Milwaukee forgot how to play defense in the bubble

[PistolPeteJR]

The Bucks went to a switching defense last year against Boston in the playoffs. The only switch they didn't do was a 1-5. They can go full zone or a switching defense with Giannis at C and Marvin at the 4.

What big did Boston have inside to punish them who could also step outside? Also, what chemistry did Boston have?

What does that have to do with anything? You said Bud went to the grave with his defensive scheme and it was wrong.

I was talking about this year so far.

[crkone]

What big did Boston have inside to punish them who could also step outside? Also, what chemistry did Boston have?

What does that have to do with anything? You said Bud went to the grave with his defensive scheme and it was wrong.

I was talking about this year so far.

So you were talking about this year so far when you said "Bud has only ever gone to the grave with his defensive scheme". I got it now. In that case the Bucks haven't had to go to anything else because they had the number one seed wrapped up and had the number one defense. But in the previous season they did go to another defense when they needed to. 3 point shooting defense (overall) was not the problem against the Raptors. FVV and Norm shot tremendously on wide open 3s while Green and Siakam stunk it up.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Can't read too much into results at this stage. The fact that Bud expresses concern and Korver is speaking up show you that they're a little rattled.

Last night their starters were literally injuring each other racing back in transition during a blowout in the 4th against Raptor GLeaguers and their deep bench. I thought it was a strange risk to have them out there at all.

[Vampirate]

Most Bucks fan are concerned, some very concerned (me). There's a lack of effort, focus, and execution. Defense is one thing, and I don't have the numbers in front of me but they likely have one of the highest turnover rates in the bubble too. I'm hoping its because these games don't matter, but I've watched this team long enough to think it may be something more serious than that. Maybe it will get better once families are allowed to join the bubble?

Honestly, you'll probably see the real Bucks when they face whomever is 8th in the East. They'll be using those 4 games to gear up when they face Miami.

[PistolPeteJR]

What does that have to do with anything? You said Bud went to the grave with his defensive scheme and it was wrong.

I was talking about this year so far.

So you were talking about this year so far when you said "Bud has only ever gone to the grave with his defensive scheme". I got it now. In that case the Bucks haven't had to go to anything else because they had the number one seed wrapped up and had the number one defense. But in the previous season they did go to another defense when they needed to. 3 point shooting defense (overall) was not the problem against the Raptors. FVV and Norm shot tremendously on wide open 3s while Green and Siakam stunk it up.

Yup, exactly. And I don't believe they have the personnel necessary to play differently in a manner that's effective enough. Last year they had Brogdon for that, this year they don't, and that's a BIG loss.

[skones]

I was talking about this year so far.

So you were talking about this year so far when you said "Bud has only ever gone to the grave with his defensive scheme". I got it now. In that case the Bucks haven't had to go to anything else because they had the number one seed wrapped up and had the number one defense. But in the previous season they did go to another defense when they needed to. 3 point shooting defense (overall) was not the problem against the Raptors. FVV and Norm shot tremendously on wide open 3s while Green and Siakam stunk it up.

Yup, exactly. And I don't believe they have the personnel necessary to play differently in a manner that's effective enough. Last year they had Brogdon for that, this year they don't, and that's a BIG loss.

Wes and DDV have both been better defenders than Brogdon so this doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

[PistolPeteJR]

So you were talking about this year so far when you said "Bud has only ever gone to the grave with his defensive scheme". I got it now. In that case the Bucks haven't had to go to anything else because they had the number one seed wrapped up and had the number one defense. But in the previous season they did go to another defense when they needed to. 3 point shooting defense (overall) was not the problem against the Raptors. FVV and Norm shot tremendously on wide open 3s while Green and Siakam stunk it up.

Yup, exactly. And I don't believe they have the personnel necessary to play differently in a manner that's effective enough. Last year they had Brogdon for that, this year they don't, and that's a BIG loss.

Wes and DDV have both been better defenders than Brogdon so this doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Which also means that Bledsoe will have the ball in his hands much more on the other end in the halfcourt. I think we know that’s not a recipe for success. Giannis can only have the ball in his hands so much.

The bottom line for me is I don’t think they can adapt well enough for all the reasons I mentioned. I think they’re set up to play Milwaukee ball and that’s it. It could very well be enough, but we’ll see what happens.

[Edrees]

They don't care. They have nothing to play for. I expect it to get back to normal once the playoffs start.

[GiannisAnte34]

Yup, exactly. And I don't believe they have the personnel necessary to play differently in a manner that's effective enough. Last year they had Brogdon for that, this year they don't, and that's a BIG loss.

