3 things to watch for in Milwaukee Bucks rematch with Charlotte Hornets

The Milwaukee Bucks need to take better care of the ball against the Charlotte Hornets

One of the main problems of not having any semblance of a point guard on the floor is that it leads to other players handling the ball more than they should.

Playing their second straight game without a point guard playing significant minutes (Javonte Smart and Jeff Dowtin didn’t play at all against Charlotte), Milwaukee turned it over 15 times after only turning it over nine times against Brooklyn (Smart had a turnover in garbage time).

The Bucks had a turnover rate near 15 percent in their last game against the Hornets and although that’s only around one percent higher than their season average, it’s imperative they don’t turn the ball over against the Hornets.

It’s not the reason they lost, but in their first meeting, Khris Middleton had one turnover. In their last game, he had six. I believe in Middleton as a ball-handler, but having someone like Jrue Holiday or George Hill alongside him to reduce the number of times he is setting up the offense and being one of the primary ball-handlers for long stretches would do wonders.

Charlotte is the second-best transition offense off of steals at 2.5 points added per 100 possessions according to Cleaning the Glass (subscription required). Not allowing the Hornets to play to their strengths, getting out and running, is the biggest key to beating them.

They are one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA with the third-lowest defensive rating at 113.5. You’ll be able to score against them (as long as the role players don’t all have career-worst nights again) so take care of the ball and don’t give them easy opportunities to run.