After going undefeated this week, let’s dive into some trends that have risen and fallen for the Milwaukee Bucks as they find their groove this 2020-21 season.
It was clearly a successful week for the Milwaukee Bucks last week.
The Bucks rose to 9-4 on the 2020-21 season after dominating the Orlando Magic in a 121-99 victory Monday night, sweeping the Detroit Pistons in their season series Wednesday night and edging out the Dallas Mavericks in a 112-109 win by the skin of their teeth.
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Now up to four straight victories going into their highly anticipated matchup with the Brooklyn Nets on MLK Day, the Bucks have found their groove after going through some early season ups and downs.
So without further ado, it’s that time to explore some of the rising and falling trends that stood from the last week for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Milwaukee Bucks 3-point defense has been a rising trend.
I’m happy to report that the Bucks did a much better job of defending the three point line this week.
While Milwaukee still gave up some decent percentages like surrendering 40 percent from the Pistons’ 35 attempts on Wednesday night or allowing the Mavericks to go 13-for-36 from three Friday night, the Bucks made each team work for it more than they have.
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer rolled out different coverages to address what has been the Bucks’ biggest weakness early this season and in previous playoff exits, whether it was switching or bringing the Bucks’ bigs further up the floor to trap opposing ball handlers. The Bucks’ defensive standing has been elite under Budenholzer’s watch, but their increased flexibility he and the team are showing has been incredibly encouraging to say the least.
We’ll obviously stay tuned to how the Bucks continue to try and address their weakness of letting opposing teams let it fly over the course of the season. But their growing versatility has helped them improve their defense to the point where they stand eighth in defensive efficiency, per NBA.com/stats.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ second unit has been a rising trend.
Led by newcomers Bobby Portis and Bryn Forbes as well as Pat Connaughton’s improved 3-point shooting, the Bucks have seen higher production and praiseworthy effort from their reshaped bench unit.
When the Bucks signed Portis, many fans questioned whether or not it was a signing that was going to have an impact that would help get the Bucks over the hump in the playoffs. Through the first 13 games of the season, the answer is apparent.
Portis’ highly efficient 20-point performance in the Bucks’ win over Orlando was highly impactful and his continued scoring boosts and presence on the glass has headlined Milwaukee’s second unit firepower.
Connaughton’s return from injury this week has helped the Bucks on both ends of the floor. While Connaughton doesn’t provide a ton of scoring off the bench, what he does bring is energy on the defensive end, especially around the three point line, hustle in transition and dogged determination in the rebounding department.
And now up to shooting 16-for-33 from 3-point range (48.5 percent) on the season, Connaughton seems to have finally made improvements to his shot that will help him space the floor. The fact that Connaughton has a 14-1 assist-to-turnover ratio has greatly improved his limited offensive role too.
As for Forbes, he’s given the Bucks’ bench the steady sharpshooter they need and that he has been throughout his five-year NBA career. With two straight double-digit outings against Orlando and Detroit, Forbes showed off his 3-point firepower and is now up to going 21-for-49 from the 3-point line.
Forbes’ shotmaking hasn’t been deterred by opposing defenders trying to close out on him. We’ve increasingly seen him take advantage of aggressive defenders and by showing off his pump fake, Forbes has dribbled into a wide-open shot that he has shown to make from mid-range.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s free throw shooting has been a falling trend.
Coming into the 2020-21 season, the Bucks needed to improve as a team at free throw shooting, but that area of improvement was headlined by Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis’ free throw shooting has been an issue since Jason Kidd started putting the ball in Antetokounmpo’s hands and he started attacking the basket with a combination of force and finesse never before seen in the league. Giannis has struggled in both of his MVP campaigns shooting at the free throw line and he’s only getting worse in this regard.
Last season Giannis finished the season shooting 63.3 percent on free throws. After going a ghastly 1-for-10 from the free throw line against Dallas, Antetokounmpo is shooting 57.5 percent on his free throw attempts.
