Earlier this season, Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers said that assists, not points, were the key stat to watch from his team, especially with superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Rivers returned to that theme in addressing the team’s disappointing weekend, featuring back-to-back home losses to the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Magic snapped a five-game losing streak, while the Cavaliers notched their 14th consecutive win.
“I thought the difference in the two teams’ trust and ball movement was visual,” Rivers said after the team’s 112-100 loss to the Cavaliers. “We’ve had it. We’ve lost it the last couple games, and we have to get it back.”
The Bucks’ momentum from a post-All-Star break 8-2 stretch came to a screeching halt. A stagnant, isolation-heavy offense played a major role.
Against the Magic, the team posted only 17 assists. Lillard and Antetokounmpo had four each. Things got no better against the Cavaliers: 17 total assists, with three for Antetokounmpo and four by Lillard.
Those were among the lowest totals of the season for the team, which is already low in league rankings at 25 assists a game.
The lack of ball movement was especially apparent at the end of Saturday’s loss to the Magic. The team had the ball down two points with 6.6 seconds to go. Lillard took the inbounds pass, danced around the perimeter and fired a contested fadeaway 3-pointer as time expired. It missed. No one else touched the ball.
Rivers said he was okay with the shot, given Lillard’s all-time status as a clutch shooter. But the sequence spotlighted an offense that has lost its flow.
“You can’t win when the ball stops,” Rivers said. “I don’t care what team it is. Ball movement and trust uplifts your whole team.”
The Bucks need to right the ship soon. They face the sixth-toughest schedule in the NBA the rest of the season, facing opponents with a collective .526 winning percentage in their last 19 games.
Up next: a big week, with a road game at Indianapolis (Tuesday) followed by home games against the Lakers (Thursday), Pacers (Saturday), and NBA-leading Thunder (Sunday).
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