The Milwaukee Bucks have seen turbulent waters this season. However, Damian Lillard’s absence is their iceberg in the Atlantic. Lillard’s deep vein thrombosis in his calf tanked any hope they may have had of gaining any momentum before reaching choppy playoff territory. Without his gravity as a shooter, there’s a crippling domino effect set in motion.
Lillard’s diagnosis came at a stormy time, but beneath the surface, the Bucks season was already trending towards cataclysm. This weekend was indicative of Milwaukee’s state of affairs. A loss to the New York Knicks sans Jalen Brunson was a reminder that these Bucks aren’t built for the bright lights. A second loss Sunday to the Hawks on Sunday was the coup de grâce.
Since packaging Khris Middleton, one of the four most important players in franchise history, and their most recent first-round pick to Washington for Kyle Kuzma, they’ve gone 14-11. Kuzma had his best two-game stretch as a Buck this weekend, ringing up 45 points on 16-of-33 shooting against New York and Atlanta. However, his intangible impact is lacking. Kuzma is averaging half a steal per game in March and logged four total assists over the weekend.
The Bucks might not have the depth they need
Ryan Rollins the starter in Lillard’s absence has been advertised as an upgrade for their porous perimeter defense.
“Putting as much shooting around Giannis (as possible) is always important, and Ryan is an excellent shooter. Defensively, Ryan is terrific,” Rivers explained before their Monday night loss to a Phoenix Suns squad spiraling out of the play-in.
Lillard’s deficiencies as a perimeter defender have often been cited as the main suspect in Milwaukee’s defensive woes. However, in the time he’s missed over the last five games, Milwaukee has allowed 127.2 points per 100 possessions, the fifth-highest in The Association.
However, without Lillard, the team defense has dissolved into a puddle and the Bucks have lost four in a row. Getting crushed under the weight of the Knicks' firing squad is one thing, but they also allowed rookie Zaccharie Risacher to fry them for 36 points on one dribble.
The Bucks have also gone without sixth man Bobby Portis for 21 games since he was suspended for violating the NBA’s PED policy.
The only thing worse than Milwaukee’s inertia while within reach of the Knicks 3-seed has been the regression that knocked them back.m The Dallas Mavericks are probably the only team with title aspirations that can identify with the Bucks' decay. Team DOGE came undone by dumping their best asset. Then, Kyrie Irving tore his ACL and Anthony Davis suffered a groin injury that sidelined him for nearly two months.
However, the Bucks still have the league’s MVP bronze medalist in their lineup and that hasn’t been nearly enough. The San Antonio Spurs got walloped by losing Victor Wembanyama to a blood clot near his shoulder. And head coach Gregg Popovich has been recuperating since suffering a mild stroke in November. However, the Spurs aren’t on the 30-year-old Antetkounmpo’s timeline. The biological clocks of Milwaukee’s stars are ticking. Antetokounmpo and Lillard were absent for much of the entire 2024 postseason and the latter is poised to miss the 2025 postseason as well.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo is wasting another prime year while there are no definitive answers in sight. This team isn’t a year away. This is the third year where he’d be in the MVP mix if his supporting cast weren’t so ill-fitting.
Every NBA season is a marathon and during this time of year, experienced playoff teams of Milwaukee’s ilk should be picking up steam as they cruise towards the finish line. Instead, the Bucks are getting lapped by the field. There are dark times ahead this season and there’s no easy back to shore. This voyage was doomed from the start.