The All-Star break was a happy time for the Milwaukee Bucks. The worst team in the NBA last year was seven games over .500 and pushing a top-five playoff seed, even with the season-ending injury to prized rookie Jabari Parker and the personal problems for expected starting center Larry Sanders. As the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors floundered, Milwaukee emerged as a threat to win a playoff series.
Milwaukee Bucks playoff preview: They’re just happy to be here
The Bucks won 15 games last season. To go from that to the No. 6 seed is a huge accomplishment, even if they faded in the second half.
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But that was before the Bucks' blockbuster trade as the deadline buzzer sounded. Leading scorer and All-Star candidate Brandon Knight was shipped out. Michael Carter-Williams, last year's Rookie of the Year for the Philadelphia 76ers, was brought in.
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Suddenly, the Bucks’ season lost its momentum. The Bucks were wary of Knight’s impending restricted free agency and believed his per-game numbers overrated his actual impact, but soon realized they badly missed Knight’s scoring and shooting. Carter-Williams, himself one of the worst perimeter marksman in the league, exacerbated an already-existing problem. The Bucks’ offensive rating dropped five points in the second half of the season.
That, combined with nagging injuries to O.J. Mayo and Jared Dudley, caused a tumble down the standings. The Bucks rallied late and built up enough of a cushion to stay in the playoffs, but a 10-16 record with Carter-Williams inspires little confidence that they can push for the second round.
Still, even getting to this point is a big accomplishment for a team that won 15 games last season.
How they beat you
Even amid their struggles, the Bucks were one of the league's best defensive teams. New coach Jason Kidd brought the "long ball" style that saved Brooklyn's season last year to Milwaukee and found even more success because this roster fits better. The Bucks force turnovers at a higher rate than any team in the league, which helps mask their lack of rim protection.
The Bucks flood multiple bodies to the same side, fogging ball-handlers’ line of sight with as many arms and feet as possible.
This approach yields openings at times, but the Bucks figure they have the length to recover if they’re beat.
The turnovers trigger the Bucks' transition game, which is deadly with Giannis Antetokounmpo and his long strides flying at defenders either with or without the ball. They need those turnovers badly, because the half-court offense can be a mess.
How you beat them
If you take care of the ball and get bodies back in transition, the Bucks are toast. Milwaukee’s half-court offense was shaky even with Knight and has become a train wreck with Carter-Williams. Teams help way off Carter-Williams and Antetokounmpo knowing neither can make them pay from the perimeter, though at least Antetokounmpo is flashing an improved mid-range shot.
The Bucks lack offensive options when the game slows down. Khris Middleton has become their default No. 1 guy, and while he's an effective player, he can be taken away. Carter-Williams is turnover-prone and tentative, a deadly combination. The Bucks used to allow Antetokonmpo free reign to charge at slower defenders from 35 feet away, but they don't have the spacing to effectively do that anymore unless Dudley is also in the game. The Bucks often play better when Jerryd Bayless is in for Carter-Williams just because he's a ball-handler both capable and willing to score on his own.
Most important player
Khris Middleton was once a throw-in to a much bigger deal that shaped Milwaukee’s future direction. Now, he’s a two-way dynamo the Bucks cannot replace when he goes to the bench. Given Parker’s injury and Antetokounmpo’s inexperience, Middleton’s taken on a larger role and thrived because of it.
He’s often referred to as a “3 and D” player, but that paints an incomplete picture of his skill set. He can curl off screens and fire rhythm jumpers over anyone. He can post up small defenders, a weapon Kidd has used more often as the rest of Milwaukee’s half-court offense has fallen apart. He’s a bit streaky, but can also handle the ball a little and cut along the baseline in Milwaukee’s elbow sets. On defense, he’s equally good checking the best defender or plugging gaps off the ball in Kidd’s aggressive scheme.
Middleton is a restricted free agent and the Bucks will have to break the bank to keep him in town. But considering the kind of team they’re trying to build, almost any price is a fair one.
Unique security
Anyone who has gone to the Bucks’ practice facility knows “Art.” They see him as they enter and try to make small-talk, as one often does. But “Art” never responds because ... “Art” isn’t real.
Yes, I said hello to the Bucks security guard and asked how he was doing. No, he's not real: http://t.co/svRfoMDLz0 pic.twitter.com/3PGv6Qfwu2
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) March 26, 2015 Via @nmonroe, the wax "security guard" at the Bucks practice facility that looks so real I tried talking to it: pic.twitter.com/m7ZzZXLzpV
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 11, 2015 The wax statue, sculpted by a local Milwaukee hyper-realist artist named Marc Sijan, has fooled many media and opposing players that have walked the grounds. Michael Jordan once got so angry “Art” didn’t say hello back that he complained to the Bucks. But this Antoine Walker story takes the cake:
A Boston Celtics staffer once set up Antoine Walker, telling Walker the security guard likes to collect autographs for his grandson. Walker entered and tried starting a conversation.
The idea of Antoine Walker talking to an imaginary friend should crack you up.
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