The Milwaukee Bucks have been under the microscope in recent weeks as a result of making the first head coaching switch of the season. After replacing first-year head coach Adrian Griffin after 43 games with long-time coach Doc Rivers, the Bucks made it clear that their only focus was to win a championship right now. Well, the same problems that existed with Griffin on the sidelines appear to exist with Rivers, as the Bucks lost to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in Damian Lillard's homecoming game.
With Rivers at the helm, the Bucks are now 0-2, but the veteran head coach is not necessarily the one to blame. From the lack of intensity the Bucks have displayed defensively to their questionable shot selection, many factors played a role in Milwaukee's demise against the Blazers, who entered this game with only 14 wins on the season. One of these questionable shots came by Brook Lopez late in the fourth quarter, with the Bucks trailing by one point with about 17 seconds remaining.
Lillard received the ball from the official on the sideline with exactly 17.6 seconds remaining. After immediately inbounding the ball to Lopez, Lillard received a screen from Giannis Antetokounmpo, only to give the ball back to Lopez due to some good defense from Deandre Ayton and Malcolm Brogdon. After pump-faking and side-stepping Toumani Camara, Lopez had a chance to get the ball back to the Bucks star guard for a potential game-winning basket. Instead, the veteran big man took about a 30-foot jumper from deep that came up short.
I’m still baffled at the fact the Bucks opted for a three in this situation instead of getting the ball to Giannis and having him drive downhill.
Especially since Milwaukee was out of timeouts. pic.twitter.com/QtMjbn9FSd
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) February 1, 2024
A play that had a lot of potential and could have been a storybook ending for Lillard's return to Portland was abruptly ended by Lopez's decision to take his 10th three-point attempt of the night, tied for the most perimeter shots taken in a game by him this season.
“Obviously, there are multiple looks. We wanted to get Dame coming off initially and we had Giannis rolling. It came back to me and they closed hard,” Lopez said after the game, via The Athletic's Eric Nehm. “I put it down and out of my peripheral, I thought Malcolm was a bit more up on Dame that he really was, so I just stepped into it and took my shot.
“Looking back at the film, Dame was a bit more open than I thought he was, but I'm definitely confident in the shot.”
Overall, Lopez did get a good look to put the Bucks up two points with just seconds remaining on the clock. Already hitting two big perimeter shots in the fourth, there is a reason why Lopez was confident in his shot. As they say, third time's the charm, right?
Although he may not be the best three-point shooter, the 35-year-old big man has drastically improved his play from the perimeter in recent years. The Bucks, who tend to heavily rely on the three-ball this season, definitely can't complain all that much about the thinking behind this shot, with Lillard somewhat covered. Then again, Bucks fans certain have some questions to ask, seeing as Lillard, Antetokounmpo, and Khris Middleton all seem like better options to be taking this shot with the game on the line.
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