The gap between the Bucks and Celtics is CLOSING – Perk | NBA Countdown

The gap between the Bucks and Celtics is CLOSING – Perk | NBA Countdown

The Bucks and the Warriors face off in the second game of our double header defense has been Milwaukee’s calling card after the All-Star break they lead the league in opponent scoring average and field goal percentage only the Celtics have a better scoring differential than the Milwaukee Bucks

But Chan gum I know you are keyed in on that two-man game between Yannis tento and Damen Lillard how can they get the most out of their two stars it’s these two guys right here when you have a force that is Giannis Anto DMO right there you’re going to spend a lot of

Time watching him work down low now that unfortunately applies to All-Star teammate Damen Lillard so the Bucks cannot get stagnant with Giannis on the court I want you guys to see these numbers with yanis on the court Dame roam roams the perimeter quite a bit nearly half of his shots come from

Three-point range now with Giannis off of the Court Dame has a better balance of shot selection he mixes it up inside and out you can see the differences in the numbers on and off and how it’s better balanced when you know typically they need these situations when they’re

Both together now watch this breakdown down right here this is Giannis and this is Dame this is Twan and it’s quite simple usually you send a double team but you can’t help off of Dame so that allows Giannis to cook on his own he does a spin move great offense but it is

Stagnant how do you fix this well when you see Dame without Giannis at times look at how aggressive he gets he sees the situation y’all that’s Kawhi Leonard right here there’s the paint it doesn’t stop him he attracts so many Defenders he’s got so many options open and

Instead he finishes that is the difference in his mindset when jannis is on the floor he sort of passes and tries to see things they space the floor but Malika they need to find a way for Dame to be aggressive and balance out this offense and that’s why they’ve been able

To do better because of those things well and the chemistry is at an all-time high it appears at least from the outside because look at this the Bucks posted this picture Dame Lillard giving out watches to all his Milwaukee Bucks teammates good teammate right that’s how

You let that’s how you let the group know starting off the road trip right and also saying it’s Dame time heading back to his his home City the Bay tonight we know Damen Lillard loves to plays out there yeah always loves to play there but what happens Richard if

Giannis and Dave the defense is clicking that’s what we were harping on all season long if all of a sudden their two-man game starts to click the B the Bucs can do what well they can be special but understanding when we compare them to their Twan game to other

Great Twan games you have to kind of look at the individuals Dame Lillard isn’t on the ball isn’t on the ball guard St Steph Curry moves around a TP a ton Jamal Murray moves around a ton that’s something that that uh Dame is going to have to do more of right it

Can’t just be one two it’s like no I’m going to throw it to you I’m going to cut maybe my cut opens up something for somebody else that’s when you see great two-man game it’s not just the pick and roll it’s how that offense works for

Everyone and so if they get that Twan game going it you got the two best players on the team two of the top 10 players in the world playing it should work and they should be figuring it out right now getting ready for the postseason and they’re going to figure

It out right because they’re they’re both great players but I got to look at jannis an Zopo and say that he has to sacrifice a little bit you talk about how aggressive Dame is when Giannis is off the floor he should have that same mentality when jannis is on the floor

But that doesn’t come from the coach that got to come from Yannis and it has to come from a sense of like the comfort zone of Yannis saying you know what Dane I need you to go out there and be the best version of you I’m going to trust

You a little bit more here I’m going to come I’m come go going to go drib a hand off with you a quick ball screen and let you get more involved so Giannis has to do more of that sacrificing I’m like I always go back to the 2008 days when kg

Came into the locker room he set the tone early he said you know what Doc Run the offense through Paul and Ray I’ll get mine on the back end now kg was arguably the best player on their team there was no AR so okay so he was but

Just having just him doing that that gave Ray and Paul a level of confidence that they needed yeah but what we also heard recently from coach Doc Rivers is that Dame after the game came and said like they’re running more things for me now I think they see especially off of

The momentum of Allstar that they’ve got an all worldly talent and we need him to be aggressive and that’s why there’s been a difference but there’s also when we talk early in the season it was what is the Milwaukee Bucks identity because the last couple of years when they won a

Championship under Mike buen hoer it was defense since the All-Star break they they’ve really turned that around but now it still feels like okay we’re seeing a gap between the Bucks and and the Boston Celtics at least in the no you’re not see no not with me that Gap

That Gap is small it’s closer it’s closer and it it relies when you talk about the defense those two guys in Brook Lopez and jannis an aopo they have raised their level of defense and you look at Giannis think about this before Doc Rivers he was 81st in the league for

