(Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
During the NBA offseason, the Milwaukee Bucks knew they had to do something, as superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo had made it clear that he was thinking about a future elsewhere if the team didn’t have the same championship mindset in the locker room.
Even though the Bucks were an already talented team from top to bottom, Milwaukee was missing that one star player that could share the spotlight with Antetokounmpo while also being able to help lead this team to wins on a nightly basis.
That second star, or superstar, turned out to be Damian Lillard, who was acquired in a three-team blockbuster trade with the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.
Lillard’s arrival instantly made the Bucks one of the most intimidating teams in the league, as no team in the NBA wants to face the two-headed monster of Antetokounmpo and Lillard at the same time, especially when it comes to playoff time.
However, the one drawback with bringing in Lillard and losing a guy like Jrue Holiday is the play on the defensive side of the basketball floor, as you gain an elite scorer but lose one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.
That was an acceptable trade-off for the Bucks, considering the circumstances, but the team might be having some regrets due to how much the team has fallen off defensively this season, as NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins points out, via NBA on ESPN.
“Right now the Milwaukee Bucks can’t guard senior citizens at recess.” @KendrickPerkins on the Bucks’ defensive woes. pic.twitter.com/pgObjBM3n3
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 10, 2023
Lillard has looked completely lost on defense since arriving in Milwaukee, and that has become contagious, with the Bucks no longer considered to be a defensive powerhouse.
The real question is whether this will become a serious problem moving forward, as it has started to result in the Bucks losing games.
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