Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 103-94 Game 5 loss to Miami Heat

Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 103-94 Game 5 loss to Miami Heat – Stuck in a jam

Save for their first quarter, the Bucks’ offense obviously left a lot to be desired for in Game 5. Of course, they were without their central creator, scoring leader and driving force in Antetokounmpo, but their offensive threat was neutralized in somewhat expected fashion.

To that point, the Buck finished with a 94.9 offensive rating and their 45.9 true shooting percentage unsurprisingly ranked as the worst mark of their run during the regular season and postseason combined, per NBA.com/stats.

Bucks All-Star forward Khris Middleton was tasked with an impossible task of trying to replicate Antetokounmpo’s presence and struggled in the face of the increased defensive attention as he finished with a team-leading 23 points on 8-for-25 shooting (2-for-9 from three, 5-of-6 from the line).

The burden on Middleton’s shoulders, combined with the Bucks’ struggles from the 3-point line where they went 9-for-33 on the night (27.3 percent), only grew as did that defensive pressure with the Heat sending tough assignments and double teams his way. It certainly differed from the walls we’ve seen against Antetokounmpo, but it had the same effect in cutting off the head of the Bucks’ snake with Middleton being their central shot creator for the night.

Being without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks already had the odds stacked up against them, just as was the case for resuming the series in general. With such little margin for error, their extensive offensive struggles for Game 5 proved to be the final nail in their proverbial coffin.