The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Chicago Bulls on Monday night by a final score of 118-109 and they improved to 6-4 on the year while Chicago dropped to 4-7 on the year with the loss. The Bucks are tied for the third seed in the Eastern Conference with the Indiana Pacers at the moment and trail the Boston Celtics (8-2) and the Philadelphia 76ers (8-1) in the Eastern Conference Standings.
There are some things to take away during the first 10 games of the 2023-2024 NBA regular season for the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee has been alright to the start of the Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard era, but there is more room to grow. What are some of the things to take away during the first 10 games of the season?
Milwaukee Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo is Already in Midseason Form
One of the few takeaways during the start of the 2023-2024 season is that to no surprise, Giannis Antetokounmpo is already in midseason form. Antetokounmpo scored 35 points, 11 rebounds, and recorded two assists on Monday night. During the season so far in 10 games, he is averaging 29.5 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.3 BPG, and 0.9 SPG.
Brian Sampson of Fansided wrote about Giannis Antetokounmpo:
“On the other end of the spectrum is Antetokounmpo. He’s looked great to start the season and has been carrying the Bucks on the offensive side. He’s relentless in attack mode, punishing defenses for giving him the slightest of openings. He’s still figuring out how to play without the ball alongside Lillard, but hopefully, that comes with more reps. For now, it’s fun to watch vintage Giannis.”
Damian Lillard Is Not Off to a Hot Start But the Law of Averages Will Benefit Him Eventually
Damian Lillard was acquired via trade this past offseason via trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard is averaging 22.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 4.8 APG in eight games played so far this season for the Milwaukee Bucks. He has missed two games due to injury.
Lillard has not shot well so far this season despite a good ppg average, but the law of averages will benefit him eventually and they will start to fall. He is only shooting 26.9% from three-point land and 37.0% from the field, but has shot 93.3% from the free-throw line.
Sampson said about Damian Lillard’s shooting struggles:
“Lillard missed two games over the weekend but returned on Monday to shoot 3-for-17. On the season, he’s only knocking down 37 percent of his field goal attempts, including 26.9 percent of his threes. Those would be, by far, career lows for him. He talked about not getting his regular work in during the summer and that it would take some time for him to get back into the groove. I don’t think anyone expected it to take him this long and for him to struggle this much.”
Defensive Struggles
The Milwaukee Bucks defense under first-year head coach Adrian Griffin Jr. has not exactly been sharp throughout the first 10 games of the 2023-2024 NBA regular season. Milwaukee has the 25th-ranked defense in the NBA at giving up 118.3 points per game so far this season.
The New York Knicks have the second-best defense in the NBA (104.3 PPG), the Boston Celtics have the fourth-best defense in the NBA (105.9 PPG), and the Philadelphia 76ers have the eight-ranked defense in the NBA (109.4 PPG).
Milwaukee will need to tighten down defensively with the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. Brian Sampson also said about the Bucks defense, especially on the three-point line:
“Part of Milwaukee’s defensive woes is they’re too willing to go into scramble mode on defense. This strategy relies on multiple players flying around the floor in rotation to cover up for their teammates. And far too often, it’s resulted in a wide-open three-point shot for their opponent.
Milwaukee ranks 23rd in the NBA by giving up nearly 21 wide-open threes per game, a stat that’s determined if the torso of the closest defender is 6 feet or more away from the torso of the shooter. Like the play below, they’re often far too slow on their rotations, leaving open shooters everywhere.”
The defense for the Milwaukee Bucks was very good under former head coach Mike Budenholzer. Will see where the defense is by the mid-way point of the 2023-2024 NBA regular season.
