Milwaukee Bucks Deep Dive

By: Melo Williams 

The Milwaukee Bucks (21-8) have the best record in the NBA and will be on the road to close out 2022 for five of their next six games.

This road trip begins Monday night in New Orleans against Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans with stops in Cleveland, Brooklyn, and Boston, ending in Chicago against the struggling Bulls before the final game of 2022 home at the Fiserv Forum against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Except for Chicago, every team on this road trip is a top team in the league but more so in the East the same conference as the Bucks so this road trip stretch of games is very important and a true measuring stick of how good the team is.

These matchups for the Bucks could also be potential future Eastern Conference Finals matchups or even a possible Finals matchup between Milwaukee Bucks and the New Orleans Pelicans.

DEEP DIVE:

The Bucks are 7-3 in their last 10 games. The three losses were against Memphis Grizzlies 101-142, Houston Rockets 92-97 on the road, and the Los Angeles Lakers 129-133 at home.

JOE INGLES RETURNS

After nearly 10 months of rehabilitation after tearing his left ACL, Milwaukee Bucks forward Joe Ingles will make his return and Bucks debut against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.

Ingles, 35, signed a one-year, $6.5 million free-agent deal with the Bucks in July. Joe Ingle’s playmaking abilities and his ability to shoot the ball bring more floor spacing for the Bucks. Ingle’s presence brings another veteran with playoff experience and leadership.

Ingles spent his entire eight-year NBA career with the Jazz, averaging 8.6 points on 41% 3-point shooting in 590 games. In 45 playoff games — including 40 as a starter — Ingles averaged 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Due to the knee injury, Ingles never played a minute for the Blazers after being traded to Portland.

RECAP OF LAST 10

Against Utah on Saturday, Antetokounmpo sat out because of soreness in his left knee, the fifth game he missed this season. Khris Middleton sat out due to soreness in his right knee.

Bobby Portis had 22 points and 14 rebounds starting in place of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 123-97 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night finishing with his 17th double-double this season, tying him for third in the NBA in double-doubles.

Jrue Holiday added 21 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal. Brook Lopez chipped in with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Rookie MarJon Beauchamp added 18 points in 19 minutes off the bench and Sandro Mamukelashvili had 7 assists and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes of action.

In the loss Against Memphis, the Grizzlies came out firing on all cylinders. Milwaukee was never really in the game. The Grizzlies ran their lead up to a 50-point lead in the fourth quarter which is the NBA’s largest lead advantage this season.

Ja Morant had 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists triple-double. Dillon Brooks added 18 points and Tyus Jones had 16 as eight different Grizzlies scored in double figures.

Memphis led 70-41 at halftime. It was the most points given up in a half by Milwaukee this season.

“They were just playing well. Knocking down shots,” Antetokounmpo said. “They were running. Their pace was really fast. They were just playing good basketball.”

In Houston, there wasn’t just a problem, there were a few problems. The Bucks couldn’t protect the ball, couldn’t hit a shot, and couldn’t protect the paint at all. The defense was literary like a deer in headlights, frozen.

Houston outscored Milwaukee, 56-36 in points in the paint. The Bucks shot 37% and were 12 of 43 on 3-pointers. Milwaukee also committed 16 turnovers.

Jalen Green had 30 points and 7 rebounds, Kevin Porter Jr. added 18 points and 7 assists, and Kenyon Martin Jr. had 10 points and 5 rebounds for the Rockets.

Houston shot 44% and was 6 of 27 on 3-pointers.

The Rockets were coached by assistant coach John Lucas Jr. while head coach Stephen Silas was away from the team following the death of his father, long-time NBA player and coach Paul Silas.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points and 18 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 25 points, and 8 assists and Bobby Portis added 17 points and 15 rebounds.

In the loss against the Lakers, it was too much Anthony Davis and no one was available to stop him though the Bucks roster was healthy minus Joe Ingles who wouldn’t have made a difference either. AD was in that “The Brow” zone on both ends of the court offensively and defensively.

Anthony Davis’s stat line was 44 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks.

LeBron James had a great game as well while passing Magic Johnson on the NBA’s career assists list. James increased his career assist total and moved into sixth place, ahead of Johnson’s 10,133.

James finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists on his historic night.

“It was a beautiful night,” said Ham. It was Darvin Ham’s first game in Milwaukee since taking over as Lakers head coach after working as an assistant on Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer’s staff from 2018-22. Ham also played in Milwaukee from 1999-2002.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 40 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.

It was the 2022-23 debut of Khris Middleton, who had 17 points and 7 assists in his return from offseason wrist surgery.

Jrue Holiday had 28 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 1 steal, and Bobby Portis added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks. Brook Lopez added 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion with this Bucks deep dive, the Bucks will be just fine going forward. What we see with the Bucks is what it appears as, the Milwaukee Bucks is the best team in the NBA.

The Bucks have the best record in the NBA and it’s by no surprise.

Giannis is playing like the “Greek Freak” we fell in love with as a player, unstoppable, unguardable, and the best most dominant player in the world. Top 5 in the early MVP talk.

Jrue Holiday is continuing to show why he’s one of the premier defenders and two-way players in the league.

Brook Lopez is continuing his dominance and protecting the paint as one of the league’s best shot blockers entertaining being NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year while Bobby Portis continues making his case for Sixth Man of the Year averaging a double-double.

Milwaukee must tighten up its defense in the paint though. Being outscored in points in the paint by close to a hundred points in their three losses to the Lakers, Rockets, and Grizzlies is something important to correct but something to pay great attention to going forward.

I have the Bucks going 4-2 in their next six games closing out the year 2022 on a positive note.

CAREER MILESTONE FACT:

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored his 15,000th career point in the second quarter against the Houston Rockets.

Follow Melo on Twitter/Instagram: @_MeloWilliams