“Gonna Get Swept in the First Round”: Shaquille O’Neal Changes His Stance on Bucks’ Playoff Potential

On Thursday, the Milwaukee Bucks’ concerning form continued as they succumbed to a surprising 113-110 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies in their final game before the All-Star break. The surprising home loss against an injury-ridden Grizzlies team marked Milwaukee’s second straight defeat. Doc Rivers has now a 3-7 record as the Bucks’ head coach.

The NBA on TNT crew did not mince words when criticizing the Bucks’ performance. Shaquille O’Neal said,

“Milwaukee needs to understand that because of Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Dame [Lillard], the opponents are going to be playing way above their heads… I know this was a throwaway game, but when you are not playing well, you wanna end the All-Star break on a positive note.”

Shaq added that the Bucks have the talent to compete for a championship but lack the attitude and desire to win it. He also criticized the lack of timely stops in the contest, pointing to Rivers’ faults as the boss. After that, Shaq once again highlighted the Bucks’ terrible defense, that has caused them problems all season.

To sum it all up, the Diesel even made a grim prediction about Milwaukee’s playoff future, saying,

“I said it earlier. This is a championship team on paper, that’s nowhere near a championship team. They way they are playing right now, they are going to get swept in the first round.”

“The way they’re playing right now, they gonna get swept in the first round.”

Shaq on Milwaukee after back-to-back losses heading into the All-Star break pic.twitter.com/EZr9NQ2EW7

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2024

Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley also joined in on bashing the Bucks. Smith called the team Milwaukee “No Bucks,” while Barkley called the team out for wasting a roster spot on Thanasis Antetokounmpo, saying,

“Thanasis has better job security than a Supreme Court justice.”

Kenny Smith: “Milwaukee ‘No Bucks'”

LMAO pic.twitter.com/5zp55zmKtc

— Oh no he didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) February 16, 2024

The Bucks desperately needed the All-Star break to evaluate their situation, identify their shortcomings. They would look to regroup as a roster and attack the rest of the season, and live up to their billing as title contenders. But if this form continues, the Bucks management can soon regret firing Adrian Griffin from the job.

Milwaukee Bucks’ horrific start to life under Doc Rivers

Last month, the Bucks shockingly fired rookie head coach Adrian Griffin after he led the team to a 31-13 start. He had the third-highest winning percentage of a head coach fired midway through an NBA season behind Jack McKinney (1979-80) and David Blatt (2015-16).

The Bucks hired former championship-winning head coach Doc Rivers to lead the team to the title. However, life under him has been a disaster. As mentioned earlier, Milwaukee is 3-7 in Rivers’ ten games in charge and has slipped to third in the Eastern Conference standings. Their defense has gotten worse under Rivers’ tutelage. The Bucks are giving up 120 points per game since the former Philadelphia 76ers head coach took over, which ranks 24th in the league in that span.

After the loss to the Grizzlies, Rivers deflected the blame on the Bucks players, saying,

“We had some guys here, some guys in Cabo.”

Doc was not happy after Bucks loss pic.twitter.com/giXX104UCc

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 16, 2024

The Bucks were horrendous from beyond the arc, going 11-of-44 while allowing the Grizzlies to go 13-of-26 on three-point attempts. Milwaukee was poor on both ends of the court, and despite limiting Memphis to only 19 points in the fourth quarter, their dismal shooting ensured they left the FedExForum with another loss.

If the Bucks fail to turn their fortunes around after the All-Star break, the Doc Rivers experiment could be shortlived. Teams below them in the standings are catching up to them, and the risk of sinking further in the table remains if they continue on their current trajectory.