To successfully defend their NBA championship, the Milwaukee Bucks needed a combination of strong player performances, health and a little bit of luck.
The absence of Khris Middleton was too much for Milwaukee to overcome in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics and they lost in Game 7 on Sunday.
The Bucks were outshot from behind the 3-point line in three of the seven games. Boston made more 3-pointers than Milwaukee in the series, which is the largest gap in a single series in NBA playoff history.
Jrue Holiday, a guard for the Bucks, said that the team could have used Middleton.
Without the services of Khris Middleton, who injured his left knee in the second game of the first-round series against the Bulls, the team relied on the play of their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
During the series against the Celtics, Antetokounmpo averaged 33.9% points, 14.7% rebound and 7.1 assists, while the Celtics defense finished No. 1 in the NBA in efficiency. He had three 40-point games in this series, as the Celtics surrendered all season. Antetokounmpo became the first player in league history to score 200 points, grab 100 rebound and dish out 50 assists in a single game.
The way Giannis evolved through the series, against a very good defensive team, against a lot of good individual defenders, was one of those growth moments and growth plate opportunities.
As the series progressed, I was beyond impressed with him and how he figured out how to attack. We didn't get it done, but he was a big part of that, and I'm impressed by how he progressed through the series.
After scoring 17 points in the first half, Antetokounmpo appeared to get tired and struggled down the stretch. He shot 4-of-16 in the second half with 8 points as the Celtics pulled away.
The legs are heavy. The body is heavy. It's mind heavy. Antetokounmpo said after the game that everything was heavy. At the end of the day, I am not going to hold the ball and not look at the rim. I would rather miss a bunch of shots and keep playing and being aggressive. Go into passive mode when I keep looking for my teammates and make the right plays. I can live with that.
It was the first time since 2001 that a player with 25 shot attempts in seven straight playoff games was not the primary scorer.
After the game, Antetokounmpo said that he enjoyed competing in the series against Boston despite the fact that his team lost.
Antetokounmpo said he didn't shied away from the physical aspects of the game. It kept coming through adversity. That is who I am, that is how I am built. I liked it. It made me a better player. You get better through experience.
In the end, Antetokounmpo couldn't do it all on his own and the Bucks had too many empty performances from their role players. George Hill didn't score a point in four of the five games he played. Allen shot 20% from 3. The team shot 27.9% from 3. Pat Connaughton was the only other player in the series who averaged double-digit scoring and Bobby Portis was the only one who averaged over ten points per game.
Antetokounmpo said that they weren't trying to make excuses. We did that from Game 3 against Chicago to Game 7 against Boston. Maybe it would have been different if we hadMiddleton. But we did not.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
