Milwaukee Bucks’ Defense Reminds Us Why They Are Reigning Champions

Heading into the Milwaukee Bucks Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup with the Boston Celtics, a lot of the conversation was centered around Boston’s dominant defense. And rightfully so.

Boston finished the regular season with the NBA’s stingiest defense—allowing a league low 106.9 points per 100 possessions according to Cleaning the Glass. They sported the newly anointed Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Smart as well as a bevy of other very good defenders in Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown and Robert Williams, just to mention a few. They also just shut down the dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the first round of the playoffs.

In the great words of Michael Scott, “Well, well, well. How the turntables…”

Milwaukee quickly reminded everyone why they are the defending champs. Their defense carried them through some ugly games in last year’s postseason, dominated the Chicago Bulls in the opening round and flexed their muscles in Game 1 against the Celtics. They have a 94.7 defensive rating in the postseason so far—eight points better than the second-placed Miami Heat and 12 points better than the Celtics’ NBA-leading regular season defense.

That success all started with ball pressure. Head coach Mike Budenholzer has found something with the endless pressure his guards can put on the opposing team’s ballhandlers. It began against Chicago and carried over to Game 1 against Boston. Whether it was Holiday, Jevon Carter or even Grayson Allen, the Bucks picked the Celtics up at or before halfcourt, disrupting their offensive rhythm early on.

You can see Holiday waiting for Marcus Smart right at the halfcourt line in the clip above. As Smart tries to drive to the middle of the floor to simply initiate his team’s offense, Holiday slides his feet and then reaches over the tumbling Smart to swipe the ball away. It doesn’t stop there! The Bucks’ point guard dives on the floor and throws a risky pass over his shoulder that eventually lands in the hands of Wes Matthews who finds Bobby Portis for a pull-up jumper.

Jevon Carter was putting in work as well. He’s a known on-ball pest, playing at his best when picking up opposing point guards 94-feet from the basket and making them work for every single dribble. He didn’t have quite that energy in this contest, but did wreak havoc on the ball.

He picks up Brown shortly after he crosses halfcourt, forcing Williams to set an extremely high ball screen just in front of the Celtics’ logo. Carter spins under the screen, trying to meet Brown at the three-point line. However, Brown hits him with a nice hesitation and penetrates to the right elbow before trying to thread a pocket pass to his rolling big man. Carter anticipates the pass and swipes it away before it gets to its intended target.

Notice what happens at the end of each play as well: transition offense. The Bucks were not only successful in forcing a lot of Boston turnovers (nearly one of every five Boston possessions ended this way) but they capitalized on them as well, scoring a whopping 27 points off turnovers. That was a huge swing for Milwaukee and a great way for them to get out in the open court away from Boston’s halfcourt defense. Below is another steal that led directly to points for the Bucks.

Milwaukee’s rim protection was at another level in this one. Boston converted on just 10 of their 22 shots within four feet of the basket—a putrid 45.5 percent. Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo literally and figuratively loomed large anytime the Celtics even thought about driving to the rim.

Tatum finally solves the Bucks’ on-ball pressure by splitting the trap at the top of the key. He even side steps Grayson Allen just inside the free throw line, but there’s still one more line of defense he has to get past: The best defensive player alive in the world today. Tatum did all that and had nothing left for Antetokounmpo who easily patted the ball way and set up another transition opportunity for his team.

All the talk coming into the series was about Boston and how good they’ve looked for months now (myself included). The Bucks’ defensive performance was a loud reminder to the rest of the NBA that they can’t be slept on.

To be fair, Boston missed open teammates and will be better prepared in Game 2. The Bucks won’t be able to catch them off guard with their gameplan and will have to throw in a wrinkle or two of their own. However, Milwaukee has all the defensive tools to make this the norm for Boston.

Starting at the point of attack with defenders like Holiday, Matthews and Carter and followed up by Antetokounmpo and Lopez at the rim, Milwaukee’s defense is built to win championships. They have no problem mucking up the game, making it U.G.L.Y and turning it into a slugfest. Just make sure you don’t forget who the real defensive juggernaut is.