The Milwaukee Bucks’ worst nightmare has finally arrived

With their 2019-20 season on the brink, the Milwaukee Bucks are finally staring at a reality its fans and the organization as a whole didn’t want to face.

In one fell swoop, the Milwaukee Bucks are on the ropes in their Conference Semi-finals series with the Miami Heat as they trail 3-0.

Of course, that comes after enduring a 115-100 Game 3 loss that featured one of the most lopsided fourth quarters and biggest meltdowns in playoff history. Regardless of what happens in Game 4 Sunday afternoon, the lasting image of a Bucks team that had suffered one of the most historic meltdowns will certainly endure both now and in the years to come.

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And it’s through that lens where the Bucks’ impending second straight playoff collapse has forced all Bucks fans and the Bucks organization to face a reality that all parties have fought hard against in coming to fruition.

Two regular seasons worth of overwhelming results led many to believe the Bucks were a team to beat, especially after having finished with the best record in the NBA over the last two years under head coach Mike Budenholzer.

It was nearly two-and-a-half years ago when Budenholzer had arrived to a Bucks franchise in desperate need for a competent leader that could help set a fruitful culture in hopes of winning results. Budenholzer has certainly delivered on that front, especially with more talent at his disposal, with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo headlining, than he had during his five-season stint with the Atlanta Hawks previously.

And through Antetokounmpo, along with Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton as existing holdovers, the Bucks had built out their foundation with the addition of Brook Lopez and the team had found the tentpoles toward becoming a fearsome team during the regular season.

Their run to 60 wins during the 2018-19 regular season had overjoyed Bucks fans, many of whom hadn’t even seen a Bucks team win more than 50 wins for a season, and steamrolling their way to the Eastern Conference Finals last year led many to believe Budenholzer and his coaching staff’s presence was singular enough to waltz to a potential NBA title.

The same largely went for this 2019-20 season where they improved on the standard they set last year and steamrolled through the opposition during the regular season yet again, that is before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Even as the Bucks have struggled to take on the same form over the course of their run throughout the bubble, both in the seeding games and in the postseason, there was still this belief that things would eventually click into a place for a Bucks team that had been so cohesive all year long.

All that remained was being able to learn the lessons from their Conference Finals collapse against the eventual NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors, more than a year ago that overshadowed any and all of the success the Bucks achieved this regular season.

Now, on the verge of a second straight playoff collapse and after the Bucks showed themselves to be the most overwhelming squad during the regular season before the season suspension, these consecutive collapses are not bugs, but a feature in Budenholzer’s shaky playoff history.

And the same hallmarks of how the Bucks fell to the Raptors in four straight games have manifested once again versus the Heat, whether it’s been the sound defensive walls against Antetokounmpo as well as Budenholzer’s minutes distribution and endless rotation configurations.

In its essence, the Bucks have simply operated as they have throughout their run in the regular season, for better and for worse. And that in itself, will lead to their impending demise, all of which will be made that much more convincing if the Heat complete their sweep Sunday afternoon.

If Bucks fans think all of this is hard, it’s only about to get that much harder.

Antetokounmpo’s long-term future has always been fodder for speculation throughout the year, even as he’s likely set to become the back-to-back reigning MVP. A looming supermax extension offer be damned, Antetokounmpo’s free agency in the summer of 2021 has been an underlying subplot throughout the year, even as Bucks fans have steadfastly fought against what has largely been baseless speculation.

But now the Bucks’ current predicament has brought the looming specter of Antetokounmpo’s upcoming free agency front and center, even as the Greek superstar said before the season that talking about his future would be “disrespectful to his teammates” going into the year. Without question, the noise regarding Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee will only grow louder when the Bucks are eventually put out to pasture, so to speak.

Throughout the last two years, the Bucks knew building up a stable foundation, both in personnel and on the coaching front, would help enhance their hopes of competing for a title, all of which has been made possible by Antetokounmpo’s presence. And they have pitched themselves as a team that could go up against anyone, even as fellow contenders have set themselves financially to viably chase for Antetokounmpo’s services in the summer of 2021.

For as much as the Bucks, through general manager Jon Horst, have built everything toward Antetokounmpo’s natural talents, coming up short in such dramatic fashion the last two years has planted the seeds of doubt and puts the Bucks’ future at a crossroads. Yes, at least one game still remains in the series against the Heat, but the Bucks’ uphill climb will certainly see a season built on winning a title bust in one of the most fiery ways imaginable.

And it’s from there where the next steps may be as explosive as anything we’ve seen in recent Bucks history. At this point, everything may be on the table to help salvage this window and convince the second-best player to ever walk through the Bucks organization that staying in Milwaukee long-term will eventually result in an NBA championship.