Milwaukee Bucks: 5 stats that stand out from their seeding games

5 stats that stand out from the Milwaukee Bucks’ seeding games – -9.1 net rating in first quarters

Getting off to fast starts has been among the many positive staples over the Budenholzer era in Milwaukee and they certainly improved on that mark this 2019-20 season. Before the campaign was suspended, the Bucks held a +14.3 net rating in their first quarters through their first 65 games, a mark that edged out the Miami Heat for the league’s best.

But in the bubble, the Bucks couldn’t have been further from coming out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The Bucks recorded a -9.1 net rating in first quarters over their eight seeding games, good for 16th out of the 22 teams.

Now there are a couple of key things that can be attributed to the Bucks falling behind early in games as they had over the last two weeks. The biggest reason of them all goes to the fact the Bucks’ regular starting lineup was rarely together on the floor over the seeding games due to injuries, absences and Antetokounmpo’s suspension.

The starting five of Bledsoe/Wesley Matthews/Middleton/Antetokounmpo/Lopez only played a grand total of 16 minutes in those eight games and compiled a +13.9 net rating over their shared time on the court. Given that’s the most productive five-man unit in all of the NBA this season and clicks so perfectly, that’s not an insignificant note by any means.

If and when the Bucks’ regular starting lineup is fully healthy, I’d expect the Bucks’ first quarter struggles to rebound in a more positive direction over their playoff run.