Milwaukee Bucks: How season suspension could affect title hopes
With the NBA’s decision to suspend the 2019-20 season due to the coronavrius, the Milwaukee Bucks’ title hopes for this year could very well be affected, regardless of when things return back to normal.
The Milwaukee Bucks, like all other 29 NBA teams, are in a state of limbo.
The league’s decision to suspend the 2019-20 season last Wednesday night due to the coronavrius has led to this unprecedented break and period in its 74-year history. And of course, it’s only the tip of the iceberg for how this outbreak has started to affect the lives of those living in North America.
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Despite NBA commissioner Adam Silver putting in place a 30-day hiatus, at minimum, for the league, the plain truth is we have no idea how long this break lasts and for how long it will affect the rhythm of our everyday lives in general. It’s clear the game of basketball is not the only thing affected by what is affecting the world.
With all that in mind, a team like the Bucks and what they’ve achieved so far this season are in a rarefied group of teams that have the most to lose due to this disruption.
Having been out in front of the rest of the league for most of the regular season, save for a recent stretch that saw them lose four out of their five most recent games, the Bucks have established themselves as one of the biggest title contenders standing in the league this year.
With all of their chips proverbially thrown to the middle of the table, the Bucks have proven to be better than the high mark they set for themselves last year. And it goes without saying that whatever the outcome of this season may be, it determines the long-term trajectory of the franchise, given the looming supermax extension that will come Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s way this summer.
But given no one could have seen the severity of this break occurring in the first place, one can only suspect what kind of an effect this period of time will have on the Bucks, their chemistry and the overall consistency they’ve shown for the vast majority of the season.
Again, it feels plenty silly to worry about how the Bucks finish out their season if and when the NBA resumes play when literal lives are at stake throughout the world during this time. Yet, as we try to cling to any normalcy that is gradually slipping through our fingers with each passing day, pressing the pause button, while was unequivocally the right decision, on the season may be the truest test to what the Bucks have built this season, certainly off the court.
Bucks owner Marc Lasry spoke to a similar sentiment during his recent appearance on The Full 48 podcast with Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, which I transcribed here:
"“I think it’s the same for everybody, to be honest with you. No matter which team you support, you’re sort of like ‘Whoa, what happened?’ And for us, it’s probably a little bit worse, just simply because we’re doing so well. But just for people, you look around and think this is supposed to be going on. That’s not it. Ultimately, you’re a little bit in shock as to how quickly everything just changed.”"
This is all provided that the league ends up finishing out the season, which has been the ultimate goal of both Silver as well as the league and its 30 owners. While that remains the carrot that they and all basketball fans will cling to, we have no way of knowing whether that wish will be realized when the worldwide outbreak eventually disappears.
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All Bucks fans will continue to hold out hope that we haven’t seen the last of this team and this dream season. And if and when they return to action, we’ll just have to see whether they can step right back into the rhythm that made them such a special watch in the first place.