For the first time in a long time, the Milwaukee Bucks were healthy in their matchup against the Miami Heat. If there was any hope that their season, which has been downright miserable and ravaged by an array of injuries, could be salvaged, it started with having a fully healthy group. Yet, despite all of their reinforcements, the Bucks were plagued by the same old issues.
The Heat, despite being short-handed, beat Milwaukee. To give the Bucks some credit, this one didn't end in a blowout, which had been a common occurrence lately. Miami walked away with a 112-105 win, sending the Bucks to their seventh loss in their past eight matchups. What went wrong? Well, where to start?
Even a healthy Bucks team remains flawed
Milwaukee's rebounding, even with a frontcourt loaded with bigs like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Myles Turner, Bobby Portis, Jericho Sims, and Kyle Kuzma, was just abysmal. Miami pulled down 53 boards to the Bucks' 36. The offensive rebounding wasn't even close, with the Heat grabbing 15 to just three from Milwaukee. This has been among the most common occurrences this season.
Discipline also remains a massive issue. While the Bucks only had three more turnovers than Miami, they had 16 more fouls. It's a shocking feat, considering the Heat have so many inexperienced, fresh-legged rotation pieces who would typically be mistake-prone. Instead, it was the Milwaukee Bucks, the more veteran-oriented group, who kept making eye-rolling mistakes.
It certainly didn't help matters that the Bucks were up against Erik Spoelstra, one of the best coaches in the business, while Doc Rivers remains trying to figure out where everyone fits.
Bucks are nearing a grim reality as losses add up
With the loss, the Milwaukee Bucks are now six games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the final spot in the East's Play-In bracket. They have not yet been eliminated from postseason contention, but they haven't given much hope that they won't be soon. Even with a fully healthy roster, there just simply is no way to avoid the many flaws this group possesses.
As the losses stack up, it only feels increasingly likely that this team will (or at least absolutely needs to) undergo massive changes this offseason. Many are shocked that Doc Rivers is still coaching this team. The roster doesn't fit well together. No one knows what their role is. From top to bottom, it's a mess in Milwaukee right now, and not even a fully healthy team will change that.
For the first time in a decade, it looks like the Milwaukee Bucks will miss the NBA Playoffs.
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