Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe has always shown flashes of being an All-NBA defender, but he's never been able to put it all together because of random mental lapses during a game.
That changed this season under new Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, who often puts Bledsoe on the opposing team's best player.
“It keeps me engaged,” Bledsoe said of Mike Budenholzer’s detail-oriented approach, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “It keeps me engaged with whom I’m guarding at the time. I feel like Bud knew me when he first got here because he put me on the best player. Not so much for how well I can play defense, but because it keeps me engaged throughout the whole game.”
Bledsoe and the Bucks were the first team to guard Houston Rockets superstar guard James Harden in the unorthodox scheme the Utah Jazz just used in the first round of the playoffs.
Bledsoe wasn't allowing Harden to go left and hit his patented step-back 3-pointer. The Beard scored 42 points on that January evening, but Bledsoe made Harden work for all of his baskets, forced nine turnovers and the Bucks won the game.
Bledsoe, whose nickname is “Mini-LeBron” because of his strong upper body, has turned himself into a rugged and elite defender under Budenholzer. The Bucks are going to need Bledsoe to do his best against Boston Celtics star guard Kyrie Irving in the second round of the playoffs.
Follow Us
Subscribe