The Milwaukee Bucks (9-13) are looking for a mulligan with 22 games played, just a skosh over one-quarter of the regular season schedule. Having Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Porter Jr. back from injuries, for the moment, is not going to be the cure-all for the illness.
They have now lost eight of their last nine games. Their fourth place standing in the NBA Central Division translates to 11th place for the Eastern Conference, just below the dividing line for the playoffs. They were even eliminated from the NBA Cup Tournament that they screamed through to win last season.
We mentioned at the outset that the team will betray its direction by the start of December. It is rapidly going south, for a number of reasons, so don’t look for a playoff team and just enjoy the ride.
Let’s start with the NBA Championship in 2021, a success that will not be repeated with the strategies of the front office or the coaching staff. Despite the smoke and mirrors, the game plans are straight out of a bumbling playbook that stresses disconnected defense, dependency on one player, and trying to cover injuries with no depth on the bench.
Remember the 2023-2024 season? Mike Budenholzer was fired, and in his stead came Adrian Green. A 30-13 record, halfway through the season, was not enough to gloss over that same disconnect between teammates or a cohesive game plan. Even “The Big Guy” was leaning against the scorer’s table, at one point, distracted from the task.
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Came Up Short
Hometown hero Doc Rivers was summoned from the golf course, a great public relations ploy with the same results. Case in point was last Wednesday’s 106-103 loss to the Miami Heat. Instead of calling a timeout in the final seconds to put a plan together, Ryan Rollins ran the ball, tossed to Myles Turner for the three-point shot that came up short.
With 5.7 seconds remaining, this is not deliberated play but “street ball.” Rivers defended his decision afterwards, and Rollins did get 26 points. The team literally put together a great effort in coming back from 12 points down, only to give it away. It is exciting in a watching the ice cream slip off the cone sort of way.
Antetokounmpo even touted Rollins as an improved player, or words to that effect. Why do you get this feeling of Lowell George retreating from his involvement with Little Feat in 1978?
Monday night’s game against the Washington Bullets, a 3-16 team now, thanks to winning over the Bucks 129-126. A three-point shot by C.J. McCollum (26 points) with 14.4 seconds left, plus former Bucks forward Khris Middleton (15) in the mix, sealed the deal.
Antetokounmpo tried his best moves, called for not shooting a foul shot quick enough. Frustration is showing. Kevin Porter Jr. in his second game back from an injury netted 30 points. Gary Trent Jr. (14, 3-5 in three-pointers) and Bobby Portis Jr. (12) shooting 5-10 from the field including 2-4, from three-point range, led the bench.
Chucking it from the cheap seats is fun and seems to be the only thing working, with a 55% shooting average last night. There has to be more components to a championship team. This means, unless something changes, the Bucks are only going to be entertainment which they are anyway.
They play at the Fiserv Forum against the Detroit Pistons (12/3) and the Philadelphia 76ers (12/5).