Bucks 'looked within' after 2-8 start and it's paying off

When the Milwaukee Bucks began the season 2-8, the media rallied to split up the star duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. The horrible start also fueled chatter that Antetokounmpo could seek a trade before the Feb. 6 deadline. The Bucks could have easily thrown in the towel, accepting that their aging roster was simply not ready to compete with the juggernaut Celtics or even the rising Knicks.

Instead, they "looked within" and tackled each challenge, especially on the defensive side of the ball, making marginal improvements every single game. On Tuesday, they reaped the rewards of gutting it out and staying the course when quitting would have been easy.

"We looked within and came together," Lillard told NBA TV after the Bucks' NBA Cup win. "When you have a tough start to the season, you've got two choices: either everybody can separate and you can fold or you can find solutions, take whatever the coaches give you and come together. We did that."

Lillard himself deserves a lot of credit for the Bucks' turnaround. A career volume shooter, he attempted only 12 shots in the NBA Cup final against the Thunder because he didn't need to go into takeover mode. He recognized that Antetokounmpo — who finished with 10 assists — was doing an admirable job setting up their teammates and running the offense. Lillard just needed to stay ready when the ball found him, which he did, going 6-of-12 for 23 points. 

During their ongoing 12-3 run (13-3 including the NBA Cup final), the Bucks rank first in 3PT% (41.9), eighth in defense, 10th in offense and eighth in net rating. While those numbers don't jump off the page, it's a significant improvement for a team that was in the bottom half of all those metrics during  2-8 its start. 

The NBA Cup win could be the exact jolt the Bucks needed to move up a few spots in the East and build momentum for the playoffs.