Milwaukee Bucks: Grades from crushing Game 4 loss to Atlanta Hawks

D-. The inconsistent play of Jrue Holiday this postseason continues as he clocked in an awful performance in Game 4. Holiday looked disinterested from the start, carelessly turning the ball over with a handful of head-scratching decisions. The guard hardly looked like he was capable of handling the basketball at times, ultimately finishing with four turnovers for the game. To his credit, he managed to dish out nine assists, but it was clear that his facilitating was not up to his usual standards with the several bone-headed decisions. It was also another poor shooting night for Holiday as he shot 6-of-17 from the floor, including 2-of-7 from deep to score 19 points. He seemingly lacked any motivation whatsoever from the moment the game began, only more so after Giannis went down with his unfortunate injury. These were not the types of playoff performances the Bucks envisioned when they traded the farm for Holiday last offseason.. PG. Milwaukee Bucks. JRUE HOLIDAY

D-. Speaking of inconsistent players on a game-to-game basis, Khris Middleton also struggled to find his rhythm last night. After saving the day in Game 3 with a heroic 38 point effort in the Bucks’ Game 3 victory, Middleton came out flat in the follow-up. He would eventually finish with 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor, including an awful 0-of-7 from behind the arc. There were times where he looked frightened while possessing the basketball as his handle kept slipping, while also throwing several lackadaisical passes that resulted in four turnovers. While his offensive performance was far from efficient, he managed to tally eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals to make an impact elsewhere. Yet, the criticism will come in bunches due to his pitiful effort on the offensive end as he came out struggling once more. It truly is disheartening to watch Middleton battle through these inconsistencies as he can have a performance for the ages one night and then just disappear when his team needs him the most the following game just days later. Of course, this is nothing new when it comes to Middleton, but that does not make it an easier pill to swallow.. SG. Milwaukee Bucks. KHRIS MIDDLETON

Surprisingly enough, P.J. Tucker was one of the only players to start the game with any energy, as he led the Bucks in scoring with eight points after the first quarter. Knocking down two triples and finishing right at the rim, it looked like it might be a breakout scoring performance from Tucker with everyone else struggling to score. However, those would be the only points he scored in this game as his hot start cooled off after the first 12 minutes. There is not much to dive into from the forward’s performance, as his only other statistical contributions included hauling in two rebounds. It was good to see Tucker knock down a pair of triples from his sweet spot in the corner, but even that is not worth celebrating here.. SF. Milwaukee Bucks. P.J. TUCKER. C

PF. Milwaukee Bucks. GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO. INC. It would not feel right to hand Giannis Antetokounmpo a grade considering the circumstances. There is no update at this point in time, but all we can do is hope for the best as it pertains to Antetokounmpo’s knee with an MRI set to take place at some point today.

C. Milwaukee Bucks. BROOK LOPEZ. D. Brook Lopez has been played off the floor throughout this series on multiple occasions, and last night’s outing was the latest installment. The big man was getting picked apart defensively as Atlanta’s offense viciously attacked him time and time again, which just caused more frustration on top of everything else. Offensively, Lopez finished with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, including 1-of-3 from deep. Joining in with his teammates and logging two turnovers of his own, it was another all-around low-light night for Milwaukee’s man in the middle. This series has provided a mismatch for Lopez, and the Bucks are still struggling on how to combat it consistently.