For years, the Milwaukee Bucks have been hindered by their inability to push the ball in transition and capitalize on their opponents' mistakes. Largely, it's been due to the age of the roster, as that wasn't the style of basketball they were built to play. Now, after a summer full of modifications, the Bucks may have quietly patched one of their most obvious flaws with their much younger, energetic roster.
Bucks are built like a modern NBA team
Last regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks ranked 27th in the league in fast-break points per matchup. They also unsurprisingly ranked 25th in points off turnovers. The year before, they ranked 24th in fast-break points per game and 29th in points off turnovers. Obviously, that's an issue, with Milwaukee struggling to capitalize by putting points on the board in transition on both ends.
In years past, it felt like Giannis Antetokounmpo was one of Milwaukee's lone threats to get out and make a play in transition. With one of the oldest rosters in the NBA year after year, that shouldn't be much of a surprise. Now, with the Bucks pivoting to a youth-driven squad around their star, the team is better equipped to push the pace and perform much better in these two specific areas.
Players like Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, and Cole Anthony can generate turnovers or push the pace after a rebound to generate extra buckets. Simultaneously, Gary Trent Jr. and AJ Green can run the floor and get open on the perimeter, giving them great transition looks. Giannis is still the freight train that he is, so teams still have to worry about his dominance constantly.
Perhaps the biggest difference-maker for the Milwaukee Bucks will be Myles Turner, the Brook Lopez replacement. For all of the good he did, running the floor was not one of Lopez's many strengths.
Among centers to log at least 700 minutes last season, Lopez ranked third from last in the NBA in total fast-break points with just 10. He did so in 2,546 minutes. For context, behind him was Jusuf Nurkic, who tallied seven such points in 1,063 minutes, and Steven Adams, who had six in just 794 minutes. That's an astronomical gap.
Myles Turner won't dominate this statistic league-wide, but he can certainly provide more of a boost than Lopez. The big man, playing in Indiana's fast-paced offense, had 45 fast-break points last year. If he can bring some of that to Milwaukee, it would be a significant boost for this retooled team.
The Milwaukee Bucks now have the personnel, and it will now be up to Doc Rivers to command them to pick up the pace at every turn. One of their most obvious weaknesses could become a strength if this team legitimately focuses on it. Could they make the leap into the top 10 in both categories NBA-wide? It would be a bold goal, but anything is possible.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.