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

To make no bones about it, it was certainly a tough week for the Milwaukee Bucks.

After falling to the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers in a week that was filled with high-profile showdowns, the Bucks are now down 9-6 on the season and have hit a losing skid going into Sunday night’s meeting with the Atlanta Hawks.

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While it was a disappointing week, especially going against title favorites such as the Nets and the Lakers, there were some noticeable trends that still surfaced all throughout.

So without further ado, let’s dive into what trends all stood in the Bucks’ winless week and where they stand a little more than a month into their run this season.

Donte DiVincenzo’s effort on defense has been a rising trend.

It’s known that Donte DiVincenzo is one of the most dedicated defenders on the Bucks and it’s certainly continues standing out for me.

Over the Bucks’ clash with the Nets, the Bucks showed their new proclivity to switch screens and it led to DiVincenzo standing in the impossible position of having to defend one of the best scorers in the league, Kevin Durant. As he didn’t shy away from the challenge, DiVincenzo got right up into Durant and acted like there wasn’t a seven inch height difference between them.

DiVincenzo worked in concert with Jrue Holiday to make things harder for James Harden at times and limited the number of open looks that he got to either force Harden into contested jumpers and to pass out of situations he would normally attack in.

While DiVincenzo was praised by many for his defense on the Nets scorers, giving his all on defense even at a time where he’s slumping a bit on offense. That type of effort and maturity is why Donte is averaging a career-high 1.4 steals per game so far this season.

While DiVincenzo’s off-ball defense and thievery in the passing lanes has long stood out, this development of his on-ball defense is very relevant to the Bucks showing an increased flexibility.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ bench has been a falling trend.

After praising the effort of players like Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes and Pat Connaughton only last week, the three of them were largely nowhere to be found in the Bucks’ two marquee games this week. And that’s without getting into the extended struggles of veteran point guard D.J. Augustin.

To see the Bucks fight valiantly against the Nets, despite a poor shooting night from beyond the arc, the team’s bench unit offered very little in way of support to the Bucks’ foundational pieces as they collectively scored 19 total points on 7-for-23 shooting from the field.

It was Connaughton who helped save the day with the three triples he provided to give some boost in some fashion. Augustin also stuck out like a sore thumb by scoring just 2 points on 0-for-7 shooting in over 19 minutes of run.

Milwaukee’s loss to the Lakers only managed to bang the same drum regarding their bench woes by pitching in 16 total points, though on just 8-of-17 shooting from the floor (0-for-3 from deep).

As BTBP co-site expert Jordan Treske dove into earlier this week, the Bucks’ bench just hasn’t been pulling their weight when it comes hitting their mark in games the Bucks need against elite-level teams. And that lack of production is certainly troubling when the Bucks have the kind of championship aspirations they do this season.

Jrue Holiday’s play has been a rising trend.

Now that the Bucks are 15 games into the season, it seems that newly acquired Jrue Holiday is settling in and finding his way in the Bucks’ offense while supplying his well-recognized brand of defense.

As I mentioned when talking about Donte DiVinvenzo on defense earlier, Holiday is doing a great job with his on-ball defending, especially when matched up on the likes of James Harden, Kevin Durant and LeBron James as last week showed.

Even as the returns varied on the matchup, it was Holiday’s defending on Durant that was incredibly encouraging to see, given the height difference between the two. Per NBA.com/stats, Holiday forced a pair of turnovers as Durant went 0-for-2 from the field on the eight partial possessions they were matched up against each other.

Where Holiday has impressed most as he has found his rhythm in Milwaukee is on offense. On Monday against the Nets, the veteran guard scored 22 points on efficient 8-16 shooting while adding six assists and four rebounds, all without turning the ball over. Holiday turned in another efficient night against the Lakers with 22 points on 10-for-18 shooting, along with seven assists, five rebounds and only one turnover.

These two games against opponents that will surely find themselves in the playoffs, Holiday’s poise and control on both ends of the floor has shined as the Bucks heave searched for balance and consistency. Needless to say, the overall impact he’s making thus far has lived up to expectations thus far.

Brook Lopez’s play has been a falling trend.

For the second consecutive week, Brook Lopez finds himself on this list for not good reasons.

It may sound strange, especially as Lopez put forth double-digit scoring efforts against both Brooklyn and Los Angeles and has done so in the Bucks’ last three tilts. However, Lopez’s shot selection has been troubling to say the least as he and superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo both are quick to hoist up and misfire on early shots in the shot clock and thus far killing Milwaukee’s offensive rhythm.

Lopez’s decision making in such spots would be encouraging had he been shooting the ball up to his standard last week. The seven-footer went 3-for-12 from 3-point range in both tilts and didn’t do much help in trying to raise the Bucks out of their shooting struggles, especially when he has plenty of daylight to let it fly.

While it’s still early to push the panic button on Lopez’s play, what’s clear is that Lopez has to be high among the Bucks’ supporting cast in knocking down wide-open looks in games that have weight to them like we saw this week. If the Bucks want to make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals and even beyond, they desperately need that from Lopez.

With another week in books, stay tuned next week to what all will surely stand out in the Bucks’ four-game week, all of which starts Sunday night when the Atlanta Hawks come to town.