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Since they won the 2021 NBA Finals, the playoffs have not been kind to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. This organization has won only a single series in the three years since their championship run, and now the Bucks are once again up against the wall after losing Game 1 of their first-round series to the Indiana Pacers.
Milwaukee dropped the opening game of this series 117-98, failing to exceed 100 points for the first time since Mar. 18, when the Bucks lost 104-93 on the road to the Golden State Warriors.
As good as Giannis was against the Pacers, scoring 36 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, he alone could not carry the team.
That has been the narrative for the Bucks throughout the years in the postseason, as their lack of depth has been exposed more times than not. This was even more prevalent with Damian Lillard sidelined to begin the playoffs with a blood clot issue in his calf.
The good news for the Bucks and Lillard is that the All-Star point guard has been cleared for full basketball activities and could be ready to play for the first time since that loss to Golden State in Game 2 on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Then again, Lillard's potential return doesn't solve the greater issue at hand regarding Milwaukee's offensive point of attack.
Giannis' greatness overshadows Bucks' offensive lapses
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a once-in-a-lifetime player who is more than capable of leading his team to win in tight games. He has done this countless times during the regular season, and he did so during their championship run in 2021.
The problem with Giannis' ‘hero ball' mentality and this idea that the Bucks roll with is that it doesn't work when the game isn't close.
Antetokounmpo was the only reason why the Bucks only lost by 19 points and not 30 or more. None of the other four starters scored more than nine points in the game, and then there was Kyle Kuzma with his forgettable performance. Kuzma recorded zeros across the board with two personal fouls in 22 minutes.
Throughout this game, almost all of the players on the court for Milwaukee were standing around on the perimeter, allowing Giannis to play one-on-one. While this works from time to time, Antetokounmpo was playing either one-on-two or one-on-three because Indiana wasn't afraid of who was on the court next to him.
Kuzma wasn't making shots, Brook Lopez wasn't looking to score, and the Bucks as a team, outside of Giannis, were very passive with the basketball. Giannis was not pleased with his team's performance on offense after the game, as he made it clear that trust will be the biggest factor in Milwaukee being able to improve.
“Our offense wasn’t good. Shots did not fall. It felt like it was Game 1. Guys get, like, anxious. They kind of inch in towards the ball because they want the ball, they want to make a play, they want to get themselves involved in the game, and I don’t think it’s from bad ego,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like everybody’s trying to do the right thing. Everyone has the right intentions, but we just gotta be better, just having patience and just trusting.
“Trusting one another, trusting that the ball is going to find us, trusting that we’re going to make plays.”
Trust goes a long way in solving some of the Bucks' offensive lapses, but the main problem at hand is that everyone else is too reliant on Giannis.
Maybe it is Doc Rivers' system, or maybe it was simply a passive approach in Game 1. Whatever the case may be, the consistent lack of effort on offense when it comes to always deferring to Antetokounmpo needs to change if the Bucks are to be taken seriously as threats in the Eastern Conference.
This type of offense has not worked over the last few seasons, yet Milwaukee continues to operate like this. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again. We are reaching that point with the Bucks on offense.
How Damian Lillard's pending return impacts series vs. Pacers
The Bucks are obviously going to be a better team with Lillard on the floor. Any team in the league would improve on offense with a nine-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA performer returning from injury.
Whether Lillard will be ready to return for Game 2 of this series is the big question at large.
Dame was recently cleared for full practice and basketball activities after dealing with his scary blood clot diagnosis. He has been working hard behind the scenes and ramping up his activities to be on the court for the Bucks in the playoffs.
It is possible that Lillard could return for Game 2 in Indianapolis on Tuesday night, as he has been upgraded to questionable, according to Chris Haynes.
Aside from the improvements he makes on offense by helping take pressure off Giannis, Lillard simply makes the Bucks an overall better team.
Since joining Milwaukee, Lillard has helped lead his team to a 73-43 record during the regular season with Antetokounmpo by his side. This season, the Bucks went 29-22 when both players were healthy and on the court together.
The Bucks need Lillard on the floor because he changes their offense. Not only will Giannis not have to consistently try and play “hero ball” against the entire opposing five, but everyone around Antetokounmpo is a little more confident with a second star helping initiate the offense.
After all, the Bucks' offense can't be worse than it was in Game 1, as Rivers was not pleased with what he saw.
“I thought our offense was awful. I thought our offense contributed to our defense as anything,” Rivers said after the loss, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “We just didn't play the way we've played during this stretch offensively. And I thought we had a lot of missed shots, which allowed them to have a lot of break outs. We’re not going to beat them when we have 15 assists and 10 turnovers. We’re just not.
“So we've got to get back to our spacing, trusting, playing downhill, moving the ball. If we do that, we’ll go to the line more, we will make more baskets. We’ll be able to set our defense up, and I think we’ll be better.”
Lillard creates more spacing on the floor, and the trust factor Giannis alluded to becomes clearer. All it takes in the NBA Playoffs is for one player to create a sense of confidence and hope for a team to completely flip a series. Dame presents this to Milwaukee, which is why his potential return in Game 2 on Tuesday night could shift momentum in the Bucks' favor.
