Surging Bucks Finding Identity in Festive Week

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Sergio Estrada Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

As we move closer to the Holiday season, the Milwaukee Bucks have quietly started to turn a corner to power their way to a 15-10 record highlighted by a pair of three-game win streaks over the last seven games. Over the past week, Milwaukee not only took care of business against the Pistons, Mavericks and Jazz at home, but they also celebrated some birthdays in the process with Giannis turning 23 last Wednesday, Eric Bledsoe turning 28 on Saturday and reigning Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon most recently turning 25 on Monday.

After an inconsistent November that left a lot of questions surrounding their defensive scheme and team identity as a whole, the Deer may have found some answers. Yes, it has a lot to do with the Greek Freak playing at an MVP level averaging 29.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists with an impressive PER of 31.21 only behind James Harden (31.65) and LeBron James (31.79). While Milwaukee would be nowhere without the Greek Freak, the acquisition of Eric Bledsoe has given this team that extra gear to vault them to the next level. After a slow start offensively, Bledsoe, the self-proclaimed pit-bull, is now averaging 18 points, 4.2 assists, 4 rebounds and 2.1 steals while shooting 36.1% from three over the last seven games. His tenacity and grit on both ends of the floor has really made the move pay off and finally given Jason Kidd exactly what he’s been coveting at the point guard position.

All Good Things Come in Threes

While the chemistry between Giannis and Bledsoe has been evident, it would be nothing without the play of Khris Middleton, who has rightfully earned his spot as the third member of the marquee three. Middleton has brought his game up to another level since Bledsoe has arrived by averaging 20.8 points per game in the last 15 games and has scored at least 19 points or more in the last seven games. Khash looks a lot more comfortable out there as of late and hasn’t had to force the issue offensively, which has allowed him to get back to playing at a higher level on the defensive end of the floor. Milwaukee hasn’t had a true “Big Three” since the Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson days, but it’s finally coming to fruition with the EKG, KEG, KGB, BAM, GEM, etc. Whatever you want to call them – personally I like EKG – it’s a lot of fun to watch these guys go out there and feed off each other on a nightly basis. Not to mention, they are the highest scoring trio in the East at 65.2 ppg and second overall in the NBA behind the Golden State Warriors trio at 73.1 ppg. When you have to worry about three guys at all times, it’s going to be pretty difficult to find a way to stop them especially when one those guys is an MVP candidate.

Change is Good

Over the course of Kidd’s tenure, he’s had a stubbornness about him with how he goes about his defensive scheme. With all the length he has to work with, it seemed like a good idea to have an over-aggressive approach to double and trap when necessary, but it got to a point where it left the Bucks too vulnerable from the three-point line leaving way too many open shooters in the process. Teams would have a field day. Sure, I talked about just having more energy and effort at times to get out to shooters, but that can only get you so far. This is where discipline comes into play and using that length more to their advantage. The Bucks were trying too hard to overcome their issues instead of taking a step back and looking at the issues from a different angle. Here’s an interesting snippet from the Jazz broadcast last Saturday that suggested Kidd and the Bucks have indeed made some changes.

The Deer are slowly treading toward having a respectable defense once again as they did earlier in Kidd’s tenure in Milwaukee. I can’t mention it enough but the arrival of a guy like Bledsoe has surely been the missing link in getting Milwaukee back to where it wants to be. His presence alone has made everything that much easier for everyone. It sounds too good to be true, but at 11-4 since the trade, the Deer are simply better than they were over a month ago.

Staying Hungry

While winning six of their last seven has been fun, their sense of urgency must remain intact. They’ve taken care of business with their schedule as of late and have had three days to recover before another three games in four days stretch that starts tonight in New Orleans against the Pelicans' Anthony Davis and Boogie Cousins. While they play the 6-20 Chicago Bulls and 10-16 Charlotte Hornets twice each over the next two weeks, they have tough games against the Houston Rockets, who have won 16 of their last 17 games, the 20-8 Cleveland Cavaliers, and the 16-12 Minnesota Timberwolves mixed in. Judging by the way they’ve committed to being more disciplined defensively along with establishing a consistent balance with their big three offensively, Milwaukee has a chance to make some noise as 2017 comes to an end.