The new-look Milwaukee Bucks started off the first season of their rebuild in less-than-spectacular fashion after falling to the Washington Wizards 128-116 and while there were a number of flaws to point out in the loss, one issue in particular stood out to Milwaukee center Myles Turner.

The Wizards controlled the momentum throughout the game and were able time and time again to break off into big runs that allowed them to put up some distance on the scoreboard between themselves and the Bucks. Even if the game finished by a relatively close margin, Washington held control often throughout the game.

The true nail in the coffin for the Bucks' chances at getting a win came in the fourth quarter, when Milwaukee scored a paltry 23 points, tied for their lowest scoring quarter of the game with the first, and the Wizards responded with 38 points of their own to shut the door.

Fatal Fouls

Both finishing and ending a game quietly is a major issue for any team, but even if both sides played evenly when it game to both offense and defense, the Bucks gave up costly fouls again and again that let the Wizards take the advantage from the charity stripe.

Turner took notice of this in his postgame conference and while he praised the Bucks' overall defensive effort, he acknowledged that they need to play cleaner games going forward.

"I like the way our guys are rotating. I like the fight and the competitiveness that we had. But you can't win any basketball game if the other team is living in the bonus for four quarters in a row," Turner said (via Bucks). "You have two of their better players [guard Trae Young and forward Anthony Davis] are getting to the line every other play."

The Wizards shot 32-41 from the field, more makes than the Bucks even had attempts, with Davis and Young combining to make 23 free throws between them, tying the entire Bucks team's attempts. While Milwaukee can be an effective team by playing hard, physical defense, the downside of that is the risk of fouls.

Talent Vs. Discipline

Having such a lopsided disparity between the free throws of two teams does make victory nearly impossible, as Turner touched on, and any success that the Bucks may have had at containing the offense of the Wizards was rendered moot by how often Washington found its way to the line.

The Bucks are a completely transformed team with a lot to figure out and while their Opening Night loss to the Wizards revealed more bad than good about the team, it is clear that there is raw talent available to the Bucks.

But talent without discipline only leads to mistakes and disasters that will be difficult for Milwaukee to overcome and if they want to have any modicum of success this season, cleaning up their fouling will have to be a critical point of emphasis.