Following their loss to the Brooklyn Nets Monday night, the Milwaukee Bucks had another top-heavy matchup on their hands as the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers strolled into town Thursday night.
With both Milwaukee and Los Angeles coming off losses, the intensity of this game was surely turned up a notch as each team tried to get back on the right track with a victory. After 48 frustrating minutes of action, the Bucks suffered their sixth defeat of the season with a 113-106 loss to the Lakers in primetime at Fiserv Forum.
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The Bucks have very rarely lost consecutive games in Mike Budenholzer’s tenure as head coach, previously only happening five times in the past two regular seasons. However, they have now done it for the first time this season just 15 games in.
It is not time to panic just yet, but there is concern surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks without question. With that being said, here are three takeaways from Thursday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Takeaway No. 3 from loss to Los Angeles Lakers – Milwaukee Bucks have issues with second unit
Heading into this game, it was clear that the Bucks had a consistency issue in the second unit. When the team wins, it is oftentimes partly due to a strong showing from the bench, as players such as Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes, and Pat Connaughton have stepped up and produced in meaningful minutes.
However, in losses, they have been downright awful, and that trend carried over into this game against the Lakers. Milwaukee’s bench scored just 16 points on the night, shooting a collective 7-for-17 from the floor and 0-of-3 from behind the arc. If there were still question marks surrounding how significant the impact of the bench would be for the Bucks, they all answered Thursday night.
If the second unit continues these struggles against top-tier opponents, things could get out of hands fast in Milwaukee. Another lackluster showing from the bench in a pivotal game left the Bucks heavily dependent on their starting unit, particularly Giannis Antetokounmpo in a battle of former league MVPs.
Takeaway No. 2 from loss to Lakers – LeBron gets the best of Giannis
LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo have earned a combined six league MVPs throughout their careers and have asserted themselves among the upper echelon of superstars in this league. Whenever these two face-off against one another, fireworks are sure to fly, and Thursday night’s contest was no exception.
Giannis finished with a team-high 25 points, shooting 11-of-17 from the field, including 1-of-3 from deep. The Greek Freak also logged 11 rebounds, three assists, and a block to stuff the stat sheet, but perhaps what stood out the most was the sizable amount of turnovers he produced.
With a combination of bad passes, sloppy mistakes, and regularly playing out of control, Antetokounmpo racked up an abysmal nine turnovers in the contest. Receiving a handful of offensive fouls throughout his 35 minutes of action, Antetokounmpo ended up fouling out of the game to cap off an out of sorts showing from the reigning Most Valuable Player.
Meanwhile, James had his best outing of the season as he propelled the Los Angeles Lakers to victory. James had a season-high 34 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including an impressive 6-of-10 from deep. He added six rebounds, eight assists, along with a steal and a block to his total, having an all-around fantastic showing on the big stage.
LeBron and the Lakers won this round, but Giannis and the Bucks will look to even up the season series next time these two teams face off later this year.
Takeaway No. 1 from loss to Lakers – Milwaukee Bucks still have 3-point concerns
Along with the second unit struggles, 3-point inconsistencies are also nothing new for the Bucks. There have been several games this season where the team has been red-hot from long range, but others where they could not throw a rock into the ocean.
Unfortunately, this was another game that fit the bill of the latter from the opening tip. The Bucks struggled to find any rhythm from long distance, while the Los Lakers feasted on the opportunity and had a field day from downtown.
In particular, James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope torched the Bucks, having shot a combined 13-of-20 by themselves from deep. The rest of the team poured in six triples, and the Lakers shot an astounding 51.4 percent from behind the arc by connecting on 19 of their 37 shots. Defending the perimeter has been a glaring issue for the Bucks for several years now, and it was undoubtedly on full display Thursday night.
Speaking of familiarity, the Bucks were freezing cold from downtown as their opponent shot the lights out. Shooting 32.1 percent from long-range, the Bucks were just 9-of-28 on their triples, which proved to be another recipe for disaster. These issues have reared their ugly head for the Bucks throughout the first 15 games of the season, and it appears that they will not be going away anytime soon.
With their game tonight against the Washington Wizards postponed, the Bucks will have a few extra days off before they take on the Atlanta Hawks this Sunday. The Bucks will be put to the test trying to get back into the win column, and you can catch the action on Fox Sports Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m. central time.