Milwaukee Bucks: 3 factors behind slide in 3-point defense

Second factor behind slide in Milwaukee Bucks’ 3-point defense – Shooting is up league-wide

While there has been much clamoring about why Bucks opponents have been able to 3-point shots at such a high clip, it hasn’t been an isolated incident by any means.

All 30 teams are shooting a combined 36.8 percent from downtown this year, a full percentage point higher than the 35.8 3-point percentage the league shot for the 2019-20 season.

While it’s still early in the season and that number could certainly stabilize, the entire NBA is experiencing such a high jump in 3-point efficiency while attempting more threes than ever before as evidenced by the league’ 39.5 3-point attempt rate.

Additionally, similar teams such as the Miami Heat and the New Orleans Pelicans that have allowed an astonishing volume of opponent 3-point shots are both surrendering 38.4 percent and 37 percent clips to their opponents this year. Of course, that trails the Bucks at the moment, but the point still stands that there has been some sort of correlation between allowing a high volume of threes to seeing those shots go in.

Considering that we’re working with a growing sample size of games that have either come with very limited or no fans, it’s possible that the ‘shooter’s gym’ quote that former Bucks sharpshooter Kyle Korver gave ahead of the bubble still holds relevance to this year.

Given the fact that the Bucks’ struggles in defending the 3-point line started to surface more regularly in that time, it still carries weight in that regard.