The Milwaukee Bucks just took a 105-90 beatdown from the Charlotte Hornets in a preseason game, and it wasn’t pretty for their defense. This loss showed some glaring issues that fans should be thinking about early in the season, especially given how Charlotte’s young guns absolutely shredded them.
Bucks Started Hot, But Charlotte Flipped the Script Fast
The start of the game seemed promising for the Bucks, right? Tyler Herro kicked things off with a midrange floater, and then Ryan Rollins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. hit some big triples. Kel’el Ware even added a close-range layup, pushing Milwaukee out to a solid 10-2 lead. But you know how Charlotte rolls with that up-tempo offense, and they clawed their way back fast, making it 13-12 by the first TV timeout. Royce O’Neale put the Bucks back in front briefly with a driving layup for 19-18, but AJ Green answered right back with a 28-foot three-pointer to tie it up. Then Tidjane Salaun (who knew he could shoot like that now?!) and Sion James decided to rain threes, giving Charlotte a six-point lead. Even with Kevin Porter Jr. rising over Ryan Kalkbrenner for a contact dunk and Jericho Sims pulling off a sweet reverse layup to cut the lead, the Hornets held on, ending the first quarter up 29-26.
Second Quarter Collapse Exposes Defensive Woes and Turnover Trouble
The second quarter was where things really went sideways for Milwaukee. Kyle Kuzma connected early, but the Hornets just kept rolling in transition. Brandon Miller, who was listed as day-to-day before the game, went absolutely off, draining a three that widened Charlotte’s lead to six and forced a Bucks timeout. From that point on, Charlotte clicked into another gear while Milwaukee’s offense just stalled out. Miller was straight-up unstoppable, dropping 11 points in that second quarter alone, while key guys like Herro went totally quiet, getting “muted” as the report said. The Bucks couldn’t even hang onto the ball, coughing it up **seven times in the first half!** They tried to make a run, getting it back to a two-point deficit with a 10-3 burst with three minutes left in the half, but Charlotte slammed the door shut. Naz Reid and Sion James led a brutal 13-0 unanswered run to close out the half, putting the Bucks down 60-45. Long-range shooting was a massive struggle for Milwaukee, and the Hornets just danced all over their defense. Without Kel’el Ware on the court, the Bucks’ bigs looked slow to switch or even get out to the perimeter. They got cooked on screens, giving Charlotte easy corner threes when the defense collapsed, or trapping a big in a nasty two-on-one situation. Charlotte kept that lead steady, thanks to their quick, small-ball combo of Naz Reid and their other players.
So, what does this early preseason look mean for the Bucks? It’s clear they’ve got some serious work to do, especially on defense and ball handling. Watching their bigs struggle to keep up was a tough sight, and you gotta hope they figure out those transition defense issues fast. This is preseason, sure, but those kinds of breakdowns can’t become a habit. They’ll need to clean things up quickly before the real games start.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Brew Hoop.
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