Milwaukee Bucks: Supporting cast has been a letdown through two games in the NBA Finals
The Milwaukee Bucks need Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday to step up.
When the Milwaukee Bucks emptied the asset cupboard during the offseason to acquire Jrue Holiday, this is exactly the moment they did it for. However, down 2-0 in the NBA Finals to the Phoenix Suns, the supporting cast has letdown Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks through the first two games.
Especially in Game 2, when Giannis and the Bucks needed Holiday and Khris Middleton to step up the most, they were nowhere to be found as they struggled mightily to have any impact in the game.
As Giannis was posting a historic 42-point, 12-rebound, and 4-assist night on 15-22 shooting from the field, Holiday and Middleton shot a combined 12-37 on the night including a 2-9 shooting from 3-point range collectively.
Giannis needs support from Middleton and Holiday as the series shifts back to Milwaukee
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In a game that the Bucks lost by 10, Giannis was the only player on the team with a positive plus-minus and Middleton was a team-worst -15 on the night. Heading into Game 3, it’ll be imperative for Milwaukee’s supporting cast to get right before this series becomes a forgone conlcusion.
No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit and Milkwaukee’s backs are already against the wall as they face a daunting 2-0 series hole.
But if there’s one thing that can help Milwaukee get back into this series, it’s the reemergernce of its supporting cast. An argument could be made that we’ve already seen PHoenix’s best punch in this series.
Chris Paul and Devin Booker picked up where they left off in Game 1 as they cruised to a Game 2 win. We haven’t seen Milwaukee’s best, most complete punch in this series yet. Whether we actually see it or not depends on the consistency of Middleton and Holiday heading into Game 3.
Giannis has surprisingly been better than expected coming off a scary knee injury, but it’s his supporting stars that have struggled through the first two games in this series. And if the Bucks are going to climb back into this series in a competitive way, it’ll be because of their supporting cast.
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Giannis has been everything Milwaukee has needed from their No. 1 star. Holiday and Middleton has dropped the ball. It’s time they change the narrative and get the Bucks back into this series. And there’s no better time to get that going than when the series shifts back to their home floor.