Before the season began, if someone told the Milwaukee Bucks they would take the Boston Celtics to a seven-game series in the 2018 playoffs, they probably would have thought they were in a much different position than reality. There was so much potential and excitement surrounding this young Bucks team heading into the regular season. Their core was built around a plethora of young talent, a budding superstar, and shortly into the season added their new starting point guard, thought to be the missing piece to this curious puzzle.
Milwaukee did take the Boston Celtics to a seven-game series. But as the seven seed. And they lost. In the first round. To a team that was without their two best players – one for the season and one for the series – and without their best backcourt defender for the first four games. The season wrapped up when the Celtics clobbered the Bucks 112-96 in Game 7 in Boston, a season for Milwaukee that was more desperate to conclude than it was to continue.
The Bucks head into the offseason surrounded by question marks and a sense of urgency. The urgency part is the one that’s scary. The Bucks have 23-year old Giannis Antetokounmpo (yup, only 23) locked under contract until the summer of 2021 and Khris Middleton has another year on his deal before he hits his $13 million player option in the summer of 2020 – one that he’ll likely decline if he continues to play at the level seen this past season. Most of the team’s role players, such as Matthew Dellavdova, Tony Snell, John Henson, Thon Maker, and Malcolm Brogdon are also secured for years to come, but there’s a lot of money tied within those guys. Almost $35 million for just next season, actually.
Then there’s the question mark hovering over Jabari Parker’s head, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. He’s a player the Bucks front office would ideally like to keep, but not one they should be throwing the bank at. After returning from injury in early February of this season – playing a total of 31 games – Parker never found a fit in the offense – or defense, for that matter. His game revolves around playing bully ball and attacking the paint with a few long-range jumpers sprinkled into the mix. He played moderately well in Games 3, 4, and 5 against the Celtics, but a lot of signs point to the premature stages in the making of Jeff Green 2.0. There was talk that Parker was going to be dealt at the deadline, now they could possibly lose him for nothing and that might actually be the most logical route. For what its worth Antetokounmpo says Parker “is not going anywhere”.
The Bucks were only 10 games into the season before they traded for Eric Bledsoe, who made it undeniably clear that he was uninterested in having anything to do with the Phoenix Suns organization. The Bucks were off to a slow 4-6 start, but now with their point guard of the future. A then 27-year old with brute athleticism who’s pick-and-roll potential with Antetokounmpo had basketball minds twirling about what they might be able to do to opposing defenses.
They won their first four games with Bledsoe running the point – albeit, against lesser competition – but there was never a visible shift in the right direction. Head coach at the time, Jason Kidd, was much more enthralled with blaming bad fortunes on youth, but, realistically, they never had a gameplan to begin with. Well, they technically had a gameplan, and he went by the name of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kidd was fired on Jan. 22 when the team was 23-22, a move that the Bucks superstar player was not happy with, but a move that was necessary and long overdue. Kidd was never a great coach, in fact he was hardly a mediocre one. The Bucks’ defense was atrocious and the offense wasn’t too far behind. When Joe Prunty was brought in to bring some sort of life to the team, the schemes didn’t exactly change. Isolation basketball was heavily used and the defense was nonexistent.
With Kidd at the helm, the Bucks were 8th in offensive rating (107.2) and 24th in defensive rating (107.5). With Prunty, the Bucks were 10th in offensive rating (108.6) and 15th in defensive rating (106.7). They were an average team with above average talent. A team made up of players with overall talent surpassing everyone in the Eastern Conference except the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Philadelphia 76ers that struggled to manage 44 wins. Antetokunmpo’s MVP-caliber season was the only reason they got to that many.
In the playoffs, they were flat out exposed and outcoached. If Middleton wasn’t forcing mid-range jump shots (which he was actually quite efficient in doing) or Antetokounpo wasn’t pounding the ball straight at Al Horford, there was no offense. Not even anything remotely resembling a competent offense. Hell, if it wasn’t for Thon Maker injecting even the tiniest bit of energy into his teammates, this series could have been over a couple games sooner. Parker was lost on both ends of the floor, Bledsoe was trapped in Terry Rozier’s mind, and their defense was down-right putrid. Joe Prunty favored lineups that included Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Terry or Dellavadova in key moments of decisive games. If there was a blueprint on how to not play winning basketball with the team the Bucks had, Prunty ran it to perfection. Odds are, he’ll be gone next before next season and the next head coaching search feels more important than it should be.
Unfortunately, it is that important. Antetokunmpo is a generational talent. One that comes along every 10 or 15 years, although it seems like almost half the NBA now has a “generational” young player on their team, which speaks more to the overall talent of the league than anything else. Missing on another head coach could do irreparable damage to both Antetokounmpo and his relationship with the team. They need someone who can utilize Anteotkounmpo to his full capability. Someone who can put his best players in advantageous situations, not constant one-on-one scenarios. Whether that be Jerry Stackhouse, David Fizdale, or whoever, the Bucks have to land this next hire. There is too much talent on this roster to watch it go to waste.
Overall, 2018 was a disappointing season for the Milwaukee Bucks, one they’ll quickly try to scrub from their memories. They need a fresh start heading into next season. It starts with hiring a head coach they can trust, and ends with cleaning up a broken roster.
