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What is wrong with the Milwaukee Bucks?
Sitting not-so-pretty with a 1-2 record to start out the 2024-25 NBA season despite playing the Chicago Bulls, the Brooklyn Nets, and the walking-wounded Philadelphia 76ers to start out the year, the Bucks have been allowing opposing guards to put up huge numbers through the first week of the season.
But why? Do they not have enough guard defense? Has Doc Rivers forgotten how to coach? Or are their issues at the rim, where guards like Colby White, Zach Lavine, Cam Thomas, and Dennis Schroder are all scoring? Well, in the opinion of ESPN's Tim Bontemps on The Hoop Collective podcast, the issue is simple, really: the Bucks don't have enough athleticism on their roster.
The Milwaukee Bucks just can't slow down speedy opposing guards
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Breaking down the Bucks' defensive issues so far this season, Bontemps noted that, in his opinion, Milwaukee needs to find a way to slow down opposing guards, with Gary Trent Jr. specifically struggling against quicker backcourt scorers over the first week of the season.
“Coby White, 35 points, 12 – 20 from the field, 7 – 13 from 3. Zach Lavine, 25 points, 9 – 15 from the field. Josh Giddey, 17 points, 6 – 10 from the field, 9 assists, 1 turnover,” Bontemps noted. “Sunday night playing the Nets, Cam Thomas 32 points, 10 – 21 shooting, 10 for 11 at the line. Dennis Schroder, 29 points, plus 27. 8 – 15 from the field, 5 – 8 from 3, 8 – 8 from the line, 6 assists, 2 turnovers. What do all of those guys have in common? They're all guards who can get in the lane, other than Giddey who's not super quick, but he's good at getting in the lane. The other 4 guys are all quick guards. Go back to the summer with the Bucks; they had a glaring lack of athleticism across the roster.
Is Bontemps on the money? Well, when you consider the three main free agent additions the Bucks landed over the summer, Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, and Delon Wright, are solid enough 1-3 defenders but are not particularly athletic, it's hard to argue with his point.
So what can the Bucks do about this? Well, they could give more minutes to a player like Marjon Beauchamp, who apparently isn't a favorite of Rivers, or give more minutes to Andre Jackson Jr., who is the team's top defensive player according to DBPM – albeit on a small sample size. But when you consider the Bucks have one of the oldest starting lineups in the NBA and six of their top-8 players are over 30, it's worth wondering if the best way to fix this issue would be through the trade market, where some young, athletic players may be available on the cheap. But until that happens, Trent specifically has to step up, as he's being paid – albeit the minimum – to defend as much as score buckets on his own.
