The Milwaukee Bucks just don’t have problems with Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. They have a problem when Bruce Brown is outplaying Khris Middleton. They have a problem with Blake Griffin playing like Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin.
It seems Milwaukee’s issues are compounding exponentially. Every Nets starter had more points than Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first half. Another problem: Right now, the Nets don’t need James Harden to defeat the Bucks. Harden played just the first 43 seconds of Game 1 and he sat out Game 2 with a hamstring issue.
At halftime, TNT’s Charles Barkley said the Bucks should be embarrassed, and that was before Brooklyn opened a 30-point lead in the third quarter.
The Nets bulldozed the Bucks, 125-86, on Monday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. Durant scored 32 points, Irving had 22, Brown had 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, Blake Griffin contributed seven points and eight rebounds, and Mike James had 10 points.
It’s as lopsided as a 2-0 series can be, and the Bucks are facing short- and long-term questions about their championship chances.
Over the past few seasons, a discouraging trend has emerged for Milwaukee. Under Coach Mike Budenholzer, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are a great and sometimes dominant regular-season team, but do not have what’s required to win a championship. In a seven-game series deeper into the playoffs, their offensive and defensive shortcomings are exposed.
