The Milwaukee Bucks have retooled with a lot of new faces along the perimeter who can shoot from the outside. Their guard rotation isn’t overflowing with top-end talent, but it is deep and full of solid contributors. Their abundance of shooting up and down the roster is already proving difficult to cover, as the Detroit Pistons can attest after the first half of a recent preseason matchup.
The Bucks have lit it up from three
In a game without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks were rolling out lineups with four or five players all capable of hitting threes at a solid clip. The Bucks rely heavily on their three-ball and have had success with it. They shot 11-of-19 from three in the first half, far better than the 6-of-16 they’ve shot from 2-point range.
This is proving difficult for the Pistons to guard because it requires so much stamina and communication. When everyone can shoot from the outside, the entire defense must be connected like a string to have any chance of shutting them down.
The Pistons have already gone to a zone defense for a few possessions, and the Bucks' shooting has absolutely torched that strategy. On multiple possessions, the Bucks have gotten open looks from outside simply by passing the ball around the perimeter. Even without elite drivers to create rim pressure, the presence of shooters everywhere is straining a strong Pistons defense.
Multiple Bucks have proven capable of hitting even semi-contested threes. Whether it’s Kevin Porter Jr. fading away from the corner or Taurean Prince neutralizing a late contest, the Bucks are chock-full of perimeter threats. With Giannis back in the lineup, this advantage will be even more pronounced as the shooters will get easier looks.
There was a lot of worry that the Bucks scoring aside from Giannis would fall off this season with the departure of Damian Lillard, but early preseason results indicate they’ll be just fine. There might not be a single player scoring as much as Dame, but the points (and threes) will now be distributed among the deep perimeter rotation.
Not only are these guys capable of hitting open shots when Giannis creates them, they’re also capable of exploiting weaker defenders. The Bucks have picked on Marcus Sasser as the smallest guy on the Pistons and hit multiple midrange shots over him in the first quarter alone.
The Bucks’ shooters are making the Pistons pay early for any defensive lapses. All their shooters need is the slightest sliver of daylight to let it fly. That threat of a shot will also create more openings for drivers and post players as the game progresses. From where I’m sitting, it seems that the Bucks’ supporting cast has been severely underrated, especially in their shooting.