Milwaukee Bucks And Their Issue With Spacing

The Milwaukee Bucks were the NBA’s best kept secret. A collection of long-armed mutants no upper-echelon, top-five team in the Eastern Conference wanted to face in the first round.

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Their identity was firmly implanted. They were going to spread you out, get to the basket, hit you with a barrage of threes, and suffocate you with their unrelenting length.

Sure enough, for the season, the Bucks are ranked second in defense, sporting a defensive rating of 99.1, sixth in assist percentage as a team at 62.2 percent, and third in 3-point percentage, making 37.2 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc, per NBA.com.

Decision Matrix

However, Milwaukee had a decision to make. They were going to, either, (a) play out the rest of the season with their highly synergistic pre-All-Star break roster, and decide Brandon Knight‘s future with the team during the offseason, or (b) guarantee themselves a sizable return for Knight by dealing their leading scorer at the NBA trade deadline.

More specifically, Knight was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer; and for all intents and purposes, he was going to receive a contract offer ranging somewhere along the lines of a four-year, $50 million deal.

Accordingly, the Bucks sold high on Knight — and in return, they received Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis, and Miles Plumlee.

While Knight led Milwaukee in points per game (17.8), assists per game (5.4), and minutes per game (32.5) on a scorching 40.9 percent from behind the 3-point line (on nearly five attempts per game), he often frustrated the Bucks’ brass with his stubborn tunnel vision and ill-advised shot selection.

Explicitly, despite averaging a credible amount of assists, Knight also turned the ball over a great deal (3.2 per game). In fact, the Bucks, as a team, are second to last in the association in turnover percentage, per NBA.com.

In acquiring Carter-Williams, the Bucks and coach Jason Kidd received a lead guard in the mold of a classic point. The similarities between MCW and a young J-Kidd are inherently there. Specifically, both are gargantuan point guards who dish a high volume of assists, grab an inordinate amount of rebounds for their position, and brick open Js at an unfathomable rate.

While playing for the worst offense in the league this year in Philadelphia, Carter-Williams still managed to average more than seven assists a game. However, he is prone to giving away the ball as well, turning it over roughly four times per contest.

But, unlike the team’s former starting guard, shooting has always been MCW’s kryptoknight (pun intended).

As such, by trading away Brandon, an acclimation period was expected for newly renovated Bucks. In particular, floor spacing was surely going to be a glaring issue.

Chiefly, MCW is a career 25.8 percent 3-point shooter. More alarmingly, he’s scoring on a TS% (true shooting percentage) of 45.2 percent this season, and converts on an anemic 66.0 percent of his attempts at the charity stripe.

In this day and age, it is hard to be an effective lead guard without an above-average 3-point stroke and/or the ability to get to line and make free throws at a respectable clip.

The Aftermath

Not surprisingly, when paired with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ pre-All-Star break strengths on offense have been thoroughly eradicated.

Sure enough, since their ballyhooed trade deadline deal, the Bucks have gone just 3-7. What’s more concerning is that Milwaukee has boasted the league’s second-worst offense during the stretch, while attempting fewer threes (18.6 per game vs. 17.1 per game) and converting them at a lower rate (37.3 percent vs 33.1 percent), per NBA.com.

With MCW at the point of attack, the Bucks’ defense has sustained its stifling pace. In fact, they’re causing a higher volume of turnovers with their newly formed army of pterodactyls.

The pairing of Carter-Williams and Antetokounmpo has given the Bucks length for days, especially when teamed in a lineup alongside their long-limbed brethren, Khris Middleton and John Henson. However, their offense has suffered as a remittance by replacing Knight at the point with MCW and Jerryd Bayless.

Defenses can most often completely disregard and sag off two perimeter Bucks at any given time, and in turn, crowd the paint. Take for instance, the following play:

On this play, the Bucks run a wing isolation for Giannis, hoping to exploit his advantage in size against the New Orleans Pelicans’ Tyreke Evans.

Milwaukee has made a habit out of capitalizing off of individual mismatches this season. In fact, they run the 10th-most isolation sets of any team in the league this year, per NBA.com’s SportVU Data.

