After a stunning loss to the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series, the Milwaukee Bucks’ season has come to an end. Despite being the NBA’s best team during the regular season with 58 wins, the Bucks became the fourth No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 seed in a best-of-seven series in NBA history.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ star player, took issue with a question about whether Milwaukee’s season was a failure. He stated that there’s no failure in sports and that it’s all about good days and bad days. Antetokounmpo also used Michael Jordan as an example, highlighting that even he had nine seasons where he didn’t win a championship, but that doesn’t mean they were failures.
Butler Leads Heat to Victory
The Bucks were the betting favorites to win the NBA championship but fell short against the Heat in what could be one of the biggest upsets in playoff history. Miami rallied in the fourth quarter and eventually won in overtime, with Jimmy Butler leading the way. Butler scored the game-tying field goal with half a second left in regulation to force overtime and finished the series averaging 37.6 points on 59.7% shooting, with 6.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Antetokounmpo was critical of the Bucks’ approach to defending Butler, saying that he would have liked to have guarded Butler more often one-on-one and that the Bucks should have made more adjustments. The Bucks rarely double-teamed Butler, and in Game 5, he did not face a single double-team. Jrue Holiday was the Bucks’ primary defender on Butler throughout the series, but Antetokounmpo wished he could have guarded him more.
The Bucks had a pair of opportunities to win the game on the final possessions of the fourth and overtime, but coach Mike Budenholzer elected not to use his final timeouts in either scenario. The unexpected first-round exit begins what could be a monumental offseason in Milwaukee, with Brook Lopez becoming an unrestricted free agent and Khris Middleton having a $40 million player option for the 2023-24 season. The roster around Antetokounmpo is filled with veterans, but the Bucks began the season as the oldest team in the NBA, and Antetokounmpo will become extension-eligible in September before the start of next season.
Despite the disappointment, Antetokounmpo remains optimistic and believes that the Bucks were playing to win a championship. He acknowledged that there’s room for improvement and that there are always steps to success. Antetokounmpo’s mindset and determination will undoubtedly motivate the Bucks to come back stronger next season.
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