Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 126-114 loss to Charlotte Hornets
By Dalton Sell
Takeaway No. 3 from loss to Charlotte Hornets – 3-point defense will doom the Milwaukee Bucks
Every game it seems that teams are lighting the Bucks up from behind the arc. Friday night, the New Orleans Pelicans tied a franchise-record with 21 made 3-pointers, and the Charlotte Hornets matched that total with 21 of their own Saturday night.
When Milwaukee’s opponents are hitting this many shots from the perimeter, the Bucks are likely to lose, as evidenced by this two-game losing streak.
The worst part of it is that both franchises were awful shooting the ball from distance heading into this matchup. Once the Bucks pack the paint with bodies and start giving opposing players open looks from long-range, the confidence clicks no matter what percentage the individual is shooting, and they seemingly cannot miss.
An immeasurable amount of the blame for these defensive issues has fallen onto the shoulders of head coach Mike Budenholzer, who has endured these regular 3-point barrages for three years now. He has died by his defensive principles in the previous two, which has led to two consecutive postseason flameouts. However, this season, he is showing a willingness to mix things up in these particular scenarios.
Once New Orleans and Charlotte started knocking down triples, and the deficit started growing, Budenholzer called for players to switch defensively. Typically, this is something that he would never do, but with this being the third consecutive year of the opposing teams exploiting Milwaukee’s awful 3-point defense, changing things up was long overdue.
Even when they are switching, this defense is far from perfect. It should undoubtedly be a massive wake-up call after these two games that the Bucks need to emphasize keeping the opponent’s 3-point shooting at bay from the jump, or they could very well find themselves home early again this year.
Next. 3 defensive trends worth monitoring at quarter mark. dark
Things will only get more difficult for the Milwaukee Bucks as they welcome in one of the NBA’s better 3-point shooting teams in the Portland Trail Blazers to Fiserv Forum Monday night.