The Milwaukee Bucks have one of the best records in the NBA, as they are 30-13 after 43 games. However, it would be difficult to tell that they're serious championship contender if one is to only look at the team's defensive numbers. That brings us to Jamal Crawford's take about why Milwaukee must be missing Jrue Holiday even though the Bucks have Damian Lillard.
““[Damian Lillard] is a better scorer… But Jrue Holiday is a connector. Everybody loved him, the whole city [of Milwaukee] loved him,” Holiday said on NBA on TNT.
Bucks defense has taken a dip since Jrue Holiday left
Holiday, who was traded by the Bucks to the Portland Trail Blazers before the Blazers sent him to the Boston Celtics, has always been a fantastic defensive player. After all, he is a three-time member of the NBA's All-Defensive First Team and has been twice named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Meanwhile, Lillard, acquired by the Bucks during that initial Holiday trade, is an offensive juggernaut who has a suspect defense. For what it's worth, the Bucks when they had Holiday in the 2022-24 NBA season, were fourth in the league in adjusted defensive rating (111.5). This season, the Bucks are just 21st with a 117.2 adjusted defensive rating.
Moreover, Holiday has a higher defensive win share (1.9) in his first season with the Celtics than Lillard (0.9) has with the Bucks.
Holiday and Lillard are two different players with unique strengths and weaknesses, but so long as Milwaukee is winning, they should, at the end of the day, be happy.
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