A defensive adjustment involving Jericho Sims could be the key to the Bucks winning the series
Drop coverage has been the hallmark of Milwaukee’s defenses for years. Even with the Budenholzer era over, it’s remained a staple under Doc Rivers, especially when Brook Lopez is in the game. The team has found a ton of success with it, but their reliance on it has really hurt them at times too. The 2023 playoff series against the Heat is a key example of its flaws, as is the way the Bucks guard Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner pick-and-rolls.
Myles Turner presents a different challenge than most big men in the league. After setting a screen, he pops way more often than he rolls. Turner loves to shoot threes, and he makes them too. During the regular season, he took 48.6% of his total shots from outside and made 39.6% of them, a career-high success rate. If his defender in the P&R drops back, he gets wide open on the pop every time. Unfortunately, this is how the Bucks choose to defend him.
In the 2024 playoffs, Turner killed Milwaukee. Through the six-game series, the big man averaged 19.2 PPG on 43.9% from deep. He came out with that same energy in game one of the 2025 rematch, finishing with 19 points and four triples with a +24 plus/minus. On the very first play of the game, Turner made Brook Lopez pay for sinking deep into the paint by canning a pick-and-pop trey.
Continuing to leave Turner open and letting him cook like this would be detrimental to Milwaukee’s chance of winning this series. Something needs to change with their defensive coverage. This is where Jericho Sims comes in.
Sims is easily the most versatile defensive big on Milwaukee’s roster, and he’s super effective too. With Sims on the floor in the regular season, the Bucks had a defensive rating of 112.0, per Basketball Reference, an improvement from the team’s overall 113.4 defensive rating on the season. Sims made an immediate impact when he joined the team with his ability to switch and execute multiple coverages while still protecting the rim. Lopez and Bobby Portis have never been able to match that combination of talents. Sims’ switch knife skills could be the secret to shutting down Myles Turner.
In the third quarter of Game 1, Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner ran a pick-and-roll with Kevin Porter Jr. guarding Haliburton and Bobby Portis checking Turner. Instead of dropping back, Portis stepped up to the level and quickly switched on to Haliburton as he came off the screen. Porter scrambled to take away Turner on the pop. Haliburton probed Portis with a couple crossovers, but the Mayor of Milwaukee stood his ground. The play ended with Haliburton swinging the rock cross-court to Obi Toppin, who drove and drew a foul. A similar play happened in the fourth quarter, where Portis forced Haliburton into missing a step-back jumper. Those plays are the blueprint for tranquilizing the Haliburton-Turner pairing.
Unfortunately, Bobby Portis can’t consistently guard that well. Jericho Sims can, though. He’s far from BBQ chicken. Haliburton wouldn’t be able to consistently blow by the springy center, meaning the star guard couldn’t get to his patented drive-and-kick game. If whoever is guarding Haliburton (ideally Gary Trent Jr. or Ryan Rollins) could scramble to cover Turner on time, then boom, that’s a stop if the other three men on the floor stay home on their matchups. Haliburton doesn’t want to score; he wants to pass. Taking away his roll/pop man out of the P&R while also not helping much off guys like Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard would force Haliburton to take matters into his own hands. That type of defense could win this series for Milwaukee, and it starts with Jericho Sims.
The problem with playing Sims for extended periods is that he’s more or less a non-factor on offense. There are ways around that, though. He could be plugged into the dunker spot or used as a handoff director in grenade actions. A grenade action is where a non-shooter catches the ball in the post, then immediately dribbles up to set a handoff ball screen for the entry passer before rolling to the middle. That’s a simple job that Sims could execute, as he’s an incredibly determined screener. If Sims was sharing the court with Giannis, he could situate himself in the weakside dunker spot while Giannis and Damian Lillard run a grenade action, ready to catch a lob if the defense over-commits on the Greek Freak.
If Sims becomes a problem for offensive reasons, then either Portis or Giannis would have to be ready to work on defense as the five. Switching defensively cannot work with Brook Lopez, and he may need to be benched for long stretches if the Bucks need stops. In Game 1, the Pacers scored 1.63 points per possession on the 11 pick-and-rolls involving Lopez as a defender, an absurdly high rate. In the 28 pick-and-rolls without Lopez involved, that number went down to 0.86 PPP, via Synergy. The Pacers just aren’t a great matchup for the big fella, unfortunately. He’d be better suited for a second-round squareoff vs. the Cavaliers.
If the Bucks want to advance, Doc Rivers needs to make these adjustments. If not, Haliburton and Turner could torch them and turn this series into a quick one.