Milwaukee Bucks: What’s trending in the third week of the season

The Milwaukee Bucks being able to close out games has been a falling trend.

While the Bucks came away with three out of four games last week, they have had to work harder than what most fans would have expected going into those games.

It should be noted that these games have come with the Bucks’ starters on the floor during such moments and the fact that they have a +0.6 net rating in fourth quarters this year is a little discouraging.

A game like the Bucks’ first victory over the Pistons is a perfect example, especially as they were outscored 35-28 in the fourth quarter on Monday night. Antetokounmpo’s 43-point performance was more than enough to lift the Bucks to victory, but they certainly had plenty of trouble trying to shut the door on the Pistons en route to their fourth victory on the season.

The Bucks’ offense as a whole has been strong enough to win them games, but they have work to do in being able to get where they want to be defensively. And it’s played into their lapses in the fourth quarter when trying to close out games or tighten up their deficits in losses.

Budenholzer has made a point about trying to coach his team into playing a complete game or 48 minutes. While no performance will be perfect, the Bucks have to prevent teams from hanging around from what we’ve seen so far this season.

We’ll be back again next week to explore the various trends that will certainly come over the Bucks’ three-game week that will be split on the road and at home. Stay tuned!