3 Key factors that will make or break the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024-25

2. The defensive scheme

Despite the early offensive success last season, the Bucks' defense was nothing short of abysmal. They were in the bottom eight for defensive rating under Griffin and despite a record of 30-13, they were giving up huge numbers to the likes of the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs. Granted, sometimes teams are just hot and hit their shots, but when it happens consistently that some of the worst teams in the league are putting up high numbers against you, then there are problems.

Milwaukee ended the season with the sixth-best offensive rating at 117.6, which is very good. However, they had a defensive rating of 115 which had them 19th in the league. That is simply not good enough, and Rivers cannot let that happen again this season. He has openly spoken about changing the defensive scheme to be more flexible, and the additions of Prince and Wright will allow that with their skill sets and ability to guard at multiple positions, too.

If the Bucks want to be challenging others for a title, they need to realistically be a top-10 offensive and defensive team.

There are a number of young players growing on the roster, with Andre Jackson Jr. showing glimpses last season of what sort of asset he can be for Milwaukee with the athleticism and energy that he brings to the court.

Prince and Wright are the huge additions, of course, but Trent is no slouch on the defensive end. Brook Lopez, alongside Giannis as a frontcourt, will hopefully find their way back to the defense we saw prior to last season, and that will form a great basis to build from. Under Griffin, they seemed to move away from this, but Rivers brought it back. It just needs to go from the off this coming season.

The additions are what the Milwaukee Bucks needed and they may make more during the season, but now Doc Rivers needs to implement a defensive scheme that works and gives them the best chance of winning a title.