How does Eric Bledsoe rebound from playoff struggles?
The last time we saw Eric Bledsoe in a Bucks uniform, at least in a meaningful game, he was on the bench as the team’s magical season had come to a stunning end in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Toronto Raptors.
All Bucks fans were asking themselves if they had a case of deja vu seeing Bledsoe melt down in the playoffs for the second straight year. And it certainly called an end to the honeymoon that came about after the Bucks and Bledsoe agreed to a four-year, $70 million extension midway through last season.
Now Bledsoe is set to emerge from the unceremonious end to last year’s campaign, although he will be limited initially as he returns to action after cracking cartilage in his rib cage during a preseason win over the Utah Jazz.
Bledsoe’s playoff failings will continue to overshadow the strong play he has put in during each of his two regular season campaigns in a Bucks uniform, and that was especially evident after he got his first share of All-Defensive First Team honors last season. But that criticism is absolutely deserved with just how abominable Bledsoe’s playoff showings have gone since arriving to Milwaukee nearly two years ago.
The trouble is that we won’t know whether Bledsoe can rise above previous playoff woes until this year’s postseason rolls around and Bucks fans won’t buy into whether the 29-year-old can redeem himself until the Bucks can reach the promised land with him on the floor.