Milwaukee Bucks displayed an intimidating trio in the previous season when they had Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Khris Middleton on the same team, with a net rating of +17.5 while they played together. This rating describes their all-around dominance and shows how they can go up against any team in the league.
Although impressive, this synergy was challenged by several obstacles, including injuries, which restricted the group from having 42 games together, with none played during playoffs. Lillard’s numbers dropped as he adjusted to his new teammates.
It was expected that he would score less compared to a player like Antetokounmpo, who sometimes dominated play from the post position. Still, it also turned out that his shooting became much worse – 35.4% for 3-point attempts and .590 actual shooting percentage – respectable but no more than average for NBA players.
Lillard’s Challenging Adjustment
On Clup 520 Podcast featuring Jeff Teague, Lillard shared insights about his first year with the Bucks, where he discussed challenges associated with meshing his style of play with that of Middleton and Antetokounmpo, saying, “It was a harder transition than I thought for real like just like I said because of my life [moving cities, going through a divorce] but then also like adjusting to playing with another great player [Antetokounmpo] and then also playing with Khris.
Khris is a great player too but he plays a certain way too, so I’m having to get used to playing with two players and I don’t want to stop them from doing what they do, but I got to find how to be the best version of me within this too, so it was just a lot it, was a lot of moving parts, it was more difficult than I thought it would would be.” This complexity began early in the season as the Bucks went through a coaching carousel that started with a rookie coach and ended with veteran coach Doc Rivers.
All of this happened when there were many roster changes, which, in addition to inconsistent health, meant that the team could not find any rhythm. The Milwaukee Bucks are set for a turnaround. For this reason, they look forward to having a full training camp under Rivers and a completely healthy roster.
However, the way back to the NBA Finals is inaccessible due to other teams like the Celtics, Knicks, and 76ers, also contenders for the Eastern Conference championship. There is little room for error on this Bucks team; can their core players such as Lopez, Middleton, and most importantly, Antetokounmpo, who has had some injuries in previous playoffs, stay fit? Moreover, will they have enough depth for the regular season grind?
