It’s been no secret that when the Bucks traded away Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard on Oct. 12, the defense would get worse, with Holiday being one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the league. However, I don’t think Bucks fans expected a bottom-six defensive team, with a defensive rating of 116.6 and a rocky 7-4 start. They have had some good wins, including a fourth-quarter classic against the Miami Heat on Oct. 30 and a clutch win over the New York Knicks on Nov. 3. However, they have had some ugly losses because of their defensive issues, including a 130-111 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 1 and a 112-97 loss to the Orlando Magic a few days ago on Nov. 11.
The Bucks defense needs to improve and the players currently on the roster are not capable of making the improvements internally. Brook Lopez has looked better in spurts, but he is still on the downward end of his career, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton have reached their defensive ceilings, and MarJon Beauchamp and Andre Jackson Jr. are young players still developing. In a year where the Bucks are looking to win a title, they need proven players who can perform in crunch time. There just so happens to be a player like that 90 miles south of Fiserv Forum.
The Chicago Bulls have been a mess since Jan 14, 2022, the last game point guard Lonzo Ball played for the Bulls up to this point. Since then it’s been a disappointment with almost every player on the roster. The Bulls lost in five games to the Bucks that season before bowing out in the Play-In game to the Miami Heat last season. The offense regressing despite three offensive-minded stars in DeMar DeRozan, Zach Lavine, and Nikola Vucevic, and just a lack of cohesion and identity. Over the off-season, Chicago added Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig in hopes of fixing the three-point shooting issues that have plagued them with this Big 3. Safe to say that has not happened this year with a 4-7 record and reports that the Bulls are looking to trade Zach LaVine sooner rather than later.
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