The start to the Milwaukee Bucks‘ four-game homestand was a rough one as they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 128-115 at Fiserv Forum Saturday night.
The shootout-like pace was set early after the opening tip as the Bucks and Grizzlies got off to nice starts offensively. Soon enough, the problem of being able to slow down and stave off Memphis’ stellar offensive play and production became the Bucks’ biggest problem and one that they couldn’t find the answer to.
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Unfortunately, the Bucks spent the vast majority of the night trying to make any leadway in slowing down the Grizzlies, who showed no signs of a team playing on the second night of a back-to-back. And that all left with the Bucks eventually seeing their three-game win streak come to a quick end.
So without further ado, let’s look at the three biggest takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to the Memphis Grizzlies from Saturday night.
Turnovers stacked up for Milwaukee Bucks in loss to Grizzlies
The Bucks’ growing penchant for turning over the ball continued once again Saturday night, especially as they crumbled to make plays in the face of Memphis’ defensive pressure on handoffs and traps.
Milwaukee finished the night with 16 turnovers and the Grizzlies pounced and were clinical on each and every miscue they forced or the Bucks inflicted upon themselves. Memphis finished the night with 24 points off turnovers, which keeps in line with their league-leading ranking in that department.
Full credit goes to the Memphis’ suffocating and in-sync defense for making life hard on the Bucks’ leading shot creators such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. That trio accounted for nine of their 16 total turnovers on the night.
The fact, though, that has been a growing trend for the Bucks since the All-Star break grows increasingly worrisome. Per NBA.com/stats, Milwaukee’s 14.3 turnover ratio ranks 22nd since the All-Star break and while injuries and absences have attributed to some of that noise, the Bucks have to rein in on their sloppiness on the ball.
Giannis Antetokounmpo gets back up to speed for Milwaukee Bucks in loss to Grizzlies
Not much went right for the Bucks Saturday night, but seeing Antetokounmpo look more like himself in the second game since his return was reassuring sight to see all the same.
Antetokounmpo posted 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting (0-for-3 from deep, 8-for-12 from the free throw line), 11 rebounds, eight assists and four turnovers in over 29 minutes of run.
While seeing slightly more minutes than he did against the Atlanta Hawks last time out, Antetokounmpo rampaged his way towards the rim numerous times on the night. And while doing so, he resembled the fearsome paint penetrator that we’ve all come to expect to see from the 26-year-old as he finished with 20 paint points.
Every little bit of Antetokounmpo’s scoring output was needed as the Bucks looked to battle back and stay within striking distance of the Grizzlies. Unfortunately, there was no stopping the Grizzlies’ offense for the night.
Still, it was great to see Antetokounmpo pass this latest check point as he looks to regain his full health and abilities while staving any further injury complications.
Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t slow down Grizzlies’ offense in loss
As previously mentioned, the Grizzlies turned in one of their finest offensive performances of the season and the Bucks bore the brunt while being on the other end of it.
Try as they might to load up the paint, whether it was playing their traditional drop-back defense or throwing out zone coverages, the Bucks could slow down the Grizzlies’ paint penetration. Memphis truly lived up to their billing of being the league’s leading paint offense as they scored 60 paint points, which is the second-highest amount of opponent paint points the Bucks have allowed this season.
Furthermore, the Grizzlies shot 18-for-20 on shots taken within the restricted area and were 12-for-19 on shots taken outside of the paint and not within the restricted area (63.2 percent).
Between that and capitalizing on the Bucks’ mistakes, the fact that the Grizzlies shot 15-for-40 from three (37.5 percent) managed to put the final nail in the proverbial coffin for the Bucks last night. That 3-point shooting spree was spearheaded by Grayson Allen, who finished with a team-leading 26 points on 7-for-10 shooting from that range.
The simple truth is the Grizzlies beat the Bucks in all phases of the game and that was best seen by such a complete and dominant offensive performance.
The Bucks will face quite the test when the West’s second seed, the Phoenix Suns, come to town on Monday night for a 7 p.m. CST tip-off. You can catch the action on Bally Sports Wisconsin for those living locally.