The Milwaukee Bucks have been struggling since the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season. After a full season with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, plenty of NBA fans expected that they would play better this time around. However, that has not been the case, especially when the Bucks are only posting a measly 6-9 win-loss record for the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference.
While it’s still early into the season, the Bucks will have to address their issues to recover from a possibly tragic campaign. The Bucks acquired Lillard to give the Greek Freak a legitimate secondary star to propel the Bucks’ desire to win another chip. However, the move is turning out to be a bust. As it turns out, the Bucks’ biggest disappointment early in the 2024-2025 season has been the chemistry issues between Giannis and Lillard, which should’ve shown improvement after a season together.
Damian Lillard’s struggles and regression
Everyone expected Lillard to acclimate better in Milwaukee. However, early into the 2024-2025 NBA season, that isn’t the case at all. Lillard is averaging a solid 25.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game. However, he’s also just shooting 43% from the field overall and 33% from beyond the arc, which is the second-lowest clip of his NBA career.
Upon watching the Bucks duo play, it’s evident that talent is what’s keeping the team competitive. However, with Lillard not converting his usual perimeter shots, this has allowed opponents to let him shoot while putting a wall in the paint. The defensive scheme has prevented Giannis from getting easy baskets in the shaded area.
Apart from shooting, it seems like Lillard is also quite out of sync with the team. He’s been turning the ball over about 2.6 times per game. On the other hand, Giannis is averaging 3.2 turnovers per outing. If anything, Lillard’s struggles show that he has yet to adjust to the Bucks system, or he’s just a poor fit alongside the Greek Freak.
Fortunately, the Bucks can still count on Lillard to hit the big shots in the clutch, especially after his huge game-winning bucket over the Houston Rockets. However, if the Bucks want to go deep into the playoffs, Lillard needs to buy into the Bucks system while playing well alongside Giannis.
The Ghost of Jrue Holiday
It wasn’t long ago when the Bucks made a huge gamble by giving up a crucial championship piece in Jrue Holiday to acquire an MVP-caliber player like Damian Lillard. On paper, it was a no-brainer. However, in the end, the Bucks suffered the short end of the deal. Holiday would win a championship with the Celtics, while Milwaukee was eliminated in the first round.
While Lillard seems to be the more accomplished player individually, he isn’t Holiday. Holiday is an elite on-ball defender while capable of hustling and doing the dirty work. He simply provided the intangibles that don’t necessarily show up in the box score. Those are the aspects the Bucks gave up in return for the star power that Lillard provided.
Unfortunately for the Bucks, the team has to move on and live with their decision. As of late, it doesn’t seem like Lillard is going to fill the void that Holiday left. The eight-time NBA All-Star’s calling card has been to convert the deep shots and to make the shots in the clutch. Unfortunately, locking down opposing guards has never been his modus operandi.
Related Milwaukee Bucks NewsArticle continues below
With Lillard failing to step up on defense, it isn’t surprising that opposing scoring guards have been punishing the Bucks’ defense. To address this, it’s either Lillard who steps up defensively or Rivers needs to think of a game plan to overshadow his guard’s weaknesses.
The Greek Freak is getting frustrated in Milwaukee
Another potential dampener to the duo’s chemistry is the loud chatter behind Giannis’ frustration in Milwaukee. The Greek Freak is currently in his prime, leading the NBA in scoring thus far with an average of 31.4 points per contest. But while the back-to-back NBA MVP has been stellar, his production has hardly translated to wins. They have won just 40 percent of their games.
With the Bucks’ struggling season, it makes sense if the Greek Freak is growing frustrated in Milwaukee. This certainly puts all the more pressure on Lillard to prove himself as a reliable second option in the Bucks team. Hopefully, the impending return of former All-Star Khris Middleton should help the duo with the offensive load. But for now, this duo needs to add more wins to not only stay in the playoff hunt but to keep their generational star happy enough to stay put in Milwaukee.
Source link