Milwaukee Bucks: 3 factors behind slide in 3-point defense
There is no better topic revolving around the Milwaukee Bucks at the moment than their 3-point defense. Or lack thereof, to be more precise.
After having seen the damage that continues to be inflicted upon them from their opponents, the Bucks have continued to suffer 3-point shooting onslaughts that have brought down their once-elite defense this season.
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There was no better example of that than their recent and frustrating road trip down south where they allowed 20 or more triples to the Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Pelicans and the Charlotte Hornets.
Per NBA.com/stats, the 2020-21 Bucks are the second team in NBA history to allow such a mark to their opponents. Who was that first team, you ask? The 2019-20 Bucks during the seeding games in the bubble.
For the season, the Bucks are allowing 38.4 opponent 3-point attempts, the fourth-worst mark in the league, and their opponents are hitting such shots at a 39 percent clip, which is tied for the fifth-worst mark. While the Bucks are actually allowing fewer 3-point looks than last season (39.3), Bucks opponents are hitting threes at a higher clip this year than any other time in the Budenholzer era.
Of course, the conversation surrounding the Bucks’ 3-point defender under Budenholzer’s reign has been a topic of both curiosity and concern for Bucks fans. Even as Budenholzer and the Bucks have shown more defensive experimentation that compared to last season, Milwaukee is still susceptible to these 3-point field days more than ever before like we saw last weekend.
So with all of that in mind, let’s dive deep into why the Milwaukee Bucks’ 3-point defense has stuck out like a sore thumb so far this 2020-21 season.