Milwaukee Bucks fall to no. 7 in The Athletic’s Power Rankings

The Bucks' defensive shortcomings are keeping them from realizing their potential.

© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The spotlight has been on the Milwaukee Bucks’ struggles to start the season. Having seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard in the lineup has raised their offensive ceiling and, at the same time, adversely impacted their defense. As a result, Milwaukee has limped to a 7-4 start, prompting The Athletic to drop them three places in this week’s NBA Power Rankings.

Adjustment period

The Bucks’ front office knew their defense would take a step back when they swapped Jrue Holiday out for Lillard. However, little did they know it would be this bad. With a defensive rating of 116.0, which ranks 25th in the entire league, the Bucks’ defense is so atrocious that even superstar Giannis Antetokoumpo wished they’d get to face defenses like theirs more.

“I wish we were being guarded that way,” Giannis said.

The Athletic’s Zach Harper believes, though, the Bucks will turn things around at some point, given the learning curve needed to adjust to new personnel and the system of first-time coach Adrian Griffin.

“This is still an adjustment to new personnel and a new coach’s system. The Bucks shouldn’t be this bad all season,” Harper wrote.

The Bucks defense is allowing opponents to score 1.1 points per pick-and-roll, the 3rd-worst in the NBA.

Milwaukee ranked 2nd last year, per @SynergySST.

It's a long season ahead to figure it out but what a rough start for the defense under new head coach Adrian Griffin. pic.twitter.com/xPE7kRX9Sl

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 13, 2023

Awful defense

After authoring wins over the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls, the Bucks lost two straight to the Indiana Pacers and the Orlando Magic. Even with Giannis’ greatness on full display against the Pacers—the Greek Freak tallied 54 points—the Bucks’ defense, or lack thereof, couldn’t stop Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin from scoring crucial points.

All this points back to the front office’s decision to swap out its tough-defending backcourt of Jrue, Grayson Allen, and Jevon Carter for a more offensive-focused Lillard, Malik Beasley, and Cam Payne.

Milwaukee Bucks Defense so far :

- 6th Worst Defensive Rating
- 9th Worst Def.Rting in History
- 25th in Opponent's PPG
- 24th in DFG%
- 29th in Rebounds Per Game

And still a 5-3 Record, imagine when they figure it out... pic.twitter.com/y6k67SK7Ql

— Bucks Muse (@BucksMuse) November 10, 2023

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