MILWAUKEE – Get them now.
That was the advice coming from Bulls coach Billy Donovan to his players when discussing the new-look Milwaukee Bucks.
The division rivals had moved on from two great defenders in the offseason in Jrue Holiday and Wesley Matthews – both Bull killers – and added scorer extraordinaire in Damian Lillard. Changes that have come with some growing pains on both ends of the floor.
So in Donovan’s eyes it was better to deal with a Milwaukee team still trying to figure it out in mid-November rather than a group that turns lethal when they inevitably do by January.
Words of wisdom Donovan’s players seemingly ignored in the 118-109 loss on Monday … yet again.
Despite coming out of the gate in a crawl rather than a sprint in which they were outscored 35-18 in the first quarter, the Bulls (4-7) fought back like they always seem to do, actually taking a one-point lead with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.
Quite the feat with how dismal All-Stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan were shooting.
But like Donovan has seen far too often in the early part of this season, this roster just can’t embrace a good thing. Milwaukee went on a 13-2 run, and never really looked back with any sort of danger.
The same Milwaukee (6-4) team that had been a mess on the defensive end since the season tipped off.
“When you start talking about defensive teams and defensive stuff, don’t underestimate how great Holiday is. Don’t underestimate Wesley Matthews,’’ Donovan said. “Those guys were like junk-yard dog killers on defense, and when you’ve got a new team coming back it takes some time to develop an identity defensively.
“Offensively, it’s probably something they’ve all done. Giannis (Antetokounmpo) has scored a lot of points, so has Damian, so has Khris (Middleton). As they start to play together defensively, that takes time as well. It takes time to grow that out.’’
That didn’t mean Donovan wanted his players to water it and make sure it was getting enough sun, because help grow it out they did on Monday, having no answer for Antetokounmpo by allowing him to score 35 points and 11 rebounds on 13-for-22 shooting.
“I didn’t like the way we played him personally,’’ Donovan said of what Antetokounmpo did to them. “With him you have to show crowds. We needed to form more of a wall at the rim, show some support there.’’
Meanwhile, it was a much different shooting night for Donovan’s best players, as LaVine and DeRozan combined for an 8-for-33 night, including 2-for-13 from three-point range.
“Certainly I thought Zach did a really good job of getting downhill (to the rim),’’ Donovan said. “(His misses were) uncharacteristic because he’s such a good finisher. When you have those off shooting nights … listen, they didn’t shoot the ball well from three and neither did we, but a big part of the game was the things we have control over that we have to be better at.’’
Specifically keeping Milwaukee off the glass in key moments, and being better in transition.
Both easy fixes, and as far as DeRozan was concerned, so was the slow shooting nights for the Bulls through the first 11 games.
“Of course you want to be shooting well,’’ DeRozan said. “Right now we’re not, but we are getting great looks. I’d rather miss them now than down the stretch (of the season). They’re just not falling. We can’t let that get us frustrated.’’
Just like DeRozan wasn’t going to let his 11-point night frustrate him.
“That won’t happen again, simple as that,’’ DeRozan said. “I don’t make too many guarantees but when I do it tends to work in my favor … it won’t happen again.’’