The Milwaukee Bucks have improved in many areas since their head coach Adrian Griffin was fired on January 23.
Bench play intensified, as players like Patrick Beverley, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton upped their game, which was one of the catalysts for Milwaukee to take a six-game winning streak to the release of All-Star Break.
Not enough can be said about Milwaukee’s defensive appearance. Since the team acquired Beverley at the NBA trade deadline, he has helped turn around the defense where Milwaukee no longer has five traffic cones.
Milwaukee’s team defense went from one of the worst in the league to one of the best, a testament to the work Doc Rivers and his staff have done in decisively improving the team’s defensive effort match by match.
Milwaukee’s bench players need to continue their stellar play, and these are three players they should rely on down the stretch.
The only player who helped change the culture of the team.
From Patrick Beverley was acquired on February 8 for Cameron Payne and a second-round pickthe team experienced a seismic shift from an all-offensive, no-defense approach to an all-defensive approach and a more efficient offense.
Cameron Payne was a goalie who scored first and didn’t try to trap other guys. Patrick Beverley is a passer who has helped Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, AJ Green and Jae Crowder flourish in their roles on the team.
Beverley isn’t known for being an instant offensive player, but his defensive tenacity and leadership help bring a winning culture to every team he plays on.
The Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers added Beverley because those teams knew they would get 110% effort from him every night, and those teams adopted a winning mentality every night thanks to him.
At the start of the season, Milwaukee didn’t have that coach or player to help them play collectively as a team; the team sought high offensive numbers and won games through talent. With the addition of Beverley, the team is more united and, outside of the recent two-game losing streak, they were playing their best basketball of the season thanks to culture changer Patrick Beverley.
For Beverley to continue to be an X-factor, he needs to add that extra toughness on the defensive end. Offensively, he needs to become something of a threat down the stretch as teams will call upon Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Everyone coming off the bench will need to step up so the scoring load can be relieved by these three guys.
