Bucks have gone as far as they can without Giannis

The Milwaukee Bucks have done well to keep themselves afloat, at least for possible Play-in positioning, in the month-long absence of their leading light, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

But while Milwaukee has gotten itself back in that mix, largely due to strong three-point shooting, as well as Kevin Porter Jr's kamikaze drives, it has obscured the fact that the defense has been leaky without its anchor on that end.

You can argue that Giannis, for all his scoring prowess, has been missed more there than on offense; that was true in a blowout defeat against Toronto a week ago and it was true again Friday night against the New York Knicks, when the Bucks couldn't control Jalen Brunson at the point of attack and then there was no resistence inside. Brunson was 9 of 10 in the first quarter, and that led to a 77-57 halftime lead for the Knicks. Milwaukee never had a chance after that, especially with OG Anunoby complementing Brunson.

Ryan Rollins made 5 of 9 shots, but was a minus-30. Kevin Porter, Jr., had 10 assists, but cooled off with his shot, missing eight of 12. Myles Turner led with 19 points. Some of the recent contributors, such as Ousmane Dieng and Pete Nance, were non-factors.

Again, the Bucks can survive against bad teams -- especially the tanking ones -- until Giannis returns, because they can simply outscore the weak squads. That is why Sunday sets up well: the Chicago Bulls are in free-fall. But Monday, the Bucks face the Celtics, and that will be problematic with the way Boston sprays the ball out for threes, even if it doesn't have an attacker like Brunson.

The Milwaukee Bucks have the best half-court offense in basketball (103.8 ORTG, 6.6 points above league average) since January 1st.

Giannis has missed over half of those games.

It's a 106.4 specifically since he's been out.
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) February 27, 2026

The idea now is to blend Giannis back on offense, without disrupting the rhythm that has had te Bucks winning 8 of 11; while giving Turner help cleaning up messes on the inside. The Bucks tried to pack the paint against the Knicks, but it didn't work. Antetokounmpo's presence might have changed that.

When will that be? Bucks coach Doc Rivers continues to be cryptic about whether Giannis needs to ramp up to 5-on-5 drills before he gets back on the court. While it might be easier for him to test his recovering left calf against a soft opponent like Chicago, he will be more needed Monday against Boston and Jaylen Brown -- and certainly isn't likely to play in both sides of a back-to-back.