Appearing on The Athletic NBA Show, Milwaukee Bucks vice president Alex Lasry reflected on the end of the 2019-20 season and where the Bucks go from here.
Even as they’re focused on the big decisions at hand, it’s natural to diagnose just where everything went wrong for the Milwaukee Bucks in the strange 2019-20 season.
Having essentially been run off the floor in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series with the Miami Heat down in the bubble, a dream season for the Bucks ended with an echoing thud.
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Recently appearing on an episode of The Athletic NBA Show with David Aldridge and guest host Howard Beck, Bucks vice president Alex Lasry discussed the end to the Bucks’ season, the challenges at hand this offseason and much more.
As much as the focus for the podcast was on the Bucks’ off-the-court efforts, whether it’s been encouraging people to vote or speaking out against racial injustice, Lasry offered his thoughts on the end of the season when asked about it by Aldridge:
"“It’s tough. You don’t want to make excuses for what happened. We lost and I thought the series against the Heat very easily could have been we were up 3-1. We just didn’t execute in the way that we normally do and had all season. You gotta give a lot of credit to the Heat. They made every team uncomfortable and their ability to execute was really impressive.We all say that this was unprecedented situation and yes, while everyone faced the same problems, other teams dealt with it in different ways. When you look at us getting down there and in the middle of the playoffs, you have Wisconsin being rattled by a shooting in its backyard and the emotional toll, I think that took and it was hard for us to get that chemistry and that rhythm we’re so used to. I think that was something that we had all season and being off for four months and coming back, it was tough.”"
Lasry then pivoted to the lessons the front office and the organization as a whole have learned from the fallout of their playoff disappointment and echoed the big roster needs that have been repeated throughout their offseason thus far:
"“With that being said, there are a lot of things that I think the coaches and players would have done differently. We had the number one team for a reason. What you don’t want to do is overreact too much to an unprecedented situation. But I think what we are looking is how can we still make this team better. How can we add pieces through the draft, free agency and trades that are going to add playmaking, increase shooting and toughness…Everyone watched the games and everything and there a lot of things that we need to improve on and change. But we also can’t overlook the fact that Giannis (Antetokounmpo) got hurt. When you lose the two-time MVP and the Defensive Player, that’s going to be a tough thing to come back from.”"
There are no shortage of frustrations that Bucks fans, players, coaches and officials have all felt in the end to their season over the last several weeks. What the Bucks both learn and how they look institute any and all changes they may potentially make this offseason is on the minds of many, all while speculation runs rampant around Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee.
As mentioned before, Lasry’s conversation with Aldridge and Beck touched on a multitude of topics that went beyond the Bucks’ play on the court, whether it discussing their historic walkout during the playoffs and speaking out on civil and social topics that impact the lives of everyone.
That work will certainly continue during these times and all Bucks fans will be tuned into whatever direction they go in regards to retooling and adding to their roster in the coming weeks and months.