3 Negative signs for the 2023-24 Milwaukee Bucks through 10 games
By Corey Moen
The Milwaukee Bucks have gotten off to a slow start this season. The team is 6-4 and has allowed over 100 points in their four losses.
Granted, it’s early, and these struggles should be expected with the hiring of a new coach and different rotational players from last season.
Milwaukee will eventually figure it out, but it is concerning that Milwaukee is allowing over 100 points to teams they should be beating handily. But the team’s performance has been great on both ends of the floor, and maybe it might take a bit of time before the Bucks hit their stride.
In the short term. Here are three negative signs for the Milwaukee Bucks early.
No. 1- Defense
The defense for the Milwaukee Bucks has been uncharacteristically bad this season. The decision to trade away Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard meant that the Bucks’ defense was going to take a hit.
But, the concerning part about the team’s defense is the defense in transition. Via TeamRankings, Milwaukee is near the bottom in opponent fast break points. The team allows 16.7 points on the fast break, which is good for 27th in the league.
The reason for that has nothing to do with a new defensive scheme. It has to do with will. At times this season, Milwaukee has been slow getting back into transition, which has been the root cause of easy layups and dunks.
In half-court defense, they have been allowing more paint points than normal because Brook Lopez is playing farther up instead of in his usual drop coverage, which has given the opponents a free lane to the hoop.
The other issue is after Lopez leaves the game, the team doesn’t have another rim protector. Robin Lopez signed with the Bucks on the second day of free agency, yet he’s only played in one game. Bobby Portis provides a lot for the Bucks, including scoring and rebounding, but he’s not a rim protector.
In the one game Milwaukee employed drop coverage, Brook Lopez had eight blocks against the Knicks. The team’s defense has started the season poorly, so it might be a good idea for Adrian Griffin to tweak the defense because if he doesn’t, this is something that could hinder Milwaukee heading into the postseason.