Milwaukee Bucks: 3 goals for Eric Bledsoe in 2018-19

3. Don’t get lost on defense

In general goals should be defined, measurable and realistic, and the above struggles to hit all three of those. Yet what needs to be captured is that for Bledsoe to help this team move to the next level, he needs to find a way to be more consistent as a perimeter defender.

Whether fighting through screens, chasing a player through cuts or simply not falling asleep, Bledsoe has enormous room for improvement. On-ball he often leverages his length and foot speed to shut down opposing ball-handlers, and he has the tools to be a strong team defender in many regards. Yet, simply put, he isn’t.

Per NBA.com’s tracking data, opponents shot 3.7 percent higher on 3-pointers when guarded by Bledsoe than they did otherwise. With Bled as the primary defender they shot 39.9 percent from distance on 4.3 attempts per game.

Whether he was guarding on the ball or off it, opponents exploited this again and again. This weakness was thrown onto highlight reels during the playoffs when Terry Rozier stole his lunch money in Milwaukee’s Game 1 loss.

This was a major component of his negative impact on defense, per plus-minus, despite putting up elite steal numbers. He finished third in the NBA in total steals, steals per game and steal percentage. Bledsoe has the tools. If he can study film, drill fundamentals into his brain and tone down his mental mistakes, the Bucks will be significantly better for it.