Milwaukee Bucks: P.J. Tucker allows for a full embrace of small ball

The absence of tactical adjustments has been a well-documented shortcoming of the Milwaukee Bucks during the Mike Budenholzer era. None may be more frustrating than a seeming unwillingness to embrace the type of smaller lineups that offer the versatility that has been lacking in each of their last two postseason exits.

Downsizing and the numerous options it offers are key to championship-level success in the NBA today. Look no further than the most recent Finals matchup as the perfect reason why.

Swapping Meyers Leonard for Jae Crowder in the starting lineup allowed the Miami Heat to switch everything on defense and further embrace Bam Adebayo’s unique playmaking gifts on offense, sparking an unexpected Finals run. By having roughly 60 percent of Anthony Davis’ playoff minutes come as the lone big, the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have to sacrifice size and rim protection to earn more mobility and spacing en route to the title.

Only teams with the proper personnel can even think of making similar moves. With Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks in theory are one of them.

P.J. Tucker is the missing piece that will finally allow the Milwaukee Bucks to embrace the style they need to compete for a championship.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has the size and length to cover all types of ground while holding his own on the interior, where players shoot 10.6 percent worse against him within six feet of the rim. His shooting woes matter less when he’s the primary ballhandler surrounded by four shooters, personnel Budenholzer has at his disposal.

Draymond Green revolutionized basketball when he functioned as the center in the Golden State Warriors’ go-to lineups during their five Finals runs. Adebayo and Davis have helped their respective teams reap similar benefits. Now imagine the type of chaos an oversized point forward like Antetokounmpo could unleash for the Bucks in a similar role and has when given the chance.

According to Cleaning The Glass, Milwaukee was 17.5 points per 100 possessions better with Giannis at center last season, a number that ranked inside the 99th percentile. The problem was how infrequently the Bucks went to that lineup. The Greek Freak had roughly 462 possessions at center in 2019-20. For comparison, Davis was at 1,791. Adebayo was at 3,256. In albeit a short 10-game playoff run, Antetokounmpo’s number fell to just 81.

Maybe the biggest reason behind the lack of center minutes for Milwaukee’s MVP is personnel-based. Budenholzer has devised a gameplan around Brook Lopez’s ability to protect the rim. Giannis can do the same and more, but when you’re paying someone around $13 million a year as the Bucks are with Lopez, diminishing his role feels wasteful.

Going with Lopez also makes more sense when you consider the scarcity of options Milwaukee has had to take his place. Asking Khris Middleton to wrestle with bigger forwards is a lot considering the offensive burden he already shoulders. Wesley Matthews and Pat Connaughton were undersized.

In last year’s playoffs, the answer was Marvin Williams as the clock ticked closer to his retirement soon after. So far this season, that issue had been exacerbated after the Bucks traded all their depth to bring in Jrue Holiday. They lacked a player who could handle the rigors of interior defense and switch onto the perimeter without compromising the perimeter spacing at the other end. Without said player, the small-ball lineup would always have a crack other teams could easily exploit come playoff time.

Such explains Milwaukee’s recent trade that brought in P.J. Tucker, a premier face of the small-ball movement for his work helping the Houston Rockets to contender status in recent years.

At 35-years-old with the lowest points, rebounds and 3-point percentage since arriving in Houston, Tucker looks to be on the decline. But as the Rockets have sunk to the bottom of the west, so too has Tucker’s motivations dropped. Now once again on a team with title aspirations, expect his productivity to trend in the right direction.

For the Bucks, that means getting the exact player needed to complete the card Budenholzer must have in his back pocket in the postseason.

Bud has tried having Lopez come up to the level of the screen and switch with more frequency this season, but the seven-footer isn’t nimble enough to take on those quicker assignments. Tucker is, and wrestling with giants on a full-time basis last season also means he can take the more difficult frontcourt assignment to help Giannis conserve energy he’ll need to use elsewhere.

At the other end, playing off gravitational forces like Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Holiday should help Tucker’s outside efficiency creep back up from the 31.4 percent he shot in Houston, this maintaining Milwaukee’s spacing.

And while Lopez’s slow feet prevent him from attacking closeouts, Tucker is capable enough to put the ball on the floor and make the pass that keeps the play in development.

The center is the linchpin of small-ball success, which is why more than James Harden’s greatness or Houston’s 3-point proficiency, Tucker’s skill-set where what made the Rockets a prominent benefactor of the revolution. He was the player who could switch everything on defense, maintain some semblance of resistance defending inside and convert corner triples on offense.

The modern game demands those contributions from centers. By acquiescing to those requirements at least on a part-time basis, the Bucks have better positioned themselves to emerge from the crowded elite of the Eastern Conference.