Giannis' long passes, reincorporating the big three and more: Bucks observations

PORTLAND, Ore. — Following the Milwaukee Bucks’ 125-112 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, head coach Doc Rivers made it clear that no matter what question was asked during his postgame press conference, he was going to bring up the same core problem.

“I just thought they were the aggressor,” Rivers said. “We’re asking almost the same question. They beat us off the dribble. They were the more physical team. We fouled. They offensive rebounded. They got to the foul line.

“Every category leaned their way. We played last night; they seemed fresh. But I gotta tell you, in the first quarter, when we had the lead, I did not like how the game was being played. You could just see it coming, and it happened.”

After taking a 36-31 first-quarter lead, the Bucks were outscored in each of the remaining three quarters and watched the Blazers pull away. For the second time on this road trip, the Bucks struggled to control dribble penetration, and a group of perimeter players got where they wanted with little resistance.

“They have a lot of players that can play off the dribble, man,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said after putting up 39 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. “They like to create their own shots. You just got to have a little bit more individual pride, take the challenge and keep those guys in front because that’s what they like to do.”

The Blazers put up their fourth-highest-scoring outing of the season. They made 51.1 percent of their shots, including 52.9 percent on short midrange attempts (4 to 14 feet) and 42.9 percent from behind the 3-point line. The only place the Bucks limited the Blazers was the rim, where Portland made only 61.3 percent of their shots.

“We tried at times to do that, but I’m not the guy that makes excuses,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously, (we’re) kind of tired. We’ve played a lot of games. We’ve traveled so much. We’ve played good basketball, and I feel like guys were tired. … I’m not even going to talk about my teammates, I was tired.

“But that’s not an excuse; (we’ve) still gotta show up and do our job. … At times, we were good, and at times, we weren’t.”

With the Bucks failing to bring their A game on Tuesday, the Blazers beat them for a second time this season and dampened any excitement following the Bucks’ 125-110 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday. With the loss, the Bucks are now 9-12 in road games this season and will try to salvage a .500 record in its current four-game road trip by beating Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.

To get a better idea of the good and bad in this back-to-back, let’s play some Ones and take an in-depth look at the micro and macro trends that have affected the Bucks during the last week.

One play: Giannis’s kick-ahead pass

Traditionally, Antetokounmpo has not thrown that many kick-ahead passes. Considering the two-time MVP is one of the greatest transition threats in NBA history, it is sensible for him to believe that it is best to keep the ball in his hands and make a play for himself.

“And half the time, he’s right,” Rivers said. “But the advance pass is faster than anybody.”

In Monday’s victory over the Jazz, Antetokounmpo collected two easy assists throwing kick-ahead passes to shooters. First, it was Gary Trent Jr. in the second quarter:

Then, in the third quarter, Antetokounmpo found Damian Lillard for an easy 3:

Other teams will be a bit more disciplined in transition than the Jazz were Monday, but most teams focus on building a wall against Antetokounmpo in the middle of the floor. There will be times when too much focus on slowing him down reveals opportunities for passes in transition up the sidelines or over the top of the wall.

“I love it,” Rivers said after Monday’s win. “He did a bunch of them where he didn’t get the assist, but it led to baskets. They’re so focused on him, and if he advance passes, something good is going to happen.”

Per player tracking data provided by Sportradar before Tuesday’s game in Portland, this emphasis for Antetokounmpo clearly shows up in the numbers. Per that data, Antetokounmpo threw a non-inbounds pass 25 feet or more in the first two seconds of the shot clock 18 times in 73 games last season. Through 38 games this season, he has already matched that total. It’s not just that specific category, either. Antetokounmpo is throwing more kick-ahead passes — short and long — at a higher rate this season across the board.

Last season, Antetokounmpo threw passes 20 feet — a distance long enough to get the ball from the opposite 3-point line to the frontcourt — in the first three seconds of the shot clock 55 times. This season, he’s already thrown such a pass 39 times, a 39 percent rate increase year-over-year. On deep balls that go 35 feet or farther in the first three seconds of the shot clock — like the one to Lillard that traveled 37 feet and the one to Trent that traveled 55 feet — Antetokounmpo has increased his rate 207 percent from last season.

“It’s been a big emphasis,” Khris Middleton said. “Throwing the ball ahead, it just doesn’t let the defense settle. You can’t set in, and it gives us another opportunity to get the ball up the floor and see if we can get a quick basket, an easy 3.

“But then, if you kick it ahead and it comes back, you’ve got Giannis and Dame in a closeout situation when a team or a defense isn’t really locked in on them, and it makes them harder to guard. It’s important for us.”

One player: Gary Trent Jr.

