The Milwaukee Bucks came into their game against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night ranked 24th in points per game allowed and 19th in defensive rating. All season long, and really, ever since the Bucks acquired Damian Lillard leading up to the season, the concern has been that the Bucks defense wouldn't be able to hold up. Many analysts thought that the upside of a potentially higher offensive ceiling didn't outweigh what the Bucks would be losing in Jrue Holiday, one of the best defensive guards in the league, especially in the postseason, when opponents will likely more ruthlessly hunt Lillard one possession after the next.
One person who isn't too concerned with the defensive efforts of the Bucks is new Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, who made his debut on the sideline with Milwaukee in their 113-107 loss to the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. After the game, Doc addressed the media, and spoke about the perception that Lillard and the new-look Bucks couldn't play defense.
“Anyone who told you, you couldn’t play defense lied… our half court defense was excellent”
“I thought tonight was an offensive loss. I didn’t think we were crisp offensively” pic.twitter.com/0NvaljVtK8
— Bucks Breakdown (@Bucks_Breakdown) January 30, 2024
On Lillard, Doc Rivers would go on to say, “Dame fought defensively. They had fight tonight. Cat’s out of the bag, they proved they can play defense. Now, we need to do it every night.”
The next night the Bucks get the chance to prove it will be on Wednesday night, when Milwaukee heads out to Portland to take in the Blazers in what will be Damian Lillard's first game against the team he spent the first eleven years of his NBA career with. For all the gamblers out there, go ahead and lock in the “Over” on whatever the number is for Lillard's point total in his return to Portland. You're welcome.
There's been a healthy amount of skepticism as to whether the hiring of Doc Rivers, and the abrupt firing of Adrian Griffin, was enough to move the needle for the Bucks in their hopes of competing for an NBA Title this season, after capturing one in 2021. After all, for all of the success that Doc has had — 1,097 career wins and a .590 winning percentage — the number of NBA Championships he's won (1) doesn't equal the number of 3-1 leads his teams have blown in the postseason (3).
Does that mean Milwaukee will fall victim to the same fate come April, May or June? I don't necessarily think so. I feel better about the Bucks chances of winning the NBA Title now than I did before they fired Adrian Griffin. I think as time has past, Doc Rivers has actually become an underrated head coach, particularly in terms of his ability to establish a culture. I think it's very possible that he could bring out the best in both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
But for now, it's all about baby steps. If Doc can help the Bucks defense improve, even slightly over the course of the next couple of weeks, you can consider it an early win for his time in Milwaukee.
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