NSFW but necessary language:
But last night on the list of our state’s more embarrassing playoff losses. The 2016 and 2019 NFC Championship games come to mind, Game 6 of the 2011 NLCS at Miller Park, Game 6 for the Bucks against the Bulls in 2015 when they lost by 54, the Cardale Jones Ohio State/Wisconsin Big Ten Title game. I don’t want to rank them, but last night is in that company.
I simply don’t understand how I fall for this team every single year. The problems they have had in this series so far are the same ones they had against Toronto in 2019 and against Miami last night. Khris Middleton can’t hit a shot and turns the ball over constantly, Giannis takes ill-advised/timed 3-pointers and can’t hit a free throw, Bud’s rotations stink, time is a flat circle.
At this juncture the two best players on the floor are Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and it’s by a WIDE margin. Hell, Blake Griffin might be the 3rd best player on the floor through the first two games. You knew the Nets were going to score points, they’ve got three of the best pure scorers in the league, but the Bucks put up ZERO resistance last night. And it’s not just Durant/Irving. It’s Joe Harris, it’s freaking Bruce Brown, it’s Mike *BLEEPING* James off of the bench, everyone in a Nets jersey looks confident and under control. Meanwhile the Bucks looked like a team that had never played together before. It’s astounding, but I guess, given the history of the last three seasons, somewhat predictable.
So, all you can do as a Bucks fan now is pray that home court turns things around. You take games 3 and 4, and make it a best of three series heading back to Brooklyn. But I’m not sure how you can have any confidence that can happen given what we saw last night. And I know you have to take it ‘one game at a time,’ but I can’t fathom how this team beats a team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving 4 out of the next 5 to win the series. And we don’t even know what James Harden’s status is for the rest of the series. Can you imagine if he would have played last night?? At one point, the Bucks trailed by 49 points in Game 2, and that was with the Nets missing on of their big three. SHEESH.
I guess we’ll see how the rest of the series plays out, maybe the Bucks have an ace up their sleeve, but if this plays out the way it looks like it’s going to, this team needs a MAJOR overhaul this offseason. I’m not sure how many times you can feasibly ‘run it back’ with the same roster/coach and expect something different. I would say that Bud is 99.9% gone if they lose this series. And honestly, they need to burn most of the roster to ground as well. Big contracts and lack of draft capital make that difficult, but you’ve got to find a way. I’d say keep Giannis and Jrue and go from there. I love Middleton, I’ve defended him over the years, he hit a clutch shot to win Game 1 against Miami, but he’s not a true #2. He’s a borderline All Star player who will average 20-22 points per game no matter where he plays. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But he’s been MIA against really good teams in the playoffs for several years in a row now. He’s just not the high level shot maker in the playoffs that guys like Durant/Luke/Lillard/Kawhi are. And when you’re #1 star, Giannis, is basically Shaq, you NEED a #2 that is a consistent shot maker in the playoffs. You need a guy like Damian Lillard, who would be my #1 target in the offseason if this does go completely south.
PS: I’m also mad at myself for buying tickets for Game 3 yesterday morning. I figured the price would go up if the Bucks won last night, so I clicked purchase yesterday. Same tickets are 40% less today because the Bucks ghosted last night. Live look at me and every other diehard Bucks fan right now:
