The Milwaukee Bucks are one day away from starting off a gigantic playoff run that will have massive implications on their future.
A stiff test already awaits them in the first round in the form of the Miami Heat and the rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals provides plenty of motivation for a Bucks team that has operated with the playoffs in mind all season long.
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Of course, Milwaukee is far from the same team they were last season and that collapse informed all of the personnel changes and stylistic evolution they have undergone. Now is the time for it all to come together when it matters most.
So without further ado, let’s look at three biggest questions facing the Milwaukee Bucks going into the start of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
Is Giannis Antetokounmpo set for playoff redemption with the Milwaukee Bucks?
The disappointment of last year’s playoff run still looms over the Bucks as they get set to go into this postseason. The same goes for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had to watch his and the team’s season end while watching from the sidelines after spraining his ankle in Game 4 of that series down in the bubble.
When healthy, the two-time MVP was thoroughly bottled up by the Miami Heat as they built the walls that are necessary in order to keep Antetokounmpo from wreaking havoc on the baskets. It all led to a diminished performance from Antetokounmpo and led to some questioning his greatness or ability to lead the Bucks to the NBA Finals, among other failings that emerged from the Bucks’ collapse.
The doubts that have crept up about the Bucks and Antetokounmpo will only heat up as the pressure ramps up into the start of the series. Antetokounmpo, though, welcomes that pressure ahead of the start of their series against the Heat, which you can watch via the Bucks’ YouTube channel:
"“I believe that pressure is earned. You know, if I wasn’t who I am today and I didn’t work as hard as I work, didn’t focus on the game, have love for the game and didn’t compete the way I do, we wouldn’t be talking about pressure. Pressure is earned and I love it. I’m out there. I want to compete and I want more pressure because the better I get, the more pressure I have. I’m in a good place mentally, a good place physically. All I care about is competing. Like everybody else in this world, learning from the past playoff runs we had and hopefully, we can be in a better position this year.”"
Having gone through the playoff experiences of the last two years specifically has tested Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as a whole. The disappointments that have followed have only added more fuel to Antetokounmpo’s fire. He may have already reached pinnacle of individual achievement, yet Antetokounmpo continues to develop and further enhance his game in order to learn from his high-profile defeats and struggles.
Now to put those things into practice against the very Heat team that found the formula to slowing him down nearly eight months will force Antetokounmpo to rise up in the face of enormous pressure yet again.