Bucks trending in the right direction regarding prominent Achilles heel

After a poor start to the NBA season, the Milwaukee Bucks have finally kicked into gear, winning their last four and six of their last seven games. This turnaround in performances has propelled them up to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, just 2.5 games back of the third-seeded Orlando Magic.

Doc Rivers has experimented with his rotations and given opportunities to a lot of players, finding a winning formula. One noticeable difference has been the effort and intensity of the game. One of the highlights in Friday's win over the Indiana Pacers was a Giannis Antetokounmpo block; Brook Lopez was the first man to fight for the loose ball, which led to an alley-oop from Gary Trent Jr. to Giannis.

That slight difference in the selection and rotation of players combined with the intensity has allowed the Bucks to take huge strides and will lead them back towards the top of the Eastern Conference and in title contention.

The Milwaukee Bucks have NBA's seventh-best defensive rating

The 2023-24 season for the Bucks was plagued with defensive inefficiencies. During Adrian Griffin's tenure, they were good offensively but woeful defensively. Then, under Rivers, it improved but was still a million miles from ideal. A 2-8 start this season was compounded by some very poor defensive displays and lack of effort at times, with opponents finding it easy to score on the Milwaukee Bucks.

Lineup and game plan tweaks have helped the defense improve mightily, with Milwaukee having the seventh-best defensive rating across the last seven games in the NBA. With Giannis and Brook Lopez anchoring the paint, it has been a recipe for success in Milwaukee for a number of years, but losing Jrue Holiday left a hole on the perimeter that hadn't been filled. Now, it looks like a combination of players are holding down the perimeter and allowing the Bucks to flourish on both ends of the court.

In this seven-game span, teams have shot 42.9 percent from the floor on the Bucks, the second-lowest in the NBA during that timeframe. Andre Jackson Jr. is fitting in the starting lineup nicely to pair up with Damian Lillard and provide needed backcourt defense, with Delon Wright doing the same off the bench and slowly showing why he was brought to Milwaukee this offseason.

Taurean Prince looked like the perfect acquisition this summer, and like most of the Bucks, he started slow. He has really found his footing lately and is offering a 3-and-D skillset he has thrived on through his NBA career.

Finally, we cannot talk about the defense without mentioning the surge without the ball from AJ Green. He has been phenomenal, and the former two-way player has turned into another 3-and-D specialist for the Milwaukee Bucks, answering those questions about his defense last season.

Here are a few personal defended field goal (what opposing players shoot against them) numbers that Bucks players have registered over the past seven games.

- Andre Jackson Jr.: 35.6 percent

- Delon Wright: 37.9 percent

- Gary Trent Jr: 38 percent

- Giannis Antetokoumpo: 39.1 percent

- Bobby Portis: 40.7 percent

If the Bucks can keep this defense up while the offense continues flowing, they will be right among the contenders to win the NBA title, so don't write them off just yet. Rumors are still floating around about potential moves and Khris Middleton's return, but for now, the Milwaukee Bucks and their defense are in a really good place.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks news and analysis.