When the Bucks are on the road, Rivers is often asked some version of the same question regarding how the team is playing much better now after its dreadful 2-8 start to the season. He often gives reporters from outside of Milwaukee a version of the same answer: Nobody internally was panicking about the start.

Even when he was informed that only 12 of the 150 teams to start a season 1-6 since 1970 have made it to the playoffs, the Bucks head coach was resolute in his belief in this team, and he continues to remind reporters of that belief. After talking about it, Rivers then will move to his team’s defensive improvement and how the Bucks simply started making open shots on offense.

When talking about players who were struggling to make shots, Rivers always points to Trent, who has had a startling turnaround in his first season with the Bucks. At the start of the offseason, the Bucks were armed with only minimum contracts to sign free agents, and few expected Trent would be available at that level. When the Bucks signed Trent a few weeks into free agency, he was immediately penciled into the starting lineup at shooting guard.

Trent started the first seven games of the season before back spasms forced him to miss two games. When he was able to return to action, Rivers brought him off the bench, and he has remained in that role since Nov. 12, appearing in 32 games as a reserve over the last 2 1/2 months.

Since that move, Trent has been one of the Bucks’ most steady players. His 47.7 percent 3-point shooting in that time period is the fifth-highest in the NBA among players who have attempted at least 30 3s. Despite coming off the bench in all of those games, Trent has made more 3-pointers (83) than any of his teammates outside of Lillard.

“It’s just been huge,” Rivers said of Trent. “(The media) doesn’t see the work — well, you see it sometimes — but he just puts in so much work.”

One trend: Finding the big three

After scoring a season-high 22 points in 27 minutes on Monday, Middleton played his second back-to-back on Tuesday. Against the Blazers, Middleton went scoreless, missing both of the shots he took, in 15 minutes.

“He didn’t touch the ball, and that’s the bottom line,” Rivers said in Utah. “Khris Middleton had a hell of a game last night, and he had two attempts (Tuesday). That’s inexcusable.”

Middleton has now gone scoreless in two of the last three games. After each of his scoreless endeavors, Rivers took the blame for not getting his team’s No. 3 option involved in the offense. Middleton’s rhythm was clearly affected by picking up three fouls in his first seven minutes on Tuesday, but the Bucks will need more out of him moving forward. Attempting to integrate that final offensive piece smoothly will be one of the Bucks’ biggest challenges the rest of this season.

When told about Rivers’ comments in Portland, Antetokounmpo laid out what he believes is happening a bit more clearly.

“I feel like right now, our offense is so much running through Dame,” Antetokounmpo explained. “And we’re trying to — like how can I put this without going viral? Like obviously our offense right now, it’s designed to gravitate more towards Dame and for me to set pick and rolls, be more as a roller and create that kind of second-side action or play behind the defense and everybody plays off that.

“Before this game, we were 8-2 in the last 10 games. It’s working; we’re playing good basketball. Shooters are making shots. And Khris, obviously, is one of our best players on the team. … Maybe it’s a little bit different for him, because in past years, he had the ball more. He was facilitating more for everybody else. He was creating his own shot, like, his usage was higher.”

For example, this play in the third quarter against the Blazers is a successful after timeout play (ATO) drawn up by Rivers. It’s undeniably positive for the Bucks. It just doesn’t involve Khris Middleton in any way and when, as Antetokounmpo explained, the base offense is built around Antetokounmpo and Lillard, a bit more care may need to be put into finding ways to keep Middleton involved.

On a night when the ball isn’t moving that well, like Tuesday’s loss, and Middleton isn’t getting involved organically, Rivers may need to call special plays or sets to help him develop a rhythm of his own. Or if the ATO is going to be a set for Antetokounmpo and Lillard, the Bucks need to find a possession for Middleton to get in a pick-and-roll with Antetokounmpo after that special call.

Last season, the Bucks’ offensive roles were poorly defined. Things were muddled. The Bucks were using some concepts from former head coaches Mike Budenholzer and Adrian Griffin, as well as things that Rivers was able to install when he took over. Antetokounmpo and Middleton leaned on some of the things that made them successful in the past, while also incorporating new ideas with Lillard.

That is not the case this season. It is now Antetokounmpo and Lillard’s team, and Middleton is the clear third option.

That has worked to some extent as Antetokounmpo and Lillard both have put up big and efficient offensive numbers individually. But the Bucks are only 11th in offensive efficiency. If the Bucks are going to get in that elite tier of offenses in the NBA, a more seamless incorporation of Middleton offensively could go a long way to help them get there.

(Photo of Gary Trent Jr. and Giannis Antetokounmpo: Cameron Browne / NBAE via Getty Images)