OKC Thunder: NBA Power Rankings week 10 – All-Star break edition
21-13. Previous: . Milwaukee Bucks. 7. team. 89.
Milwaukee Bucks:
Week 10: 3-0
Won vs: Wolves 139-112, Pelicans 129-125, Clippers 105-100
Opponents this week: Nuggets, Grizzlies
Offensive Rating: 117.7 (1st) | Defensive Rating: 110 (11th) | Net Differential: +7.8 (2nd)
The Bucks followed up the five-game losing streak with their five-game (and counting ) win streak. Helping the cause is four of those teams are sub .500 teams and only the Clippers possessed a winning record.
In fact, I’m not sure this iteration of the Bucks is better. One improvement is Jrue Holiday who is a definite upgrade over Eric Bledsoe. But getting Holiday (and losing out on Bogdan Bogdanovic because of collusion issues) cost the Bucks much of their depth. Furthermore, Brook Lopez has lost a step and while Donte DiVincenzo is growing he’s not consistent or capable of providing what George Hill or Malcolm Brogdon did prior.
The criticism of Coach Budenholzer entering the season was his inability to adapt and make the necessary tweaks in the postseason. Although Giannis Antetokounmpo has stated the losses are helping Milwaukee grow as they tweak things it’s hard to isolate major differences in this season versus last season. Small defensive changes are happening but the offense remains almost identical.
The recent five-game losing streak is the first for the Bucks since the 2016-17 season. Holiday was missing for those games as part of his 10 game absence. On a broader scale, there are signs the Bucks have trouble beating elite squads.
Looking at the full season the Bucks have a 6-11 record against the teams currently on the playoff ladder. When they return from the break, of their 36 remaining games 19 are against the current playoff seeds.