With Lillard and Giannis Milwaukee Bucks are a potential NBA Champion

The Milwaukee Bucks executed arguably the biggest move of the 2023 NBA offseason by acquiring Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. The front office had the painful decision of letting go of Jrue Holiday, but they have formed one of the most lethal offensive duos in recent history.

Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be an unstoppable force, and it will be no surprise if they win a championship this season.

The Bucks have a new coach in Adrian Griffin, who will be a head coach for the first time in his career this season. A myriad of eyeballs will be on his performance, so it is paramount for him to embrace the pressure and ensure Milwaukee remains one of the best franchises in the association.

The old reliables such as Khris Middleton, Brook Lope, and Bobby Portis are back for another tour of duty with the Bucks, too.

Milwaukee is 1-1 so far in preseason play, but it is still for Lillard and Antetokounmpo to make their exhibition debuts on Sunday waiting for the first contest of Lillard and Antetokounmpo as teammates on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers. There are no glaring concerns for the Bucks right now, but there is one they can enhance as the regular season progresses.

When the Bucks were eliminated from the playoffs by the Miami Heat in five games last season, it was evident that their perimeter defense relied heavily on Jrue Holiday. Middleton has not been the same since his knee injury, while guys like Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton were being attacked ferociously. With the departure of Holiday, the Bucks' defense is even more hampered as they have major questions on who will guard the likes of Jayson Tatum or Jimmy Butler in a seven-game series.

The acquisition of Lillard brings a massive asset to their offensive schemes, but Lillard was ranked 245th in defensive win shares last year. Due to his lack of size and strength, Lillard has consistently been attacked on the defensive side of the floor, and that will definitely continue in potential postseason battles with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.

Griffin will have the immense challenge of formulating game plans that will mitigate Milwaukee's defensive weaknesses on the perimeter. Their interior still has the intimidating duo of Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, but they cannot expect these two individuals to bother every shot in the paint. The responsibility of Connaughton and Middleton on the defensive end will be critical to the Bucks' hopes of a deep postseason.

Powerhouse opponents like the Celtics and the Heat have their own glaring weaknesses, so it will be a battle on whose holes will be more exposed in April or May. Some other Milwaukee wings or guards who will receive substantial minutes are MarJon Beauchamp, Malik Beasley, and Cameron Payne. While Beauchamp has impressive defensive tools, he's still a young, developing, best not relied upon for major minutes in the postseason. Beasley and Payne, meanwhile, are liabilities on that side of the ball.

Milwaukee will surely look to add a couple of pieces before the trade deadline and on the buyout market. Its main target should be a defense-first player who can guard star guards and wings when it matters most, even if only for 12-15 minutes per game. Antetokounmpo will likely be pressed into extended one-on-one defense duty against star forwards for the first time, too. Former Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer preferred Antetokounmpo as a floating help defender, but that is poised to change with Griffin at the helm.

As for Lillard, it will be a serious challenge for Griffin to hide him on defense, similar to how Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr tries to prevent teams from attacking Stephen Curry on every possession. If Lillard can just be as physical and scheme-sound

as Curry, though, it would go a long way toward the Bucks staying elite defensively despite the loss of Holiday.