Milwaukee Bucks: Balanced scoring attack leading to wins

The Milwaukee Bucks have a three-headed offensive attack that is finding its groove over the last week. That balance is leading to much needed wins.

The acquisition of Eric Bledsoe was supposed to propel the Milwaukee Bucks to higher heights. Along with MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and two-way wing Khris Middleton, the trio was expected to achieve greatness.

Early on that greatness stayed far off, and the team’s struggle to find its rhythm brought up a number of questions. Many of those questions are still demanding answers — whether this defensive scheme can be successful in the modern NBA, whether Jason Kidd can helm a top-tier team, whether the bench can survive when Antetokounmpo sits.

But after an up-and-down November where the Bucks struggled to assimilate Bledsoe, they have begun to find balance on offense. When Antetokounmpo missed a game against the Phoenix Suns, Middleton and Bledsoe scored 70 combined points (Middleton put up a game-high 40).

Then the last three games, all wins, have shown a Milwaukee offense that has discovered balance. Although two of those wins have come against the Sacramento Kings, the third was a road win against a strong Portland Trail Blazers team where all three of the Bucks’ stars stood out.

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In fact, each of the three wins has demonstrated that balance, a necessary ingredient to any team’s success. In the era of the super-team, success is found not in a single player’s dominance but in integrating multiple high-profile stars to find coexistence in the midst of everyone needing the ball.

Last week, the Bucks blew out the Sacramento Kings. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 32 points. The only other two players in double figures were Bledsoe and Middleton. The trio combined to shoot 66 percent from the field.

The Bucks next suited up in Portland, against one of the better teams in the Western Conference so far this season. Milwaukee led by 12 after the first quarter and maintained control throughout. This time Khris Middleton was the high-water mark with 26 points, while Bledsoe had 25 and Antetokounmpo chipped in 20.

The Bucks’ most recent win came Saturday, this time a home victory over the Kings. Antetokounmpo put up a monster line, scoring 33 points (17-of-22 from the stripe) along with 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Khris Middleton dropped in 25 points of his own, while Bledsoe had 19.

The Milwaukee Bucks are 8-3 since acquiring Bledsoe, a number that looks impressive on paper. But this team has struggled at times and shown huge warts, on both ends of the court. On offense at least, the team seems to be settling into a successful rhythm.

Antetokounmpo in particular has had to work at finding a balance with a new star in town. While this is still unquestionably his team, there has been a learning curve merging Bledsoe into the offense. Malcolm Brogdon is a sniper and an underrated playmaker, but he didn’t demand touches the way a player like Bledsoe (rightfully) does.

In the 10 games he played before the team traded for Bledsoe, Antetokounmpo scored at least 30 six different times, including 40+ twice. In the next eight games he broke 30 just once, a 33-point night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Over the last three games Antetokounmpo has found something of a groove, going for 30+ twice. He has done so by feasting at the line, shooting 43 free throws over that span — the most of any three-game sample for Giannis all season.

Likewise he has been a ballhawk on defense, cutting off passing lanes with his incredible wingspan. As Bledsoe has increased pressure at the point of attack, Antetokounmpo has been free to leap into the ball’s path and generate steals — the Scottie Pippen to Bledsoe’s Michael Jordan in a way. He has 11 steals in his last three games, again by far the highest for any three games he’s played this season.

Offensively Bledsoe has found his groove as well over the past few games. The past five games have been his five highest-scoring outputs as a Buck, including a season-high 30 points in Antetokounmpo’s absence against the Phoenix Suns. With Antetokounmpo on the court, Bledsoe has thrived over the past few games, including 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting in the Bucks’ road win over the Trail Blazers.

The groove is wide enough for three, as Middleton has been solid over the past three games too. After never shooting above 50 percent for three straight games all season, Middleton has done just that over his last three games, including a combined 19-for-32 (59 percent) for 25.5 points per game in his last two.

This is obviously an analysis of a very small sample, and one including two games against the Kings at that. But it also includes a strong win over a Portland team that has been dealing on defense. The Bucks put up points with a balanced scoring attack in all three games, averaging 108 points per contest.

Those three wins are banked, important chips in a tougher-than-expected Eastern Conference playoff race. Eleven teams in the East have double-digit wins, compared to just nine in the West; the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers, the Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers are all .500 or better in spite of preseason expectations to the contrary.

If this is the sign of something better, of a more potent Milwaukee offense fueled by their three stars, then the potential is there for the Bucks to rise up the Eastern Conference standings. Eight of Milwaukee’s next 12 games are at home, a key stretch where they need to accumulate wins before a more challenging January.

This team is talented, there is no doubt about it. We haven’t yet mentioned the injured Jabari Parker, the reigning Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, and the potential of something great in Thon Maker. But it has become clear that for this team to win, it needs its three current stars to step up.

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They have the past three games, and unsurprisingly, the Bucks have won those games. Can they keep up the balance and ball-sharing to continue winning games? Or will the balance break down and the offense suffer for it? While nothing is certain, the past three games have shown such a successful balance is both possible and effective.