The Milwaukee Bucks changed the Eastern Conference power struggle landscape days before training camp. They ended the Damian Lillard saga, acquiring the NBA All-Star point guard from the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team deal that included the Phoenix Suns.
The Bucks have become a much more dangerous team with Lillard in the fold. Good luck stopping pick-and-rolls between him and Giannis Antetokounmpo, with Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton spreading the court behind the 3-point line.
While the Bucks are a more dangerous offensive team, it cost them to land Lillard. As part of the deal, point guard Jrue Holiday was sent to the Trail Blazers and has since been traded to the Boston Celtics.
You know that Holiday will be motivated to take down his old team when they match up throughout the season. Milwaukee is happy about adding Lillard to the mix, but they will miss things Holiday brought to the table dearly.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Jrue Holiday & Milwaukee Bucks Updates
Chief among them is his impact defensively. Lillard showered some praise on the player he is replacing, as he thinks very highly of the defensive impact that Holiday is capable of providing. He got brutally honest when talking about having to replace that defensive impact.
Lillard certainly isn’t known for his defensive prowess and will not be able to replicate what Holiday did on that end of the floor. Nonetheless, this was a big upgrade for the Bucks, as they are a more difficult team to match up with.
Holiday sometimes came up short when tasked with carrying the offense as the lead initiator to pick up the slack when Antetokounmpo was being focused on. His performances in the postseason recently were underwhelming, especially his 3-point shooting.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Jrue Holiday & Milwaukee Bucks Updates
That is something that won’t happen with Lillard in the fold. He will take pressure off of Giannis as the sole playmaker and ball-handler and has shown he is more than capable of carrying an offense for stretches by himself. That should more than make up for whatever defensive impact of Holiday that Lillard cannot replace.
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