best in the NBA, while also outpacing their league-best performance on the glass from last season. The focus in that regard hasn’t changed. Milwaukee is not looking to crash the offensive boards, instead focusing on getting back in transition and shutting off the defensive glass, where they are third at present in defensive rebounding percentage. That knack for tidying things up on the boards also leaves the Bucks allowing the fourth fewest second chance points in the NBA.

Milwaukee’s stout defense in the paint is also a result of their success in contesting shots when opponents do work their way through to get looks in that area of the floor.

Again, Brook and Giannis are key in this department, but the addition of Robin Lopez coming off the bench certainly doesn’t hurt either.

The Bucks’ early season play has seen their blocks per game increase from last year’s 5.9 to 6.6, which in both cases left them second in the NBA. On an individual basis, Brook is currently ranked third in the NBA with 2.5 blocks per game, with Giannis’ 1.6 rejections per contest also good enough for a top-20 spot.

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The Bucks certainly have some work to do on the defensive end, and have already started to make inroads in correcting their difficulties across the first four games. As it is, though, the Bucks’ paint defense looks to be right where they’ll want it to be over the course of the season.

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