The number of gambles thrown by Milwaukee ended in failure.
The Milwaukee Bucks lost 126-128 in the 2023 NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 5 against the Miami Heat held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA on the 27th (Korean time), ending the season schedule with a record of 1 win and 4 losses in the series. .
It was a shocking result. This is because Milwaukee recorded 58 wins and 24 losses this regular season, ranking 1st in the Eastern Conference and 1st overall winning percentage in the NBA. It was a season that properly saw the fruits of manager Mike Budenholzer’s managerial basketball.
Experts pointed to Milwaukee as the most dominant championship candidate. Milwaukee was hit. Miami is one of the most tenacious teams in the NBA and has an ace named Jimmy Butler. But Miami is the eighth-seeded team. Miami was the team that barely survived the final round of the play-in tournament and advanced to the playoffs. Milwaukee was overwhelmingly superior in terms of objective power.
For Milwaukee, this season may be the last with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Chris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Zhuru Halladay. After this season, Lopez is a free agent and Middleton has a player option, so he can choose to become a free agent or remain with the team. Milwaukee’s salary cap is already above the luxury tax line. It won’t be easy to overdo it and leave it all behind. That’s why Milwaukee’s season is more disappointing.
Milwaukee traded Jae Crowder, who caused a feud with the Phoenix Suns, at the trade deadline. The price was 5 cards in the 2nd round of the draft. Crowder had not played a single regular season game due to a feud with Phoenix. Crowder is a good player, but his physical condition was completely unknown.
Milwaukee chose Crowder as the final piece to win, and Crowder joined Milwaukee and seemed to prove the reason for their choice. He melted into Milwaukee, averaging 6.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18 regular season games. 메이저놀이터
But in the playoffs, Crowder played the worst. He averaged 1.8 points and 1 rebound in 4 playoff games, and his presence disappeared altogether. Crowder’s strengths in defense and dirty work were completely invisible on the court. Crowder, who was brought in with great expectations, betrayed Milwaukee in the playoffs.
Crowder will become a free agent at the end of this season. As mentioned earlier, Milwaukee has many players who will become free agents such as Lopez and Middleton. The chances of catching Crowder seem dim.
It may be the last golden age of Milwaukee. Milwaukee’s leadership invested heavily in draft nominations to win the championship, but the worst result was that it was eliminated in the first round.