A lot was made of the Milwaukee Bucks free agency signing of Myles Turner. His fit alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo is almost perfect, but without the Greek Freak, Milwaukee needs Turner to be far more aggressive offensively. and it is plaguing the team.
It is now four straight defeats for the Bucks, following the dismantling by the high-flying Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. Turner ended the first half with zero points and just two field goal attempts, both from 3-point range. They need more from their biggest offseason signing, especially with their superstar injured, if they want to stay afloat.
Bucks need Myles Turner to be the most aggressive he has ever been
Turner finished Saturday night with 11 points and four rebounds in 30 minutes.
Given his pedigree, more is expected of Turner both in terms of scoring and crashing the glass. It may never have been his game, but the Bucks need it to become a part of his game. The story is similar for many players on the roster. When you lose a top-two player in the world, who is averaging 31.2 points per game, more is needed from everyone on the roster.
Milwaukee lost the paint battle 56-42 against the Pistons. Yes, the team's interior presence does drop off drastically without Giannis, but against a team as good as Detroit, more is needed to upset them and match their physicality.
It is a lot to ask from someone who has never truly been a go-to guy on offense. However, the Bucks need more from Turner on offense during this Giannis-less stretch. The roster as a whole needs to compete more. Otherwise, they will be cut adrift. That can start with Turner playing with more aggression both in the paint and on the perimeter.
When the Bucks waived and stretched Damian Lillard's contract to sign Turner, no one was asking him to take on the guard's offensive responsibilities, but the Bucks need him to offer more on offense. His career-best scoring season was when he averaged 18 points in the 2022-23 season. Milwaukee needs him to dominate in the paint and shoot the long ball like he can.
So far this season, Turner is averaging 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 1.2 steals on shooting splits of .439/.418/.694.
It was always going to be difficult without the two-time MVP, but the Bucks really look like a team that could be below several teams they were hoping to compete with record-wise.