Monday’s contest against the Utah Jazz was pretty much over in the first half. This is after the Milwaukee Bucks gave up 77 points in the first two quarters of action, resulting in the visiting team mounting a lead as big as 33 points in the opening half alone.
Simply put, there was just no coming back for the Bucks from that deep, deep hole.
Adrian Griffin Speaks Out on Milwaukee Bucks’ Atrocious First Half
Once again, it was Milwaukee’s porous defense that led to their downfall against Utah. In particular, the Bucks failed to close out on the Jazz’s shooters as the likes of Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and even Keyonte George poured it on from beyond the arc.
After the game, Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin rued his team’s lackluster effort on the defensive end, particularly in failing to prevent the Jazz from making it rain from beyond the arc:
“I just think a lot of it was we were closing out short to certain shooters and then, with our switching, we’re not aggressive with our switches enough,” Griffin said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “And they were just shooting behind our switches and that’s something we stress. You know, being physical, pushing up, switch under, then switch out, be more aggressive, especially with shooters.”
To be fair to the Bucks, they came out better in the second half. They were actually able to cut down the lead to as little as seven points in the fourth quarter. It was a commendable effort but in the end, it was too little too late.
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