Obviously, Antetokounmpo has put in a ton of work to iron out his free throw shooting deficiencies, but nothing has stuck to turn it around at this point. And we will certainly see opposing teams begin to use the “Hack-a-Giannis” strategy against him to make him beat them at the free throw line when needed.
It’s a long season and any improvement that Antetokounmpo at the foul line will go a long way in mitigating this glaring deficiency in his game.
Khris Middleton’s play has been a rising trend.
There’s no question Khris Middleton has gotten off to an outstanding start to this 2020-21 season.
Middleton’s presence on both ends of the floor has been incredibly crucial to the Bucks’ success this season. Per Basketball-Reference, Middleton is currently tied for second in the NBA with 2.1 win shares and is fourth in offensive win shares.
The two-time All-Star has been doing this while digging himself out of slow starts as we saw in both the Magic and Mavericks games last week. In both contests, Middleton ended up with 20 points on 9-for-17 shooting against Orlando and finished with 25 points on 20 shots against Dallas.
As he’s continued shooting through any cold spells he’s had, Middleton has been a continued presence on the glass to the point where he’s currently averaging a career-high 6.5 rebounds per game this season.
It’s clear Middleton has never been better scoring the ball and his smooth operating with the ball in his hands has done wonders for the Bucks to start this season. The fact that the 29-year-old stuck it out and cashed in back-to-back triples late against the Mavericks not only secured the win, but showed off his clutch scoring in the process.
Just like his MVP running mate, Middleton manages to improve year after year when healthy and this season may be his greatest act yet in his All-Star career.
Team chemistry has been a rising trend this week.
As expected, the Bucks’ slow and incredibly inconsistent start certainly set off some panic among the Bucks’ fanbase. But with an incredibly high roster turnover over the offseason and shakeup in their core, the Bucks were going to have some growing pains, especially in a season as uncertain as this one is.
Now as this Bucks team continues to familiarize with each other, it’s led to having undefeated week.
Milwaukee’s new ‘Big 3’ of Antetokounmpo, Holiday and Middleton has provided the balance the Bucks need to earn their victories. With the help the Bucks have been getting from their bench, that has only fortified this team further.
The fact that the Bucks are averaging 26.2 assists per game, the seventh-most in the league, speaks to the chemistry that is clicking among Bucks players at the moment.
Between their balanced scoring, growing defensive versatility and overall firepower, the Bucks have jelled quickly after undergoing massive changes to their personnel. How it all continues to come together will be fascinating to watch, but the results have been clear to see as the Bucks now have four straight victories under their belt going into the start of a new week.
Brook Lopez has been a falling trend.
Over his time with the Bucks, Brook Lopez has been instrumental to the team’s success and overall identity on both ends of the floor.
By being able to shoot triples at a high volume and block off the basket to the opposition, Lopez has been an incredibly value role player. Now as the Bucks’ system is changing, his role will only be affected and it’s played a part in the quiet start to the season he’s had.
Lopez is still off to a better start offensively than he was a year ago as he’s up to shooting 36.4 percent from three, 1.6 blocks per game and is averaging a mere 9.3 points per game on the season.
Still, Lopez is averaging the fewest minutes per game (26.6) in Milwaukee by a very slim margin. While that has been affected by the Bucks having some blowout wins, the Bucks’ personnel changes have been reflected in the role he’s had to start the season.
We saw the Bucks and Budenholzer turn to utilizing Lopez more in the post during their win over Dallas, but that did little in getting him going as he scored 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting over 33-and-a-half minutes of run.
With all this said, Lopez’s value to the Bucks hasn’t changed, even as the team has and is changing before our eyes. Lopez gives Milwaukee a true rim protector that they don’t otherwise have and his floor spacing and steady sharpshooting has been a nice sight to see, especially after his prolonged shooting slump last season.
Whether his production grows on both sides of the ball remains to be seen, but Lopez will have to adjust with the Bucks’ new ways just as everyone else is right now.
We’ll be back next week to see how the Milwaukee Bucks will fare with marquee clashes against the new-look Brooklyn Nets, the reigning champions, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Wizards.