Giannis and Damian Lillard star in the Bucks' victory, while the “great” Gary Trent Jr. provides intense defense

PHILADELPHIA — Ahead of Wednesday's 2024-25 season opener, there were plenty of reasons why the Milwaukee Bucks could have had a lackluster first game.

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that two of their three star players, Joel Embiid and Paul George, would not play. A few hours later, Bucks coach Doc Rivers told the media that his team's third All-Star, Khris Middleton, would not be able to participate because he was recovering from offseason procedures to repair ongoing problems in both ankles.

As the game began, the somber mood seemed to continue into the first quarter as the Bucks made just one of seven 3-point attempts, had three early turnovers and saw the 76ers grab six offensive rebounds. The Bucks fell behind early.

But the Bucks responded by outscoring the 76ers by 12 points in the second quarter and then extending their lead to 22 in the second half, allowing them an easy 124-109 victory over one of their biggest rivals in the Eastern Conference.

When asked what changed after the first quarter, their head coach gave a simple answer.

“I think our guys are serious about this season,” Rivers said after Wednesday night’s win. “You can see it.”

That seriousness was evident in the performances of the Bucks' top performers statistically.

It was clear that Damian Lillard knocked down six 3-pointers and scored 30 points in the first three quarters, along with nine rebounds and six assists on the night.

That was evident in Antetokounmpo's opening tally of 25 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. With six blocks on the night, Brook Lopez proved he was serious about protecting the rim. Newcomer Taurean Prince knocked down his first four 3-point attempts of the season.

However, truly serious performances require even greater attention to detail. And for that, Gary Trent Jr.'s defense against All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey should be highlighted.

Without Embiid and George, the 76ers put offensive responsibility in the hands of their lightning-quick 23-year-old point guard, and he responded with 31 shots in 39 minutes. And while the Bucks couldn't match every minute that Trent played with every minute that Maxey played, Trent was tasked with staying in touch with Maxey for most of the evening and competed at an extremely high level.

“Unbelievable,” Antetokounmpo said of Trent’s defensive performance. “It's hard to guard one of the fastest players in the NBA, full court, always in front, navigating screens, putting your body on the line, and he did that tonight and he was incredible.” (Maxey ) took a lot of photos. He took a lot of shots. He missed a lot of shots, but I think (Trent) was there for every single shot and did an incredible job.

“He’s probably tired.”

While Trent made no such complaints, no one would have blamed him if he had asked for a few extra ice packs after Wednesday's game. Trent made Maxey work every touch of the ball, and once Maxey had the ball in his hands, Trent made him work every inch on drives to the basket.

Just look at Trent's effort on one of the first possessions of the game.

The 76ers' inbounds play required Maxey to accept a dribble handoff from 76ers center Andre Drummond, but Trent made contact with Maxey and used his body to push him away from the screen. Instead of giving up when Maxey created space on his initial overplay, Trent sprinted back to Maxey for a tight closeout that denied him the look of a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. He then connected with Maxey's right hip to force him to the baseline and the waiting help of Antetokounmpo.

Maxey eventually beat Antetokounmpo to the baseline for an attempt at the rim, but Trent did his job.

“It was all just trying to keep the second one,” Trent said of trying to stay in touch with Maxey throughout the night. “A different energy to just keep going, whether it be through illegal screens, guys sticking their knees out, Kyle Lowry trying to get in my way, different things like that, but just trying to influence the basketball and make him do it to make, to make a hard blow.”

Whether it was the first quarter or the fourth quarter, Trent played defense on the second and third attempts.

Since Antetokounmpo became a superstar in the 2018-19 season, starting shooting guard for the Bucks has been a rather thankless job.

This player is expected to knock down open shots when playing alongside Antetokounmpo (and now Lillard) and guard the other team's best player every night. Every missed shot is a shot they “should” have made, and every big scoring night for the team’s best player is something they “should” have prevented. It's difficult, but on Wednesday night Trent managed it as best as he could.

“I played with Gary his first three years in the league and his first playoff series, we played a game together against the Lakers in the (NBA) bubble,” Lillard said. “They put him on LeBron James and no one can guard LeBron, but the fact that that was his job tells you that. “He may not have a good reputation for it, but I saw him do it. I played with him, I saw him in training and I saw him in a lot of games where I knew he was capable of it. He focuses on that.

“Tonight he came in with a mission. He knows what role he plays in our team, he knows what we need to win and I think tonight we showed for the first time that he's committed to that. Guarding a guy who is so quick and explosive, can shoot, goes both ways, has the ball all the time and was there for him the whole game. That’s the kind of effort we need.”

And while the application of effort is a large part of what is required in the role, adding technology to that effort greatly increases the seriousness of the work. And Trent continued to put that high level of focus into his efforts on Wednesday.

Since arriving in Milwaukee, Lopez has been one of the NBA's best defensive big men in drop pick-and-roll coverage. But in his best moments, like when he blocks six shots like he did Wednesday, Lopez quickly recognizes the importance of his defensive pick-and-roll partners. One of the things he has always found most helpful is play-ready defenders who force the ball handler to make a decision as early in the game as possible.

In drop pick-and-roll coverage, the big man backs up toward the basket knowing the ballhandler could either take the shot or pass it off to his pick-and-roll partner, which is typical NBA parlance is called “playing with two people.” The best point guards keep their options open as long as possible, forcing the big man to “play two” until the last moment. For example, imagine Trae Young hanging in the air, deciding between a floater in the lane or a late lob to Clint Capela.

It was subtle, but watch Trent (and Lillard as an assistant defender) on this first quarter possession:

While Trent is initially displaced by Gershon Yabusele's dribble handoff, he quickly attaches himself to Maxey with help from Lillard, forcing Maxey to begin gathering to the rim at the top of the key:

With Maxey's dribbling no longer working, Lopez makes his way to the rim and aggressively attacks the guard's attempt at the rim, knowing that his only possible play other than a shot is an acrobatic kick-out for a career 32 percent mark. 3-point shooters would be . Trent's attempt to get back into the game and force Maxey to continue dribbling early helped Lopez create an even bigger deterrent on the sidelines.

“I thought he was fantastic,” Lopez said of Trent. “He has all the tools to be great for us defensively at the point of attack and he has the right mentality to do it too. He was great all night at disrupting them and making it difficult for them and like I said, it's the point of attack, it's the start of our defense. If he’s great, that rubs off on everyone else.”

In the fourth quarter, Trent did something similar on this play:

By staying connected to Maxey and swiping the ball around his elbow, Trent forces Maxey to pick up his dribble sooner than he would like and allows Lopez to attack the shot with a big punch, making it a much harder hit in the lane might. Instead of being a step late, Lopez protected the rim a step early, and that was due to Trent's meticulous effort against Maxey.

Too often such plays were missing from the Bucks' defense last season.

“He was great,” River said of Trent. “Physically. Hard.”

It was only one game, but Trent brought the type of on-ball defense the Bucks lacked for most of last season. If the Bucks want to be a top-10 defensive team again this season, they need to be consistent and serious on offense, just like they were on opening night.

(Photo by Gary Trent Jr.: David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)