Bucks biggest concern heading into their matchup against the Wizards

The preseason was our first chance to get a look at the new Milwaukee Bucks team since trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, and there were some notable things from their five games.

Tyler Herro displayed the scoring ability that everyone expected to see with an increased role in his four appearances. Kel’el Ware was seen as the potential biggest rising star from the trade and proved to be productive. And probably the story of the Bucks’ preseason was rookie Brayden Burries, who didn’t look like one in his first real NBA minutes and will look to grow in a larger role moving forward.

With all the positives, though, come the negatives, and there has been one concern that was consistent throughout the games. Milwaukee’s defense looked lackluster, with opponents having way too many easy opportunities to score in both the half-court and in transition.

Milwaukee also ranked near the bottom in opponent points per game, opponent field goal percentage, opponent 3-point percentage and opponent field goals made during the preseason.

Since taking over as the Bucks’ head coach, Taylor Jenkins has harped on effort, especially on defense. While coaching the Memphis Grizzlies, he led one of the top defensive teams in the league, and he looked to bring that mentality to Milwaukee. 

After their 116-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first preseason game, Jenkins mentioned how the team's defense was lacking for 48 minutes.

"Felt like our defense was really lacking for 48 minutes. We had spurts of it. We had some good possessions, but too often with no pressure on the ball, no shift help. They were getting downhill. They only scored 60 points in the paint. We got to do a better job with guarding without fouling."

He also added that just because it was the first preseason game, it wasn't an excuse and they had to get better.

"I thought we gambled a little bit too much as well, and then fast breaks- just a lack of communication. So definitely not the competitive edge that we got to have. I know it's the first preseason game. I said, that's not going to be an excuse at all. We got to get better."

Since then Milwaukee allowed 120.7 points per game in the next four preseason matches including three games where the opponent scored over 120 points. Like Jenkins said, there is no excuse just because they are preseason games.

It's one thing to say it, but it's another thing to actually display it on the court. From this point on, all games are going to count in the stacked Eastern Conference, the Bucks are going to face teams with a lot of offensive firepower such as the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers, where they can't afford to not play a full 48 minutes of defense if they want to compete.

Even the teams who are not considered top contenders but have the talent will potentially pose a problem if things aren't corrected. Milwaukee opens the season against the Washington Wizards and they have a handful of players who are talented offensively.

Though No.1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa will be out with an ankle injury, the Wizards still have Trae Young, Anthony Davis, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson.

George, Carrington and Johnson all shot above 35% from the 3-point line and are guys who aren't afraid to shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. Then you add the paint presence of Sarr and Davis with the playmaking of Young, who can still shoot it from deep despite the early preseason struggles; it's a recipe for a lot of offense against a Bucks team that's looked vulnerable during the preseason.

However, the team understands that, including veteran Kyle Kuzma. When asked about why he has belief in this his team, he stated that the team is full of listeners and will learn from the mistakes they made during the preseason.

“We have listeners on this team and that’ll help us out a lot," Kuzma said. "The mistakes we made in that Minnesota game.. you can tell we’ve had self-improvement in a lot of different areas. We’ll probably have mistakes but I’m confident that what we’ve seen in preseason we’ve learned from…”

Milwaukee has a brutal schedule to open up the season and will get their first taste against a Wizards team with a lot of promise on Wednesday night.