3 Interesting post-All-Star stats that stand out about the Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks have been exceptional since returning to the regular season following the All-Star break. They have won all five games and sit alongside the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics as the only teams to win all their games post-All-Star weekend.
A hard-fought victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves started the run before comfortable wins over the Philadelphia 76ers, two wins against the Charlotte Hornets and the Chicago Bulls. This momentum comes at a good time with the Bucks about to run a gauntlet of a schedule.
In March, they will take on the Clippers and Lakers twice, the Warriors, Kings, Sixers, Suns, Celtics and Thunder, with all of these games being a real test as to where the Bucks really are now under the leadership of Doc Rivers.
This stretch has been some of, if not the best, basketball Milwaukee has played this season, partially due to the additions of Patrick Beverley and Danilo Gallinari, but also Doc Rivers finally getting the opportunity to make his mark on the team.
With the Bucks about to head into a tough run of games, let's take a look at three post-All-Star stats that stand out for Milwaukee.
Stat 1 - The Bucks have the best defensive rating post-All-Star
You read that correctly. The team that sat in the bottom 10 for defensive rating during Adrian Griffin's tenure has the best defense since the All-Star game, and it is by some distance as well.
Over the past five games, they have a defensive rating of 101.5. The next best is the Timberwolves with a 104 rating, per NBA.com. This is mainly due to the sheer number of switches now on defense and not leaving Brook Lopez so exposed and having to defend on the perimeter, which allows him to do what he does best and defend the paint. There is a reason why he was second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last year. Schematically, it wasn't suited to his strengths early on.
The Bucks have held their opponents to less than 100 points in four straight games, and they only gave up 107 to Minnesota. The offense has dipped slightly from the early season form, but with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, they have two MVP-caliber players who can take over a game, and let's not forget that Khris Middleton is still yet to return to the court.
This run coming up is going to be a real test of how good the Bucks' defense really is. I would expect the defensive rating to get worse due to the level of teams they are playing, but I still think this is the chance for the Bucks to put the league back on notice that they are serious contenders.