Not surprisingly, the Pelicans clog the lane; thereby, providing Evans with plenty of backline help.

Antetokounmpo, in turn, opts to back Evans in before slashing into the teeth of the defense. However, in an effort to discourage a Giannis shot attempt, Anthony Davis is in prime hard dig position, while Omer Asik is a step away from protecting the rim.

Meanwhile, Eric Gordon completely sags off of MCW as he anticipates the kickout to Ersan Ilyasova. Likewise, Quincy Pondexter is an arm’s length away from running the deadly Middleton, stationing at the opposite corner, off of the 3-point line.

As a result, Giannis is forced to kick it back out to Ilyasova. But, because MCW is such a non-threat from beyond the arc, his man scrambles at Ersan, making his attempt a highly contested one as the shot clock winds down.

Potential Remedy

The Bucks have shown signs of alleviating their current spacing woes with timely cuts and crisp ball movement. To effectively to do so, however, it is incumbent upon both MCW and the Greek Freak to move with a relentless motor and play off of big man, Zaza Pachulia, in the high post.

Glimpses, like the following example, have given the Bucks’ brass hope that their offensive shortcomings can quickly turn around in time for the stretch run:

Once again, the Bucks identify the mismatch in the post with Ilyasova guarded by the much smaller Gordon.

As Ersan backs down and drop-steps towards the baseline, he is met by the Pelicans’ resident rim protector, Asik.

While this is happening, the paint is, once again, incredibly clogged. However, Giannis dives down the middle of the lane; thus, taking Pondexter’s attention away from MCW and onto the hard-cutting Antetokounmpo.

It is worth noting, however, Middleton is wide open, but Ilyasova misses him.

As the play develops, Ilyasova makes the cross court pass to MCW. Meanwhile, Pachulia judiciously flashes to the mid-post area and receives the pass from a leaping Carter-Williams.

Thereafter, MCW immediately backdoors his man, while Zaza delivers a timely and on-point bounce pass.

Consequently, Asik has to come over and help once again, thereby causing Gordon to sink down to help the helper on Giannis. As a result, the ball swings back to Ilyasova for an uncontested three, in which he calmly makes.

Looking At The Grand Scheme Of Things

There is no denying that the Bucks would have been better off this year sticking with Knight. For better or for worse, they would have avoided this period of roster acclimation and offensive awkwardness.

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Behind the Buck Pass

It is worth noting, though, that O.J. Mayo, a 35.5 percent 3-point shooter this season, has missed six of the Bucks’ last seven contests. In addition, Jared Dudley has cooled off considerably since his unconscious start to the 2014-15 campaign.

But looking long-term, the Bucks, by all accounts, made the right decision.

Chiefly, MCW has two years left on his cap-friendly rookie contract; therefore, giving the Bucks the opportunity and extended time to assess how he meshes with their franchise’s cornerstones in Antetokounmpo and the injured Jabari Parker.

More importantly, it gives the Bucks the financial flexibility it needs to resign restricted free agent to be, Khris Middleton, this offseason. Not only has Middleton established himself as an elite outside shooter, he fits perfectly with Milwaukee’s plus-size ideals by serving as the team’s starting shooting guard.

At 6-foot-8 (in shoes), equipped with a 6-foot-11 wingspan, Middleton is also a capable post player at the two and is one of the best wing defenders in the NBA this season.

Playing primarily in a position of scarcity, it becomes abundantly clear as to why The Love of Money by the O’Jays is blasted across the Bradley Center’s PA system every time Middleton sinks a timely trey.

For now, the Bucks are still poised to make the playoffs, thanks in large part to the dire state of the Eastern Conference. Such an experience will undoubtedly be invaluable for their core of youngsters going forward.

While their floor spacing will continue to be a concerning issue for the foreseeable future, their staunch defense and hoards of intriguing prospects should have Bucks fans everywhere beaming with hope.

Next: 5 Likely First Time NBA All-Stars Next Season

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