Three minutes into the second half, the Milwaukee Bucks ran up a 68-53 advantage over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Nearly a seven-minute scoring drought later, they found themselves down by five. Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks don't have a pillar to lean on when the sky is falling. He isn't there to put his head down and will them to a bucket.
With Giannis on the floor, Minnesota's 20-0 run could have been 18-6. It could have been 22-10. The Bucks might have stopped that disaster train in its tracks and weathered the storm. Instead, their humiliating collapse only served as a reminder of just how thin the ice is. As long as Giannis remains sidelined, the Bucks are vulnerable to some version of Sunday's meltdown on a nightly basis.
Bucks desperate for bona fide bucket-getter to stop the bleeding
As dynamic as Kevin Porter Jr. has been, he thrives most as a playmaker. He can get his own opportunities, no doubt, but he is not a bully-ball replacement for Giannis or a purebred bucket-getter. Aside from Porter and Ryan Rollins, the Bucks don't have a lot of firepower. Bobby Portis can only do so much.
Just a basket or two would have gone a long way toward tempering the Timberwolves' onslaught. Giannis is one of the few players in the league who can literally will his way to the basket. If he doesn't get up a good look, chances are he'll draw a foul or find a wide-open teammate in the corner. Entire defenses collapse around him.
A thunderous dunk or 3-point make would have done more than just give the Bucks some points. It would have slowed Minnesota's frenetic momentum. As the Timberwolves roared back, the Target Center rocked on the verge of delirium. Giannis bulldozing his way to the free-throw line, one of his specialties, would have slowed the game down in a literal sense by stopping the clock.
Everyone take a deep breath and count to 10. Now, repeat. 1, 2, 3...10.
Both spiritually and in the stat column, Giannis is the leader of the team. In the heat of battle, he is a source of calm. That the Bucks do not have anyone capable of filling his void was painfully evident on Sunday. Anemic starts and second-half slipups have been problematic in his absence.
Unfortunately, they have their general back soon. In mid-December, Giannis gave himself a return timetable of four to six weeks. The Bucks may not be able to survive that long without him. At least from a basketball perspective, pursuing a star in the trade market could give them a fallback option when the going gets tough. Here, Zach LaVine, go get us a bucket.
Until Giannis returns, that might be their only hope to stop a bad run from snowballing. The Timberwolves put the Bucks' vulnerability on painful display, and with the current group of players, it's probably not going away on its own.