Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 125-124 loss to the Phoenix Suns
By Dalton Sell
Second takeaway from loss to Phoenix Suns — Milwaukee Bucks undoubtedly missed Jrue Holiday
Jrue Holiday missed his second consecutive game on Wednesday night after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols several days ago. Holiday has been nothing short of fantastic with the Bucks this season, and it goes without saying that they missed his defensive presence against the Phoenix Suns.
One could make the case that Phoenix has one of the best backcourts in the league with the combination of Chris Paul and Devin Booker. With their premier guard defender sidelined, the Bucks had no plan B to utilize in slowing this top-tier tandem down.
Booker, who has always been a thorn in Milwaukee’s side, was scorching hot all night as he finished the contest with 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting. Paul followed closely with 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting himself as the 35-year-old clocked in a vintage performance against the Bucks. These two were too much to handle for the Bucks and outings like this one showcase just how important Holiday is to this team.
Holiday is reportedly not traveling with the team right now as they have two games left on their current six-game road swing. If the guard remains out for those two games, which seems feasible, the Bucks will once again have to endure their challenges defending opposing backcourts. A few key names that the Bucks will see in these upcoming games are Donovan Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley Jr., and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, several top-tier players at their position.
Without Jrue in the lineup, Milwaukee’s defense, particularly in the backcourt, gets turned down a notch, and they will be tested in the coming days.