Damian Lillard. Photo Credits: michalkajzerek via Flickr (CC BY 2.0 DEED)
Just when I thought this craziness of the NBA offseason was over, the Milwaukee Bucks completely prove me wrong by making one of the biggest moves in the past ten years. The Milwaukee Bucks have a blockbuster three team trade with the Portland Trailblazers and the Phoenix Suns to bring in seven-time All-Star/All-NBA point guard, Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. In this trade, Milwaukee gave up five-time all defensive player Jrue Holiday, as well as Grayson Allen and three first round picks in 2028, 2029 and 2030 (‘29 is unprotected, ‘28 and ‘30 are pick swaps). In multiple interviews before this trade, Giannis Antetokonmpo threatened to request a trade if the front office didn’t build a team around him that could compete for a championship. Well, the front office heard Giannis and responded, and now the Milwaukee Bucks are the new on odds favorites to win the 2023–2024 NBA title, and I think for good reason.
Last season, the Bucks had a bit of a spacing problem. They weren’t terrible from a three point range, but they didn’t have a consistent three point shooter that could create his own shot. To try to remedy that, Giannis took more shots in the deep mid range area (10–19 feet away from the basket) than he usually does, taking 133 shots. Compare that to the 2020–21 season where the Bucks won the championship. Giannis only took 65. Giannis is at his best offensively when he uses his size and athleticism, and finishes close to the rim. By adding Lillard, they have solved this problem and more. Lillard is not only one of the premier three point shooters in the league, he’s one of the best shooters to ever touch a basketball court. With his shooting prowess also comes elite playmaking. So while Lillard is draining shots from deep and running the offense, Giannis can get back to making grown men look like toddlers while he dominates in the paint.
With the addition of Lillard comes the Bucks now having the best offensive duo in the league; and it’s not even close. Giannis averaged 31.1 points per game last season, and Lillard averaged 32.4. That makes the average combined points per game between the two a whopping 47.5, which is the highest in the league. The next highest average between 2 players on the same team is 43.4 coming from the Boston Celtics with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. When it comes to Tatum and Brown, their playing styles are very similar, limiting the potential of their offense. Lillard and Giannis have completely different playing styles, Lillard being a premier three point shooter, and Giannis being an athletic finisher. This allows the Bucks to score consistently from anywhere in the half court, keeping the opposing team on their toes when defending them.
A point that I’ve seen floating around as to why the Bucks aren’t going to win the championship is that by trading one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, Holiday, their defense won’t be good enough to win it all. It’d be disingenuous if I didn’t say that their defense will be worse without Holiday. Holiday is one of the best and most consistent defenders in the league, and losing his defense is certainly a blow. But I think what they gained by adding one of the best players in the game today, Lillard, will make up for losing Jrue and his defense. Are we also forgetting that Giannis Antekumpo is a former defensive player of the year? Or that their starting center, Brook Lopez, wasn’t a candidate for “defensive player of the year” last year? Yes, the defense is going to take a step back. But with Lillard, that offense will be ten leaps forward.
With the offensive explosion that the Bucks are going to have this year, coupled with the fact that this team has championship experience giving them a leg up on teams that have never made it to the finals, the Bucks are going to be a scary team this upcoming season. After having a disappointing first round exit in the playoffs last year, the Milwaukee Bucks will certainly be in the conversation to go all the way this year.
Nathan Castimore is a third-year Communications Studies major. NC973905@wcupa.edu