3 big takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks sweeping tough 3 game stretch
In case you didn’t know (you definitely did), the Milwaukee Bucks are on a four-game win streak and swept their way through a three-game stretch that saw them beat three of the 10 best teams in the NBA.
They weren’t all pretty, but the Bucks pulled out three wins over the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and Phoenix Suns. The defending champs have had their issues throughout the season whether it be rebounding, rim protection, turnovers, etc.
There have been a lot of things that have gone wrong and yet, they’re sitting in a top-three spot in the East. After a stretch against three of the best teams in the league, there are more than a few things that can be taken away, but here are three of the most important ones.
The Milwaukee Bucks can flip a switch to take over a game
In all three of the Bucks’ wins over the aforementioned teams, there was a point where it looked like they were dead in the water and wouldn’t be able to pull out a win.
It started by being down 14 with six minutes to go against the Heat, then a(nother) poor third quarter against the Bulls saw them down seven going into the fourth, and appeared lackadaisical against the Suns.
The other common denominator here was that the Bucks took over late in those games to come out with the win.
They lost two close games on either side of the All-Star break and you came away from those games feeling like they should have won those games. For all the mistakes and sloppy play that plagued the Bucks through these games, they found a way to pull these games out.
A lot of the credit needs to go to the big three and especially so after the Suns game where Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday took over in the fourth quarter while Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled with foul trouble.
The start of these games were familiar scenarios for the Bucks after some reckless turnovers, bad shot selection, and lazy defense. The good news is that they can flip a switch to take games over on both ends of the floor.
It’s one thing to be able to score and have the big three get good looks, but to be able to lock in defensively and stop the other team from responding is just as huge. They outscored those three teams by a combined 27 points (105 to 78) in the fourth quarter and that was a huge reason for this three-game win streak.