Where Do the Bucks Go From Here?

The Milwaukee Bucks received the worst injury update possible on Damian Lillard on Tuesday. It was announced that the Bucks star suffered a torn Achilles tendon, which is infamous for ending athletes’ seasons who suffer it. Lillard will miss the remainder of the Bucks postseason and is likely to miss a good amount of time next season if not all of it. So, where does Milwaukee go from here? 

The Bucks’ Tough Road Ahead

The Bucks weren’t looking like a threatening team even with Lillard on the court, and now that he’s injured it’s going to be tough to beat the Pacers, who have looked better from top to bottom in the series. Sure, there’s always a chance that Giannis can go on an insane run and carry them past this round, but that doesn’t seem likely. It seems like we’re witnessing the official closing of the playoff window in real-time, and the Damian Lillard injury seems like its official start. 

This isn’t the same Bucks team that won the NBA championship back in 2021. Everyone is older, departed, or just not the same player. If they fall to the Pacers, it’ll be three consecutive seasons of losing in the first round. With Lillard potentially missing all of next season, does this team envision themselves making another deep postseason run or even making the playoffs next year? 

More Questions Than Answers for Bucks

Let’s focus on the here and now for the Milwaukee Bucks, because there’s another discussion to be had about their upcoming offseason if they fail to complete the comeback. If the Bucks want a shot in this series, Kevin Porter Jr. is going to have to play how he did last night in his 33 minutes. 

He finished with 23 points and shot 52 percent from the field. He also boasted an excellent 71 percent from three-point range. He’s going to be getting the ball a lot with Lillard out. The question is, will he be able to score at that rate for the remainder of the series? That’s remained to be seen. 

Giannis Must Reach Another Level

Antetokounmpo is going to have to take his game to another planet if Milwaukee wants to win this series. Not just a performance where he’s the best player on the court, a postseason performance similar to Lebron James 2018 playoff stats. That postseason was the one where Lebron averaged 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. That playoff team featured players like Tristan Thompson and Jeff Green. 

If there’s one player in the league you could bank on taking over a series, it would be Antetokounmpo. There is so much that is on the line if Milwaukee loses this series, and the Milwaukee fans are banking on Antetokounmpo to come through. 

Last Thoughts

Losing Lillard is brutal for Milwaukee. The brutal thing is it’s for most next season as well, not including the playoffs. The Bucks have a choice to make if they lose to the Pacers. They could either be aggressive in the offseason and trade or sign someone to pair with Antetokounmpo, or they could see the competitive window as closed and sell off some players and do a retool. 

Just a thought, but it’s going to be hard to believe if the Milwaukee front office doesn’t at least have a conversation about the idea of trading Antetokounmpo. His name has been floated around in trade rumors forever, but this offseason could be the one to think about it. With Lillard out, the return for Antetokounmpo could be gigantic and speed up a potential rebuild in Milwaukee. Of course, this is all speculation and is more of an offseason discussion. Let’s wait and see what happens in the rest of the series.