Questions Loom for Damian Lillard, Bucks Amid Fast Start

Getty Damian Lillard of the Bucks (left) and Giannis Antetokounmpo

In many ways, the fact the Bucks were have the third-best record in the NBA while trying to surgically implant a second superstar into their lineup is pretty damn impressive.

But somehow it doesn’t really feel that way in Milwaukee.

The team has already had more than its share of come-to-basketball-jesus meetings, with one notable instance involving Bobby Portis calling out coach Adrian Griffin for the club’s late-game offense. If Aaron Rodgers were still working in the state, he might suggest that all should R-E-L-A-X, but the Bucks don’t seem so inclined.

There are signs that Damian Lillard will fit just fine with Giannis Antetokounmpo as things grow toward instinctive after more reps, but said signs have not appeared as consistently as the club would like. With two takeover titans together, learning how to properly share and play off one another can yield some untidy moments during the process.

The Bucks looked extremely fortunate to extract the unhappy Lillard from Portland, even while giving up Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers and Grayson Allen to Phoenix in the transaction. That Allen is shooting a career-best 46.1% on 3-pointers (39.9% last year) isn’t that hard for them to take, but things got significantly more dicey when Portland re-routed Holiday to Boston, which was immediately placed above Milwaukee in the early rankings (the Celtics are at the NBA top at 20-5).

Damian Lillard Must Remember It’s Giannis’ Team

It’s one thing to make a deal with some high-level risk to get better; it’s quite another when the deal wheel stops turning and you’ve indirectly improved your chief Eastern Conference rival in the process.

“I understand why you had to make that initial move, but I will say to you I’m not entirely convinced on Damian Lillard in that situation,” one league source told Heavy Sports. “The issue is figuring out how to close out games. Lillard’s always been the one on his team to take over. That’s his superpower. It’s what he brings to the table.”

Now, as one coach put it to Heavy, Lillard has to be smart enough to remember at all times that he’s playing next to Giannis Antetokounmpo. Instead of just seeking his own shot, he has to take note of where Giannis is and determine how he can make it work spatially for himself and everyone else.

So far, while his numbers have improved in the last week, Lillard’s scoring, overall shooting and 3-point marksmanship are all down from last season (32.2 to 25.8 ppg, .463 to .431, and .371 to .362, respectively).

“If they develop and get into a good two-man game, at that point the other team has to commit a third defender to stop those two,” said the initial source. “And that leaves a guy open, and a guy like (Khris) Middleton is good enough to knock down shots. The other guys, too. They’ve got guys who can knock down shots.”

Defense Remains a Bucks Issue

Even if the Bucks solve the puzzle on offense, there is a whole other end of the floor that concerns this longtime veteran with both coaching and personnel department experience.

Thus far, the numbers have been interesting, if not entirely illuminating. Milwaukee is producing 7.5 more points per game than last season, but it is giving up 5.9 a game more.

“The question is, in the playoffs, you’ve got to also get stops, and that is not Lillard’s strong suit,” he said. “Part of that in Portland is because he was having to expend so much energy carrying the team on offense. But now we’ll see if he can commit to a more balanced approach to the game.”

This issue may also be answered in the affirmative by the fact Lillard is now on a team with serious championship aspirations.

“Part of it is just human nature, but guys do work harder at the little things when they’re playing for something big,” he said. “We see it all the time.

“But you will do what you habitually do. You will do what you are required to do. And there’s no switch you can throw that says, ‘I haven’t played defense in the last four or five years, now I’m a really solid defender.’ Maybe you can get to adequate. I just don’t believe in switches.”