Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from grim Game 2 loss to Phoenix Suns
By Dalton Sell
Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday are no-shows for the Milwaukee Bucks during Game 2 loss to Phoenix Suns
With a chance to tie up the series and steal homecourt advantage, the Bucks needed a big night from their supporting cast, but what they got was simply laughable.
Khris Middleton looked disinterested from the jump and pulled another famous disappearing act as he finished with 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting, including 1-of-6 from deep. Although these Houdini-esque performances have become typical from Middleton, that does not make them any easier to stomach, particularly with the team playing on the biggest stage possible in the NBA Finals. The typical second leading scorer on a team in the NBA Finals came out and scored 11 points with his team desperately needing to steal this game on the road, and he needs to take on the lion’s share of the criticism for his horrific effort.
However, he will not be alone in that regard as Jrue Holiday followed suit by delivering yet another lifeless performance himself. The guard would finish with 17 points, but it was a grueling shooting night as he would go 7-of-21 from the floor, including 1-of-3 from distance. To give Holiday some deserved credit, albeit it will be held to a minimum, he did notch two blocks and two steals during his time on the floor, showing signs of life on the defensive end. Still, a 33.3 percent shooting night will not get the job done in a Finals game. He started off so promising by attacking the rim early, but then he seemingly lost confidence and missed several point-blank opportunities.
As unrealistic as it might seem, it is not too far-fetched to say that swingman Pat Connaughton was Milwaukee’s second best player in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Coming off the bench, the guard would score 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, which included knocking down four 3-pointers. He was hustling from start to finish across his 33 minutes played, providing some quality minutes in the second unit, but it ultimately did not matter in the end.
It was a devastating effort from Milwaukee’s supporting cast, particularly as they let down their man running the show after he clocked in a historically great performance.