As guarding the pick and rooll when he was in in in in the action after the Doc Rivers he ranked eighth in the league so his mentality switch you see Brook Lopez protecting the basket a lot more so that allows Damen Lillard Jay Crow and Michael Beasley to get up and and

Pressure up on them guards and get up over the screen Malik beas excuse I got you so so let me ask you this though the Timberwolves are sort of the one healthy very good team that the Bucks have beaten this stretch now they head on the

Road now they were play and the Clippers obviously in the last game on the road they faced the Warriors they fac the Lakers they fac the Clippers again the Kings and then they are back home what can you learn about them in this stretch well I think we already know

This I think this is the perfect time for them to tighten up their defense this was a great thing and and one thing I think people need to understand this is coming off that loss right before the allstar break to Memphis so it was like you go home and you feeling that think

About how well they’ve played since then so there was a reset of like hey this isn’t coaching this isn’t this this is no we have to as individuals re reassess how we’re approaching the game and since the All-Star break those are what all the numbers are showing so I think that

They have kind of reentered their focus on defense they understand that they are going nowhere without defense and now that allows us now that the defense seems like it’s fixed it allows us to talk more about their offense but it starts with their defense and it’s been since the All-Star bre and they’re

Hitting their stride at the right time he reported on Monday that Russell Westbrook he had surgery on his left hand how is this going to impact the Clippers in the final stretch of the regular season here Malik let’s start with a timeline for Russell Westbrook’s return I’m told that

There’s an expectation that he can be back with this team before the playoffs April 14th is the final regular season game for the Clippers and they have a difficult uh April they play Eight Games in 14 days they have two backto backs the hope is that they can get Westbrook

Back uh he broke his right hand uh 9 years ago in Oklahoma City 27 days he was back in the lineup you know he has been for the Clippers you know a Dynamo off their bench willingly made that move after the James Harden trade uh now for

The clips bones Highland who had not been in the rotation gets a chance gets an opportunity to pick up some of those Russell Westbrook minutes but for this Clipper team you know certainly uh they are comforted with the idea that they will have Russell Westbrook back uh for

The playoffs W thank you so very much health has been something we have talked about with this Los Angeles Clippers team really a key factor for them in any Pursuit any Pursuit that they have for a team that has at least Western Conference Finals if not NBA Finals

Hopes and I mentioned that the Clippers you know after slipping in the standings are hoping they can find some way to end up in that top four certainly top six positioning uh come April when we’re really hitting the playoffs here but since starting 2024 with a 15-3 record

They’ve gone 5- six in their last 11 games how concerning is that for you Kendra I’m towing I’m I’m caught in between you look like you’re going through it a little bit well well here’s the reason why because when you get towards this part of the season do I have trust in

Paul George and James Harden hell no okay but do I have trust in kawhai lard and Tao hell yeah so they balance each other out so I think they got a quality win against the Minnesota timber Woods that was a great win on the road it went

Down to the you know very last play but when I think about them I need to see more out of Paul George and James Harden to get me over the little bit of the concerns that I do have look I’m right there with you Malika and I not too long

Ago said we’re all in on the Clippers mind you we’re saying Western Conference finals and I still have belief in them I think missing Paul George was something that destabilized them they’ve had some you know ups and downs post All-Star and I think these are the natural course of

Events when you’re playing all your games right players are going to be in and out here and there but I do think that as long as they are available with the last 10 or or so they hopefully can stay close to the nuggets and the

Standing so they can try to get a push at home court they’re still on schedule my thing is this Paul George it it’s a it’s a cohesive unit the more that James Harden establishes himself as the second best player versus saying that I’m going to set up Paul George and Kawai I think

That that’s when they’re in the better spot when he established that he’s a setup man and then he cont tributes offensively when he turns on that extra step and says that I am the scorer and then and you see Paul George’s numbers go down that’s what worries me I need

Paul George at 25 every single night and I need to see uh James Harden with 12 plus assists because he’s established and now when he gets the opportunities to score that’s great I just don’t need to see him scoring out scoring Paul George he’s got to keep lifting them up that’s the best [Applause] [Applause] version [Applause]

NBA Countdown’s Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins, Chiney Ogwumike and Richard Jefferson discuss the 2-man game between Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo and what will happen to the Milwaukee Bucks if they can figure it out. Adrian Wojnarowski then joins the show to discus Russell Westbrook’s injury and how it could impact the LA Clippers down the stretch of the regular season.

0:00 Chiney’s film breakdown
2:05 What is the Bucks’ ceiling?
6:21 Westbrook update from Woj

#NBA #Bucks #NBACountdown
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