Milwaukee Bucks: 4 ways Mike Budenholzer will improve the team

2. Strong defense

While Hawks University has the best branding, Budenholzer is best known for coaching consistently good defenses year after year. Coming from San Antonio, he could see the importance of a consistent defense and how that influences sustainable success, so he brought that to Atlanta with him.

His first season with the Hawks they ranked 14th in the league in defensive rating, and then for three straight seasons no lower than sixth. This was accomplished despite never having a true rim protector on the backline, instead playing mobile bigs such as Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Mike Scott and Mike Muscala.

Milwaukee has bigs that don’t protect the rim, but they also have John Henson and Thon Maker at center who provide that long rim protection. Maker in particular showed in the team’s playoff series with Boston that when he is locked in, shots around the rim rarely find their way in. If he can develop Maker into the player he has the potential to become, he could once again helm a top-five defense.

The talent is there in Milwaukee, from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton at the forward positions and a host of defensive options in the backcourt in Tony Snell, Malcolm Brogdon and Matthew Dellavedova. This team was never best deployed in Jason Kidd’s hyper-aggressive defensive scheme, and Budenholzer has the opportunity to turn these skilled pieces into a dominant defensive force.