Another bad news hits the Milwaukee Bucks: The head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks shed tears as four of his star players made a final decision to terminate their huge contracts.
Milwaukee: The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a late-season loss as a result of being outplayed by a youthful, undermanned squad for the second straight game.
Following Milwaukee’s 111-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, player Bobby Portis of the Bucks said, “Just a bad loss for us, to be honest.” “Especially at home, we needed that ‘dub’ tonight.” Home courts should always be safeguarded, particularly in April. You want to win every game you play from now on in April, May, and other similar months.
Despite playing despite a left hamstring strain, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the second night of a back-to-back with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, but the Bucks were unable to match the Grizzlies’ intensity and cohesion. Although Portis contributed 19 points and seven boards off the bench and Brook Lopez added 25 points and 10 rebounds, the Bucks’ offense was ultimately uneven since they were without their key ballhandlers.
Starting point guard Damian Lillard has missed two straight games due to a right groin injury after missing Saturday’s game in Atlanta due to personal issues. After missing 16 straight games in February and March due to a left ankle sprain, Khris Middleton was added to the Bucks’ injury report with left ankle injury management. The medical staff decided to sit him out of the second night of a back-to-back.
Additionally, backup point guard Patrick Beverley missed Wednesday’s game less than 24 hours after spraining his right ankle in Tuesday’s defeat to the Wizards in Washington, D.C., despite Bucks coach Doc Rivers saying it wasn’t a serious injury.
The Bucks ultimately relied on Pat Connaughton to act as the primary ballhandler when Antetokounmpo was not on the court. Rivers also tried to create advantages through different avenues than typical pick-and-roll plays. Two-way point guard TyTy Washington Jr. received nine minutes off the bench from Rivers.
“After the game, we kind of just have to do it by committee,” Lopez remarked. “Take it a notch above simply moving the ball, making it move side to side, having mutual trust, finding our positions, DHOing, cutting, and making sure it’s really popping.” When you’re missing ballhandling like that—guys that really make plays for us—you have to kind of facilitate that.
The Bucks jumped out to a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter, but the Grizzlies’ increased ball pressure in the second half eventually caught up to them due to a lack of traditional playmaking and new combinations.
Shortly after Antetokounmpo’s turnover on Wednesday, Washington left the court for the last time.
