Bucks: Damian Lillard’s honest review of improvements should scare the whole NBA

Damian Lillard revealed that the Bucks are starting to become more and more comfortable playing alongside each other.

Bucks’ Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo looking small on the left, with a Mario mushroom between them; on the right is a levelled up Lillard and Antetokounmpo, who have now grown into giants

The Milwaukee Bucks were expected to be an unstoppable force from the jump after they traded for Damian Lillard this past offseason.

Over the past decade or so, Lillard has been stretching defenses past their breaking point, and combining his game-breaking range with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s incredible paint presence made them such a scary threat to compete for the 2024 NBA championship. Alas, the Bucks haven’t exactly hit the ground running, with their struggles on defense capping their ceiling in the early goings of the season.

Going from Jrue Holiday to Lillard at the point was a steep defensive downgrade, while the Bucks tried a more aggressive defensive scheme to start the year, which put Brook Lopez in such a tough spot. But after the Bucks’ 146-122 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night to book their ticket to the semifinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament, Milwaukee showed that they truly might be the real deal.

In his postgame presser, Damian Lillard revealed that the Bucks are starting to become more and more comfortable playing alongside each other that dominating the opposition is slowly becoming second nature to them.

“Knowing where we should be on the floor, knowing how to give each other outlets, knowing how to help each other be who we are. It’s not perfect, but I just like that we’re showing improvement and it’s carrying over and you can see it on the floor,” Lillard said, per Gabe Stoltz of Brew Hoop.

Indeed, an NBA team does not score 146 points in a single game and shoot the ball over 60 percent from both the field and from three without being on the same page. Against the Knicks, the Bucks were firing on all cylinders, and now, moving forward, Damian Lillard feels like getting wins will be a much smoother process.

“I really like how we’re starting to learn each other. It’s been some bumps in that process where we don’t play great some nights but we’re still able to win those games and I think now, it’s just starting to get a little more smooth,” Lillard added.

The Bucks will look to keep it rolling on Thursday night when they take on the Indiana Pacers in the semifinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas.