Brew Hoop Podcast: Milwaukee Bucks news, talk and analysis

Has the Milwaukee Bucks' defense finally turned the corner? That's the question we ask in our latest podcast, exploring the Bucks' improved defense and rebounding since the move to start O.J. Mayo, as well as the impact of John Henson vs. Greg Monroe. Lastly, we look ahead to the Bucks' Saturday matchup with the Golden State Warriors and ask whether the Bucks might possibly have the personnel to hang with the Warriors "Death" lineup.

While it remains a small 34-minute sample, the Bucks have started O.J. Mayo alongside starters Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, and Greg Monroe in the past two games, and so far to good effect: they've won both games with that lineup combining for a +19 points/100 rating. But is Kidd's move more than a short-term wrinkle, especially given Michael Carter-Williams' ongoing up-and-down performance off the bench?

The Bucks are playing surprisingly well on offense early this season, so we take a fresh look at that side of the floor and key in on Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Why have the Bucks been so bad on defense this year? Is it a matter of personnel, or is there something deeper that raises questions about the scheme itself? Steve and Frank discuss these issues and attempt to diagnose what's wrong with the defense. 

Jabari Parker's comeback from a torn left ACL suffered a setback with news on Monday that he had suffered a sprain of his right foot. But the 20-year-old former Duke star had shown us plenty since returning to the court less than two weeks ago. We discuss Jabari's progress on both ends of the court as well as what we've seen from Michael Carter-Williams and the upside of Giannis Antetokounmpo having bad shooting nights.

The Milwaukee Bucks' defense catapulted them into the playoffs last spring, as Jason Kidd and assistant Sean Sweeney implemented an overloading scheme that switched and swarmed its way to a top-five finish. But the first two weeks of the new season have seen the Bucks struggle among the league's bottom five in defensive efficiency, while Milwaukee's much-improved offense has largely carried it to a 5-5 start. Will the Bucks be able to turn around their struggling defense? And can they do it while maintaining their offensive improvement?

A string of ugly defensive performances have condemned the Milwaukee Bucks to an 0-3 start. But two starring performances from Giannis Antetokounmpo provided a major silver lining to two weekend losses, and Greg Monroe is also off to an encouraging start in Milwaukee. So what's wrong with the defense? And how much does it matter if Giannis makes the leap?

In the fourth and final part of our Bucks season preview series, we reexamine the Greg Monroe contract and explore potential lineup combinations we'd like to see in the upcoming year.

We discuss Rashad Vaughn and Damien Inglis in Part 3 of our season preview series.

In Part 2 of our preview series, we debate whether the Bucks offense can improve enough to break out of the bottom-10 teams in the NBA.

Our 2015-16 Bucks season preview kicks off with a discussion centered on roster improvement and defensive identity.

With the preseason in full swing, Eric Nehm and Frank Madden take a look at the Bucks' offense with the help of Gibson Pyper (@HalfCourtHoops) of TheBasketballPlaybook.com. Gibson first gives us an overview of the Bucks' favorite sets, and then we get into the details of what the Bucks do well, how they can improve this coming season, and what sorts of sets they should (and shouldn't) use to best leverage the talents of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker and Greg Monroe. 

The Bucks bolstered their backcourt with a trade and a first-round pick during the 2015 NBA Draft. We discuss the impact of these moves in our latest podcast episode. 

We take a look at the crop of NBA free agent big men for 2015 to see if any players would make sense for the Bucks. 

We discuss the opportunity the Bucks have to take advantage of a rising salary cap through bold moves in the NBA Draft and/or free agency.