3 takeaways for the Milwaukee Bucks at quarter mark of 2021-22 season
Believe it or not, we are roughly a quarter of the way through the Milwaukee Bucks title defense season, and oh boy, there has been a lot to talk about.
The quarter mark of a season is more or less when we find out a team is who they are. That could not be less true for the 2021-22 version of the Milwaukee Bucks! Through a multitude of injuries, primarily to Donte DiVincenzo and Brook Lopez, and illness, the Bucks have had their four best players available for one game so far this season and it was the first of the season.
Nevertheless, the Bucks keep chugging right along with a 13-8 record and are in the midst of a seven-game win streak. They’re beginning to look more and more like the team we expected them to be before the season and the bevy of injuries they’ve faced, but there is still quite a bit that can be taken away from the opening 21 games of the season.
#1: The Milwaukee Bucks can survive without Brook Lopez, but it’s not easy
As everyone knows, Brook Lopez has missed all but one game this season and the signing of DeMarcus Cousins suggests that he may not be particularly close to a return. Lopez was somewhat of an ironman for the Bucks in his first three seasons, missing no more than five games in a single season.
They’ve made it work with Bobby Portis being the de-facto center in the starting lineup alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in the frontcourt and have helped stabilize their rebounding.
Still, the Bucks are missing a huge defensive presence in the middle of their defense with Lopez out which has caused them to dip slightly from their typical perch atop the league’s best rim-protecting teams (although they’re still in the top ten for lowest field goal percentage allowed on shots at the rim).
I don’t anticipate Cousins making a huge difference for the Bucks as he’ll likely get between 12-15 minutes per game and if this is truly a long-term issue for Lopez, they’ll need to look at the trade market for a better solution (such as his brother Robin).
There’s still plenty of games in the season left and the Bucks haven’t said anything to suggest that Lopez’s back problem is something that will cost him meaningful games (then again, they haven’t said much of anything at all regarding Lopez), so for now, we have to continue to enjoy the Giannis-and-Bobby show up front.