The Milwaukee Bucks' devastating season-ending defeat to the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 did not boil down to one single play.
Ultimately, when a team is up by seven with 35 seconds to go, they should be able to close things out. The Bucks didn't. While their turnovers ultimately did them in, it didn't help that referee David Guthrie called a phantom foul on AJ Green on a layup attempt by Tyrese Haliburton, resulting in a three-point play to pull Indiana within one. That call certainly helped fuel Indiana's momentum.
It looked like a poor call in real time, and indeed, it has been confirmed that it was the incorrect call to give Green a foul there. The NBA's last two-minute report confirmed that AJ Green maintained a legal guarding position on the play and that a foul shouldn't have been called. There's nothing that can get done about it now, but it's incredibly frustrating, especially given how close the game was at that time.
AJ Green's defense for the Bucks continues to get undermined
People who don't pay much attention to the Milwaukee Bucks might not understand that AJ Green is actually among the team's best perimeter defenders. He moves well and has solid instincts on that end of the floor. However, it felt like he got a poor whistle all season long, even when he was clearly in a legal guarding position, just like he was in Game 5.
It certainly felt like if Doc Rivers had used a few more challenges on AJ Green foul calls, his success rate probably would have increased.
After seeing Green earn the first prominent role of his young career, let's hope the officials can get a legitimate read on the wing next season. He may never be an All-Defensive type of player, but he's no liability like some of the mind-boggling fouls he was assessed this season would suggest him to be. For Green, all he can do is use this foolish call as motivation.
Speaking of motivation, the Milwaukee Bucks will have plenty of it heading into the NBA offseason as they try to get over this loss. Again, Milwaukee made plenty of mistakes themselves, so the phantom foul call, as utterly bad as it was, is not solely to blame. As frustrating as it is, there's simply no reason to dwell on it. The outcome is settled.
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