The Bucks have been terrible on the defensive side of the ball this season. Without a reason of doubt, Damian Lillard has never been known for his defense. His 6-foot-2 size makes him a liability. The transition defense is problematic. He doesn’t contest shots particularly well. Lillard is a downgrade from Jrue Holiday on that side, but let’s not act like he deserves full blame for the Bucks struggles. The front office has not surrounded him with a efficient starting caliber guard who plays great defense. Malik Beasley has been just as terrible on the defensive side.

Though, still many reports are blaming Lillard for the downfall. In fact, he deserves more credit than he’s being given for his contributions. Often times this season, he can be seen making the correct and sometimes difficult rotations.

Lillard is tied for the league lead in charges drawn. He’s been solid at executing the Bucks schemes this season. Former NBA coach Steve Jones has even pointed out the positivity in Lillard’s defensive improvements including his ability to fight to get over screens, his fight in the post, and his execution of the peel-switch strategy.

The advanced statistics backup that Lillard has improved on defense with the Bucks. His +0.4 defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, a well-respected metric, is as high as it’s been in years. He currently ranks among the 75th percentile of all defenders this season in that metric. Higher than players like Marcus Smart, Rudy Gobert, LeBron James, and Gary Payton II. His is even better than teammates Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. That makes him less of a liability than his backup, Cameron Payne.

On the offensive side, Griffin didn’t utilize the talents of the star guard. According to a report by Shams Charania, Sam Amick, and Eric Nehm, the former Bucks head coach wasn’t able to tap into the full potential of Lillard:

“Along the way, league sources say, Lillard has spent much of this season struggling with the way the Bucks function on the offensive end. While he had remained patient with coaches and teammates, there was an inevitable pressure on Griffin from the organization to make the most of Lillard’s talent in the kind of way that validates the choice to part ways with Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen and three first-round picks in order to land him,” read the report.

So while Lillard may not be best defensively or even as good as Holiday was, he doesn’t deserve blame for the Bucks struggles.

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