In the first of four games on Thursday night, the Milwaukee Bucks made a visit to Memphis for a showdown against Ja Morant and the Grizzlies. As two teams with title aspirations, the game was supposed to be a solid four quarters of elite basketball but the Bucks never bothered to show up and lost the game by over 23 points (122-99).
The breakout moment happened back in the first quarter when the Grizzlies opened up a 16-point lead led by Ja Morant (26 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds). The 40-point quarter was enough for the Grizzlies to keep a healthy lead throughout the game until they escaped with an easy victory. Santi Aldama was second for his team in scoring with 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists off the bench.
“Yeah it’s quiet for the Bucks,” said one fan in a brutal prediction. “Doc is outta there and Dame probably is too eventually.
Meanwhile, the Bucks got outscored in every quarter of the game to slide down to 1-4 on the season. Giannis Antetokounmmpo (37 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists on 17-22 shooting) was clearly frustrated after the game and he should be given the state of his team right now.
“It’s just not that the Bucks were pointing/looking at each other confused more times than I can count in that 2Q. They were noticeably slow to every 50/50 ball, every closeout, every rotation, every transition set,” wrote Rob Perez on X. “They’ll eventually play better, but man it’s a WOOF right now.”
After firing Adrian Griffin at 30-13 last year, the Bucks are on track for an even worse stretch to start this season and the fans have really lost faith that this core can work.
“Giannis drops 37 and the Bucks lose by 23,” wrote one social media user. “It could very likely be Giannis last season in Milwaukee because things are looking ugly for the Bucks.”
On paper, Giannis Antetoounmpo and Damian Lillard should be the best duo in the league but they didn’t look like it tonight. Giannis was his usual self scoring the ball but he was unable to get his teammates going. Besides Giannis, only two Bucks players scored in double digits: Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, who both shot 50% or less from the field.
“If you’re quitting on a team that Giannis is on 5 games into the season, you should check yourself in for some help,” proclaimed a more optimistic Bucks fan. “It’s ugly right now but believe things will get figured out one way or another.”
Damian Lillard was particularly awful in this one. The star point guard has traditionally been one of the league’s best shooters and scores but he’s been a shell of himself since arriving in Milwaukee. So far, this season has actually been a good one for Dame with averages of 28.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game on 47.1% shooting. Tonight, however, was arguably his worst game yet in a Bucks jersey with just 4 points and 6 assists on 1-11 shooting. He went 0-5 from three in 29:13 minutes and fans were pissed.
“4 f***ing points,” a Bucks fan wrote in anger. “Lillard *ss won’t be on sh*t else on this end. I’m really disgusted!”
There is no question that the Bucks have been the NBA’s most disappointing team this season. After they traded for Lillard last summer, the fans expected a championship but it seems like the pairing is struggling to fit in together and the team cannot keep up.
“Adrian Griffin was not the problem,” fans agreed on social media.
In a stacked Eastern Conference with teams like the Celtics, Pacers, and Knicks looking to make a statement every night, the margin for error is slim and the Bucks cannot afford to keep racking up losses like this.
Unfortunately for Giannis and the crew, the next two games are against the number one team in the East: the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers. Coming off a win against the Lakers, Donovan Mitchell and co. will be eager to keep the momentum going and it shouldn’t be too hard against a Bucks team currently ranked 22nd in defensive rating.
If Giannis and Lillard don’t get something going here soon things could get ugly for the Bucks and it seems rumors are already spreading about Giannis’ plans to leave the team behind.
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