Milwaukee Bucks: 5 steps they must take to reach the NBA Finals

Find a perimeter defender who can slow down elite scorers

Next year, the competition in the East Conference is only going to get tougher. Here’s the elephant in the room: The Brooklyn Nets are adding Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to a roster that’s already full of young talent. Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie are both All-Stars if put in the right situation, and Jarrett Allen is a promising young center who can easily remind opponents of his veteran teammate, DeAndre Jordan.

What does Milwaukee need to slow down this potential powerhouse? The answer is elite perimeter defense. Yes, Antetokounmpo is the reigning defensive player of the year, but Miami doesn’t have anyone who’s known as a lock-down on-ball defender, the way Kawhi Leonard was just a few years ago.

The Bucks play tremendous team defense. Brook Lopez’s defensive communications and weak-side rotations, combined with Giannis’ chase-down blocks and length, help to reduce opponents’ shooting percentages a great deal. However, their best perimeter defender is George Hill, who’s a little undersized to guard some of the elite perimeter scorers in the league.

Hill’s former teammate, Paul George, was once known as one of the best on-ball defenders in the league. If the Bucks face Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, or Kevin Durant in the playoffs, they’ll have to find someone on the roster willing to take on that assignment and personally be held responsible for slowing down an elite scorer.

If management takes inventory and decides there’s no one who currently fits that description in the locker room, an offseason move to acquire that kind of player will have to be made. The rise in competition makes this move a necessity for Milwaukee to have a shot at making the Finals.