Damian Lillard’s first season with the Milwaukee Bucks wasn’t the success he expected. When Milwaukee acquired the All-Star guard, the idea of him playing two-on-one in the halfcourt with Giannis Antetokounmpo was terrifying.
Lillard is a late-game assassin with a hunger to succeed at the highest level. Pairing him with one of the NBA’s most physically gifted stars was supposed to be a home run.
Unfortunately for the Bucks, there were other issues on the roster. Brook Lopez’s decline and Khris Middleton’s middling performances were among the most prevalent. Milwaukee’s hopes of the Lillard/Antetokounmpo duo overcoming its aging roster and limited depth quickly began to look like a pipe dream.
A first-round playoff exit for the second straight year has raised new questions about Milwaukee’s roster construction and its ability to compete at the highest level There have also been rumors that Lillard himself is on the decline. However, Lillard has defiantly refuted the idea that he is regressing with age.
“I’m not a player who collapses” Lillard told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a recent interview. “I live a clean, good, healthy life, so I can do it. I can do the same thing I did two or three years ago. I can do it now.”
In 73 regular-season games for Milwaukee, Lillard averaged 24.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7 assists while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three-point range. When you look at that production, it’s hard to rationalize that his first season with the Bucks was disappointing, and in truth, it wasn’t.
Lillard is considered a defensive turnstile, with many believing he struggles to hold up on that end of the court. Yet, according to Dunks & Threes, he had the best defensive season of his career with Milwaukee, posting a +0.9 in estimated defensive Plus/Minus. As such, Lillard ranked in the 82nd percentile among guards, which is a far cry from what he’s been touted to be.
The partnership between Lillard and Antetokounmpo has also been a success. According to glass cleaningMilwaukee outscored its opponents by 10.2 points per 100 possessions when the duo was on the court, so the Bucks’ problems clearly lay elsewhere on the roster, even if the media pushed a different narrative.
Still, Lillard accepts Milwaukee’s new status as an underdog in the East, where it is currently considered behind the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers in the pecking order.
“The fact that we’re here and we’re under the radar is perfect because they’re not going to think anything of us and then they’re going to say… You have to face the truth at some point,” Lillard said.
The Bucks signed Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince and Delon Wright this summer. They plan to have better balance and depth. If Middleton and Lopez can improve from last season, Milwaukee will be a serious threat, and Lillard knows it.
Milwaukee shouldn’t be written off just yet. After all, Lillard and Antetokounmpo have had the summer to work on their partnership. They could quickly remind everyone why they were considered contenders this time last year.
