Beaten again last night, this time by the Raptors, Milwaukee has just had three defeats against teams at the bottom of the standings. A big blow which is a real stain two weeks before the start of the Playoffs. Enough to push Doc Rivers to bang his fist on the table.
While the month of March seemed to give new ambitions to the Bucks, the month of April is putting Milwaukee back in a wave of doubts. The Wisconsin franchise still hasn’t won since the chocolate egg hunt. 3 matches and 3 defeats..
If the opponents were called Minnesota, Denver or Boston, we probably wouldn’t make a big deal out of it, but the problem is that it was the Grizzlies, the Wizards and the Raptors who ruled the roost against the Bucks. Three teams under 27 wins this season.
So of course, Damian Lillard was out of the first two matches and Giannis missed last night’s match, but the rest of the squad is normally more than enough to manage this type of match against opponents who no longer play anything. Toronto remained on 15 consecutive defeats before this match! Memphis, for its part, could only count on Jaren Jackson Jr. among its classic starters…
Impossible to find excuses for these Bucks who still give no guarantee as to their title ambitions. The arrival of Doc Rivers was supposed to launch a new dynamic but the tactician does not even have a positive record with his new team (15 victories for 16 defeats).
The coach did not hide his disappointment at a press conference after this third consecutive setback. Comments reported by Jim Owczarski from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“The last three defeats were against bad teams. And to me, that’s inexcusable. For all of us”.
“I’m frustrated. And they are frustrated. I think it’s a good thing. But frustration leads nowhere. We must strive to overcome this ordeal. We feel it. We literally feel it. We feel it during the match. And we go through these things. I have been there. I lived them. And you have to get through it. Even one of the refs said it, man, you can feel the heaviness of your team right now. I said yes. And it happens. But we have to play despite that.”
Same story among the players, notably Khris Middleton who confirms the frustration felt by the group.
“To lose three games in a row like we did against the opponents we had, it’s frustrating. No disrespect to the guys on the other side, but when you think about it, we should be able to handle these teams. This is especially what we are fighting for.”
If Milwaukee remains second despite its recent series of defeats, it is time for a reaction from the Bucks. There are only two games separating second and fifth place in the East. From a home-court advantage in the first two rounds, Milwaukee can go to… no home-court advantage at all.
The Bucks have five games left to protect their place as runner-up, but the teams that are arriving are not here to laugh. It will be necessary to manage the Celtics, the Thunder but also twice the Magic and the Knicks, direct opponents for the podium. Be careful Milwaukee not to lose big in the last corner of the season.
Source texte : Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
2024-04-06 09:00:00
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