Following their loss to the Orlando Magic tonight, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the 3rd seed right before the end of the regular season. Making it to their eighth straight playoff appearance (per RealGM), Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. will be facing the Indiana Pacers in their first-round matchup. Speaking about the exciting Eastern Conference encounter on NBA Countdown, Stephen A. Smith made some bold claims regarding the Bucks potentially parting ways with Damian Lillard.
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The entire panel on this show gave their predictions for the upcoming first-round tie between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers. Shocking everyone with his claims, Stephen A. Smith stated that Tyrese Haliburton and Co. were going to win the seven-game series “with or without” the Milwaukee Bucks having Giannis Antetokounmpo on the lineup.
According to Smith, when the Bucks are inevitably out of the postseason, before even stating that the front office may need to consider moving their $48 million “asset” – Damian Lillard.
“With or without Giannis, Indiana is winning this series. They gonna beat Milwaukee… When that happens I think the Milwaukee Bucks should take a strong, hard look on using the asset that is Damian Lillard and moving him from Milwaukee to someplace else. I don’t think he wants to be there, I don’t think his play looks like he wants to be there… What we anticipated about with the Milwaukee Bucks, I don’t think ever existed and I think it shows itself in this first-round series,” Smith said.
Smith isn’t the only analyst to be critical of Dame’s performance during his first season with the Bucks. Averaging a relatively underwhelming 24.4 points and 7 assists per game, the 56-year-old believes that the Wisconsin side might want to consider getting rid of Lillard. By moving the 6ft 2” guard, the franchise will save $48.7 million, per Spotrac, something they will have to pay him during the 2024-25 season if the franchise decides to keep him.
‘SAS’ seems to be a bit harsh with his comments. However, he is not wrong when stating that Lillard “doesn’t want to be there”. On numerous occasions over the course of the season, the eight-time All-Star has revealed feeling lonely during his time in Milwaukee and missing his loved ones back in Portland.
To be fair to Lillard, he only recently filed for divorce with his wife, which has likely only added to his emotional turmoil. Overall, with so much going on in his life, aside from him not being in his ideal destination, it’s hard to blame the star for his below-par performances. That said, it also places Milwaukee in a very bad spot, at this moment.
With the Pacers having won the regular season series 4-1, the Bucks could suffer a first-round loss. If and when that outcome does become a reality, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see that Dame demands a trade.
Damian Lillard and Co. will be hoping for Giannis Antetokounmpo to recover quickly
The Milwaukee Bucks had a great run immediately after the All-Star break. However, since 6th March, they then proceeded to lose 12 out of their next 20 games. Things only went from bad to worse when Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a soleus strain during a clash against the Boston Celtics, just a week before the conclusion of the regular season.
A day after the Greek Freak went down to the floor, the franchise revealed that their superstar would be out for the final three games of the season. Experts then made predictions on his recovery timeline, stating that it takes 2-3 weeks for a player to recover from the injury in question.
With the Indiana Pacers-Milwaukee Bucks series commencing on April 21, Giannis still has one week to return to the lineup fully fit. If Antetokounmpo doesn’t make his return, it will be an extremely difficult task to outperform Rick Carlisle’s boys, who have been in sublime form this campaign, having finished the regular season with a 9-4 record.
