The Milwaukee Bucks seem to be losing their momentum deep into the season. They have lost four of their last seven games and the recent loss against the Wizards has cast a dark shadow on their otherwise great season so far. NBA legend and TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal recently broke down the underlying problems in the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led squad during a post-game broadcast show on NBA on TNT. The big man even said that this could lead to their elimination in the first round.
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The Bucks lost 113-117 to the Wizards in their last game, even though Giannis had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Bucks are the second-best team in the Eastern Conference with a 47-28 record. So their loss against the second-worst team in the Conference, which has a record of 15-61 so far, certainly rings some alarm bells before the playoffs. While talking about the concerning signs shown in the last few days from the Bucks, Shaq claimed that their problems are very apparent, and they need to get back to winning ASAP.
The four-time NBA Champion added that if they continue in this way, they may even face a first-round exit and it is no longer a reach to say that. Now, the one excuse that’s available to the Bucks is that they were playing without Damian Lillard. But that excuse goes out of the window against a struggling team like the Wizards, who barely won over a dozen games this season.
Diagnosing the problem, Shaq said, “They [the Bucks] have two problems. They don’t have a 100% effort all the time, well, they don’t have a championship effort all the time. And they have lack of focus. Giannis knows this but all the other guys have to know that…unless they fix the effort and the focus, they can be bounded off the first-round.”
Milwaukee badly misses the defensive hustle Jrue Holiday brought to the team. Therefore, they could be at risk against teams like the Miami Heat, who will bring a dog fight to the playoffs despite their humble seeding. This Milwaukee team knows that from past experience. Moreover, the Philadelphia 76ers could also be a matchup nightmare for the Bucks following the return of Joel Embiid. With the Bucks’ tandem still struggling to find rhythm at intervals, Dame and Giannis will have to fire on all cylinders to will the Bucks through the postseason if such a need arises.
Doc Rivers reflects on the loss against the Wizards
While most fans are furious after the loss against the Wizards, Bucks coach Doc Rivers has humbly come to terms with the defeat. Rivers claimed that his team simply got outplayed by Washington. He said, “I just think they outplayed us. Give ‘em credit. I thought they were faster, quicker. They attacked…And I felt like we were very sloppy…I just thought they outplayed us.”
If we focus on the stats to see the impact of Dame’s absence in the team, the results are shocking to say the least. The Bucks are 1-6 without Dame this season so far and this establishes just how important he is for the team’s success. The Bucks have a winning record without their star Giannis this season with 3-2, and that’s another topic of conversation regarding what role should be allotted to the stars based on these records.
