Tyler Herro Knows What Bucks Have to Do to Start Winning After 1-7 Start

Guard Tyler Herro did not sugarcoat things after the Milwaukee Bucks fell to 1-7 with a 109-102 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Wednesday night, as he said this team cannot count on talent alone and has to win with effort instead.

Milwaukee fell behind by 22 points in the first half before fighting all the way back to take a 92-91 lead with 6:50 left, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Boston pulled away late for the Bucks' fourth straight loss, leaving them tied with the Chicago Bulls for the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Herro did his part, scoring 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting with four threes and going 5-for-5 at the line.

Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 18 points, and center Myles Turner had 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Coach Taylor Jenkins focused on the comeback afterward and hopes the shooting in Boston can be a springboard for what comes next.

When Herro talked about what needs to change, he kept the focus on his own team, saying the starting group has come out fine in most first quarters this season and the real problem has been keeping that level up, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Then he got to the heart of it.

"This season is still early, but we gotta be one of the hardest playing teams in the league. We don't have the best talent. We're not like, a huge, talented team, so how can we get advantages? It's playing hard," Herro said.

I respect that answer, because it comes from the guy carrying the scoring load.

Herro is averaging 22.3 points per game while shooting 46.0% from the field and 42.6% from three, and he has been playing at an All-Star level on a losing team.

When a player putting up those numbers says talent is not enough, the rest of the locker room should listen.

The numbers back up his point on the defensive end, where Milwaukee is giving up more than 122 points a night while scoring 110.0.

A team that rebuilt so much of its roster this offseason, including the trade that sent forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat and brought Herro back to his hometown, was always going to need time, but effort on defense does not take time to learn.

I think this is the most important thing anyone in that locker room has said all season.

A roster like this one wins by playing harder than the other team for 48 minutes, not just for one big quarter, and the Boston comeback showed the Bucks can do it in spurts.

Several players still need to step up for it to last.

The Bucks get their first chance to show it during a two-game homestand at Fiserv Forum, hosting the Toronto Raptors on Friday night and the Celtics on Sunday.

The Raptors will be without forward Kawhi Leonard, who is out with a left knee issue, while forward Scottie Barnes is questionable with groin soreness.