Milwaukee Bucks botch easy alley-oop badly (video)
By John Buhler
The Milwaukee Bucks’ botched alley-oop pass against the Brooklyn Nets Monday Night perfectly illustrates the obvious, but unharnessed athleticism on this rising NBA team.
The Milwaukee Bucks surprisingly made the Eastern Conference Playoffs as a six-seed last season under new Head Coach Jason Kidd. The Bucks were the second best defensive team in the NBA in 2014-15, but offense was certainly a struggle. Milwaukee has many long and rangy players with great basketball instincts and raw athleticism that other teams are envious of. Though, perhaps the failed alley-oop pass from Jerryd Bayless to Miles Plumlee last night versus the Brooklyn Nets best encapsulates just where this Milwaukee Bucks team is offensively.
Bucks score 33, yet it still feels like Bayless to Plumlee sums up the quarter best.https://t.co/qR4sH5585g
— Behind the Buck Pass (@BehindTheBucks) November 3, 2015
The Milwaukee Bucks ended their three-game skid to start the 2015-16 NBA Season by beating the Brooklyn Nets 103-96 at the Barclays Center. However the botched alley-oop epitomizes the rough start for both teams in 2015-16, as both teams have combined to go 1-7. The lone win was a head-to-head matchup last night.
Miles Plumlee is 6’11” and Bayless’ lob bounced off the big man of the bench’s fingers tips. That ball was a good 12 feet in the air. Not even The Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jabari Parker could have come down with an alley-oop jam in that situation. The shame is that Bayless had Nets center Brook Lopez fooled on the play.
That was an easy two for the Milwaukee Bucks. Had they been playing a team likely bound for the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Bucks couldn’t have afforded that missed opportunity, given their struggles offensively in the Jason Kidd Era.
This is still a young team that Kidd has in Milwaukee, but the Bucks aren’t going to sneak up on anybody in the East this season. There are expectations for this Milwaukee Bucks team to get back in the playoffs. With the way the Detroit Pistons are playing, Milwaukee might now be the fourth best team in the Central. It happens, but finishing fourth or fifth in an NBA division doesn’t usually bode well for earning a playoff spot.