What just happened? The 58 win, best record in the NBA, Milwaukee Bucks were just eliminated in the first round by the 8th seeded Miami Heat. Entering the playoffs, the Bucks were 51-3 in games they led entering the 4th quarter, they led both games 4 and 5 by double digits entering the 4th quarter, both ended in losses. This was an organizational failure, from the front office, to the coaches, to the players, everyone failed. It’s time for the Milwaukee Bucks to take a long look in the mirror and figure out what just happened?
I want to start with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s post game quote where he was asked if this season was a failure “there is no failure in sports,” he said. “There are good days, there are bad days. Some days you are able to be successful, some days you are not. That's what sports is about. You don't always win. Some other people are going to win. This year, somebody else is going to win. Simple as that.” This was a failure and while I understand what Giannis is saying (I don’t really understand but that is not important), to say this was anything but a failure is wrong. This was not a 7 game slug fest where the teams went back and forth and the Heat gutted out the upset, though that too would have been a massive failure, this was a 5 game punch in the mouth where Jimmy Butler, Himmy Butler, Jimmy G. Buckets (and the G stands for gets), embarrassed the Bucks franchise for the 2nd time, the first in the 2020 second round, and knocked them out in 5 games. This was a systematic failure for the Bucks and now they have a long offseason ahead of them with a lot of questions.
Should we start with the way Jimmy Butler took every chance he could to attack Jrue Holiday? “I OWN YOU” Butler said to Holiday as he kept attacking him and then pointed to the scoreboard to show Holiday what he had dropped on him saying “on your head.” Jrue Holiday was a no show on offense too, which he has been over the past few postseasons, shooting 29% from 3 in the series. Giannis’ free throws were also eye opening, 10-23 is so bad and the hot potato pass that Khris Middleton, who had a great game last night with 33/6/6, had to dive into the crowd and save was so bad, and fouling Max Strus was just as bad. How about when the Bucks scored 2 field goals in the final 7:07 of regulation. Mike Budenholzer should probably be fired, not calling timeout with 0.5 seconds left in regulation after Jimmy Butler tied the game was inexcusable. I think Nick Nurse should be the Bucks coach next year and I think that is what is going to happen, though Charles Lee, an assistant with the team, is an option too.
The roster simply is not good enough, that much is clear. Is it easy to say they have poor roster construction now after they lost, of course it is, does that make it wrong, I don’t think so. Let’s start with the ‘great’ depth everyone said Milwaukee had, guys like Bobby Portis, Grayson Allen, Pat Connaughton, Wesley Matthews, Joe Ingles, and Jae Crowder (who could not get on the court in games 4 and 5) were not made up to all they were meant to be. I actually think that Wesley Matthews played well for his age but players like Pat Connaughton, Grayson Allen, and Jae Crowder just were not good. The Bucks traded Jordan Nwora, George Hill, Serge Ibaka, and FIVE (5) second round picks for Crowder just for him to log 19 SECONDS of action over the last 2 games of the series as Jimmy Butler, the exact type of player Milwaukee traded for Crowder to defend, was lighting the Bucks up for 56 points in game 4 and 42 points in game 5. Grayson Allen not getting a shot off in the final possession of the game was unreal, another time Bud kept a timeout in his pocket, they don’t roll over to next season. I know Giannis missed 2½ games in the series but when you win 58 games and are the number one seed in the entire league, you have to beat an eight seed, even without your best player for part of the series.
The coach is probably gone and there are lots of questions about the roster. Khris Middleton, will be 32 years old in August, can opt-out and become a free agent, Brook Lopez, 35 years old, is a free agent, and though he remains under contract, Jrue Holiday turns 33 in June. This is an epic collapse and now this is a moment where the Bucks have to look in the mirror because changes are coming whether they like it or not. There are not many avenues for them to improve, their picks are gone, their players around Giannis are old, and the new CBA restricts them on how they can improve their roster. We are approaching doomsday in Milwaukee and we may already be there.
This Bucks team won the championship in 2021 and you can never take that away from them. That does not change the fact that this is a massive failure and an inexcusable defeat. They can run it back, which they probably will because they don’t have many other options and need to keep Giannis long term, but that doesn’t make you believe something is going to change. It feels like a loss like this is a turning point for Milwaukee as a franchise and that is a huge problem for their future.
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