Kidd reached out and called a timeout.
He really cared about saving face.
The Pelicans were strong, but the Bucks had a Big Three too. Getting beaten like this was utterly humiliating!
"Forget Dedmon. Double-team anyone else who has the ball!"
During the timeout, Kidd adjusted the defensive strategy.
They could not leave any of the Four Superstars open, so they would keep Double Teaming selectively.
If they ignored Dedmon, who had no offensive ability, they still had a chance to get stops.
After the timeout, Irving drove in and hit a Fadeaway Jumper over Walker, finally ending the Bucks' scoring drought.
Kidd's expression improved somewhat.
Although the Bucks' Big Three were not as good as the Pelicans', scoring was all that mattered.
Walker brought the ball up and ran another pick and roll with Davis.
This had also been a deliberate pre-game arrangement by Stevens.
Walker and Davis's pick and roll had worked very well in practice and would be useful during the Bench Connection Segment of the Regular Season.
They needed to get more practice in during the Pre-season.
After the screen, Walker dribbled outward this time.
He had Antetokounmpo on a mismatch.
This was an opportunity for Small vs. Big.
But just then, the Bucks rotated on Help Defense, and Irving immediately came over from the weak side for a Double Team.
Walker quickly slipped the ball to Davis.
But the Bucks' rotation was excellent. Monroe and Hayward had already Double Teamed Davis.
Whoever got the ball would be Double Teamed!
However, Davis made an Inside-to-inside pass, lobbing the ball to Dedmon under the basket.
Dedmon was completely undefended!
No matter how fast the Bucks' Help Defense Rotation was, they had made consecutive Double Teams. When the ball finally reached Dedmon, the man they had intentionally abandoned,