The Milwaukee Bucks handed the sixth-seed New York Knicks a 33-point drubbing in their first game back after the All-Star break. They played top-notch defense for 48 minutes, during which Bryn Forbes hit 7-7 on threes. Mamadi Diakite got his first minutes and points as a Milwaukee Buck. The Bucks debuted their new city jerseys as seven of them hit double figures.
It has to be said: the Bucks looked good, perhaps better than ever this season. Their play on both ends looked much more cohesive, and the week-long break looks like it did the team good.
To put it bluntly, this game might have shown the Bucks at their very best. Giannis finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists—good for his fifth triple-double of the season. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton were calming presences when the Bucks couldn’t get it going in the half-court.
Here’s a quick recap of what we noticed.
The MVP with his 5th triple-double of the season:
24 PTS | 10 REB | 10 AST pic.twitter.com/35YaHB5Ypi
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 12, 2021
Old Habits Reared Their Head for a Time
After fighting back from a 16-12 deficit, the Bucks zipped to an early ten-point lead in the first quarter but played with their food in the second frame. The Knicks cut the lead to just two points to start the quarter until the Bucks put the hammer down with their defense to end the half with a comfortable 68-51 lead.
On the surface, it would be easy to say that these choked leads that have become commonplace in Bucks basketball are a result of poor “energy and effort.” A closer look reveals that is not the case at all. As in all of the Bucks’ hamartia, the problem starts with coaching. It took a while for Budenholzer to call a timeout. For a time, he sat and watched on the bench as the Knicks tried to go on a run.
After a quick time-out midway through the second, the Bucks seemed to nip the problem in the Bud. From that point on, they laid waste to the Knickerbockers with ease, running out to a 68-51 lead at the half. It was refreshing to see them playing like they were behind even with a 20-plus point lead by the final frame.
Milwaukee seems much more comfortable in their system after the All-Star break. This is both a blessing and a curse, unfortunately, because the systemic inefficiencies the Bucks have shown in the past two years are still there. For instance, they still overhelp in the paint, and consequently, they still leave shooters open a good amount. They still lean on isolation players to bail them out of dead possessions; they just do it with more verve and confidence now.
The Minutes Situation Has Not Changed
Mike Budenholzer is enamored with the intensity of Thanasis Antetokounmpo. It’s a fact of life now for the Milwaukee Bucks, for better or for worse. Unfortunately for much of the team’s roster, this means less minutes for Torrey Craig or even a prospect like Jordan Nwora.
This isn’t a knock on “Thanasty,” who capped off his 12 minutes with 4 points and a +4. His energy on the court very clearly exhilarates his teammates. He has an effect that goes beyond the stats, or so his fans would like to think.
THANASTY!! pic.twitter.com/jCmNlF6zNn
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 12, 2021
Unfortunately, the stats have never been very flattering. His 26.4% turnover percentage places him in the zeroth percentile in that department. The Bucks have allowed +12.2 more points per 100 possessions on defense when he’s on the floor. It’s been ugly.
With Donte DiVincenzo only hitting a third of his shots (including, as per usual, layups) and going 1-4 from distance, it’s still probably time to ask if he could come off the bench instead and have Bryn Forbes take the starting shooting guard role.
Mamadi Diakite, although a ball of energy, looks raw. His fundamentals still clearly need work, and it remains to be seen if his G-League success can translate in the next level. Regardless, he contested shots well and his length allowed him to block and rebound with ease. There’s much to be excited for, provided he gets his reps in. With the way Budenholzer plays his young guns, it’s not looking good.
First @NBA bucket for @_mdiakite 🙌 pic.twitter.com/l0Td2wG8NO
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 12, 2021
Milwaukee’s Play is Refreshing
By and large, it was their intensity on defense that won the game for the Bucks. Where the Bucks gave up 59.3% from three the last time the two played, the team closed out on the perimeter much better this time around and held them to just 35.1 3PT%. Much of this was also because of Brook Lopez, who finished with five blocks. When they weren’t getting stops by converging into the paint, the Bucks guards were getting steals off bad passes from the Knicks and capitalizing on the fastbreak. The Knicks finished with 14 turnovers which led to 10 of the Bucks’ 19 fastbreak points.
Budenholzer should know by now that when the Bucks offense is sharing the rock, they look unstoppable. When ball movement dies down and their iso-ball habits settle in again, they’re extremely stoppable. Fortunately, it was more of the former this time around.
The Flamethrower literally didn’t miss from three:
21 PTS | 7/7 3PT pic.twitter.com/tQ5jVfCuAM
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 12, 2021
Neither DJ Augustin nor Bryn Forbes missed a three-pointer this game. The latter hit all of his 7 threes, which made up almost half of Milwaukee’s 18-for-38 from deep in this game, good for a white-hot 47.4%. Forbes walked away with Player of the Game honors, outsourcing everyone not named Giannis as he made the most threes in Bucks history without a miss.
Bucks Look Good Moving Forward
The win is certainly a good sign of things moving forward. In the past five games, the Bucks were outside of the top ten in the league in both offensive and defensive rating. It seems as though they’ve cleaned a bit of their mistakes up during the All-Star break.
We can’t argue with the results, but this writer remains cautiously optimistic as the playoffs draw closer. After looking hobbled to end the first half of the season, the Bucks looked regroup. Could this be a sign for things to come? We certainly hope so.
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