Kevin Durant made easy work of whoever the Milwaukee Bucks sent his way. The Rockets rode his 31 points to a come-from-behind 122-115 victory, and in doing so, they painfully exposed the Bucks' weakness at small forward.
Most glaringly, Gary Trent Jr. is way too small. Yes, Durant is an all-time scorer and has monstrous length for a small forward, but penciling in Trent as the starter reduces the already slim chances of slowing Durant down to nothing. Off the bench, Kyle Kuzma couldn't keep up with his footwork, leading to easy paint opportunities for Durant or his teammates.
To put up any kind of resistance against smooth-scoring small forwards, the Bucks need more options on defense. If they plan to be active in the trade market, getting a player who can help in this regard should top the bucket list.
Scoring small forwards continue to put Bucks in a blender
Durant missed only four shots all game. At 6-foot-5, Trent might as well have been invisible. Durant could rise up at any time and get a clean look at an elbow jumper, regardless of whether or not Trent contested the shot. That's anything but a fair fight.
Going to Kuzma was a natural solution for Doc Rivers and the Bucks, only it didn't solve anything. Kuzma has done an excellent job on a wide range of defensive assignments this season, but Durant's combination of length, touch, and quickness left him in the dust. If Durant didn't get a good look himself, getting by Kuzma forced help defenders to leave other Rockets open. Capitalizing on easy assist chances, Durant dished out a season-high seven dimes.
KD presents a unique challenge, but the Milwaukee Bucks could see similar issues guarding bigger, offensively equipped small forwards on any number of teams in the East alone.
Brandon Ingram and the Raptors have already exposed it. The Magic have a fearsome duo in Paulo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and Giannis can only take one of them when he is on the floor. The Knicks often play Mikal Bridges, a 6-foot-7 player with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, at shooting guard.
The fix is likely not as simple as starting Kuzma, who is thriving in a bench role. His offensive limitations could be badly exposed if overextended. Instead, the Bucks could pursue one of two paths to address their needs via trade.
The more exciting, needle-moving way would be to go after a two-way player who has the size, strength, and shiftiness to keep up on defense and, on the other end, the shooting skills to avoid becoming a liability. While Kuzma made three of six 3-point attempts against Houston, he is shooting only 30.8 percent on the season.
The other option would be combing the market for defensive specialists. Kuzma isn't that. Even in small doses, deploying a lockdown defender could get the Bucks the stops they sorely needed against Durant for the Rockets and Ingram in Toronto.
Either way, there isn't one name that jumps to mind. Andrew Wiggins could still be on their radar, but he isn't the defender he once was. Over in Miami, he is off to a horrendous start on that end of the floor. The Bucks may have to get creative, but, come trade season, they should keep their eyes and ears peeled if the matchup nightmares persist.