Why Do the Bucks Keep Blowing Leads?
Read the title. Seriously. Why do they? They play so well most of the time, yet around five times this season the Bucks have had a 10-ish point lead and blew it, with the most recent time at home against the New York Knicks. Why do the Bucks keep doing this? Sure, part of it is youth, but youth doesn't cause multiple 20 point differentials in the fourth quarter of games. Here's what I think it is, it is that Greg Monroe plays too late in the fourth quarter when the Bucks have the lead.
Why do I think this? Start off by saying, why did Bucks fans want to get rid of Greg Monroe in the offseason (and some still do)? It's sure as hell not because of his double-double potential, or his size, athleticism, or work ethic. It's because the man can't play top tier defense as a big to go along with all of the wings the Bucks have, and he's not a good roster fit. Next part of the theory is, how do teams with big leads blow games in the fourth quarter? That usually revolves around easy buckets and the three pointer.
Now why do Greg Monroe's fourth quarter minutes play a factor, especially since Giannis, Jabari, Tony Snell and Malcolm Brogodon or Matthew Dellavedova are the other four players usually? Assume teams like the Wizards with John Wall, Knicks with Derrick Rose, or Pacers with Jeff Teague, etc., attack Greg Monroe at the basket. What happens next? Greg Monroe's defensive deficiencies cause help defense to come in off the wing, allowing for open shooters. OR, those players beat Greg Monroe one on one at the rim. Either way, the defense falls apart, causing the opposing team to have easy buckets.
I'm not saying that it is Greg Monroe's fault entirely, but I am suggesting that maybe the Bucks need to start using more of John Henson and even Miles Plumlee later in games, to help the Bucks keep the big leads that they gain. Sure, Monroe has his benefits, but those benefits do not consist of defensive output, or the ability to stop opposing centers. I'm just saying, give Henson more fourth quarter minutes and see if that changes anything.
