Seventeen days ago, an NBA title contender enlisted a guard with an NBA All-Defensive honor to his name to take on the challenge of defending Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young in a Game 1 of a playoff series.
Just as he carved up Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons in the conference semis, Young dominated Jrue Holiday and the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks defense in Game 1 on the road.
At the outset on Wednesday, the Bucks rolled out their most common strategy — dropping their big men into the paint as Young’s defender fights over the screen.
Bucks forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton each characterized Young as being in his “comfort zone” in Game 1.
I think we just got to make it as tough as possible for him, make him play a lot of one on one.
As Bobby Portis dropped into the paint and Holiday was sent off-course by a crossover dribble, Young had more than three seconds to set himself behind the arc with no Buck within several feet.
“Ever since I was in middle school — when I was going on the road in middle school — I always loved playing on the road,” Young said.
When Young made his next trip upcourt, he was picked up by Antetokounmpo off a switch, as the Bucks went small for the final 14 minutes of the game.
15 among the 16 playoff teams last postseason in switches per possession — they spent much of this regular season in the laboratory cultivating different schemes.
On Wednesday night, the disparity between Atlanta’s production off the pick-and-roll against Milwaukee’s switches and their more traditional scheme was stark.
One Holiday teammate that spent time on Young was guard Jeff Teague, who had played only 31 minutes over Milwaukee’s 11 postseason games in the first two rounds.
Milwaukee has a fair amount of it — including one particularly long, versatile defender in Antetokounmpo — but Young will continue to see a merry-go-round of defenders.
The Bucks value Lopez greatly — his rim protection, rebounding and his range on the offensive end.
“I’ve seen pretty much every defense,” Young said, when asked if he was surprised by the space he found against Milwaukee’s defense.