"I could have gotten a $3 million to $6 million contract from the Mavericks and Lakers last year, but the Bucks general manager told me I had a chance to start and win a championship with the Bucks, and I think I like the Bucks' veterans more and they can help me a little bit. ”
So the young and simple Malik Beasley listened to the big pie drawn by the manager and joined the Bucks with an annual salary of 2 million. His performance was truly unexpected, not only shooting a career-high 47% three-point crosshair, supporting the Bucks' three-point production with Lillard, but also transforming into the Bucks' number one outside lock. As soon as he was off, the opponent's offensive efficiency skyrocketed from 115 to 120.
Bies used his $2 million worth far more than $6 million, and Brother Alphabet and Lillard allowed him to shoot an average of five open three-pointers per game, but there was a small problem: he was obviously not a defensive elite like White, Holiday and Anunoby and Grunson Allen, but compared to Lillard, Payne, Connaughton and Crowder, he was — and must be — the Bucks' backcourt defensive answer.
For the Bucks, who claim to be champions, the answer is a bit sloppy.
In fact, from the beginning of the season when they sold the two locks on the outside in exchange for a golden key, the Bucks showed a sloppy side. There's no problem putting together a giant lineup in exchange for an offensive ceiling, but it's awkward to sacrifice defense and thickness like the Bucks. They were once the league's strongest rim and best defensive team, but now, their defensive efficiency is 10th, the box is poked into a hornet's nest, and the Spurs can score 121 points to the final moments.
Beasley's biggest problem as a backcourt defensive stunt is that he eats too much cover, and his size and footwork are eaten by the cover wall, causing opponents to break through the Bucks' first line of defense with a casual single block and face the last - and most cumbersome - and most cumbersome defense: Da Luo.
Beasley eats cover, Lillard is not far behind, Lillard is always a little passive and confused without the ball, and he is crazy to target this point by the opponent.
Whether it's a single defense or a pick-and-roll, Lillard is still the "colander of hard work." It seems to be very positive, but in fact it is anti-air, even if the second lineup with mobility and defensive aggression is full, it can't block the penalty area full of holes.
The sideways finish of this round was even more incomprehensible, and Lillard seemed to think Whitmore's cross was more dangerous than blocking the breakout line.
This is the essence of the Bucks' interior being stabbed by 10,000 people: the Bucks' outside defense is too easy to break through, and under the containment of shooters, it is difficult for the wing defenders to help defend the restricted area in the first place, and Da Luo is easier to target than ever.
If Da Luo is pulled out of the restricted area, then rush to the basket like crazy, and if Da Luo shrinks and sinks to the bottom, then block Beasley with a cover and let go to shoot a three-pointer. Big Lo's problems have always been in front of the Bucks' opponents, but Holiday Will, Allen and Jevon Carter won't be eaten so dead by the cover and will squeeze through the cover in time to drive the opponent into the trap of Big Lo and Alphabet. The internal and external linkage, the weakness becomes armor, which is the foundation of the Bucks' defense.
And now, the trap has no loop, and the armor has degenerated into a complete weakness. Da Luo is not desperate, he works harder to make up for the outside, but this makes it easier for opponents to break through his defense. Da Luo has a lot of blocks, but this is because there are many people who challenge Da Luo and storm the Bucks' basket. Fantesi players were grinning as they stared at Da Luo's block stats, and Da Luo himself was scolding the MMP in the high post and under the basket.
That's the awkward situation for the Bucks, who are of course second in the East and can make the playoffs with the league's third-best offensive efficiency. But everyone knows what is more important in the playoffs, and teams that are strong in offense and weak in defense have no stability at all, even at a time when the rules are infinitely favorable to offense.
After losing back-to-back Rockets, Brother Alphabet couldn't hold back: "We didn't work hard enough on the defensive end, and we couldn't make up for it, the opponent could easily get to the basket, and we couldn't expect to cut 1340 points every night to win, this is not the solution to the problem." ”
Brother Alphabet is still naïve, the route is wrong, and the more effort you try, the more useless it becomes. The Bucks' heavy bet to keep themselves and the precious championship window has irreversibly changed the direction of the team.
What's more, Lillard has failed to shoot again in the last 4 games - 34% shooting rate, 16% three-point crosshair, even God's letter can't be saved. Looking at the first half of the season, Lillard contributed a number of miserable iron performances such as 3 of 12, so that 7 of 15 became a normal output.
I'm not going to say I'm struggling because I love these shots, I just didn't make them. Lillard can indeed say that Lillard's shooting percentage in the 2021-22 season is worse than this year, but he averaged 32 points per game with a 46% crosshairs in the second year, and confidence is the backbone of a small point guard, and there is only one thing we are worried about: Lillard is 33 years old this year.
Time equally gives age to everyone, and the 35-year-old is still struggling on the defensive end, with a 32% three-point crosshair, the second-lowest in a six-year Bucks careerThe 32-year-old Middleton is visibly slipping to the naked eye. He'll have to play longer and score more points to survive the long regular season if Lillard gets into the slide.
If you can't do a big problem, at least you have to write a "solution" to make up the score, and if the outside defense is hollowed out, you must at least find a cannon fodder top tank, and the king bomb combination of Brother Alphabet + Lillard is so shaky that Beasley can't open his eyes, and when he retreats to his own half, he sees the opponent infinitely naming Lillard, targeting Da Luo, and then eating himself with cover and dislocation, and the famous phrase that never goes out of style comes to mind: defense wins the championship.
That's when he realized what the general manager meant by that – we just have a chance to win the championship.