Behind the Bucks Pass
Fansided

Milwaukee Bucks: 3 things preventing success against Brooklyn Nets

By Dalton Sell

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 05: Blake Griffin #2 of the Brooklyn Nets guards Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the second quarter during Game One of the Eastern Conference second round series at Barclays Center on June 05, 2021 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 05: Blake Griffin #2 of the Brooklyn Nets guards Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the second quarter during Game One of the Eastern Conference second round series at Barclays Center on June 05, 2021 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brooklyn Nets: Blake Griffin
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 05 (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Skies are grey right now as the Milwaukee Bucks find themselves down 0-2 to the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Brooklyn has convincingly blown Milwaukee out in back-to-back contests with little resistance, signaling to many that this series is all but wrapped up. Yet, as bleak as things do appear, the Bucks will have a chance to defend homecourt and put together a last stand with their season hanging in the balance facing a dreadful 0-3 deficit, to which no team has ever come back from in NBA Playoff history.

More from Bucks News

If the Bucks stand any chance whatsoever in making this series competitive, they will have to head back to the drawing board and change things up drastically while doing some genuine soul searching after a collective pitiful effort over the first two games.

With that being said, here are three areas that sabotaged any chance of the Bucks winning these first two games that they must correct in Games 3 and 4, or potentially beyond.

The Milwaukee Bucks have been committing too many turnovers against the Brooklyn Nets

After being one of the better teams to take care of the basketball during the regular season, the Bucks have seemingly forgotten their ways.

No team has turned the ball over more in the postseason than the Bucks have this season, as they currently sit at 90 turnovers throughout their first six games. An abysmal 30 of those turnovers have come throughout these first two games with Brooklyn, courtesy of careless passes and other questionable decision-making with the basketball.

As expected, a massive portion of those turnovers has come from Milwaukee’s leading tandem of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Antetokounmpo, in particular, continues to look panic-stricken frequently with the basketball, often resulting in a turnover when he is not shooting an ill-advised jumper from the perimeter. With eight turnovers in these series along with a measly eight assists, the promising playmaking leaps Antetokounmpo looked to have taken in the regular season have vanished on the big stage.

Middleton also deserves a hefty share of the blame for these issues, as he has logged seven turnovers to just five assists to this point. While his struggles over the course of these first two games stem far and wide beyond solely his turnovers, they are yet another facet of his game that is hindering his overall production in this series.

The Bucks have become turnover-prone in these playoffs, and while it did not prove fatal against the Miami Heat in the first round, Brooklyn is a different beast entirely. They are feasting on these turnovers from Milwaukee by scoring a devastating 41 points off those mistakes in these first two games, according to NBA.com/stats. If the Bucks cannot clean up their careless ballhandling against the Nets, they will likely be doomed to suffer the same fate they have witnessed in the first two contests.

Home/Bucks News