The Milwaukee Bucks are the best built project in the NBA right now
The year 1971 was extremely significant for the city of Milwaukee. Not only was it the last time that the Bucks won more than 65 games but also was the only time they won an NBA championship. Since then, the city and the ball club have come far although have remained a mere afterthought. It has definitely been a tough uphill battle however there is a reason for encouragement following their performances this year.
The emergence of an MVP calibre superstar has changed the complexion for this ball club entirely. The Greek Freak has single handedly carried this franchise on his back and propelled them to the forefront of an extremely competitive Eastern conference. In many ways, his rise has mirrored his team’s trajectory. This is extremely fitting, given that the organisation stuck by him through the darkest of times. In fact, this very team was on life support as recently as five years ago and were struggling to win in an outdated arena. To add to the misery, they were also on the verge of being sold and the transfer of power left fans unsure as to what direction they were going to take. This proved to be a blessing in disguise however as Giannis’ presence forced the Bucks to think big and revamp their arena. This helped recalibrate the franchise and set them on the path to become a modern NBA giant.
The Budenholzer Revolution
One of the first moves under new ownership was rejuvenated efforts to bring in a quality coach, who could not only nurture talent at the highest level but also create a winning culture. Mike Budenholzer fit this bill perfectly and was brought in following his brief stint at Atlanta. His hire automatically set off the dominoes and the front office aggressively pursued experienced faces like Brook Lopez, George Hill and Nikola Mirotic to add to the roster. This injection of 3 point shooting allowed the Budenholzer to prioritise his quintessential mantra of ball movement and perimeter shooting and helped add few percentage points to the team’s 3 point shooting. This for a large part is the reason for the Bucks ascension as they can punish you either in the paint or the perimeter.
The second step of this transformation by Budenholzer has been an increased effort on defence. The Bucks rank 1st for defensive efficiency and have the ability to lock teams out from the restricted area. They do this by using the length and athleticism of their perimeter players to fight through screens thus sending the ball handler towards Brook Lopez or Giannis in the paint. This leaves the ball handler with the choice to finish over two extremely versatile defenders or kick it out for a rushed 3 point attempt, none which are as enticing as they initially thought. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, Lopez isn’t nearly as athletic as some of the elite centres in the league and thus can’t contest the 3 point shot from the opposing teams big man as he will be drawn out of the paint. The great irony of this is that the Bucks have used him in this exact same way on the offensive end and to good effect.
Budenholzer has partially overcome this is by sending a help defender on the pick-and-pop big man although it comes at the cost of leaving another 3-point shooter somewhere else on the court. This is an issue as Lopez will find himself back at square 1 due to his lack of speed. Even if he did decide to go out to the 3 point line and defend, he can’t rotate back to the paint quickly enough if he has to pick up the ball handler and keep him in front of him. While this was alright in the regular season, the same cannot be said when the Bucks will face elite teams in the playoffs.
The Giannis Effect
All said and done, this team depends heavily on Giannis to set the tone and done that he has. Not only can he outpace and out finish everyone on the floor but he has ability to impose his will defensively as well. His performance in the Game 3 win against the Celtics was just another example of this, as he bulldozed his way to a stat line of 32 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. What’s impressive about this is not the 32 points or even the 13 rebounds, but the 8 valuable assists that he was able to create for his teammates. This is something that ebbs and flows with the Greek Freak and will be the major bone of contention if they manage to make a deep playoff run.
The Celtics managed to exploit this very facet of his game in the first game of the series. They managed to shut off all of his driving lanes in transition by creating a wall at the top of the key. This forced Giannis to pass the ball more or finish through the contact, something he surprisingly struggled with. Moreover, the Celtics also successfully managed to deploy Horford against the Greek Freak in one on one situations and pressure him into turnovers. While Giannis was able to overcome this in the corresponding games by finishing through the contact, this is an area that needs to be addressed against a team like the Warriors, who defend above the rim very well. One shouldn’t ignore the physical toll this can have on the Greek Freak as well, after all he is human.
The other adjustment that worked like a charm in games 2, 3 and 4 was the introduction of Mirotic into the starting line up. His ability to spread the floor drew away the Celtics defence from the paint and allowed Giannis to operate effectively. Moreover, the ability of Mirotic, Lopez, Hill and Middleton to knock down the 3 at a high percentage gave the Greek Freak plenty of options in transition, something he relishes.
On the other end of the court, the Celtics exploited the Bucks defence by running a two man game between Kyrie and Horford in order to combat the Buck’s drop back coverage against the pick and roll. This space afforded due to that drop coverage gave them the opportunity to drain a steady number of pick and pop jumpers along with midrange pull ups. The Bucks response to this in game 2, 3 and 4 was to move away from this and start switching screens in order to take away the airspace of Boston’s shooters.
Shot at the stars
If these playoffs have taught us anything, it’s that the Bucks are as legitimate as they come. Their rustiness following that game 1 loss is all but gone and they now sit in the conference finals awaiting either the Raptors or Sixers. One thing is for sure though, this has been a long winding journey back to the top and one can only hope that Giannis can take them to the promise land once again.
