Milwaukee Bucks: Post-hiatus defensive downfall remains puzzling

The Milwaukee Bucks’ defense was historically great for most of the season but looked disastrous throughout the NBA’s restart.

Among the most prolific strong suits for the Milwaukee Bucks pre-coronavirus pandemic, their dominant defense ranked near the top of the list.

Milwaukee was a force to be reckoned with on that end of the floor, allowing just 101.6 points per 100 possessions, the best of any team in the league by a clear mile. Several Bucks earned honors for their part in this top-heavy defense pre-hiatus, most notably Giannis Antetokounmpo taking home both Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-Defense selection. Also, Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe each got the Second Team All-Defense nod.

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Although they did not make any of the All-Defensive teams, teammates like Wesley Matthews, Donte DiVincenzo, and even Khris Middleton were critical components as well. This team-oriented defense served as the foundation for the Bucks, and many believed it was their key to winning a championship.

As the NBA restarted down in Orlando, however, the Bucks seemingly left their stellar defense back in Milwaukee, as it was nowhere to be found in the seeding games. Throughout those eight games, opponent’s points per 100 possessions skyrocketed, increasing to 110.2 as the Bucks went through an abysmal 3-5 stretch.

Despite their vile finish, the Bucks concluded the regular season with a defensive rating of 102.5, the best in the league without competition. Still, the team looked drastically discombobulated defensively, as many expected following the five-month layoff.

There was hope that the Bucks might flip the switch once they got into the postseason, shaking off the rust in their recent horrific stretch. However, Milwaukee genuinely never came back to pre-hiatus form defensively in the playoffs either.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ defense proved to be fatal in the postseason.

Milwaukee took care of business against the Orlando Magic in the first round in five games, as almost everyone predicted. Orlando finished 24th in points per game during the regular season, meaning that their offense was never going to challenge Milwaukee’s defense, no matter how on-edge it was.

Despite a herculean series from Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic, the Bucks held the injury-riddled Orlando Magic to 101.9 points per 100 possessions in round one. Still, it was nothing to get overconfident about with a tough road ahead.

Set to take on the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, trouble loomed large for the Bucks. Milwaukee’s most vital defensive flaw in the regular season was their inability to guard the 3-pointer. Opponents shot 35.8 percent from deep against the Bucks, fourth-worst among teams that made it into the postseason, making the Heat a matchup nightmare.

Miami asserted themselves as one of the more prolific 3-point shooting teams in the league this year, perfectly capable of exploiting Milwaukee’s most vital shortcoming defensively. As expected, the Heat took advantage of this weakness, averaging 37.3 percent shooting from behind the arc in the series. On their way to winning in five games, the Heat tore apart Milwaukee’s defense with 113 points per 100 possessions.

In 10 postseason games, Milwaukee’s defensive rating came in at 107.3, bringing them back down to earth after their otherwordly regular-season numbers pre-hiatus. While there is no scientific explanation for the Bucks’ downfall defensively, it just seems like they lost the spark that fueled them. Opposing teams were getting every shot they desired against Milwaukee as they looked like a shell of their former selves on that end of the court.

Preparing for next season, regaining that defensive prowess that made them so successful in the first part of the 2019-20 campaign will be crucial for the Milwaukee Bucks.