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At the moment, the Bucks are fighting to stay alive in the NBA playoffs. Despite the fact that they were the number one seed in the Eastern Conference heading into post-season play, they’ve stumbled against the Miami Heat.
Prior to the July 30 restart of the regular NBA season, pundits and fans were busy studying the Western Conference. The surety behind the Bucks meant many were looking west to see which team would face the Buck int he Finals: the LA Clippers or the Lakers?
Since the restart in July, more than a few shocks have made the NBA Playoffs in Orlando a feast for fans. In the Western Conference, the Lakers are down a match to the Houston Rockets, while the Nuggets have a daunting task to overcome against the LA Clippers.
This is the moment many have waited since the start of the 2019 season: to see whether the dynamic duo of Kawhi Leonard and Ken George, fresh from the Toronto Raptors, have what it takes to lead the Clippers to their first Championship title.
Despite original assumptions about the Bucks, the Eastern Conference has also delivered on excitement—but in a decidedly different vein. Rather than watching the Bucks decimate their conference, fans have had to watch their team slide backward.
What began as a slow start against the Orlando Magic has spiraled into an unfortunate series of events against the Miami Heat. What happened to the all-star team that cleared the floor 119-91 against the Clippers in December? Or the team that got scrappy against the Houston Rockets for a glorious win in October?
Developing Antetokounmpo
Synonymous with the Bucks success is the development of a promising talent in Giannis Antetokounmpo. As the star player of the NBA’s top team from the 2019-20 season, all eyes have been on Antetokounmpo. However, the coaching staff hasn’t only been looking to defend or nullify his powers on the court.
Instead, staff from the Raptors and Heat have been watching him as a potential recruit. Antetokounmpo has singlehandedly shifted the limelight to the Bucks, a team that’s got strong NBA betting odds this season despite not having taken a championship title since 1971—and he’s up for free agency next year.
While many fans are currently watching the Bucks and wondering how a crew with the NBA’s best record is faltering against the Heat, others are watching the squad’s dynamics to see if Antetokounmpo seems likely to stray come free agency.
As a likely candidate for another NBA MVP Award (for the second year in a row), Antetokounmpo doesn’t need to stick around. In fact, this year’s performance against the Heat mirrors a similar disappointment from last year’s loss to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Looking ahead, the NBA’s most prestigious player will need to decide whether or not a big salary and bonus he keep him with the Bucks, or if he’ll fly the coup to make another team his own. Many are ready to compare this to Leonard’s recent move from the Raptors to the Clippers, while others point to James Harden’s leadership with the Houston Rockets.
2020 Playoffs
As easy as it is to critique Mike Budenholzer, head coach of the Bucks, for their lackluster performance in Orlando (if not the Orlando bubble itself), the Heat deserve some credit.
Jimmy Butler seems to have accepted the challenge for sinking long-distance shots, while Goran Dragic and Tyler Herro managed to make steal after steal in Game 2 of the series. The Heat have managed to destabilize the Bucks’ quick, accurate rhythm.
At the moment, Antetokounmpo seems to be the only loose thread holding the Bucks together. However, one of the surest ways to make fans second-guess an MVP is to hold him responsible for carrying a team.
The NBA Playoffs aren’t a time to get flustered on the court. Teams that can’t handle the pressure and pacing of the grittiest games of the year won’t make it past their Conference Finals—which the Bucks, unfortunately, are all too familiar with.