Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks looked uninspiringly mortal without Khris Middleton in their second-round defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics.
Sans Middleton’s shot creation and midrange prowess, Giannis Antetokounmpo was left as the Bucks’ only reliable source of offense, one that was more easily slowed down by Boston’s myriad defenders considering there wasn’t a second threat to strike fear into Boston.
For all of Jrue Holiday’s wonderful qualities, he can’t be counted on to be a reliable second or even third scoring option on a title team. With the Celtics keying in on Giannis on defense, Milwaukee was afforded plenty of open looks from deep but couldn’t hit with enough efficiency to make Boston pay or ultimately defeat them.
All of the Bucks’ role players underwhelmed. Grayson Allen, Pat Connaughton, and George Hill all failed to be reliable enough shooters to help Giannis drag the hampered Bucks into the Eastern Conference Finals. That wouldn’t have been the case had Milwaukee had a shooter of Buddy Hield’s caliber on the roster.
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Not only can Hield be counted on to hit spot-up 3-pointers at an efficient clip, his ability to knock down triples off of screens, hand-offs, and the bounce would open up the floor for Giannis and the Bucks’ other slashers.
Milwaukee could have ran actions and plays for Hield when their offense got bogged down and sprung him open for an easy three points. With a sniper of Hield’s pedigree behind the arc, the Celtics’ perimeter defenders would have had to think harder before sending multiple bodies at Giannis on his drives.
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The Milwaukee Bucks have few assets to improve their team, but the price for Hield shouldn’t be too steep. General Manager Jon Horst needs to do everything he can to bring the sniper to Milwaukee if he wants to diversify the Bucks’ attack and maximize their chances at another title.
