Damian Lillard’s “lazy” defense can cost the Milwaukee Bucks the NBA title, says report

Could Damian Lillard's lax defense be what costs the Milwaukee Bucks the NBA title this season?

© John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks’ defense has been awful to start the season, with the team ranking 25th in defensive rating. Even though that is to be expected with the departures of defensive ace Jrue Holiday and rugged wingman Grayson Allen, nobody really thought the team’s defense would be this bad.

While the blame isn’t all on Lillard, it can’t be denied that his lackluster effort on that end of the floor is creating a huge problem. Unfortunately, it looks like the Bucks will be in for a long season if they don’t figure out how to stop opponents from scoring at will.

Always been a bad defender

Lillard will never be mistaken for Gary Payton or Marcus Smart, but he’s always been a liability on that end of the court. He often gets beat off the dribble and isn’t particularly attentive to his defensive assignments. 

For all of his explosive offensive exploits, he tends to take plays off on defense. While that may have been excused in Portland, Damian's misgivings on defense are magnified on a title-chasing squad like the Bucks.

“We've always known, of course, that Lillard was a bad defender. But in Portland, where he long basked in the honeymoon glow of small-market loyalty and where he benefited from the plethora of built-in excuses afforded him (Neil Olshey never gave him any help!), he was never held accountable for the significant part of his defense, or lack thereof, played in that team never becoming a true contender,” Brad Botkin of CBS Sports wrote.

“It will be different in Milwaukee, where early returns have been shockingly bad.”

Lack of effort

Lillard defensive shortcomings stem from a lack of effort. As the clip above shows, Dame gets behind Toronto Raptors guard Dennis Schroder and rather than sprint to get into a better defensive position, he just jogs, which eventually leads to the latter issuing a pass to Jakob Poetl for an easy dunk.

“What is most troubling is the effort stuff. Even if Lillard is physically limited as a defender, and even if (Adrian) Griffin's system is a mess, he has to work harder,” Botkin added.

“At the moment, to suggest Lillard is uncommitted to playing defense would be an understatement. In reality, the guy is playing some of the laziest, flat-out worst defense of his career, and that is really saying something for a guy who has always been a pretty apathetic defender. It's been borderline disgraceful at times.”

The Bucks were ranked 4th on defense with Jrue Holiday last season. They’re ranked 25th with Damian Lillard this season.

Dame is playing career-worst defense and is ranked 333rd in individual defensive rating.

Milwaukee's offensive rating is worse than last season too, while… pic.twitter.com/Bkpmy0iEXN

— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) November 6, 2023

Damian Lillard says their patience is being tested early in the season