MILWAUKEE — More than an hour after the Milwaukee Bucks lost their fourth straight game, a frustrating 122-109 defeat to the New York Knicks on Sunday in which they were outscored 72-48 in the second half, Giannis Antetokounmpo sat alone in his locker. A quiet, nearly empty locker room at Fiserv Forum contemplates the Bucks' slide.
Most nights, Antetokounmpo tends to be one of the last players out of the locker room, where Pat Connaughton will be packing away some lockers or Giannis' brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, will speak to him in Greek. On Sunday, Giannis and Thanassis were the last players out. There was a little conversation between them.
When Giannis Antetokounmpo finally spoke to the media, he spoke of the Bucks' spirit amid their struggles. While answering a question about his team's inability to find their final play and play it happily, he found himself asking and acting out a series of rhetorical questions.
“When was the last time Malik did…” Antetokounmpo asked before acting out teammate Malik Beasley’s three-point celebration.
“When was the last time Pat hit a 3 and did…” Antetokounmpo asked before pointing to the 3 and rubbing it on his chest like Connaughton does after a tough shot from deep.
“When was the last time Gay hit a 3 and then came back and was swaying like…” Antetokounmpo asked as he pretended to slump to the floor like Jae Crowder.
“When was the last time you dunked on someone and said ‘Ahhhhh!’” Antetokounmpo asked as he pretended to scream at a fully-filled imaginary crowd after a huge dunk.
“It's like we're going through the motions,” Antetokounmpo said. “We have to find our joy again.”
The Bucks have had a hard time getting to Joey lately, as they have lost six of their last seven games, finding themselves on their longest losing streak of the season. The Bucks (47-31) still sit in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, where a number of other teams have also struggled in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoffs. But the Knicks and Orlando Magic are one game behind Milwaukee.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Bucks are playing some of their worst games in basketball, but they haven't stopped trying to right the ship before the postseason and work toward their ultimate goal of an NBA championship.
On Saturday, according to sources familiar with the meeting, Bucks coach Doc Rivers held a photo session with the team's top nine veterans: Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Beasley, Bobby Portis, Patrick Beverley, Connaughton and Crowder. . During that session, each player was given a chance to voice their opinion and explain what they were seeing from their own perspective, as well as how they believed the team needed to work selflessly as a unit moving forward.
One source described the session by saying: “It is just the beginning of these difficult and necessary conversations.”
But against the Knicks on Sunday, the Bucks couldn't get the win. The game started well with the Bucks building a double-digit lead in the first half, but things quickly deteriorated.
With 6:12 left in the second quarter, Middleton left the game after taking a hard shot to the face from Donte DiVincenzo after the Knicks guard fouled at the rim. Although DiVincenzo's fist was not intentional, as he landed, it appeared to hit Middleton's face. Middleton immediately began bleeding from his mouth as he sat on the floor under the Knicks basket.
“Chris was great at the start of the game; “It was pretty cool,” Rivers said after the game. “You just feel bad for him. The guy can't catch a break. I mean, what are the odds that you're going into a game and going, 'Well, tonight, I'm going to have one of my teeth knocked out.'
“He's having one of those seasons at the moment, but that's OK because everything can turn in his favour. I thought he came in great spirit tonight too, so it was bad luck.“
Middleton did not return, and left the arena immediately after the game on an emergency trip to the dentist, according to Rivers.
Losing Middleton was unfortunate, as Sunday was the first time the Bucks had their big three of Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Middleton on the floor together to start a game in more than a week and only the eighth time they have started a game together under Rivers this season. . In fact, it's closer to just six games, as Middleton left two of those games early — with a sprained left ankle against the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 6 and Sunday night against the Knicks — due to injury.
If the Bucks are going to find a way to make a deep playoff run, they'll need a healthy roster, but they'll also have to build better chemistry among their top three offensive players.
“We started working on a duo, but it was just me and Giannis,” Lillard said of the Bucks' offensive flow under Rivers. “We have to be able to make things work when it's me, Khris and Giannis, and that's all part of the process.
“You can't just put it out there and say, 'Do this,' and it will flow smoothly. We have a new coach coming in and there are things he wants to do and he wants them done a certain way.
Without Middleton in the second half, the Bucks' offense began to stall and revert to isolation plays too often, a regular problem this season. After assisting on 17 of their 20 baskets in the first half, the Bucks stopped moving the ball and their offense stalled. In the first six minutes of the second half, the Bucks scored six points and an 11-point halftime lead vanished, and the Knicks quickly scored 20 points to take a 70-67 lead with 6:03 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Knicks did not give up their lead and maintained comfortable control during the last quarter and a half on their way to winning by 13 points.
Despite their recent struggles, the Bucks' leaders continue to share positivity, and their inner belief in the ability to compete for a championship this season has not wavered.
“I mean, as crazy as it may sound, I feel good,” Lillard said. “Obviously I hate the way the last two weeks or so have gone, no matter how long it takes. It's uncomfortable and it's frustrating when we lose games that we should win and then have a game like tonight where we start out playing well and then we get a bad third quarter and make those… The players believe and then control the game. But when I look around the dressing room, I feel good about it.
“I see Giannis, Khris, Bobby, Brooke, Jay, Pat, Bess. When I look around, I have a real belief in what we have, our experience, how long we've been here. I know that sometimes it gets dark. This league is a tough league. Sometimes you have “Hard times. And I think that's what it is for us. When this kind of thing happens, everyone will say how bad it is. That's the problem.” (or) “They have to do this; They have to do it. But when you keep fighting in these situations, you never know when things will turn around.
“That's why you have to stick together, you have to keep believing. And these are the moments when you find out who is the real person and who is not, because everyone will say negative things and how wrong they are and how bad they are, and you can fold them or not fold them. This is what we will learn about ourselves before Playoffs, based on the experience we have now.
While positivity and a strong belief are good things to have and keep, the Bucks are going to have to turn things around quickly because the Boston Celtics, the best team in the NBA, are coming to town on Tuesday, and the Bucks only have one week left in the regular season. season to prepare themselves for the postseason.
(Photo of Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Doc Rivers: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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