I feel like I start off a lot of my articles with a quick “Hold up. Let’s not go 100 percent on the title right off the bat” disclaimer, and this certainly deserves that treatment. Even linking the word “failure” to the Milwaukee Bucks here isn’t fun for me to do. They are very, very recent champions. Giannis has an argument for best player in the league. Injuries have played a major role in times where they have come up short.
I like the Bucks. I respect the Bucks. Giannis is special. That is a very obvious thing to say. They should be held in high, high regard.
However, in comparison to the Indiana Pacers, the Bucks appear to be on a decline. Since winning the NBA Championship in 2021, the Bucks have won only a single playoff series. That was a matchup against Season 1 of The Bulls Big Three that went to the play-in every other year ever that ever happened ever. This was after they had already lost Lonzo Ball in the winter and couldn’t maintain their winning momentum from the early season.
For the last three seasons, the Bucks have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. Attempts to address this has included trading Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma, Mike Budenholzer for Adrian Griffin, and Adrian Griffin for Doc Rivers. It’s hard to say any of these moves make them better?
And next season, Lillard is injured for a long time. Giannis is starting to move out of his athletic prime. Kuzma is barely playing basketball at times. Doc is also there.
Let’s compare this to the Pacers
And again the disclaimer: I know this is rapid bandwagoning on the Pacers, but come on! It’s really cool! They’re fun and cool and really cool and fun. They just took home court advantage from the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden then decided a couple days later to take one more victory on the road for fun. The Indiana Pacers have a chance to be one of those rare teams to sweep a team at home. That’s cool and fun too!
In contrast to most of the Bucks’ decisions, the Pacers have been methodical and, generally, pretty great with their movement of personnel. Bringing in Nesmith, Siakam, and Haliburton have turned the Pacers from play-in hopeful to possible NBA Finals team.
It is worth mentioning that the Bucks and Pacers are operating from different positions. The Pacers are the young up and comer, trying to pick the right pieces and right points to make moves. They are risers at the moment. It’s easier to look like you’re making all the right decisions when, well, we wouldn’t be paying attention to you otherwise.
The Bucks seemed like they were trying to reenergize or retool what they already had in place. But this might be a wake-up call. The bucks are no longer trying to hold a contender together because they are no longer a contender. If they are a contender again soon, it’s quite likely there will be very few familiar faces around. For Bucks’ fans sake, we hope Giannis is one of them.