As the Bucks look to maintain their current pace, they will be without Eric Bledsoe due to injury. How do you expect the Bucks will fare without their starting point guard until he returns to action?
DL: Eric Bledsoe’s loss is really going to be felt in this difficult run of games they have coming up.
We saw Monday night that the Bucks lacked anyone on the roster outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo who could get to the rim consistently. That really affected the flow of their offense, and was ultimately the decisive factor in a game where none of their shooters, except Kyle Korver, could make their shots.
Even on defense, his absence was felt. The Bucks were unable to stifle Seth Curry, who had a monster game. Donte DiVincenzo showed a lot of energy and fight on defense, but as good as he is on that end of the floor, he’s not the All-NBA defender that Bledsoe is. Curry may not have had the game he had last night if Bledsoe were guarding him.
Milwaukee was fortunate to weather the stretch where they were without Khris Middleton. I’m not sure they’ll be able to do that again with Bledsoe out, especially given who they’re playing in the next two weeks.
JT: As Dan alluded to, the biggest difference in the Bucks being able to soldier on without Khris Middleton versus Eric Bledsoe is the level of competition the Bucks will be facing over the next couple of weeks where Bledsoe is sidelined.
Between their showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers and their Christmas Day meeting against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Bucks will be tested against some of the top teams in the league. Even their contest with the Indiana Pacers, which will be headlined by the return of Malcolm Brogdon, will give them a good challenge and that makes up for three of the Bucks’ next four games.
And with point guard being the thinnest position on the Bucks’ depth chart, it’s only going to ask more of their leading contributors in Antetokounmpo and Middleton to continue initiating the offense in big moments, Donte DiVincenzo, who’s filling in for Bledsoe’s spot in the starting five, and George Hill as he continues to lead the bench unit.
Whether the Bucks are able to replicate most of what Bledsoe can bring on both ends of the floor without Bledsoe over this stretch remains to be seen.
BO: I have long been of the mindset that Bledsoe is the X-factor of this Bucks team. Barring an otherworldly playoffs performance by Giannis, Bledsoe will decide how far this team goes. With that being said, the Bucks are going to miss Bledsoe sorely in the next couple weeks.
The things he’s able to do offensively and defensively cannot be replicated by any other guard on the roster. His driving ability and hounding defense are incredibly important to this team, and it was evident that they both were missing in their previous game against Dallas.
As Dan and Jordan both mentioned, the Bucks have a few really tough matchups over the course of the next two weeks, and it’s a shame that we won’t be able to see what the Bucks look like at full strength against that competition.
BR: Bledsoe’s loss may hurt more than Middleton’s due to a more difficult schedule, as everyone has alluded to, as well as point guard being a thinner position than wing for Milwaukee as Jordan pointed out. Luckily, the Bucks won’t be facing a top-tier point guard on Thursday when they play the Lakers, so they won’t miss his defense as sorely in that particular matchup. However, his ability to get to the rim, playmaking, and defensive impact will be huge losses for this Bucks team over the next, more competitive stretch of games.
AM: The Bucks desperately miss having another top-caliber driver alongside Giannis, so that in its own right makes it more painful than potential absences at other spots. But as others have touched on, it’s the Bucks’ relative lack of depth at point guard that really makes this a tough one. It’s not beyond them to win without Bledsoe, but it certainly leaves them exposed to different issues than usual.