The Milwaukee Bucks had been making significant strides on the defensive side of the ball since Doc Rivers took over as head coach. After all, this was one of the major reasons why the front office brought in the one-time NBA champion shot-caller in the first place.
On Tuesday night against the Miami Heat, however, the Bucks looked completely lost. It’s as if all their hard work over the past couple of weeks had been put to waste as they reverted to their old ways.
Damian Lillard Gets Real on Milwaukee Bucks’ Effort Vs. Heat
After the game, an understandably disappointed Damian Lillard (16 points on 5-of-14 shooting, with two rebounds, five assists, and three turnovers) conceded that the Bucks just didn’t look right on Tuesday night — and their struggles weren’t exclusive on the defensive end either:
“The last couple of games, it’s been a huge emphasis on just sharing the ball, not letting the ball stick too much, making the extra pass,” Lillard said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “You might have a good look, but it can be one more (pass) to a great shot. And I think tonight, we took a step back from that. We didn’t play that same way.
“And usually when things aren’t going well, on a good team, you have good players, you try to take it upon yourself and maybe instead of making that pass, you feel like you’re going to knock the shot down. But I think we just had too many of those moments.”
For one reason or another, the Bucks just didn’t do what they were supposed to against the Heat. This resulted in an unexpected and totally deflating blowout loss, 123-97.
Milwaukee will need to get back to the drawing board after this brutal defeat. They have one more game before the All-Star break, which comes in the form of a road matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. The Bucks have to play better than they did on Tuesday if they want to end their first half of the season on a high note.
For More Wisconsin Sports:
Follow me on Twitter at @PaoloSongcoNBA, and follow us @WiSportsHeroics. Also, check out our Merchandise Here! Get 20% off with the code “WSH.” You can also reach out to Paolo Songco via email at pao.songco@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Wisconsin sports, click here! Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks, Wisconsin Badgers.
