The Emirates NBA Cup received praises for giving players and teams something significant to play for in a long NBA regular season but what happens after that? Will teams cruise again and not play to their potential? AJ Green thinks that is what’s happening to his Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks won the NBA Cup on December 17 but it has been a struggle for them since then as a supposed champion and contender.
The team returned to the regular season by getting blown out by Eastern rivals Cleveland Cavaliers. They won agains the Wizards but nothing inspiring happened to them since then.
They went 3-5 in their last eight, including losses to non playoff teams Brooklyn Nets (twice) and most recently to the Portland Trailblazers.
Green, whose career game against the Blazer got wasted, thinks they are not as motivated as they were in the NBA Cup.
“Going into Vegas there’s excitement we got something to play for, something to win.. but we should have that every night. The goal is to win. So I think getting back to that, being disciplined and coming together through the ups and downs,” he said.
The Blazers game was for the Bucks’ taking. However, they failed to execute with designated clutch shooter Damian Lillard deciding to pass up a shot in the last 23 seconds of the game.
The road to the NBA Cup saw how good the Bucks can be if they are focused. This is why Green urges his team to be focused again and work on building good habits.
AJ Green reflects on And-1 play by Simons
Defense is another issue that the Bucks have in their current struggle.
Green, whose turning into a defensive monster for the Bucks, admits that he had lapses, too, including the one that led to the game winner by Anfernee Simons.
The undrafted three-point shooter admits that he should have not swiped the ball in that play.
“Anfernee got those two free throws. He got that and-1 which is a tough bucket but [I gotta] learn from it. Try to be better so next time there’s no buckets,” he told reporters.
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