Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, we knew it would be tough for the Milwaukee Bucks. Their defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on the second night of a back-to-back proved how difficult it will be for this roster without their superstar.
Tyrese Maxey deserves massive amounts of credit for Philly's win, dropping a huge 54-point performance at Fiserv Forum. However, the Bucks struggled against a team without Joel Embiid, Adem Bona, and Kelly Oubre, showing the brutal truth about the roster surrounding their two-time MVP.
Bucks struggled with 76ers, will be even tougher against better teams
Milwaukee has started games this season extremely slowly, and Thursday night was no different, finding themselves down 13 at the end of the first quarter. The team fought back and took the game to overtime, but didn't have the top-end quality Maxey showed.
Offensively, the team has struggled when Giannis sits, let alone when he is unavailable. Ryan Rollins had another brilliant game, dropping a team-high 32 points as he continues his great individual season. He can't do it alone, especially in his first season as a true starter in the NBA. The team drops off when Giannis sits. Part of it is down to coaching and schematic reasons, but other players need to step up and find their form before things get ugly.
Questions are now being asked about the roster construction, and the early-season positivity has very quickly diminished. Cole Anthony is a prime example of this. He looked a steal to begin the season with his electric play from the bench that propelled Milwaukee to some big wins. Now, it is clear why the Orlando Magic were so comfortable trading him away.
Everyone knew it would be a tough spell when Giannis left the court against the Cavaliers, but the Philly defeat highlighted the disarray surrounding the roster and how it struggles to function without their star man.
Doc Rivers is now under a bit of pressure, with the fanbase not overly sold on his tenure with the team so far. There is now more emphasis on him to develop the game plan for the roster instead of just relying on Giannis to drive and then find open shooters.
Milwaukee needs creativity from the sidelines and players to step up in all areas of the game. It was always going to be tough without Giannis, but the team needs to prove to the fans that they can be a sneaky, dangerous team come the postseason.
The Sixers were a team that people found difficult to judge before this season, with key components having injury concerns. Now on a three-game losing streak, things don't get easier for the Bucks with the high-flying Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks all coming up, while Giannis is out.