There was another embarrassing loss for the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, this time to the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies. A horrific first 40-24 first quarter was compounded by the Bucks showing little sign of being able to get back into the game.
Ja Morant dropped a triple-double for the Grizzlies, and Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points with 11 rebounds on 77.3 percent from the field, but he shot a poor 37.5 percent from the free throw line. Damian Lillard had started the season pretty well, but he scored four points on a measly 1-for-12 shooting; the team as a whole shot 21.4 percent from three.
Losing 122-99 to an undermanned team is unacceptable.
One reason for these struggles was that head coach Doc Rivers kept relying on the same players, and it was not working. The Bucks are now 1-4 on the season, losing four straight and are only ahead of the Detroit Pistons at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
For a number of seasons now, the Bucks have struggled to develop their young players, and at the moment, Rivers is relying on those vets who aren't getting the job done. Last season, it was obvious the Bucks struggled to deal with younger, athletic teams, and the problem still exists despite options being available to the head coach.
Rivers' reliance on Portis and Connaughton is harming the team
These are two of the veterans that the Milwaukee Bucks have relied on for a number of years now and were both a big part of the 2021 title-winning team. Yet, the league has moved on and the Bucks have stayed stagnant.
Numbers on the Board host and YouTuber Kenny Beecham spoke about Milwaukee and said, "While other teams in basketball have evolved to get with the times and get better, I’m watching this team be stuck in their same ways," and that sums it up perfectly.
Against the Grizzlies, Portis scored 11 points on 35.7 percent shooting, and Connaughton scored just three points, hitting 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-5 from three. Both have not impressed this season but continue to play 25 and 17 minutes per game. Rivers doesn't show any trust in the young guys who can bring energy and athleticism that the older players simply don't.
Portis' scoring is down to 11.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on splits of .472/.286/1.000, with his turnovers up to two per game. The issue is he is the Bucks sixth man, and right now, he isn't performing at that level; his impact isn't as great as it was a couple of seasons ago.
Yes, the team as a whole has been shooting horrendously from three, but Portis is a career .384 shooter from deeper and is a whole .100 down from that, which is not good enough. Rivers' reliance on him keeps having the same outcome.
Connaughton has seen his minutes drop, but some of that is due to the blowouts and the younger players being thrown in during the last few minutes of the game. The 31-year-old is scoring 4.6 points per game with 3.4 rebounds but on awful splits of .296/.263/1.000. As a bench piece playing 17 minutes per game, it is almost baffling how he keeps getting on the court with some of the options available to Doc Rivers.
Andre Jackson Jr. is playing just eight minutes per game but brings intensity. Yes, he picks up fouls quickly, but he at least shows some fight to get stuck in and try and upset the opposition and their flow. AJ Green is playing just seven minutes per game but is hitting 45.5 percent of his 3-point shots, something Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton are not doing.
Tyler Smith can bring athleticism and speed and could take some of Portis' minutes. Playing these young guys will allow them to grow in the NBA. You can't become accustomed to the NBA level if you don't get the opportunity. Right now, Doc Rivers is not giving them the chance to get better and help the team.
The Bucks have nine players averaging eight minutes or more per game. To put this into perspective, the Boston Celtics have 11 players featuring that much in games. Sure, the game situation matters, but the Milwaukee Bucks have to make changes.
As the famous quote goes, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." The Bucks keep on losing, and something has to change.
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