Bucks use transition offense as a weapon
Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd isn’t worried about pace. To him, it’s a hollow statistic inflated by quick, bad shots, whether or not they go in.
“I don’t understand why we’re so excited or intrigued with pace,” Kidd said. “We’re making a big deal about a stat that does not win championships.”
While pace and squeezing the most possessions out of game isn’t part of the
Bucks’ game plan — Milwaukee ranks 21st in the NBA in pace, partly because of its defensive strategy of pulling off rebounds to inhibit teams from getting into transition — Kidd does want his offense to run with a certain amount of speed to either take advantage of or create transition opportunities where his best playmakers can flourish.
Heading into Tuesday’s 7 p.m. game against the Chicago Bulls at the
BMO Harris Bradley Center, the Bucks, armed with dynamic playmakers in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton, have established themselves as one of the top transition teams in the NBA.
“I think it’s always good when you can get the ball up before 21 on the (shot) clock,” Kidd said. “It gives us more opportunities to move the ball. Also not to let the defense set so you can get an easy paint touch or you can get a wide open three. That’s something that we’ve always talked about.”
Despite being one of the league’s bottom-third teams in regards to pace, the Bucks rank third in transition frequency, with 17.8% of their possessions coming in transition. That marks trails only the Los Angeles Lakers (20.0%) and Golden State Warriors (19.4%), two of the fastest-paced teams in the league.
But it’s not enough to just get out and run; you have to convert those opportunities into points. The Bucks do that as well, scoring on 53.1% of their transition chances (third in the league) and averaging 1.14 points per possession (sixth in the league).
“We’re a different ball club when we just push the ball, play with pace,” Middleton said.
Against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets this past week, the power of the Bucks’ tempo offense was obvious during stretches.
As Milwaukee built a 20-point lead over Cleveland, it did so with relentless pushes off both made shots and misses. Something similar happened against the Hornets, especially on Saturday night, as the Bucks’ first unit — even without Antetokounmpo — pushed the pace in the third quarter and kept running variations of the same play en route to a 19-2 run.
The problem for Milwaukee, though, is the Bucks’ offense doesn’t have the same potency when their speed element isn’t engaged. In the half court, the Bucks have often struggled to string buckets together as ball movement has slowed and teams can set up to shut down their best playmakers.
As the tempo slows down, the Bucks have run into trouble executing their offense well and keeping the ball moving. They have gotten into the habit of relying on individual players, namely Antetokounmpo and Middleton, with others standing on the fringes watching those two go to work on isolation plays. While those plays can work, they’re not the Bucks’ most efficient option.
With units comprising mostly reserve players on the court, that dynamic is especially pronounced. Even when the ball moves, players outside of Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Bledsoe don’t have the same aggression with the ball in their hands, even if that means passing up a reasonable shot or driving opportunity in the process.
“You can always correct that,” Kidd said. “It’s better to have that and correct it than someone not passing.”
Whether they’re pushing quickly across the court or executing in halfcourt sets, the Bucks know they’ll need to rebound much better against the Bulls on Tuesday in order to have a chance to avenge their loss from Dec. 15.
In that game Chicago grabbed 14 offensive rebounds leading to 24 secondchance points and a 115-109 victory over the Bucks.
“We owe ‘em,” Bledsoe said.