Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things to watch for in Game 5 against Toronto Raptors

The Bledshow at a crossroads

To that point, there may be no Bucks player that embodies the pressure the team is facing right now than veteran point guard Eric Bledsoe.

Bledsoe’s erratic postseason play has only multiplied over the course of the Bucks’ Conference Finals series with the Raptors. The 29-year-old’s shooting touch has completely abandoned him as he’s only gone 2-of-19 from three (10.5 percent) and Toronto has responded by altering their defensive gameplan to welcome any attempts he’s willing to launch from both mid-range and from beyond the arc.

The combination of that, and facing a wall with every drive he looks to make in the heart of the Raptors’ stout interior defense, and Bledsoe’s confidence and function within the Bucks’ offense have been mitigated. And the fact that Bledsoe saw the floor for a series-low 20 minutes in Game 4 only reinforces the perilous point we’ve reached in regard to his role in the series.

As unbelievable as it may be, Bledsoe still holds a positive net rating (+2.4 points per 100 possessions) in this series and that is solely based on the disruptive defensive effort he has put forth, save for Game 4. His All-Defensive First Team nod, along with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, that was announced Wednesday afternoon served as a timely reminder that Bledsoe has been an immense piece within the team’s success this year.

Contributor Dan Larsen recently dove into Bledsoe’s offensive struggles, so I won’t step on his toes. But as we’ve seen for periods throughout the year, the Bucks have often been at their best when Bledsoe has been at worst, a functional and driven cog within their spaced out offense.

And time is running out over whether he can tap into that under the brightest lights and reverse course to what has been a nonexistent series for him offensively.