Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 114-109 loss to Oklahoma City Thunder

Takeaway no. 2 loss to Oklahoma City Thunder – Brook Lopez takes a back seat for Milwaukee Bucks

It didn’t take long for the Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer in the second half to figure out the team’s comeback effort wasn’t going to feature Brook Lopez.

As both the Bucks and the Thunder shook out their first half shooting slump, Lopez, being the figurehead of the Bucks’ drop-back defensive scheme, was getting picked apart by the Thunder’s pick-and-pop sets. That, in turn, forced Budenholzer to veer away from Lopez as he played just five minutes and two seconds over the entire second half.

By seeing the court for 19 minutes and 48 seconds, Lopez recorded a season-low two points on 1-for-4 shooting (0-for-1 from deep), two rebounds, a block and was a -11.

It’s nights like these that perfect exemplify the tough balance the Bucks are trying to strike between relying on their old identity and their quest to become more versatile and experimental this season. Lopez has often been caught in the middle of not being as effective when switching or defending higher up the floor than right in front of the rim, which limits his overall effectiveness and workload.

Of course, this has only been made more concerning when the Bucks are without their most versatile defender in Jrue Holiday and the Bucks’ offseason additions, save for Torrey Craig, are not defensive difference makers. Ironically, that puts even more pressure for Lopez to clean up messes in the paint.

This is certainly a delicate act to figure out for all parties involved and it’s only been made worse during stretches like these. Determining the best use of Lopez moving forward will certainly be a fascinating storyline to follow as the season goes along.