THE CROWD AT Fiserv Discussion board in Milwaukee was nonetheless standing on its toes, ready for the end result of 1 ultimate possession to find out if the Bucks might cease their shedding skid. Moments earlier, Damian Lillard made a go-ahead jumper to provide the Bucks a one-point lead, leaving 9.8 seconds on the sport clock, permitting the constructing a short second to rejoice. Now they only wished another defensive cease.
Cavs ahead Evan Mobley lofted a excessive inbounds go to Donovan Mitchell, who tipped the ball to himself close to the half-court line. As Mitchell broke for the basket, he was met on the drive by Gary Trent Jr., who knocked the ball away from Mitchell, forcing the five-time All-Star to remember himself.
With Trent and Giannis Antetokounmpo offering assist protection to clog the house towards the sidelines, Mitchell dribbled again to the center of the ground. He rose up a couple of steps from the free throw line and knocked down a game-winning jumper.
The 114-113 loss was one other letdown throughout a nightmare opening stretch for Milwaukee. After a victory towards the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers on opening night time, the Bucks dropped six straight video games, earlier than lastly snapping their shedding streak with a 123-100 win on Thursday towards the rebuilding Utah Jazz. Nonetheless, the Bucks are off to their worst begin since 2013-14, Antetokounmpo’s rookie season.
Profitable solely one in every of their first seven video games put the Bucks in a gap only some groups have ever efficiently climbed out of. Over the previous 25 seasons, solely three groups have began 1-6 or worse and made the playoffs: the 2021-22 New Orleans Pelicans, the 2004-05 Chicago Bulls and the 2003-04 Miami Warmth, based on ESPN Analysis.
“We’ll make the playoffs,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers stated after Monday’s loss in Cleveland. “I am not frightened about that.”
Merely making the playoffs shouldn’t be the objective for a Bucks crew that’s 4 seasons faraway from successful a championship. However they’ve gained solely a single playoff collection since, regardless of having Antetokounmpo — one of the crucial dominant forces within the NBA — in his prime. The 29-year-old ahead is averaging 31 factors, 12 rebounds and 6 assists on 63% taking pictures, even higher numbers than these from when he gained his two MVP awards.
Antetokounmpo’s presence led the Bucks to push in all of their remaining property to commerce for Lillard final September, after they’d fired their championship coach, Mike Budenholzer, regardless of a season by which he had the most effective file within the NBA. They then fired Budenholzer’s substitute, Adrian Griffin, regardless of him main Milwaukee to a 30-13 begin final season, as a result of they believed one other coach was higher suited to assist them attain their championship ceiling.
As an alternative, the Bucks have dropped to 18-25 since Rivers took over on the finish of January. They’re at the moment ranked within the backside half of the league in each offensive effectivity (18th) and defensive effectivity (nineteenth), per NBA.com.
“Proper now, we do not have an id,” Antetokounmpo stated following a loss to the Brooklyn Nets late final month. “Like, how are we going to win the sport? Are we going to defend for 48 minutes? Are we going to maneuver the ball for 48 minutes? Are we going to assault and play quick for 48 minutes — or 36 minutes and decelerate within the final 12? We obtained to search out an id. We do not have that proper now.”
Milwaukee’s sluggish begin doesn’t rattling their season and internally the Bucks say they’re making steps towards a turnaround. After blowout losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies, the Bucks performed two tight video games towards the 9-0 first-place Cleveland Cavaliers, even with Antetokounmpo sidelined Monday. Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton has not performed in a sport this season and the Bucks are optimistic his presence will assist treatment among the crew’s ills.
“As a frontrunner of this crew, I feel we’re headed towards the fitting course,” Antetokounmpo stated final week. “That does not imply we will go on a five-game successful streak, however I do know we’re enjoying higher and trusting each other. The ball is shifting. There’s numerous good issues we’re doing.”
The Bucks have few choices aside from trusting issues will get higher. They’ve already modified coaches twice prior to now 18 months. The win-now trades they’ve made this decade have left them with out tradable property and their payroll leaves them with out flexibility. Their sluggish begin has left executives across the NBA questioning, how for much longer can the Bucks maintain on?
“The concern is exterior the constructing,” Rivers instructed reporters after follow this week. “I assure you that. There’s none contained in the constructing.”
