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Milwaukee Bucks: Eric Bledsoe debut a taste of what’s to come

By Josh Cornelissen

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 10: Eric Bledsoe #6 of the Milwaukee Bucks goes for a lay up against the San Antonio Spurs on November 10, 2017 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photos by Mark Sobhani/NBAE via Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 10: Eric Bledsoe #6 of the Milwaukee Bucks goes for a lay up against the San Antonio Spurs on November 10, 2017 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photos by Mark Sobhani/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Milwaukee Bucks picked up a big win in Eric Bledsoe’s debut. How does his performance give us a taste of how he will make the Bucks better?

The Milwaukee Bucks were not given the opportunity to ease Eric Bledsoe into what they were doing as a team. There was no cupcake on the schedule to allow Bledsoe to gain some familiarity with his new teammates. The San Antonio Spurs loomed.

However, that may have been to the Bucks’ benefit, allowing Bledsoe to leap directly into the fire in his first game with the team. Against the stout defense San Antonio offers, Bledsoe was given the opportunity to show how he can help this team be great — and he did just that.

Tuesday it was announced that point guard Eric Bledsoe would be heading to Milwaukee in exchange for center Greg Monroe and draft assets. The trade was a resounding win for the Bucks, both in terms of value and of Bledsoe’s fit with their roster. But the trade was not finalized until later that day, which meant Bledsoe’s only chance to practice was at Friday morning’s shootaround.

The game was tailor-made for media coverage, a national television game set up long before anyone knew Bledsoe would be a Buck — and would make his debut in front of a national audience. Milwaukee won the game 94-87 on the road in San Antonio, with Bledsoe playing a positive role in the victory.

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Although the newly acquired point guard, playing in his first game since Oct. 21, was only supposed to play around 20 minutes, in the end he was on the court for 29 high-leverage minutes, minutes where the Bucks outscored the Spurs by 10 points.

A win over a perennial contender on the road is valuable, but it is even more so for what it shows us about how the Bucks will use Bledsoe moving forward, and how he can help this team reach a much greater level of play than before.

First, Bledsoe made his biggest impact in transition, where he and Giannis Antetokounmpo were absolutely deadly. The best play of the night came in the second quarter when Bledsoe got free on the fast break and lobbed it up to his new teammate.

Coming into the contest against the Spurs — the “pre-Bledsoe” era — the Bucks were averaging 9.7 fastbreak points per game, right around middle of the pack in the league. With Bledsoe the team dropped 19 fast break points on the Spurs.

The point guard himself had two assists and two baskets of his own in transition, and the team flourished in the open court against the Spurs. Malcolm Brogdon brings a lot to the table, but Bledsoe’s ability to push the ball is going to open up easy scoring opportunities for a team that already boasts the league’s most unstoppable transition player in Antetokounmpo.

Speaking of Antetokounmpo, we see another reason Bledsoe is going to help the Bucks win basketball games. His length and tenacity at the point of attack will bother opposing ball-handlers and help to force the turnovers that spark those transition opportunities, such as this incredible play by Antetokounmpo:

With Bledsoe, Brogdon, Tony Snell and Matthew Dellavedova rotating backcourt minutes, this team will always have a pair of long, tenacious defenders on the court. There is no longer an easily exploitable matchup for opposing guards.

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Finally, Bledsoe’s ability to create offense is opening up opportunities for other players. On numerous occasions he would drive into the teeth of the defense, forcing rotations that freed up openings for Khris Middleton and even Tony Snell to shoot or dribble-drive from the perimeter.

This occurred both when he shared the court with Antetokounmpo and when he didn’t. The 1-4 pick-and-roll with the two players forced the entire defense to contract, freeing up perimeter shots. Teams have to guard Bledsoe much more carefully than Brogdon, and that created openings for the rest of the team.

Late in the game Bledsoe offered a third offensive option, forcing the Spurs into a pick-your-poison situation. When the Spurs doubled Giannis the ball swung to Bledsoe, who drove in and hit a jumper in the lane. A few seconds later the Spurs shifted to stop a Bledsoe drive, which freed up Middleton to take a lightly contested jumper in his sweet spot to put the game away.

In the end, the Bucks have only played one game with Eric Bledsoe, and it was against a San Antonio Spurs team playing without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker. But with just an hour-long shootaround under their belts, this team already looks more dynamic with Bledsoe on the court.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: 5 reasons the Eric Bledsoe trade was a win

Over the course of the season, his ability to excel in transition, defend on the wing and create offense will raise up the Bucks to a higher level. There is still a lot of time for things to settle in, but the early returns are very promising on his Milwaukee career.

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