¿Qué sigue para los Bucks?
Milwaukee had odds of 8-1 to defend its title at the start of the season, according to Caesars Sportsbook (the third-best odds behind the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers).
However, Sunday marked the third time in franchise history that they succumbed in a series despite leading 3-2. The other instances were under coaches Scott Skiles in 2010 and Don Nelson in 1980.
The Bucks’ 1-8 all-time record as a visitor in a Game 7 (.111) is the third-worst among franchises to play at least five of those. What’s next for the team?
Also, can elimination be considered a failure? Our experts answer those questions and more.
What’s next for the Bucks?
Losing a Game 7 and being eliminated from retaining the title won the previous season never leaves a good taste in the mouth. Especially when the difference was 28 points, and after leading the series 3-2 with the possibility of defining it at home. But impatience is usually a bad advisor and, in a case like this, it is better not to make hasty decisions that end up taking the wrong path for the future.
The return to full fitness of Khris Middleton for next season will put things in place. This team does not need drastic changes but to strengthen some weak points. Finding a more productive pivot than Brook Lopez may be a step to take. And what shouldn’t wait, is finding a better defensive presence on the perimeter. Boston punished him with a formidable 39.8% three-point efficiency (39 of 98) in the last two games of the series.
However, the team’s salary restrictions based on the fact that the sum of the salaries of three players (Giannis, Middleton and Holiday) represents almost 72% of the team’s salary cap, are a big stick in the wheel to continue accumulating talent. (Marcelo Bousquet)
Fact or fiction: Milwaukee’s elimination to Celtics is not a failure.
Reality. Although it may not seem like much for the defending champs to make it through one round of the playoffs before being eliminated, in the new era of the NBA after the Warriors’ dominance, parity among teams has been the norm.
The Raptors as monarchs fell in the same instance, while the Lakers in 2020-21 did not get past the first stage, after going through the play-in. In addition, for the series against the Celtics, the Bucks had the absence of Middleton, who was not only their second best scorer (20.1 points in the regular season), but also the key piece of the system because of his contribution from the three-point line, something that his team lacked against Boston; his absence caused more pressure for Giannis Antetokounmpo and is a factor to consider in the evaluation of the Monarchs.
- Is Giannis still the best player in the East?
Without a doubt. In fact, the best player in the NBA. While it is true that Serbian center Nikola Jokic equaled him in MVP awards, Antetokounmpo is the most dominant player in the entire league. Had his ‘Robin’ Khris Middleton been there against the Celtics, the outcome of the series would have been different.
But to give you an idea, against Boston, the Greek became the first player to record at least 200 points, 100 rebounds and 50 assists in a single series, the first to average 30 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in a single postseason and also the first to record 40 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a four-game span within a single playoffs.
Likewise, his 25 points, 20 rebounds and five assists in consecutive postseason games have not been seen since Shaquille O’Neal in 2001.