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Giannis rises for alley-oop slam
Andre Jackson lobs it as much as Giannis Antetokounmpo for a Bucks alley-oop vs. the Jazz.
AT MEDIA DAY on Sept. 30, Antetokounmpo sat on a high-top chair and fielded questions for about 20 minutes on a variety of matters: from being a flag bearer on the 2024 Paris Olympics for Greece and getting married to his long-time girlfriend, Mariah, in September. These occasions, and a while rehabbing an harm from the Olympics, prevented him from figuring out with Lillard over the summer season, however he stated he was nonetheless optimistic about their partnership in Yr 2.
When a query was posed concerning the crew’s new position gamers — veterans akin to Taurean Prince, Gary Trent Jr. and Delon Wright — and the way their expertise might assist the crew get again to the Convention Finals or Finals, Antetokounmpo first responded with a pause.
“To start with — convention finals or finals — we obtained to out of the primary spherical,” he stated. “Let’s do this.”
That is been a problem for Milwaukee since successful the title in 2021, when Antetokounmpo spoke about how successful that title made him hungry to win extra. The next season, Milwaukee misplaced a hard-fought seven-game collection to the Boston Celtics within the second spherical. In every of the previous two seasons, the Bucks have been upset as the next seed within the first spherical, shedding to the eighth-seeded Miami Warmth in 5 video games in 2023 and the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers in six video games this previous April.
The loss to the Warmth set Milwaukee on a dramatic course to reshape its crew and maximize Antetokounmpo’s prime, buying and selling for Lillard to function his co-star and bringing in Rivers, a championship coach with expertise dealing with star skills.
Nevertheless, the returns have not been there. Individually, each Antetokounmpo and Lillard have began the yr robust, rating second (31.0) and seventh (28.4), respectively, within the NBA in scoring. However Milwaukee is outscoring groups by a modest 1.6 factors per 100 possessions when the 2 share the courtroom, and questions stay about their chemistry on offense.
“I really feel like we’re getting extra comfy with each other,” Antetokounmpo stated. “We’re not letting guys off the hook once we play, me and him.”
“It is much more pure so far as I am seeing it and feeling it,” Lillard stated Thursday about their chemistry. “Final yr everyone was like oh they obtained to play two-man, you bought to do that and in follow it was so scripted on a regular basis.
“Simply time, reps and us simply attending to know one another, now we’re simply having numerous communication among the many two of us, with out Doc or with out anyone else. And speaking about what I would like him to do, what I see. And he’ll inform me what he is making an attempt to do, what he sees.”
Defensively, groups are attacking Lillard, exacerbating the distinction between him and Jrue Holiday, the participant Milwaukee traded to amass Lillard — and who ended up serving to Boston win a title final season. Opponents are forcing Lillard to defend a mean of 11.3 on-ball screens per 100 possessions — up from 7.0 final season and by far his highest price since monitoring started in 2013-14, based on ESPN Analysis — and having success in doing so. In every of the primary seven video games, the Bucks allowed an opposing guard to attain no less than 25 factors towards them. And they’re getting cooked in transition, rating twenty eighth in factors per possession allowed in transition, forward of the Lakers and the Spurs.
However the Bucks have little alternative than to hope the Antetokounmpo-Lillard pairing begins to pay dividends, as a result of the price of contending for the previous seven years has left Milwaukee with out choices.
The one first-round choose the Bucks have obtainable to commerce is in 2031 and so they have one second-round choose obtainable. The 2025 choose they owe to both New Orleans or Brooklyn this season was part of a commerce to amass Vacation in 2020.
As a result of they’re over the second apron, the Bucks aren’t allowed to take again extra wage in a commerce or mixture contracts despatched out. Additionally they aren’t allowed to signal a participant waived throughout the season who had a wage larger than $12.8 million earlier than being waived.
With the second-apron restrictions in place, the crew tried to do the most effective it might this summer season in including veterans prepared to take minimal salaries to play for a possible contender, however these strikes have not paid off. Trent is taking pictures 23% from 3, the worst mark of his profession. Wright has scored simply 15 factors in restricted motion. Prince has been one of many lone vivid spots, taking pictures 55% total and from 3, blowing away his earlier profession excessive of 40%.
