We Need To STOP IGNORING The Milwaukee Bucks

We Need To STOP IGNORING The Milwaukee Bucks

[Applause] I wanted to talk about the Milwaukee Bucks a little bit my preseason pick to come out of the East and represent the east in the NBA Finals because I feel like what they’ve been doing how much they’ve been winning that’s all kind of flown under the radar a little bit and I

Don’t really well I do know why it’s because early in the season when the Bucks defense was looking shaky people were getting their 20 tweet threads off about how Adrien Griffin the first year head coach is clueless he shouldn’t have a job you know the whole Terry STS thing

That was a little weird and then people writing blog posts on the Bucks espan Nation blog page about why this Bucks team just looks extremely flawed and doesn’t look like a contender Damon Giannis aren’t running enough pick and roll like we saw in the preseason yet here they are nearing the end of

December and the Bucks are 23 and8 they’ve won eight out of their last 10 games they lost to the Knicks on Christmas Day and that loss did kind of expose some of the flaws people are concerned about when it comes to the bucks but we got to look at all the

Positives about the Bucks like for starters the Bucks are now second in offensive rating per cleaning the glass and it has to be scar just thinking about the fact if you’re a fan of other contending teams that the Bucks really aren’t running they’ve been running it a little bit more recently

But you would think they would be running spamming Dame Yannis two-man game whether it’s pick and roll dribble handoff or Dame setting off ball screens for Giannis to free him up and we just haven’t seen as much of it as maybe a lot of people would have expected but

Just the fact that the Bucks have a 12 22.8 or a 121.8mi and roll with Brook Lopez it’s a pick and pop or Dame will ask Brook for a screen way out outside the three-point line and Dame will get to the cup Giannis and Chris Middleton are still

Running their Twan Game Chris Middleton by the way don’t look now but after being on a minute’s restriction earlier in the season his last 10 games he’s been averaging 18 five and five which is right in line with normal Chris Middleton numbers and he’s shooting 42%

From three on five attempts per game and just looks like he’s getting more and more confidence more and more minutes he’s been averaging 30 minutes a game over the last 10 games as well and just the lineup that involves obviously Dame Giannis Chris and Brook just that fourman group group it’s a blistering

126. n offensive rating and a 11.8 defensive rating which is still good and you know people haven’t really changed their thought process with new information when it comes to the Bucks defense because since November 3rd that New York Knicks game I feel like the Bucks have played the Knicks 500 times

Already this season and we’re not even to the new year yet but since that November 3rd game the Bucks have been going back to that deep drop with Brook Lopez that’s kind of been what the Bucks have been known for the last few years last year old coach might booten holer

Obviously changed up his defensive scheme from his usual tactics and the Bucks were more aggressive defending the three-point line and it’s like hey turns out you can do both defend the rim and not allow three-pointers and the Bucks profile their defensive profile in terms of the shots they allow they’re kind of

Getting back to that and the last two weeks the defensive rating has been top 10 and since November 3rd the Bucks have been 14th in defensive rating with Improvement the last few weeks so it’s not like the Bucks are you know the terrible defense that we saw very early

In the season there is going to be some issues like on the Christmas Day game and there was a few other games as well Dame is just going to get attacked by other opposing guards Jaylen Brunson was hunting him in that next game darting Dam and Malik Beasley that’s also going

To cause a lot of defensive issues U just in terms of guards being able to get by them and get pressure on the rim but then that’s when you have Brook Lopez and Giannis for and I just feel like you know we’ll see how long that holds up defensively but the offensive

Benefits they’re just paying off right now because you got movement shooting with Malik you got the Deep three-point shooting with Dame and the shot versatility and the ability to get to the line that’s the other sneaky secret with the Bucks as well they just get to the line like crazy thanks to the

Combination of Giannis and Damen Lillard their fifth in team free throw rate per cleaning the glass and I just like where the Bucks are at they’re mixing in some athleticism there with Andre Jackson Jr and Marshon Bo champ Andre Jackson Jr in those two starts even though it was

Against Detroit and the Houston Rockets I liked those starts he seems to be somebody that could be a potential answer saying a playoff series where Malik Beasley’s just getting torched and the defensive flaws just outweigh the offensive benefits maybe Adrien Griffin decides to go with more size in

Athleticism that kind of been one of my things with the Bucs the last few years as much as I respect Giannis and always respect the Bucks I felt like they’ve needed an injection of athleticism from the wing position as you know the core of Brooke Chris Middleton used to be

Drew holiday but now Damen Lillard who is also you know in his early 30s and Giannis as that core ages the buck do need some more athleticism I think Maron bamp and Andre Jackson Jr their reps throughout the season they’re going to be critical when it comes to that and

Also Chris Middleton as long as he keeps getting more comfortable and you know more healthy and keeps getting more minutes and the restrictions start to lift off even more the Bucks offense is just going to take off even more than what it is now which is the scary part

Because I feel like they’re still you know scratching different ceilings of what their offense can be but it’s already this good I just don’t understand why we haven’t changed our tune and how we talk about the Bucks because yeah the Bucks do have flaws I’m

Not going to sit here and tell you that they are a perfect team and the Celtics are the favorites well are considered to be everybody’s favorite to come out of the East but there are still things that the Bucks can do to raise the ceiling of

How good this team can be it’s clear that they’re getting more comfortable with each other Adrien Griffin is figuring some stuff out again he’s a firste coach there’s a learning curve there but they have still won a lot of games their profile in terms of their defense is right on track with where

It’s been the last few years and they have the profile in terms of offensive rating as a contender and the defense is sort of rounding out so we’ll see how it goes as the season goes along but I think more people should be talking about the Bucs and realizing that this

Team is a Bonafide Contender and we haven’t been talking about them as such

The Milwaukee Bucks are good and we need to stop acting otherwise. Over the last week I’m not seeing as many think pieces and tweet storms about why the Bucks are terrible anymore, and with good reason. This team is deadly offensively and I think they haven’t even scratched the surface of what they can really do. They have some young athletic wings that will get meaningful reps through out the season. Since early November their defense is morphing back to the philosophy they had in the Coach Bud era.

This team definitely has some concerns that are valid, but to me those are completely outweighed by all the positives. Oh and they also have Giannis and Damian Lillard.