Milwaukee Bucks: Player grades from 115-100 Game 3 loss to Miami Heat

ERIC BLEDSOE. D-. I guess playoff Bledsoe finally showed up. In a game that featured many ill-advised early triples, Eric Bledsoe took the one that broke the Bucks for good. When Bledsoe pulled up with 8:53 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bucks had a seven-point lead and still looked to be well and truly in the driving seat. Two minutes later, the Miami Heat were in the lead and they never looked back from there. As Bledsoe tossed up that brick to end all bricks, Reggie Miller delivered a piece of commentary that will ring in the ears of Milwaukee’s fans for quite some time: “Why?” It’s a question we’ve been asking for three years with Bledsoe, and we’re no closer to an answer.. Guard. Milwaukee Bucks

C+. Wesley Matthews did his job, and his reward was to sit on the bench and watch Jimmy Butler cook his teammates in the fourth quarter, and put an end to his title dreams. After some horrid shooting through the first two games, Matthews looked much better as he knocked down 2-of-3 from deep in this one. His defense on Butler is also only all the more impressive given how Middleton and Antetokounmpo got picked apart in that matchup.. Guard. Milwaukee Bucks. WESLEY MATTHEWS

B+. Khris Middleton has been exceptional throughout this series for the Bucks, which makes it no surprise that as he cooled off late in the game (and eventually fouled out), Milwaukee found themselves crumbling to pieces. The key question is whether Middleton was taken out of his rhythm by some of his spells on the bench. More than Giannis, Middleton is the player with a proven track record of playing colossal minutes totals and thriving. Considering that in addition to his 18 points, Khris also had seven assists and zero turnovers, the Bucks could really have used all of the control that he offered up on the offensive end.. Forward. Milwaukee Bucks. KHRIS MIDDLETON

Forward. Milwaukee Bucks. GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO. C-. Giannis Antetokounmpo bridged the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth quarter with truly phenomenal play on both ends of the floor, which was best encapsulated by three blocks in the span of four minutes. Outside of that run, this was a truly shocking performance by the soon-to-be two-time MVP. Giannis fired up countless awful threes, and genuinely didn’t even come close to looking like making a single one of those seven misses. During his positive spell in the second half, the Bucks figured out the need to get Giannis the ball away from the top of the key, and generally closer to the free throw line, which allowed him to get to work. For all of the blame that will rightly fall on coaching, though, the way in which Antetokounmpo frequently put himself in the same position without any imagination or variance is also a damning indictment of him. Maybe he’s too deferential, maybe he’s too content to be the good soldier who follows his coach’s instructions, but there are few if any other superstars at Giannis’ level around the league who I could imagine as passively disengaging their brain as he has for large chunks of this series. For all of the work he’ll undoubtedly put into his game in terms of free throws and jump shots this offseason, he needs to invest just as much time in learning to read the game better and identifying his own creative solutions during the flow of games.

B+. It was quite the call to have your veteran big lead the team in minutes, but Brook Lopez was undeniably one of the very best elements of the Bucks’ play once again. If he hadn’t been playing at the absolute peak of his powers, it doesn’t bear to think about just how much more embarrassing this series would be. With 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting, Brook again splashed home threes, but also showed phenomenal touch inside when the Bucks went to him in the post. If the Bucks as a whole were performing better, Brook’s play would be the talk of the NBA. Instead, he’s fighting valiantly and flying under the radar as those around him hog the attention by crumbling.. Center. Milwaukee Bucks. BROOK LOPEZ