There is a perception that the Milwaukee Bucks are a significantly better team with the acquisition of Damian Lillard. Michael Pina of the Ringer stated on September 27th that Damian Lillard would dramatically improve the team’s offensive efficiency.
But efficient offense has been Milwaukee’s closest thing to an Achilles’ heel for the past several postseasons—including when it won the title despite not being able to score against the Nets in Round 2. Holiday wasn’t the sole reason for those struggles, but he’s always been a tad too erratic with the ball, someone who burned too many possessions with an inefficient quick trigger.
Enter Lillard, who averaged 32.2 points with a 64.5 true shooting percentage and a first-overall ranking in offensive estimated plus-minus. This dude guarantees great offense regardless of who’s around him
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin’s potential defensive system
However, new Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin recently made a statement indicating they’ll be worse than people believe. Griffin told reporters this week that he wants the team to pressure the ball on the defensive end.
“I think the biggest thing is just pressuring the ball. We want to pressure the ball, one through five, and that’s a little different for Brook, who has kind of been the quarterback in the paint, but that’s going to be situational where we’re going to ask him to pressure the ball, but there are times where he’s going to be back. He’s been extremely coachable, so it’s been fun.”
Griffin’s philosophy is the same as Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch (who was on the Toronto Raptors coaching staff with him in 2020). Finch has been on record numerous times, stating his defensive philosophy is putting pressure on the ball to get turnovers.
A ball-pressure defensive system often forces guards to play one of two roles: a pressuring on-the-ball defender or a help defender. For example, former Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell guarded Desmond Bane early in the first quarter of a game against Memphis.
Xavier Tillman approached the left wing to set a screen for Bane. Russell turned his body to the left to avoid contact with the screen, enabling him to keep up with Bane. Consequently, Bane had to give up the ball.
When guards are not defending the ball, they help their teammates. For example, Timberwolves guard Jordan McLaughlin was a help defender during a home game against the Miami Heat.
McLaughlin stood at the right elbow, waiting for Tyler Herro to come over a pick-and-roll screen set by Dewayne Dedmon at the top of the key. Once Herro went over the screen, McLaughlin took one step to the left, forcing Herro to throw the ball out of bounds, attempting a pass to Jimmy Butler.
Finch’s system enabled Minnesota to lead the league in opponent turnovers during the 2021-22 season, averaging 16.3 per game. The defensive system also helped generate a significant amount of points for them. Minnesota led the league in points off turnovers, averaging 19.8 points per game.
Damian Lillard’s defensive effort
Unfortunately, Damian Lillard has routinely displayed a half-hearted effort on defense. For example, Damian Lillard was defending Stephen Curry midway through the first quarter of a game against the Warriors.
Curry received a handoff from Kevin Durant at the top of the key. Durant positioned his body in between Curry and Damian Lillard, essentially acting as a screener. Damian Lillard didn’t try to go around Durant, allowing Curry to drive to the basket.
Damian Lillard doesn’t display more effort when he is defending a player who is off the ball. For example, Damian Lillard was guarding Patrick Beverley in the first quarter of a home game against the Lakers. Beverley doesn’t have the reputation of being a good offensive player in the league. Despite this, Damian focused on him for the entire possession, which included turning his back on the ball.
Consequently, Damian Lillard has only forced 1.7 turnovers per game over the past three seasons. Lillard has forced fewer turnovers than Russell and Patrick Beverley under Finch. They averaged 1.9 and 2.1 respectively.
Damian’s lack of effort will also expose the weakness of the defensive system, threes. Minnesota has given up over 33 attempts per game over the past two months. 53.6% of those attempts have been wide-open shots. Opponents shot 40.6 percent on wide-open threes against Minnesota, averaging 21.2 points per game.
If Damian Lillard doesn’t fix defensive habits, It will be the catalyst behind the team creating fewer turnovers and leaving some points on the table.
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