10 NBA preseason takeaways ahead of the regular season

Following the Bucks’ loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee discussed the added emphasis being put on limiting their opponents’ 3-point attempts.

“We hang our hat on defense every night, no matter who is playing. It’s about us and our habits and just trying to build really good competitive habits,” Lee said. “And I thought, for the most part during the game, we limited them to 28 3s, which has been a little bit of an emphasis, well, not a little bit, it’s been an emphasis for us on how do we reduce team’s 3-pointers and make them have to shoot contested tough 2s. So I thought from that perspective, really good.”

This revision of Milwaukee’s philosophy is a dramatic change from the Bucks philosophy since Budenholzer was hired. Over the last four seasons, the Bucks have finished last in 3-point field goals allowed by design. Instead, the Bucks have been content to lock down scoring in the paint. That philosophy reared its ugly head when the Celtics made 22 3-pointers in Game 7 to eliminate the Bucks. Clearly, Milwaukee’s coaching staff got the message.