Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 131-126 loss to New Orleans Pelicans
By Dalton Sell
Takeaway No.1 from loss to New Orleans Pelicans: Milwaukee Bucks fail to slow down Pelicans’ backcourt
Much like the team’s 3-point shooting, the Pelicans’ backcourt looked shockingly fantastic and out of character. Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe struggled throughout the first few games of this season on the offensive end, but any sign of struggle was absent against the Bucks.
Bledsoe, playing in his first regular season game against Milwaukee since they traded him this offseason, looked great after scoring 25 points on 9-of-21 shooting. What certainly stood out the most was his prolific 3-point shooting, where he did most of his damage, having gone a stellar 7-for-14 on his attempts from behind the arc. That tied a career-high in makes for the guard previously hit as a member of the Bucks, and, of course, he had a little motivation entering this game, it seemed.
His backcourt mate, Lonzo Ball, was right there with him on the offensive end. Ball stuffed that stat sheet as he poured in 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting and chipped in eight assists. The guard entered the game shooting a career-worst 30.1 percent from long-range, but much like the sharpshooting Bledsoe, he could not miss against Milwaukee, hitting 7-of-13 total shots from distance.
Circling back to the Bucks’ lackluster 3-point defense, these two surely gained a boost of confidence with the handful of open looks they were getting. Both known as guards with a lacking shot from behind the arc, they did not look the part Friday night as they hoisted a combined 27 3-pointers, hitting an astounding 14 of them.
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With this loss out of the way, the Bucks have little time to rest as they will take on the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night in the second night of a back-to-back.