The Milwaukee Bucks Are Building a 'Freak'ish Juggernaut
Last updated: Dec 19, 2019, 12:59AM | Published: Dec 19, 2019, 12:47AM
This image is a derivative of Milwaukee Bucks by Michael Tipton (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The average winter temperature in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is less than zero degrees celsius, while on average, 2.83cm of snow falls each day during the year’s coldest months.
It’s anything but a glamorous winter locale, however, the Milwaukee Bucks are making sure their fan base remains hot and energised during the winter thanks to one of the league’s very best teams.
This is the 51st season of NBA basketball for the Bucks, and while they’ve been a more than respectable team throughout their history, qualifying for 31 postseasons and winning themselves a championship, it could reasonably be argued this is the best team the city has ever produced.
While sure, their barnstorming 18-game winning streak ended at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, but this Milwaukee team has rapidly jumped into serious NBA championship contention fuelled by its high octane offense and lockdown defense, all the while being motored along by the outrageous brilliance of the league’s reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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Since joining the Bucks out of Greece with the 15th pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, the 'Greek Freak' went straight to work painting a modern sporting masterpiece which, last year, was rewarded with the game’s highest individual honour, and this year Giannis has returned with a devastatingly good, if not better, cameo performance.
It’s rare for an incumbent NBA MVP to produce a superior follow up season, however, the Giannis’ numbers have so far eclipsed what he produced last season, with his points per game up to 31.7, three-point percentage jumping from 25.6% to 32.1%, while his win share per 48 minutes has jumped from .292 to .313 this season.
What we’re seeing from Antetokounmpo and the Bucks this season is an extension of last year’s tear-away 60-win campaign, which took Milwaukee to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 18 years, falling to the eventual NBA Champion Toronto Raptors in six games.
While it was a bitter end to the season, they could take solace in the fact they were able to mix it with the best all season, while Antetokounmpo’s MVP gong, along with Mike Budenholzer taking out Coach of the Year honours, was at least some kind of recognition.
And it is in Budenholzer where so much of the Bucks’ elevation has been unlocked, with the former long-time San Antonio Spurs assistant, and Atlanta Hawks head coach masterminding the team.
It’s easy to forget that just three years ago this Milwaukee squad was only good enough to win 33 games, with just two players - Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton - remaining on the roster, the latter of which won himself his first All-Star gig last year, while being rewarded with a whopping, five year $178 million contract.
Since Budenholzer was hired, he’s not only unleashed Anteteokounmpo, but unlocked the potential within the entire squad, introducing many of the qualities he inherited from San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, as well as the magic he weaved during his four years in Atlanta where he produced not only the franchise’s first-ever 60-win season and the city's only trip to the conference finals.
As well as an unwavering commitment to offensive expression, ball movement and spacing - all hallmarks of Popovich-led teams - Budenholzer also borrowed another key San Antonio ingredient, which is an uncompromising commitment to the art of defense.
If Budehoholzer learnt anything in Texas, it was that all the pretty offense in the world is meaningless without elite 'D', and this is a balance he’s successfully prioritised in both Atlanta and Milwaukee.
In just his second season with the Hawks, Atlanta ranked 6th in both offensive and defensive efficiency, while the Bucks, this season, have the league’s second-most efficient offense along with the NBA's very best defense.
That’s right.
The team who plays at the league’s most blistering speed, the team which shoots threes at a rate bettered by only the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, and a team that can seemingly score in its sleep, is actually number one in the league when it comes to defensive efficiency.
Once again, the tentacle-like length and growing basketball IQ of Antetokounmpo forms the bedrock of Milwaukee’s elite defense, which is complemented by a squad built by General Manager Jon Horst, which has opted for height and size at every opportunity, and which on defense has become obsessed with mitigating opposition penetration.
Under Budenholzer, the Bucks have essentially installed an NBA version of the ‘pack-line’ defense which is much more popular in the college ranks, and which is essentially about restricting creativity and drive.
Milwaukee are daring opponents to beat them through long-range shooting, with the average distance of opponents field goal attempts 15.2 feet from the basket, while the Bucks are ranked fifth in the league for opponent free throw attempts (just 20.2 per 100 opposition possessions) thanks to their ability to keep their opponents on the perimeter.
Since the start of last season, when the Bucks have kept opponents' three-point percentage to 35% or worse they boast a 54-5 win-loss record, which translates to a 91.5% win rate. When rivals have been able to shoot at 36% or higher from three, the Bucks record stands at 42-23, with their win rate dropping to 64.6%.
While Milwaukee’s pack-line defense is admirable and has the capacity to completely overwhelm lower calibre teams, the criticism comes when they face more nuanced units, with a better spread of talent, and, more specifically, better shooting.
It’s a gamble which hurt the Bucks badly during last year’s Conference Finals' loss to the Raptors, where Toronto hit the three-pointer at 37.4% through the six games, while the Bucks own shooting fell to just 31%, down from the excellent 35.3% they'd been shooting during the regular season.
Yes, this Bucks team is undeniably excellent with their 24-4 record so far, and their 15-2 mark against Eastern Conference opposition is a testament to their championship bonafides. With Antetokoumpo at helm, and with a squad with a barely a weak link, a deep run is expected.
However, questions will persist about the construction of its defense until it can break through and translate its phenomenal regular-season production into something far more tangible come May and June.
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