The Bucks, with no hesitation, shipped Jrue Holiday out during the offseason in order to acquire the flashier guard in Damian Lillard, and just five games into Milwaukee’s season, the organization is already paying a price.
Even with the risk of the Celtics — Milwaukee’s Eastern Conference rival — swooping in and playing opportunist upon Holiday’s departure, the Bucks pulled the trigger, inadvertently giving Boston a gift. So far, the pendulum has swung in favor of the Celtics with no signs of that changing anytime soon. Boston sits on the mountain as the NBA’s best team in terms of scoring (126.4 points), rebounding (51.8), field goals made (46%), and, most importantly, wins — undefeated through five games.
When Boston followed Milwaukee’s bold move with one of its own, surrendering Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III to acquire Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers, the organization stuck by its guns. The offseason was already an aggressive one for the Celtics, starting by giving up Marcus Smart to land Kristaps Porzingis in a three-sided blockbuster, so when the Bucks put their foot down, watching Boston do the same came as no surprise.
Yet, so far it’s been the Bucks who’ve been hit with the consequences of trading away one of their premier pieces.
As the saying goes, “Defense wins games,” right? Well, that explains why the Boston’s gone 5-0 and Milwaukee’s posed some early-season concerns amid its respective 3-2 start. The Bucks substituted defensive efficiency for flashy scoring, while on paper, a presumably franchise-changing move, it’s been anything but so far.
The Bucks, who’ve allowed 118.6 points to opponents, rank 25th in defensive rating (116), which isn’t better than any above-.500 team in the NBA. Last season, when Milwaukee swiped the No. 1 seed from Boston, the Bucks were fourth with a 110.9 defensive rating.
“There’s a lot of different things we can do with our lineup,” first-year Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin told reporters after practice Sunday, per team-provided video.
During Milwaukee’s most recent contest, a win over the New York Knicks, Griffin shook up the team’s defensive approach, which paid off. Griffin camped center Brook Lopez inside the paint, resulting in a 3-of-11 shooting slump from New York, shining a minor light following a dreadful start defensively for the Bucks.
Then again, it was the (2-4) Knicks.
Lillard, a seven-time All-Star, has had a huge hand in Milwaukee’s early struggles in protecting the rim and guarding the 3-point line. It’s not beyond the ordinary for a score-first guard of Lillard’s caliber to be nowhere as impactful on the other side of the ball, however, in joining an NBA Finals contender like the Bucks, it’s up to the 33-year-old to take that initiative.
Under former head coach Mike Budenholzer, defense was a staple and arguably Milwaukee’s most emphasized area of play. Holiday provided the versatility to guard players who matched his 6-foot-5 frame and those who stand over him like 6-foot-8 Jayson Tatum.
Holiday, while averaging 14 points in five games, is averaging 1.6 blocks, ranking first among all point guards in the NBA. The three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team winner has also recorded a seven-rebound per game average which ranks fourth among that same group — the quintessential difference maker.
Now, the Bucks not only don’t have that luxury, but they’re tasked early on with recovering while also being aware that the red-hot Celtics have Holiday and he’s fit in Boston’s star-studded core like a glove.
