4 Lessons to learn from Milwaukee Bucks' 4 recent losses
By Rudy LB
The Milwaukee Bucks need to play "quicker"
This one is hard to quantify. But in these four losses, this Milwaukee Bucks team has just looked slow.
In terms of team speed, it is not about passing or assist numbers. In the most recent loss to the Knicks, the Bucks actually had more team assists than New York, 27-25. Another traditional metric, "fast-break points," also does not help here.
No, what Milwaukee needs is more urgency on offense in setting picks. They also need more urgency, again, on defense, to create that defensive pressure. Unlike in years past, they just have not had the personnel to hound opponents on the defensive end on a consistent basis. With one of the oldest rosters the league has to offer, a lot of players struggle to keep up with younger players.
Maybe the right statistical metric we are looking for here is team steals. In the loss to the Knicks, Milwaukee only managed three steals (New York had nine). In the loss to Toronto, Milwaukee managed eight steals to Toronto's nine. In the loss to Memphis, it was all tied at five.
On the court, Milwaukee needs to play faster. They also need to work on this next HUGE lesson: stop taking teams for granted.