After two months of competition, and a third of the regular season played, the time has come to take stock of all the NBA franchises. Host of the offseason, Milwaukee can now place in the category of successful starts. After a timid start (5v-4d), the Bucks have won 17 victories in their last 20 games, and remain on a series of 7 successes after defeating the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
For Damian Lillard, this rise in power can be explained by the gradual branding of its collective. With a new major player in place, the Middleton-Antetokounmpo duo had to make the necessary adjustments for the scoring leader to find his place. And at the dawn of their 30th regular season match, Damian Lillard can say that the system is now ready.
“It takes time to get along, get to know each other and make things work for everyone. We start to win in a different way because we also start to know ourselves better”, he declared after the meeting. “We are more and more comfortable, it changes when we can communicate a little differently. Everyone knows what the other appreciates, what they are looking for, we know how to put all these things in place. We continue to progress and I think a match like tonight shows that.”
Lots of work and exchange
Alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo (28 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) and Damian Lillard (19 points), Khris Middleton (20 points), Malik Beasley (19 points) and Bobby Portis (23 points) also shone yesterday against the Knicks. A sign that the Bucks collective is now running at full speed and evolving with full confidence. During the month of December, Milwaukee also boasted the best offense in the league with an average of 125.9 points per 100 possessions. And over their last ten games, they average 132.4 points, unheard of in the history of the franchise.
The fact of having reached this level of collective performance is anything but a coincidence for Damian Lillard. We had to go through more difficult times to get everyone on the same page.
“It took time and experience”he added. “We had moments of frustration, whether individually or collectively, when we expected better of ourselves. Guys coming into a new situation like me, Khris and Giannis, and me being new to them, it's normal for all of us to have moments of frustration. We want things to work for everyone, but it doesn't necessarily happen the way we want. We continued to work. We did not disunite, but we simply tried to continue looking for solutions.”
A lot of communication too, to ensure that everyone keeps the same objective, victory. Here too, the results are more than positive with first place in the Eastern Conference in their sights.
“We don’t come and play and let everything happen with the snap of our fingers. We try to find answers and improve things. We don't put anything aside. We covered everything. Our defensive difficulties, our offensive difficulties, what works for Khris, what works for Giannis, how to find the spaces, what will work for me, how to improve our defense, what works for Brook defensively, what we must make our “second unit”… These are conversations that we had without detours”he concluded.
| Damian Lillard | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2012-13 | POR | 82 | 39 | 42.9 | 36.8 | 84.4 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 19.1 |
| 2013-14 | POR | 82 | 36 | 42.4 | 39.4 | 87.1 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 20.7 |
| 2014-15 | POR | 82 | 36 | 43.4 | 34.3 | 86.4 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 6.2 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 21.0 |
| 2015-16 | POR | 75 | 36 | 41.9 | 37.5 | 89.2 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 6.8 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 25.1 |
| 2016-17 | POR | 75 | 36 | 44.4 | 37.0 | 89.5 | 0.6 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 27.0 |
| 2017-18 | POR | 73 | 37 | 43.9 | 36.1 | 91.6 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 26.9 |
| 2018-19 | POR | 80 | 36 | 44.4 | 36.9 | 91.2 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 25.8 |
| 2019-20 | POR | 66 | 38 | 46.3 | 40.1 | 88.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 8.0 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 30.0 |
| 2020-21 | POR | 67 | 36 | 45.1 | 39.1 | 92.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 28.8 |
| 2021-22 | POR | 29 | 36 | 40.2 | 32.4 | 87.8 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 24.0 |
| 2022-23 | POR | 58 | 36 | 46.3 | 37.1 | 91.4 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 32.2 |
| 2023-24 | MIL | 26 | 35 | 43.6 | 37.9 | 92.2 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 7.0 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 26.2 |
| Total | 795 | 36 | 43.9 | 37.3 | 89.6 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 25.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
