So here come the Milwaukee Bucks, limping home from Indiana like Derek Redmond refusing to quit in Barcelona. But with the Bucks down 0-2 to Indiana in the best-of-7 series, and not even holding a lead since the first quarter of Game 1, pessimism is all the rage.
You don’t have to look too deep into the realms of X or Facebook or your corner bar to pick up on the vibe. Because in this roller coaster of a Bucks season, they’ve picked a poor time for another nadir, especially against those oh-so-likeable Pacers.
Remember when they started the season 2-8, then won that Emirates Cup? Or when they lost nine of their last 13 games in March, only to finish the regular season by winning eight straight? Now all of that is but a prelude to this: Two more losses buys a TNT fishing expedition.
In 459 NBA playoff series, only 34 teams that lost their first two games – a measly 7.4% – have come off the hardwood to advance. So while Giannis does his best impression of Atlas, perching our Bucks world across the broadest of shoulders, he’ll need some titanic assistance from his teammates to get the job done.
And it simply must come tonight. Because when you lose your first three games of an NBA playoff series, that “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” 7.4% success rate of advancing drops all the way to 0.0%.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
The optimists among us are not without reasons to believe. Giannis is, after all, averaging 35 points and 15 boards. Game 2 saw star guard Damian Lillard return from his lengthy layoff, brought on by a scary diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis. And though the Bucks slogged through most of that game, they also nearly stole it with a surprise fourth-quarter rally, trimming a 15-point deficit to just two before running out of gas.
Then there’s this little nugget: Of those 34 comebacks from 0-2, two belong to the Bucks – against the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns en route to that 2021 NBA title.
That was a different time with a different team, of course. A time when Khris Middleton and Jrue Holliday cemented their legendary status in Bucks lore with Giannis and Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis. A time when fans believed the Bucks just might be starting a dynasty.
But sports dreams are fickle things, and dynasties are not built upon a foundation of ill-timed playoff injuries. So general manager Jon Horst made his moves – dealing Holliday’s defense for Lillard’s offense last year, and this year swapping Middleton’s fading mastery for Kyle Kuzma’s mystery – all in hopes of finding Giannis his newest titan.
Bucks ownership clearly still believes in Horst, or they wouldn’t have rewarded him with a contract extension on Thursday. And national pundits simply can’t believe Giannis is still in Milwaukee, or else they’d stop pushing their baseless trade narratives.
What do Milwaukee fans believe? The volume at Fiserv tonight should tell you.
