Unbelievable! Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA Number One seed and East Conference leader, with a regular season record of 56:17, is out of the 2019-20 NBA Playoffs!! Bucks was edged out by an underdog, the East’s 5th ranking Miami Heat who had a regular season record of 44:29!!
First-time a lower-seed (5th) will oust the number one seed!
Miami Heat, with the duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and their two three-point shooters of Tyler Herro (a rookie) and Goran Dragic, were phenomenal. They outscored the Bucks in the fourth quarter.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (GA) had earlier sprained his ankle, the second time, during Game 4 of the series and had to leave the game. That was a damper, but his teammates successfully held the fort and won that game. Giannis showed up at Game 5 in a boot. I was optimistic that Milwaukee, without GA, will continue the streak. And they did till the fourth quarter. Though Khris Middleton and team played hard, too many turnovers and missed shots cost the leader team.
This is the second time that Milwaukee Bucks will lose the playoffs despite their team’s formidable season’s efforts. The first was the 2018-19 season during the finals against Toronto Raptors. Which brings me to wonder what’s going on with the team. Is’t exhaustion? But no, if the Golden State Warriors could hold up and win back-to-back championships, then Bucks could too. The question is “why aren’t they?” Did the Heat have the advantage of being well-rested since they finished the first round sooner than other teams and Bucks didn’t? Could there be internal affairs issues that the outside world/fans are unaware of? Your guess is as good as mine.
Well, well, well … Kudos really to the Miami Heat. They swept their first opponent, Indiana Pacers, in the first round of the playoffs and almost did it with the Bucks, too. They went 7:1! Now they have another opportunity to be well-rested for the semi-finals. Will it be Boston Celtics, who leads the series at 3:2, or the reigning champions Toronto Raptors?
Congratulations to Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.
Like Charles Barkley said, we hope that Giannis will remain with the Bucks, figure out what the stumbler is that’s affecting them at critical moments and rectify it soonest, including hoping to win the NBA Championship soon.
Thanks for reading.
ThinkTalk 