3 Takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks Friday loss to LA Lakers
Takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks loss to Los Angeles Lakers: Defense needs to stay locked in
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the 133 points the Lakers scored in this game was the highest point total the Milwaukee Bucks have allowed this season. The second highest total, 132, came from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that went to double overtime with none of the big three playing.
Anthony Davis’ 44 points are the most allowed to a single player this season by the Bucks, beating out the 42 by Trae Young and 39 by Shai Gilgeous Alexander, both in wins by the Bucks. Davis started out hot and never slowed down. While I am a proponent of good offense beating good defense every time, at some point when a guy is this hot you have to send more attention his way. I recognize with LeBron James on the same team it can be tough to direct a lot of defensive attention away but try something different to take away his rhythm.
The Lakers scored an astounding 70, yes 70, points in the paint. The Milwaukee Bucks have a pair of elite rim protectors and they both did their part, but 70 points in the paint just can’t happen. On the season the Bucks are fourth in the NBA allowing an average of 46.3 points in the paint per game.
The Lakers also turned 12 offensive rebounds into 14 second chance points and scored another 14 points off 11 Bucks turnovers. While the low turnover numbers are encouraging, getting back on defense to recover, like Giannis Antetokounmpo did to get a chase down block on LeBron James, the man who made the chase down block popular, was fun to see.
While it is possible this game was just one where the Bucks caught a team on their best night, there were some areas that could be cleaned up a bit moving forward. The Bucks will be just fine.
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