Saturday night's defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers showed that the Milwaukee Bucks' start to games is holding them back from where they want to be. They are one of the worst first-half teams in the NBA, which puts them at a disadvantage in the second half of games.
Slow starts are costing the Bucks
Luka Doncic fueled the Lakers to a 30-18 first-quarter edge on Saturday, with them heading into the second half up 65-34. Milwaukee shot just 10-of-41 (24 percent) on their shots in the first half. Despite a 38-point third quarter, they just gave themselves way too big a mountain to climb, and the game was done and dusted at the half.
It has been a theme of the Bucks' season so far. They have struggled to get out in front of teams and keep momentum going for a full 48 minutes. They currently sit 23rd in the NBA for points in the first half, averaging just 56.6 points per game in the opening 24 minutes.
To put it into perspective, the only Eastern Conference teams to score less in the first half are the Brooklyn Nets and the Indiana Pacers, who have a combined record of 2-23.
These sluggish starts have ultimately resulted in the Bucks being the fifth-best second-half team, averaging 60.6 points in the final two quarters of games. Only Cleveland, Toronto, Denver, and Houston are better in the latter half of games. The start to the season has been largely positive, but it is clear that the team is causing a lot of its own problems, and it has cost them wins.
To his credit, Doc Rivers has tinkered with the starting lineup, moving Gary Trent Jr. to the bench and starting Kyle Kuzma to add more physicality and size at the wing position.
On Friday night, Kuzma was excellent with a 29-point performance in the win over the Charlotte Hornets. He then followed it up against his former team on Saturday by scoring just one point. That lack of consistency from the starting unit, outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo, is leading to some frustrating conversations around the roster.
The 18-point first quarter will impact the average heavily, but the Bucks have averaged just 26.3 points in the opening quarter of their last three games, the fourth-worst mark across the NBA.
We knew that this Bucks roster was always going to have questions asked of it, with them relying on multiple players to chip in here and there to follow behind Giannis. There is a long way to go in this NBA season, but the slow starts are really allowing opposing teams to get out of sight before the Bucks have managed to get going.
The team and organization have made it clear they want to be a playoff team, but starting games as they are will see them fall to a familiar early fate in the postseason.