Wes and DDV have both been better defenders than Brogdon so this doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Which also means that Bledsoe will have the ball in his hands much more on the other end in the halfcourt. I think we know that’s not a recipe for success. Giannis can only have the ball in his hands so much.

The bottom line for me is I don’t think they can adapt well enough for all the reasons I mentioned. I think they’re set up to play Milwaukee ball and that’s it. It could very well be enough, but we’ll see what happens.

The bottom line for me is I don't think the Raptors can adapt well enough to missing Kawhi Leonard's elite ISO scoring ability. Spicy P has proven that he'll fall apart if you game plan around his one trick driving spin move, but we'll see what happens.

[Suprasc1]

Wes and DDV have both been better defenders than Brogdon so this doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Which also means that Bledsoe will have the ball in his hands much more on the other end in the halfcourt. I think we know that’s not a recipe for success. Giannis can only have the ball in his hands so much.

The bottom line for me is I don’t think they can adapt well enough for all the reasons I mentioned. I think they’re set up to play Milwaukee ball and that’s it. It could very well be enough, but we’ll see what happens.

The bottom line for me is I don't think the Raptors can adapt well enough to missing Kawhi Leonard's elite ISO scoring ability. Spicy P has proven that he'll fall apart if you game plan around his one trick driving spin move, but we'll see what happens.

Look Giannis, we know you can't do anything besides attack the paint and throw wild passes to your 7ft twin centers

[Son Goku 25]

The only concern they should have is that they haven't won anything yet. That will be in their heads, as soon as a 2nd round team or Raptors outplay them, do they have the mental toughness to get it back together?

[PistolPeteJR]

Wes and DDV have both been better defenders than Brogdon so this doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Which also means that Bledsoe will have the ball in his hands much more on the other end in the halfcourt. I think we know that’s not a recipe for success. Giannis can only have the ball in his hands so much.

The bottom line for me is I don’t think they can adapt well enough for all the reasons I mentioned. I think they’re set up to play Milwaukee ball and that’s it. It could very well be enough, but we’ll see what happens.

The bottom line for me is I don't think the Raptors can adapt well enough to missing Kawhi Leonard's elite ISO scoring ability. Spicy P has proven that he'll fall apart if you game plan around his one trick driving spin move, but we'll see what happens.

Who mentioned the Raptors?

[PistolPeteJR]

Which also means that Bledsoe will have the ball in his hands much more on the other end in the halfcourt. I think we know that’s not a recipe for success. Giannis can only have the ball in his hands so much.

The bottom line for me is I don’t think they can adapt well enough for all the reasons I mentioned. I think they’re set up to play Milwaukee ball and that’s it. It could very well be enough, but we’ll see what happens.

The bottom line for me is I don't think the Raptors can adapt well enough to missing Kawhi Leonard's elite ISO scoring ability. Spicy P has proven that he'll fall apart if you game plan around his one trick driving spin move, but we'll see what happens.

Look Giannis, we know you can't do anything besides attack the paint and throw wild passes to your 7pt twin centers

It’s not just about Giannis lol.

[Dupp]

Games are meaningless for the bucks. Wait until the playoffs

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

This sounds like nothing, right?

Watch on YouTube

[GiannisAnte34]

Which also means that Bledsoe will have the ball in his hands much more on the other end in the halfcourt. I think we know that’s not a recipe for success. Giannis can only have the ball in his hands so much.

The bottom line for me is I don’t think they can adapt well enough for all the reasons I mentioned. I think they’re set up to play Milwaukee ball and that’s it. It could very well be enough, but we’ll see what happens.

The bottom line for me is I don't think the Raptors can adapt well enough to missing Kawhi Leonard's elite ISO scoring ability. Spicy P has proven that he'll fall apart if you game plan around his one trick driving spin move, but we'll see what happens.

Who mentioned the Raptors?

It's a foregone conclusion that your fan-hood is the motivator of you hating on the Bucks

[TheGOATRises007]

It's a one man show aka 2007 cavs

They are miles better than the 2007 Cavs.

It's an insult to compare them.

[ItsDanger]

The Heat are going to push the Bucks hard in 2nd rnd, its a bad matchup for them.

[nikster]

They can play this way because they have so many quality defenders though. Where is the glaring weakness an offensive team can pick apart? 3 of their starters are all-league level this season with 1 of them being the best and most versatile defensive player in the league. The other 2, Matthews and Middleton, are both well above average defensively. They can switch the 4 perimeter positions with ease because of their size and strength and have those two elite rim protectors inside. And the bench unit comes in with several smart, quality defenders who play their butt off.

