Wednesday, March 23, 2011

No Offense: Defense Doesn't Always Win Championships (At Least For The Bucks)

The old adage is defense wins championships, and it typically reigns true. But that is not the case with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks do have one of the best defenses in the league by all accounts. They are strong against the three, they force many turnovers, and they allow low points and field goal percentage. But what good is that when you have one of the worst offenses in the league?

The Bucks are expected to have a great defense. Their coach Scott Skiles is a defensive-minded guy and they have pure defenders like Luc Mbah A Moute. They have delivered defensively. They have held great teams to low field goal percentage and they can force turnovers. But where will the offense come from? They do have great scorers like Corey Maggette and Michael Redd, but Redd is injured and Maggette is a role player. They have developing shooters like Chris Douglas-Roberts, but he is still growing. They also have a good post player in Andrew Bogut, but he is also in and out of the lineup with injury. But the Bucks' true weak link is most likely Brandon Jennings. He has had signs of offensive genius (like the 55 point outburst against the Warriors in his rookie year), but he seems to have reached a sophomore wall. He is producing the same amount of points a game, but he has more turnovers and fewer assists. Add onto the fact that he was also facing injuries, he looks like he needs time to still develop.

The Bucks are a great defensive team no doubt. But they have no offense. They are out of the playoffs after making it last year and pushing the Atlanta Hawks to a Game 7 in the first round. They can score, but there are things that must change. Bogut and his fellow post players must establish more inside. They have to get Redd back and shooting. Jennings must become more of a distributor. Skiles has to create a plan to score more profusely. And they have to find another scorer.

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