3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ win over Houston Rockets
By Lucas Valind
Milwaukee Bucks’ new defensive approach has done wonders to start the season
This ties in a little bit with the last takeaway. The defense has been much better this season, and so much of that does have to do with the return of a healthy Brook Lopez. However, so much more goes into the team’s defensive success early in the season than just Lopez.
The Bucks are experimenting with a new defensive approach this season, as The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (subscription required) wrote. Many Bucks fans have been furious with the number of threes the team has given up over the past few seasons under Mike Budenholzer. Budenholzer and his staff have also recognized the pattern as they’ve approached staying attached to players around the perimeter.
In three of the four seasons that Budenholzer has been the coach of the Bucks, the team has given up the most three-point attempts per game in three of them. Although they’ve only played two games in the 2022-2023 season, they’ve gone from giving up the most three-point shot per game last season to the 8th fewest so far, per ESPN.com.
The new approach has led the Bucks to give up the fewest points per game of any defense in the NBA, only giving up 96.5 points per game in their first two games. While it’s expected that they’ll end up giving up a higher average than that, it’s a sign that the scheme is working. If the Bucks can maintain the level of success that they’ve had with their new scheme throughout the season, it should help them compete for a championship come playoff time.
Their new philosophy is not a complete overhaul. There are still principles that they will use from their scheme of the last few seasons, but finding a good balance will be huge for the Bucks if they can defend in a multitude of ways.
Next. Two young Milwaukee Bucks who could play more than expected. dark
Stay tuned for Bucks news and analysis as the season moves on.