The returning supporting solid hasn’t been significantly better. Bobby Portis is averaging his lowest scoring complete in 4 seasons with the Bucks and taking pictures a career-worst 29% from 3, whereas each Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton are taking pictures 27% from deep.
Bucks position gamers had been anticipated to assist spherical out the roster, however in the end the crew was relying on the continuity of their star gamers to prevail.
“We all know what we’re able to,” Lillard instructed reporters Monday. “It is only a matter of placing it collectively and we obtained numerous video games to do it. For that purpose we have got each purpose to maintain preventing as a result of we will discover our manner again and be wanting again at this sooner or later. You’ll be able to by no means be the crew to fold.”
MIDDLETON’S ABSENCE HAS loomed massive for the Bucks to begin the season.
He underwent surgical procedure on each his ankles within the offseason, a left ankle surgical procedure in Might to repair an harm brought on from touchdown on Kevin Durant’s foot throughout a sport in February, and a proper ankle surgical procedure in June to repair an harm that occurred throughout the first spherical of the playoffs in April. In the beginning of coaching camp, Rivers had been optimistic about Middleton’s probabilities to begin the season on time, however for weeks he and the crew have prevented linking themselves to any timeline for his return.
Middleton, 33, has performed in simply 88 video games because the begin of the 2022-23 season. However his efficiency throughout final yr’s playoffs, 24.7 factors on 48% taking pictures, confirmed he can nonetheless be efficient when wholesome.
When the Bucks had Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Middleton share the ground final season, they’d a plus-17.5 web effectivity, the second greatest amongst trios to play no less than 600 minutes collectively. Nevertheless, underneath Rivers, the trio has not often been wholesome on the identical time. They performed in simply 5 video games collectively after the All-Star break and none within the playoffs.
Middleton participated in a 3-on-3 scrimmage Thursday, the primary time he is finished so since coaching camp. The crew hopes he can begin enjoying in 5-on-5 scrimmages quickly earlier than he is able to return to video games.
“I have not coached him a lot in any respect. I had him within the playoffs, however aside from that, not numerous video games,” Rivers stated. “However I do know he can play. I understand how good he’s, however proper now that is not the main target for me. I am extra centered on what we’ve got and who’s enjoying proper now.”
Rivers made a lineup swap earlier than Thursday’s sport towards the Jazz, inserting second-year wing Andre Jackson Jr. into the beginning lineup to switch the struggling Trent. Jackson started the yr out of the rotation, enjoying one minute of rubbish time within the first two video games mixed, however on Thursday he performed a season-high 28 minutes. A.J. Inexperienced, a sharpshooting 25-year-old who signed with the crew a couple of years in the past on a two-way deal as an undrafted free agent, logged 18 minutes off the bench and knocked down 4 of his 6 3-pointers. Growing enjoying time has been Rivers’ likelihood to inject youth into the rotation for one of many oldest rosters within the NBA.
Their presence helped the Bucks capitalize on a mixed 65 factors from Lillard and Antetokounmpo en path to a victory over the Jazz.
“Each good crew has any individual you could level to that is a disruptor,” Lillard stated after Thursday’s win. “Plenty of these hustle performs that may convey power to a crew, but in addition these moments the place it seems to be like the opposite crew is about to have one thing occur for him after which [Jackson’s] power, effort and his motor comes into play for us.”
That sport was the primary in a five-games-in-seven-night stretch, which features a go to to New York Friday night time and a house sport towards the defending champion Celtics on Sunday. The schedule begins to ease after that with video games towards the Raptors, Pistons and Hornets, however the Bucks know they should begin piling up wins to ship on Rivers’ promise of a playoff berth. Regardless of the sluggish begin, ESPN Analytics’ Basketball Energy Index nonetheless offers Milwaukee a 65% likelihood of reaching the playoffs.
“There’s anxiousness at all times since you don’t love shedding,” Rivers stated earlier than his crew snapped their shedding streak Thursday. “There’s additionally a extra calm state while you’re a crew that is aware of you could be an excellent crew. You recognize you are going to get it going. Typically that may be idiot’s gold too since you simply assume that as a substitute of going to do one thing about it. Hopefully we’re not the latter.”