The broken wall: Bulls can’t match Milwaukee’s muscle in road loss
MILWAUKEE — After getting off to a better start than any team in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls faced a challenge they are not built for on Friday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been looming in the Central Division for more than a decade now. He scored 19 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter as Milwaukee pulled away for a 126-110 victory at Fiserv Forum.
This was an important test for the Bulls, facing not only the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo, but the addition of former Pacers center Myles Turner gives Milwaukee a very imposing front line.
“Listen, at some point, you're going to have to put your nose in there against (Antetokounmpo),” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “You're just going to have to do that. I thought there was times where we were trying, but his length and size just overwhelmed us.”
The Bulls might be in better shape when Zach Collins returns from a broken bone in his hand. For now, Matas Buzelis needs to add about 20 pounds of muscle to have a chance at guarding Antetokounmpo. That leaves 6-foot-5 Isaac Okoro as the first defensive option, and he picked up two fouls in the opening two minutes.
After the game Okoro was frustrated with the tight whistles when he had so many other things going against him in that matchup.
“Him being physical and me being a physical defender, I feel like we should be allowed to go out there and just play playoff physicality type of basketball,” Okoro said. “It's tough guarding a physical offensive guy while being a physical defender, because defenders in this league nowadays don't get the benefit of the doubt.”
The best way for a defense to approach the situation is by building a Antetokounmpo barrier with at least three players. Antetokounmpo likes to drive full speed into the lane and crash into whatever is in his way, but a wall tends to discourage him. The fence post method (single defender) usually doesn't work, because Antetokounmpo will spin around it.
The Bulls let their attention to detail lapse a few times and really needed to win the 3-point battle. Instead, Milwaukee made 15 3s compared to the Bulls' 10. Building a wall without giving up open 3-point looks is the perpetual challenge against the Bucks.
“Every time he drives, he's creating contact,” Buzelis said. “You kind of get pushed back and it's hard to grab that rebound. To guard him, it takes a team. I think we gave up just easy buckets for the other players. (Antetokounmpo) was obviously getting downhill, but the other players impacted the game and that's how they got the win.”
Buzelis led the Bulls with 20 points and 8 rebounds, but they didn't get the usual army of players in double figures. Tre Jones added 17 points, Josh Giddey and Nikola Vucevic had 16 each and Kevin Huerter added 13, but that was it. Ayo Dosunmu returned after missing two games with a quad contusion and scored 7.
The Bulls led early in the third quarter, until the Bucks used a flurry of 3s to go on an 18-2 run. The Bulls stayed in it for a while. Buzelis hit a step-back 3 to bring them within 85-80 at the end of three quarters.
The Bulls trailed by 4 with 6:12 remaining, but a minute later, Antetokounmpo buried his first and only 3-pointer of the night and things snowballed from there.
The Bulls play again Saturday in Cleveland and will expect to face another tough set of big men in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Okoro played for the Cavs last year, so he knows the game plan.
“Just be more destructive,” he said. “The taller guys that we play, just get under them, crowd them, make them dribble the ball.”