Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen and Giannis Antetokounmpo have all missed stretches to begin the season. That’s the Milwaukee Bucks’ core rotation of players, four of their starting five, yet somehow the team still sits at 4-5 on the season.
Sure, there’s been some tough losses along the way, like their loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 28th. While there hasn’t been a statement win, the Milwaukee Bucks can look back on their opening night victory over the Brooklyn Nets as a reminder of how high their ceiling is.
Many are already looking towards the Milwaukee Bucks’ struggles and writing them off as contenders this season, without contextualizing the struggles their roster is working through. You wouldn’t expect the roster to be firing on all cylinders while their starting five have either missed every game, or a large portion of them. You only have to look at the Los Angeles Lakers’ recent struggles for further confirmation that some of the Milwaukee Bucks losses have simply been out of their control.
Mike Budenholzer’s principal based offense has eased the injury burden
There are two types of coaches in the NBA, one that implements a structured scheme, and another that develops a set of principals in which their team works under/towards. Mike Budenholzer falls in the principle-based category, and has the Milwaukee Bucks playing an unpredictable brand of both offense and defense, just look at Giannis operating at the five in the playoffs as an example.
The key difference between a schematic-based approach and a principled one is that the former is heavily predicated on star players being available, as the scheme is heavily built around their skillset. A principled based approach doesn’t cater for an individual, but rather, the collective, and as such, players missing time has less of an impact.
Think back to Phil Jackson’s Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers teams, sure, they were littered with star talent, but the triangle offense was deeply rooted in principles, and ensured that when players missed games, the outlook of the team remained the same.
Now think back to the Milwaukee Bucks games you’ve seen this year, and ask yourself, does their offensive and defensive approach resemble the one you would see when their starting core is all healthy? The answer is a resounding yes. And that’s why - despite their injury problems, the Milwaukee Bucks sit at one game under .500 at the time of writing - the coach has positioned his roster to remain competitive in the face of adversity.
If you’re looking for another example, cast your eyes on the Toronto Raptors and their overachievment to start the season. Nick Nurse is an innovator who bends the concepts of traditional basketball, yet his coaching style is rooted in principles, so, despite Pascal Siakam missing the start of the season and Kyle Lowry heading to South Beach, his team just keeps on rolling.
Don’t sleep on the Milwaukee Bucks
Let’s get this straight. The Milwaukee Bucks aren’t a bad team, in fact, they’re one of the best teams in the league - hence why they’re the current champions. Alas, the NBA is a “what have you done for me lately” type of deal, and fans around the association will only see the struggles and not care about the underlying reasons.
Yet, ask yourself, if the team, down to bare bones, can still remain reasonably competitive, then what happens when they return to full strength? Don’t forget, Giannis’ shot has been revamped, and the big-three now have a full season of playing time together under their belt. It won’t be long until the Milwaukee Bucks are back at full strength, and then they’re going to be making up for lost time.
So, while the Milwaukee Bucks may not be leading the Eastern Conference finals, and may have lost some games that made you raise your eyebrows, remember, this is a team operating with its second and third string players and still remaining competitive. There’s every reason to expect another conference finals run for this team, it’s a long season, and we’re miles away from seeing the Milwaukee Bucks at their best.
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