The Milwaukee Bucks' title defense is now over. After a beatdown at the hands of the Boston Celtics, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mike Budenholzer and company are going back home after elimination from the NBA playoffs.
There are many reasons that the Bucks failed to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals. In the grand scheme of things, it was Khris Middleton's MCL injury that kept him sidelined the whole series, which depleted their depth. In Game 7, it was 3-point shooting.
The Bucks made just four triples while Boston's Grant Williams made seven by himself and the Celtics made 22. Milwaukee shot just 12.1 percent from deep while allowing Boston to make 40 percent of their deep-range shots. The Bucks' strategy of allowing 3-point looks in exchange for enhanced rim protection has done them well in the past but was something they should have looked to tweak in the do-or-die game.
Budenholzer stood by his strategy in the post-game press conference and stressed how proud he was of his team.
Following the game, I asked Mike Budenholzer about the calculus behind the decision to keep the rim defense strong while surrendering 3-point looks.
Budenholzer: "It is what you just described. The question is the answer."
Full response: pic.twitter.com/RtgBuLoOor
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) May 15, 2022
The Bucks may not have made it back to the finals but still had a strong season. Putting up such a strong fight without Middleton was impressive, even if it ended on such a sour note and they blew a 3-2 lead in the process.
Milwaukee will look to bounce back next season. The front office should look to add more depth around Antetokounmpo this offseason.
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