This isn’t one of the best defensive teams ever by accident and the EC doesn’t have any Kawhi level players his season who can poke their own holes in it. The won’t see a player on that level until they meet one the LA teams in the finals.

As is well documented, the Bucks defense is built on a hyper-conservative scheme: protect the rim at all cost, even if that means surrendering a ton of threes. And boy do they surrender a ton of threes. Opponents take 40 a game against them (the most attempts allowed in the league) and it's not like these attempts are bad ones, Bucks are roughly average in terms of the percentage taken against them (.355%, 15th in the league). Bledsoe and Divencenzo are great at protecting the nail and then closing out hard, but I do wonder if this style makes them vulnerable to a random 3-game walloping when an opposing coach (They'll face either Nick Nurse or Brad Stevens likely) really tries to stack the deck against their defense. I worry about Coach Bud's stubbornness. Bud refused to switch up his defense last year, like by having Giannis guard Kawhi for example, and he watched his team lose 4 games in a row. That kind of coaching conservatism makes me think the Bucks are vulnerable.

I do not doubt the Bucks defensive personnel (elite) or their defensive system (all time great). I am curious to see how inpregnable this defense is against playoff basketball. I'm not sounding the alarm bells, but I think it's something to watch. Will Bud switch things up if a team gets hot while taking like 50 attempts?

I get that. And the Raptors surrender the 2nd most 3’s as well as more corner 3’s than any other team in the league. (The Clippers, another elite defense, are 4th highest)

So there are, the leagues top 2 defenses in the league both surrendering shots that conventional wisdom says they shouldn’t, yet both defending at an elite level. So I’m not convinced these 3 point attempt numbers actually tell us what many people think they should and I’m not sure we should be viewing them as a defensive weakness. It seems like the exact opposite is actually happening, perhaps because their opponents are having trouble getting into the paint and end up settling for contested 3’s late in the clock?

On face value the defences seem similar but they have different priorities. Raptors close out like maniacs, and are only okay with giving up 3s to mediocre shooters.

While they are right behind Bucks in 3pA given up, Raptors hold their opponents to a league worst percentage from 3.

[cupcakesnake]

As is well documented, the Bucks defense is built on a hyper-conservative scheme: protect the rim at all cost, even if that means surrendering a ton of threes. And boy do they surrender a ton of threes. Opponents take 40 a game against them (the most attempts allowed in the league) and it's not like these attempts are bad ones, Bucks are roughly average in terms of the percentage taken against them (.355%, 15th in the league). Bledsoe and Divencenzo are great at protecting the nail and then closing out hard, but I do wonder if this style makes them vulnerable to a random 3-game walloping when an opposing coach (They'll face either Nick Nurse or Brad Stevens likely) really tries to stack the deck against their defense. I worry about Coach Bud's stubbornness. Bud refused to switch up his defense last year, like by having Giannis guard Kawhi for example, and he watched his team lose 4 games in a row. That kind of coaching conservatism makes me think the Bucks are vulnerable.

I do not doubt the Bucks defensive personnel (elite) or their defensive system (all time great). I am curious to see how inpregnable this defense is against playoff basketball. I'm not sounding the alarm bells, but I think it's something to watch. Will Bud switch things up if a team gets hot while taking like 50 attempts?

I get that. And the Raptors surrender the 2nd most 3’s as well as more corner 3’s than any other team in the league. (The Clippers, another elite defense, are 4th highest)

So there are, the leagues top 2 defenses in the league both surrendering shots that conventional wisdom says they shouldn’t, yet both defending at an elite level. So I’m not convinced these 3 point attempt numbers actually tell us what many people think they should and I’m not sure we should be viewing them as a defensive weakness. It seems like the exact opposite is actually happening, perhaps because their opponents are having trouble getting into the paint and end up settling for contested 3’s late in the clock?

On face value the defences seem similar but they have different priorities. Raptors close out like maniacs, and are only okay with giving up 3s to mediocre shooters.

While they are right behind Bucks in 3pA given up, Raptors hold their opponents to a league worst percentage from 3.

Yeah just came here to point that out^. The Raptors do give up threes, but not because they run a conservative, protect the rim style. Raptors mostly like to overload the strongside, double and trap, and the rotate like crazy. They force an offense into taking bad, desperate threes, especially corner threes from bad shooters facing a manic closeout.

I like the Raptors defense more in terms of adaptability. Now the Bucks protect the paint way better, and Giannis is an absurd defense asset, just sweeping around the paint. I think most teams just wont be able to break the Bucks defense, but I am worried what happens if someone does. Boston, Toronto and Miami are of bombing you to death with threes.