Milwaukee Bucks: What happened to the offensive identity?

Here we go again? Following an embarrassing 125-86 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2 of this second-round matchup in the NBA Playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks face another postseason mountain to climb with pressure mounting on making the proper adjustments.

The Bucks trailed by as many as 49 points during the Monday night beat down and never led at any point. Brooklyn controlled every aspect of the game as Kevin Durant led the way by dropping 32 points and six assists on 66.7 percent field goals in 33 minutes. As a team, the Harden-less Nets were able to get whatever they wanted offensively and shot 50.0 percent from 3-point land on a franchise playoff-high 21 made 3’s.

Milwaukee committed more turnovers (16) than assists (14), shot 29.6 percent from beyond the arc, and made just four free throws. It was an absolutely horrific display of offense that completely bailed out a non-threatening Brooklyn defense.

While the series heads to Milwaukee now, the Bucks will look to regather themselves on their home court with a bunch of looming factors at stake. They have two days to watch film, regroup, and mentally prepare for a crucial Game 3 that will take place Thursday night.

As the Milwaukee Bucks sink to a 2-0 series deficit against the Brooklyn Nets, their offensive identity looks to be vanishing at the worst time.

Many adjustments seem to be needed for the Bucks whether it’s the schemes, personnel, or decision-making involved if they want to turn this series around, but most importantly, Milwaukee needs to re-find their well-known identity, especially offensively.

Game 2 showcased the exact opposite of how they’ve been succeeding for years on that end of the floor. Instead of opting to attack the rim and dominate the paint, the Bucks continuously forced tough mid-range shots and settled for 3’s. It obviously didn’t turn out well.

On top of that, there was little to no ball movement on each possession, a lack of intensity, an even higher lack of purpose, inefficient shot selection, and extremely poor execution. Yeah, it was a disaster.

Give Brooklyn credit for how they’ve prepared to slow down Milwaukee’s top-tier offense coming into these first two games, but they really didn’t have to exert much effort in Game 2 compared to what you would expect. Game 1 was a solid offensive performance from the Bucks besides the fact that they shot 20.0 percent from 3 since they dominated the paint like they’ve done for the majority of the season and throughout the demolishing sweep against Miami, but according to the latest contest, their interior-minded game plan has suddenly changed.

For questionable reasons, the Bucks went away from what they were doing best. Rather than feeding reigning back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the seven-foot Brook Lopez in the paint to take advantage of the mismatches down low, they launched contested shots around the perimeter.

It was inexcusable to see the Bucks earn their first points in the restricted area at the 9:24 mark of the second quarter off of a Jrue Holiday layup. They did not even attempt a single shot within the restricted area throughout the entire first quarter.

Let’s emphasize that sentence again: The Milwaukee Bucks did not attempt a single shot attempt within the restricted area during the first quarter with Antetokounmpo and Lopez on the floor, and with Durant, 6’9″ Blake Griffin, and 6’4″ Bruce Brown defending the rim for the Nets. That’s simply unacceptable for a team as good as Milwaukee in the paint.