Getty Milwaukee Bucks
On April 3, the Milwaukee Bucks fell 101-111 to the Memphis Grizzlies. It was their second loss in as many days to an opponent that will be a lottery team in this years draft and their fourth loss in their last five games.
Following their loss to the, at the time, 14-win Washington Wizards on April 2, head coach Doc Rivers called out the professionalism of everyone in the organization, from the players to the travel crew, saying “You know, it’s funny, I’ve actually been sitting back and watching everything. Not just our players, but our travel crew. Everything. And I’ve made a lot of notes. I will say that. I won’t share that. But we don’t bring the necessary professionalism, seriousness on the road. And that’s something we can fix. And that’s something we’re going to have to fix.”
Rivers continued by saying “I’m looking at it for the long run too. It’s not just for now. We’ve got to be a better road team. If we’re not, we’re doing something wrong. As a coaching staff we have to figure out what we need to do different as far as practices and training. As a travel staff, not talking players, we may have to do something different there too. Because something’s missing and everybody seems happy, you know? Except for me after a game. So I just think we’re doing something wrong and we need to figure that out.”
The Bucks are 29-9 at home and 18-20 on the road this season.
Where Things Have Gone Wrong
In their losses to the Wizards and Grizzlies, the Bucks’ defense got annihilated in the pick and roll. Against the Wizards, they allowed 1.186 points per possession (PPP) to pick and roll (P&R) ball handlers and 1.231 PPP to P&R rollers. Then, against the Grizzlies, they allowed 1.148 PPP to P&R ball handlers and 1.429 PPP to P&R rollers. For reference, the league average PPP allowed by defenses to P&R ball handlers and P&R rollers this season is 0.90.
Transition defense was an issue for Milwaukee earlier this season, and in recent games has become an issue again. The Wizards generated 1.3 PPP in transition while the Grizzlies generated 1.15.
On the offensive end, Giannis Antetokounmpo has carried most of the load. Over the last five games, he is averaging 31.2 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. Damian Lillard has only appeared in two of the last five games, as he has dealt with a groin injury.
Malik Beasley, who has been one of the league’s best perimeter players all year, is only 17 of 51 (33.3%) over the five games.
Grasp on Second
With the recent skid, the Bucks sit just 1.5 games up on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.
The Bucks final stretch of games will not be easy. In fact, according to Tankathon, they have the fourth-hardest remaining schedule. Five of their final six games will be against teams who are currently in the top five of their respective conferences. Milwaukee’s next four games will all be at home, against the Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic. They will then head on the road for their final two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Magic.