Why Coach Bud Is To Blame For The Bucks Game 1 Loss

September 1, 2020

The second matchup of the Eastern Conference semifinal between the No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks and No. 5 Miami Heat gets underway tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Bucks are on the rebound in Game 2 after Miami put up an impressive performance in Game 1. It was anything but a disappointing first game of the series….unless you happen to be a Bucks fan.

 Blue Wire's own Bucks guys, Ti Windisch and Rohan Katti discuss the game and what improvements need to be made to secure the W going forward on their latest episode of the Gyro Step

Their biggest takeaway from Monday night's game had nothing to do with anyone on the roster, but instead, the one who controls those on the court. The two criticized head coach Mike Budenholzer for refusing to change his game plan, leading to the fall of the team.

The game was riddled with mistakes, but the biggest one? Bud not utilizing his resources effectively enough on the defensive end - which is crazy to think, considering he has this season's Defensive Player of the Year in Giannis Antetokounmpo at his disposal.  

Antetokounmpo has the speed and strength to defend anyone on the court and can be a valuable asset when marquee players get sat for foul trouble. In Monday's game, Bud stuck Marvin Williams on stand-out center Bam Adebayo.

While Williams is fully capable up against other forwards, he doesn't have the strength to contain centers like Adebayo. Although Bam only managed 12 points in his 38 minutes - four of those points came in the third quarter alone. And while that may not seem like a lot, pair it with eight rebounds, four assists, and no turnovers, and you've got an apparent defensive problem.

The main point of Windisch and Katti's take is that Bud needs to be smarter with defenders' placement. The Heat ran away with it in the third quarter - and allowing easy passes from a distributive Adebayo made it that much easier for Miami to take the lead. He has to be smarter with matching skill, and using Giannis effectively on D could lead to a different outcome for the Bucks going into Game 2.

Overall, the team needs to put more emphasis on Antetokounmpo and get him directly in the action when things start rolling. Use him to impact plays and keep a fluid game plan - especially in the playoffs where every play and every minute matters.

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