With the regular season beginning to wind down, the Milwaukee Bucks are looking to finish strong in what has been a turbulent year on all fronts.
Despite having their most talented roster on paper over the last three seasons, the Bucks have faced the most adversity this year compared to any of the others under head coach Mike Budenholzer. They currently sit at third place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 35-21 overall record.
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The biggest takeaway from the team this year has been their inconsistencies varying from game to game. They have seen the highs with lengthy win streaks and endured the lows with their share of losing streaks along the way.
Part of that can be attributed to various injuries and absences from marquee players in the lineup at several points throughout the season, along with trying to build chemistry with this reformed roster that continues undergoing changes.
Sure, adversity can be great at times for a contending team. Milwaukee breezing through the regular season in historical fashion in each of the past two years was great until adversity appeared in the playoffs. They looked vulnerable because it was something new. Several Bucks have discussed this topic throughout the season, stating that these struggles will make them a better team by preparing them for when things get tough.
Still, there is some justifiable reasoning to show concern about the Bucks at this point in time. This is a team that is supposed to be competing at the forefront of a championship, but several issues that were prominent causes of their failure from each of the past two postseasons are still hindering them to this point.
Whether or not they can correct these issues remains to be seen, but the clock is ticking. With that being said, here are three concerns surrounding the team with 16 regular season games left to play.
The Milwaukee Bucks continue racking up turnovers
Before the All-Star break, the Bucks were one of the better teams in the association at taking care of the basketball, racking up the seventh-fewest turnovers at 13.6 per game. That ball control played a pivotal part in their success, but they have gotten somewhat careless with the ball following the time off.
In 20 games following the All-Star break, the Bucks currently rank 23rd in producing 14.9 turnovers per game. Milwaukee’s opponents have subsequently capitalized on these opportunities by scoring 15.7 points off these turnovers per game. That ranks right in the middle of the pack at the 16th most in the NBA, which is a glaring issue for this contending team.
This was beyond evident in Milwaukee’s 128-115 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, where the Bucks racked up a whopping 16 turnovers. To their credit, the Grizzlies lived up to their status as the team that capitalizes the most off their opponent’s turnovers by putting an extra 24 points on the board in this one. In a 13-point defeat, allowing Memphis to rack up that many points off mistakes undoubtedly stings from Milwaukee’s perspective.
It was an ugly outing, and the Bucks must emphasize taking better care of the basketball down the stretch and into the playoffs. If they continue turning the ball over this frequently, teams will take advantage and keep scoring again and again.
Opponents are exploiting the Milwaukee Bucks’ 3-point defense
Milwaukee’s issues defending the 3-pointer are nothing new. In fact, their struggles in that area have become a staple for the Bucks since Mike Budenholzer took over as head coach.
That has been the case yet again this year, particularly following the All-Star break, where Milwaukee’s numbers are certainly concerning. Per NBA.com/stats, the Bucks’ opponents are heaving the most triples among any team in the league on a nightly basis following the break with 41.4 attempts per game in total. They are finding success in that area by connecting on 15.5 of those attempts, also the highest mark in the league during that span.
Seeing these numbers are unquestionably worrisome, given how teams have exposed the Bucks with the long ball over the past two years. Milwaukee’s defense under Budenholzer has always focused on packing the paint and encouraging opponents to let it fly from behind the arc. It might have worked in each of the past two regular seasons as the Bucks boasted the league’s best defense, but that success has not translated into the postseason to hardly any extent.
To rub salt into the wound, Budenholzer has remained firm with his defensive beliefs and opted not to make any major adjustments to combat the onslaught of triples his team was enduring. This was particularly the case in the team’s second round blunder against the Miami Heat last season, where the team that had the second-best 3-point percentage in the league torched Milwaukee from the outside en route to a gentlemen’s sweep.
This year, Budenholzer has been pried away from his typical approach and has implemented new defensive schemes at times. Circling back to Saturday’s loss against Memphis, the Bucks played man defense throughout a large portion of the game but switched to a 2-3 zone later on to throw something different at the Grizzlies. Although it did not result in a victory, it was a welcoming sign to see the former coach switch things up when something is not going right.
The Bucks have the tools to be a formidable defensive unit for opponents, particularly on the perimeter. They have Jrue Holiday, the two-time All-Defensive honoree that many of his peers have pegged as the best defender in the association, regardless of position. Milwaukee also happens to have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who needs little introduction when it comes to making his presence felt on the defensive end.
On top of that, they traded for defensive specialist P.J. Tucker before the deadline to shore up their efforts on that side of the ball. Tucker gives Milwaukee another versatile piece to throw at opposing players, but it will be interesting to see how Budenholzer continues using the robust defender in specific situations. Part of what makes Tucker so dynamic on defense is his ability to switch and stick with any opponent. Budenholzer has typically strayed away from switching on defense, but it seems that he has warmed up to the idea to an extent this season, particularly since bringing aboard Tucker.
However, he will have to be willing to adjust if this team will see any success down the line. The same issue that has previously derailed Milwaukee’s title hopes is rearing its ugly head yet again, and the Bucks must find some success defending the perimeter, or they could be doomed to suffer the same fate yet again.
Khris Middleton’s struggles are persisting for the Milwaukee Bucks
Among the biggest questions that have been brewing since the Bucks ascended into contending status, one of the largest remains whether Khris Middleton can be a legitimate second superstar. Milwaukee certainly paid him like one as they handed him a five-year, $177.5 million contract in the summer of 2019, but the results have been mixed.
Sticking strictly with this season, Middleton’s play has been inconsistent, particularly throughout the month of April. Statistically, he is having his least productive month scoring the basketball of the season by averaging 19 points on .415/.415/.931 shooting splits. Let’s not get carried away too much here, as those are still great numbers.
However, it is the inconsistency in which he is producing them with. As Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined with a knee injury for a brief stretch recently, the team would need Middleton to shoulder more of the load on their Western Conference road trip. In the team’s 122-121 loss to the Golden State Warriors in that stretch, Middleton was fantastic as he nearly elevated the Bucks to victory by scoring 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 2-of-4 from behind the arc.
In their matchup with the Dallas Mavericks two days later, it was a completely different story as Middleton played one of the worst games of his entire career. Scoring just 14 points on a horrendous 6-for-27 shooting from the floor in the 116-101 loss, saying it was just an off night for the forward would be a massive understatement.
Off nights are bound to happen to players here and there, but these struggles have persisted for Middleton throughout the month. In fact, he is currently locked in a shooting slump right now, going 9-for-27 from the floor for a total of 26 points in his last two contests.
It goes without saying that if the Bucks will overcome the odds and make a deep run in this year’s playoffs, they will need Middleton up to par. This recent string of inconsistent performances causes a sense of reasonable uneasiness from fans in that regard with the playoffs creeping closer. With 16 games left to play before Milwaukee hits the big stage with a chance at redemption, the two-time All-Star must find a groove.
If these struggles carry over into the postseason, the Bucks’ chances of making a run at a championship dip significantly in this star-studded Eastern Conference. Khris Middleton has displayed how great he can be throughout the years, and the team will need the best iteration of him yet this time around.