Things undoubtedly look pretty bleak right now for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite being in an incredibly tight race in the Eastern Conference standings, they've been unable to find any sense of momentum lately, and losses have been adding up. That included dropping a home game against the Atlanta Hawks, who put up 145 points, on Sunday night.
While plenty of people could point to Milwaukee's injuries and absences, most notably Damian Lillard but also Jericho Sims and Bobby Portis, that cannot be an excuse. For Kevin Porter Jr., who has been a tremendous pickup for the Bucks, he won't let those absences serve as a copout. Instead, he thinks the team can stay afloat by embracing more grit and toughness.
Kevin Porter Jr. speaks after Milwaukee Bucks' loss to Hawks
Porter specifically highlighted how the Milwaukee Bucks looked during a stretch of the final quarter, where they trimmed their deficit significantly.
"Effort, man. At that point in the game, the only thing that was going to get us back in was energy and each other. We said F-it, man. All the coverages, everything that we had, all the schemes, it didn't matter at that point. We just wanted to be gritty. Wanted to pick up 94 feet. We wanted to show toughness. Making it from 26 to 12 shows toughness, it shows we're gritty. It shows we can do it, and we can be that team. We've just got to play 48 minutes."
Toughness and grit aren't things the Milwaukee Bucks have shown much of lately. Other teams have been walking all over them, whether it's with offensive rebounds for extra possessions, open runways for putback slams due to a lack of putting a body on someone and boxing out or just tough finishes from opposing players over defenders down low.
While the Milwaukee Bucks certainly shouldn't adopt a scheme-free style, they do need to emphasize cranking up the intensity for 48 minutes rather than a few spurts here and there. That means playing a more aggressive style of defense. They simply cannot keep letting players blow by to the rim and get easy buckets down low. Bringing more physicality to the box-outs would certainly help as well.
Again, injuries are no excuse, but the Milwaukee Bucks are missing Bobby Portis and Jericho Sims to the highest degree right now. While not a defensive ace, Portis was a bruiser who always brought an added dose of physicality and toughness. Sims brought needed defensive versatility and was always willing to battle down low for boards. These absences are plaguing the team, but they must push on.
One decision that deserves consideration to give this team a spark is reinserting Andre Jackson Jr. into the rotation. It's no surprise that he boasted a +7 rating in this contest, the highest on the team. He has hit faults, but Jackson provides a spark every single time he checks in, which was on display in this loss to Atlanta. He can help in several areas in which this team continues to struggle.
Whatever the case, Doc Rivers has to find a solution. The last few games show that the formula the team is using right now simply isn't working. It all should start with playing more physical basketball while displaying more grit from start to finish.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.