Milwaukee Bucks: Fixing their stagnant offense against the Brooklyn Nets

The Milwaukee Bucks finally got on the board by defeating the Brooklyn Nets 86-83 in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series at 1-2.

Despite the victory, Milwaukee’s performance was far from inspiring, especially on the offensive end. The Bucks’ 86 points actually matched their total from the 39-point trouncing they endured Monday night, begging the question: what happened to their once-potent offense?

A lack of playmaking has been at the root of Milwaukee Bucks’ shooting regression

Against Brooklyn, the Bucks have deviated from their core offensive principles and now field an inefficient, isolation-heavy offense.

A once-fluid and poetic scheme has devolved into the team selecting a worthy soldier and having them battle their matchup for the possession. This game plan is a recipe for quick, contested looks, which completely ignores the advantage that Milwaukee should have in this department.

Brooklyn fields an underdeveloped, undersized defense that surrenders openings when actually pressured. Off-ball defenders can get preoccupied with the play and become vulnerable to cuts and chaotic movement. From here, consistent passing forces them to rotate into help, where that lack of focus leads to easy looks for the opponent.

Milwaukee has been foolish to not exploit these weaknesses and must force the Nets to work if they want to defend them. Even if the shot doesn’t fall, pushing Brooklyn to defend as a team is what pushes them, physically. Every time an offensive possession starts and ends with one player, a defensive one does too – meaning the other four Net defenders get a free rest.

To make matters worse, the blueprint for these actions has been right in front of the Bucks this entire time: Brooklyn has been punishing them with them all series. We’ve all seen Blake Griffin’s emphatic poster dunk on Giannis by now, but let’s look at how the Nets manipulated the Bucks into giving it to them.

A superstar like Kevin Durant generates enormous defensive attention just by having the ball, so Milwaukee knows that they cannot afford him any open space. When Bruce Brown screens PJ Tucker off of Durant, Brook Lopez fronts the dangerous scorer instead of retreating to his comfortable restricted area. From here, a well-timed pass rewards Brown with a clear lane to the cup. The first line of defense has been dispatched.

Obviously, Milwaukee will not just let Brown coast by – it’s now up to the second line, Giannis and Pat Connaughton, to handle the imposition. They both step in, and a cutting Blake Griffin exploits the overcommitment for a momentous slam.

In all honesty, Milwaukee defended this play well. Once again, Kevin Durant is Kevin Durant, so Tucker and Lopez are both correct to pressure him aggressively. Brown’s roll leaves Connaughton and Giannis no time to communicate, so they each must assume they’re the last line of defense and step in. Sure, if only Connaughton steps in, then Giannis maintains position on Griffin and no dunk occurs. At that point, though, Brown could just go right at Connaughton himself.

This play is simply an example of great offense beating good defense. The Nets used two thirds of the shot clock to move the Bucks around like chess pieces, forcing four different defenders into primary coverage and executing perfectly at each step.

Milwaukee has created similar opportunities at times, but too often resort to isolations in hopes of generating quick points. Their unwillingness to develop plays lead to incredibly inefficient sequences, where the entire offense simply cannot find a rhythm. Let’s check out a play from one of these stagnated stretches in Game 3.

With 12 seconds on the shot clock, Giannis takes matters into his own hands and backs down Nic Claxton. He works himself to the restricted area after three seconds, but ultimately heaves up a contested fadeaway from 10 feet out.

Giannis insists there was contact, but foul shots would not have been much of an improvement for the 32% free throw shooter. The shot should not have gone up, but in Giannis’ defense: what else could he have done? From the moment he gets the ball, his teammates do not move a muscle. Brooklyn cuts off every passing lane without even trying and the Greek Freak has no choice but to hoist up a brick.

With Claxton on the block, Giannis faces an entirely vacant half of the court, ripe for any one of his teammates to cut into. Jrue Holiday could drift over for a wing 3, just as easily as P.J. Tucker or Bobby Portis could slash down the baseline for shots of their own. After all, each of their defenders are mostly focused on Giannis – sharp off-ball movement would punish their reduced focus .

On this possession, the Bucks let four Nets rest, created no rhythm for themselves, and came out empty-handed.

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The Bucks have the firepower to compete with the Nets, but they’re making it unnecessarily difficult for themselves. Milwaukee works much harder for their shots than Brooklyn, but it doesn’t have to be the way. If they play as a unit, limit quick isolation possessions, and make their opponents work, they just might be able to even this thing up – or better.

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