The Celtics continued their sensational start to the season on Monday night with a 119-108 victory over a ‘contending’ Bucks squad at TD Garden. It was the third straight loss for Milwaukee, an ugly streak to begin the year which includes a pair of ugly losses to likely lottery-bound teams in Chicago and Brooklyn. Perhaps more alarming than the 1-3 start for the Bucks is what exactly the team is saying about it even before falling to the Celtics.
“Right now, we don’t have an identity,” Giannis Antetokounmpo told reporters Sunday. “Like, how are we going to win the game? Are we going to defend for 48 minutes? Are we going to move the ball for 48 minutes? Are we going to attack and play fast for 48 minutes — or 36 minutes and slow down in the last 12? We gotta find an identity. We don’t have that right now.”
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The Bucks currently have the 25th ranked defense in the NBA, something that Doc Rivers remains a cause of concern for this team.
“I think right now this team gets its joy from the offensive end, and when they’re happy and they’re playing well, then the defense comes in,” Rivers said Sunday in Brooklyn. “You don’t like that. You’d like that the other way, but that’s who we are right now. And so we have to fix both.”
When watching this Bucks defense, it’s hard not to think about the impact that Jrue Holiday has had on the Celtics since arriving last offseason. It’s also fair to wonder just how much his absence has contributed to Milwaukee’s decline on that end of the floor. There’s no question that the Bucks needed something to shake things up following a first round exit against the Heat in the summer of 2023 but one year later it’s easy to second guess whether giving up Holiday will ever be worth it for what this roster can achieve with an aging Damian Lillard.
The Bucks gave up Holiday, Grayson Allen, a first round pick and a future pick swap to the Blazers in the deal to land All-Star point guard last September. Holiday carried a heavy burden during his final year in Milwaukee, miscast as a second option with injuries to a hobbled Khris Middleton. However, his loss on defense is still being felt by this group one year after his exit with no appealing replacement in the pipeline.
Not only did the Bucks open the door for Holiday to join their conference rival in Boston with the Lillard deal but it’s hard to say the move was a net positive for the franchise at this point on the court. Antetokounmpo did sign an extension with Milwaukee shortly after the deal but the chemistry between the duo on the court has been underwhelming at best.
In hindsight, it’s fair to wonder now what the Bucks would look like if they had stuck with Holiday and tried to shake things up in other ways. The team has failed with its bargain basement signings to fill the gaps of their roster (Jae Crowder, Malik Beasley, Robin Lopez) while doubling down on aging veterans like Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton, Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis. The Bucks were never going to get a player like Lillard with that mix of players and their remaining draft assets but a few minor tweaks while retaining Holiday could have had this group looking much more like a contender than this Lillard version.
Instead, the Bucks not only lost their defensive identity by sending Holiday packing but they opened the door for a potential dynasty in the making for the Celtics. Does Boston win a title last year without acquiring Holiday? It’s possible but it would have been a far tougher road at the least for Boston. Meanwhile, the Bucks are look more like a team ripe for another first round exit rather than a contender for the second straight season.
A year after the deal, Holiday isn’t holding a grudge publicly towards his former team that blindsided him last September fresh off a season-high 21 points.
“We already beat them twice last year,” Holiday said. “And then I won a championship. So I love them all. They’re like my brothers. So no ill will or beef or anything. But I love beating them because, I mean, who doesn’t love beating people.”
There’s no need to gloat for Holiday and who can blame him given the situation he is now in. He’s got another title under his belt and got one last long-term deal in his 30s Meanwhile, the Bucks are pot committed to Lillard now and have no leftover means to improve their roster. The window of contending could be closing quickly for this aging Bucks roster and the Holiday decision may end up being the turning point for both the Bucks and Celtics franchise for a very long time.