"Steve Kerr don't need to play no defense": Gilbert Arenas uses Bulls Big 3 analogy to calm worries about Damian Lillard's defensive woes

The Milwaukee Bucks took a risk by trading Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard this offseason, swapping arguably the NBA's best perimeter defender for an elite scorer. This has led to concerns over how their defense will hold up. However, according to former All-Star point guard Gilbert Arenas, Bucks fans shouldn't be worried.

During a recent episode of “Gil’s Arena,” Arenas first spoke about how Lillard shouldn’t be expected to play defense like Holiday. Arenas said that the Bucks made the deal because they wanted to prioritize bolstering their offense around superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo:

“(Holiday) didn’t bring what Dame is bringing. Why does he need to be Jrue Holiday when they got rid of Jrue Holiday? So, whatever Jrue Holiday brought, they were like, ‘We don’t want it.’ … first team All-Defense, ‘We don’t want it. We need someone to score.’ Giannis has trouble scoring when they buckle down.”

Arenas added that Milwaukee still has multiple elite defenders on its roster. He then likened Lillard’s defensive role on the Bucks to sharpshooter Steve Kerr’s defensive role on Chicago’s Michael Jordan-led Big 3 teams in the 1990s:

“Defensively, I have three people who play (first team-caliber defense). I already have (Scottie) Pippen, Jordan and (Dennis) Rodman back there. Steve Kerr don’t need to play no defense. … We’re not acting like we have one defender back there. I already have three more. Right, I have three. I lost one, cool, I’ve got three.”

(7:06 mark below)

The Bucks finished fourth in team defensive rating (110.9) and 15th in offensive rating (114.3) en route to their league-best 58-24 record last season. However, the team collapsed in its 2023 first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. The Bucks, who struggled to score when it counted, mustered up just one win, losing the series 4-1.

So, perhaps the addition of Lillard will give Milwaukee the offensive boost it needs to make a deep playoff run in 2024.

Last season, Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 4.2 3-pointers per game on 46.3% shooting over 58 games with Portland.

Gilbert Arenas compares Damian Lillard’s situation in Milwaukee to Steph Curry's situation in Golden State

Former All-Star point guard Gilbert Arenas, Milwaukee Bucks superstar point guard Damian Lillard and Golden State Warriors superstar point guard Steph Curry

Later in his podcast, Gilbert Arenas also compared Damian Lillard’s situation in Milwaukee to Golden State Warriors superstar point guard Steph Curry’s current situation.

Arenas said that opposing teams often try to target Curry on the defensive end. However, the Warriors have built their roster to cover up the superstar’s defensive deficiencies:

“It’s like Curry, right? As much as you wanna sit there and target Curry, you can’t 'cause of the rest of his team.”

Arenas then received some pushback from former four-year NBA veteran Rashad McCants. McCants pointed out that Curry was targeted in the 2016 NBA Finals against Cleveland when the Warriors infamously blew a 3-1 lead. However, Arenas countered that the Warriors have still won four championships despite Curry’s defense:

“Four championships. What I’m saying is they targeted him and everything, but they’ve won four championships.”

(8:05 mark below)

So, if Arenas is correct about Lillard’s fit in Milwaukee, it looks like Bucks fans should be in store for a fun season.