Milwaukee Bucks Like To Experiment With Different Lineups

The Milwaukee Bucks have used a plethora of lineup combinations to begin the season. Partly out of necessity due to injuries and partly as a plan to tinker with the roster to see who fits well together, head coach Mike Budenholzer is trotting out a lot of unique five-man combinations.

Through 19 games, Milwaukee has used 206 different five-man units. That’s the seventh-most in the NBA behind the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors.

By far, the most-used combination has been the typical starters: Jrue Holiday, Jevon Carter, Grayson Allen, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. They’ve played 127 minutes together; the next highest combination is at 28 minutes. This grouping has also been the most dominant, as they have the second-highest net rating of any five-man lineup combination that has played at least 100 minutes together this season.

With Holiday and Carter leading the attack on the guards and Lopez and Antetokounmpo protecting the paint, they are absolutely dominant on defense. Their 94.5 defensive rating ranks in the 97th percentile, according to Cleaning the Glass. Not only do they force teams to take tough shots, but they force a bunch of turnovers as well. It will be fun to see them get even better when Khris Middleton starts for Allen.

I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t give a small sample disclaimer moving forward. The rest of the lineup groups can be heavily swayed by an outlier performance in one direction or the other and it’s important to keep that in mind.

Surprisingly, their second-most used lineup is even more successful than their starters. George Hill, Wes Matthews, Jordan Nwora, Bobby Portis and Antetokounmpo have played eight games and 28 minutes together and have a net rating of 32.8 (about 10 points better than the starters). They’ve been led by some hot shooting and a powerful offensive attack centered around Antetokounmpo.

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Budenholzer likes to keep one of his elite bigs on the floor whenever possible. Antetokounmpo and Lopez serve as the best of the best when it comes to rim protectors and provide the last line of defense. This means Portis is playing more power forward than ever before in Milwaukee. When not paired with the defensive studs, Serge Ibaka is out there for additional help.

The wing is where it gets trickier. The Bucks have been without Pat Connaughton for all but two games and Middleton and Joe Ingles have yet to make their season debuts. That leaves a lack of size and strength remaining on the roster.

Allen has been asked to fill that void, sliding over to the three as Holiday and Carter take on the starting backcourt spots. About half of his time comes at the three after only spending 12 percent there last season. Nwora, Matthews and rookie MarJon Beauchamp have also gotten run on the wing, but none of them have stepped up yet. Connaughton will help fill that immediate void now that he’s back.

Guard has been a lot cleaner. Budenholzer has implemented a three-man rotation of Hill, Carter and Holiday, with one of them always on the court running the offense. They can also play together, which helps the Bucks tinker with roster combinations of all types.

Antetokounmpo’s versatility unlocks everything for Milwaukee. Depending on the mismatch the Bucks want to exploit, he can slide up or down a position. If he goes to the three, Lopez and Portis provide enough shooting around him to ensure the floor stays spaced. If he moves to the five, Milwaukee has the pieces on the roster to make teams pay.

Everything Budenholzer and the Bucks do is in preparation for the playoffs. They want to build good habits and ensure they make another serious run at the NBA Finals. That also means tinkering with combinations of players to see who fits well together. That’s where Budenholzer is underrated.