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Milwaukee Bucks: Who is in consideration for 2018-19 NBA awards?

By Josh Cornelissen

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images /
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Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images /

All-Defensive First and Second Team

In contention: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez

Much of the conversation around the Milwaukee rise to dominance this season has focused on the offense, and understandably so. What Mike Budenholzer has on that end is both unique and noteworthy, but this masks the fact that the Bucks are even better on defense.

Lopez drops back to seal off the paint, the key to the entire operation. His size and instincts put him between any driver and the rim, and no team is better than the Bucks at limiting paint touches. Yet Lopez does not have the gaudy block and steal totals to push past options at center such as Joel Embiid and Myles Turner to make it onto the Second Team behind Rudy Gobert.

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    • With Lopez in front of the rim, Antetokounmpo plays free safety, roaming off less dangerous offensive options to block shots and deflect passes. His wingspan is terrifying, and he can use it to smother an offensive player on-ball or come soaring in for a weak-side block off-ball. He is a defensive force and will certainly receive recognition — potentially even as Defensive Player of the Year.

    Bledsoe is almost a lock to make an All-Defensive team as well. He has terrorized opposing ball-handlers on the perimeter, knowing he has the protection of Lopez and Antetokounmpo behind him. His marquee moment came against the Houston Rockets when he executed a bold yet effective scheme guarding James Harden.

    Antetokounmpo will be a First Team forward on the All-Defensive team, most likely joining Paul George and Rudy Gobert as frontcourt selections. The guards are less certain, but Bledsoe deserves to be on the First Team. Lopez won’t make it, but has been an excellent defender all season long.

    Picks: First Team — Eric Bledsoe (G),  Marcus Smart (G), Giannis Antetokounmpo (F), Paul George (F), Rudy Gobert (C); Second Team — Jrue Holiday (G), Patrick Beverley (G), Pascal Siakam (F), Draymond Green (F), Myles Turner (C)

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