Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo sitting out this preseason after a positive test for COVID-19, the Milwaukee Bucks picked up their second win in as many games with a 117-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Fiserv Forum on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Starting shooting guard AJ Green led the Bucks in scoring with 22 points in 22 minutes, going a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the 3-point line and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Off the bench, Cole Anthony put together a strong performance running the show for the Bucks with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists in 18 minutes.<\/p>\n
Coach Doc Rivers played all 19 active players, and both teams turned to their deep reserves in the final quarter, so the game still felt more like a preseason game than a real test run for the regular season. The Bucks will be back in action again on Sunday (6 p.m. CT) against the Chicago Bulls, and Antetokounmpo has told Rivers that he would like to play the final two preseason games. But Rivers has said he might not end up allowing that approach.<\/p>\n
Before looking ahead, though, let\u2019s take a look back at Thursday\u2019s game against the Pistons. With three quarters of basketball played primarily between the team\u2019s rostered players, here are three takeaways:<\/p>\n
AJ Green shooting with confidence<\/p>\n
A sly grin overtook Green\u2019s face as the details of his second 3-pointer were described to him after Thursday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
Twenty-five-footer. Four seconds into the shot clock. Off one pass.<\/p>\n
Is that the type of shot Rivers has been encouraging him to shoot?<\/p>\n
\u201cDoc just wants everybody to play confident and play their game,\u201d Green said. \u201cAnd he preaches that over and over. So that\u2019s just one of those moments. You\u2019re just in the game and you\u2019re just playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through two preseason games, Green has best embodied the Bucks\u2019 stated preference of shooting more 3s.<\/p>\n
Green has attempted 13 3s in 40 minutes of preseason action. That would be 11.8 3-point attempts per 36 minutes, a rate that would exceed his career-high 3-point rate of 11 attempts per 36 in his rookie season of 2022-23, when he played 345 minutes while trying to become a full-time NBA player.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what he does,\u201d Rivers said of Green\u2019s high 3-point attempt rate so far. \u201cHe\u2019s good at it. I think it\u2019s going to be an interesting year for him and Gary (Trent Jr.) because I think on some nights, it\u2019s going to be both of them. But on many nights, it\u2019s going to be one or the other that gets a lot of shots, and either way we\u2019re happy, because they\u2019re both great shooters.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the interesting developments with Rivers playing both of his potential high-volume 3-point shooters together is that Green and Trent have shown a willingness to make the extra pass to each other.<\/p>\n
As the Bucks worked against a zone from the Pistons on this possession midway through the first quarter, no one in the organization would have been upset with Green hoisting an above-the-break 3. Instead, Green made one more pass to get Trent an even more open catch-and-shoot 3 for one of Trent\u2019s two 3-pointers on the night.<\/p>\n
As Trent tracked down this loose ball created by a blocked shot off the backboard in the second quarter, he could have forced something up to avoid a shot-clock violation. Instead, he showed great composure and found Green a wide-open catch-and-shoot 3.<\/p>\n
While a green light from the 3-point line and making the extra pass might seem like contradictory ideas, Green said this was the obvious basketball play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just that trust of, it\u2019s only going to help both of us,\u201d Green said. \u201cIf he shoots it, I\u2019m not complaining that he shot it. And if I shoot it, I know he\u2019s not complaining. But the fact that we could get a 42 percent look or you can swing it one more and you got a 60 percent look for a guy. I think playing that way is only going to open up more shots and continue to build that trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bobby Portis playing more aggressive defense<\/p>\n
Throughout training camp, the Bucks have discussed playing more aggressive defense this season. The focus of those discussions has often been perimeter defense with increased ball pressure from the guards and making it more difficult for opponents to bring the ball up the floor.<\/p>\n
For the Bucks to force teams to play against increased defensive pressure, however, the approach will need to be more holistic. All five players will need to be involved, and that is where the bigs enter the conversation.<\/p>\n
With Brook Lopez on the roster, the Bucks\u2019 base pick-and-roll defense was almost always going to be some variation of drop coverage. Myles Turner is an excellent rim protector, so they may continue to use some drop coverage with him, but his quickness will allow the Bucks to play differently than they have in the past. Turner\u2019s versatility will also make it easier for Rivers to let Portis do some of the things he is better at defensively as well. That was on display on Thursday vs. the Pistons.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great,\u201d Rivers said of putting Portis in more aggressive pick-and-roll defenses. \u201cWe even had him trap a couple times, which we really haven\u2019t even put in yet, because he has the ability to do that. He\u2019s actually better at that probably than any part of our pick-and-roll defense, so this plays right into his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Lopez and Antetokounmpo serving as the backbone of the defense in Portis\u2019 first five seasons in Milwaukee, the Bucks often leaned into a defensive scheme that accentuated their strengths. From there, Milwaukee\u2019s perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate would then need to find his way off the bench in a scheme built primarily to their strengths. The same will be true this season, but with Turner being more mobile and versatile than Lopez, the Bucks will likely play types of defense that Portis may be more comfortable executing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith our team, with the athleticism that we have, with the versatile guys that can do a lot of different things, it\u2019s going to be great for us just to be able to mix it up and do different things,\u201d Portis said. \u201cI like different, and new is sometimes good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan Rollins finding a balance defensively<\/p>\n
Throughout the preseason, Rivers has praised the defensive effort of Ryan Rollins. On Wednesday, Antetokounmpo shared his own praise of Rollins\u2019 defensive tenacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefensively, he\u2019s always solid, always going to get into the ball, always going to use his hands very, very well,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cHe\u2019s a great rebounder. He\u2019s definitely taking a step from last year, so I\u2019m excited. I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s going to be in the starting lineup or he\u2019s going to come off the bench, but he\u2019s definitely going to be a big piece of our team this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
That effort was apparent again on Thursday as Rollins consistently tipped passes and poked away the dribble of multiple Pistons, but making Detroit uncomfortable on the offensive end came with a price as Rollins fouled out of the game in just 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
Following the game, Rivers told reporters that he thought the fourth-year guard got caught up in an individual battle against Pistons guard Ausar Thompson, who drew four of the six fouls that the Bucks\u2019 bench guard committed. Ultimately, that one-on-one battle distracted Rollins from what the Bucks needed him to do and took him off the floor earlier than expected. Through two weeks of training camp, it\u2019s clear that the Bucks believe they need Rollins\u2019 grit and toughness off the bench, so this is the type of prideful battle he will need to avoid moving forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo sitting out this preseason after a positive test for COVID-19, the Milwaukee Bucks picked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[360,355,99],"class_list":["post-214383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}