The Milwaukee Bucks weren’t healthy all season long
When we look back at the title defense of the Bucks during the 2021-22 NBA season, they were in far from ideal circumstances. Not just in the playoffs. All season long, the Bucks struggled to remain healthy. And that’s one of the bigger reasons why they entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
Giannis and Jrue Holiday missed 15 games each, Khris Middleton missed 16 games, Grayson Allen missed 16 games, Pat Connaughton missed 17 games, and Brook Lopez missed 69 games all during the regular season. Even though they were all back for the postseason (with the exception of Middleton after just the first few games in the first round), the Bucks never seemed to get in a good rhythm throughout the season.
Heading into the postseason, the hope was that the Bucks would be able to flip the switch and turn on the championship pedigree. It simply didn’t work out and was all but out the window as soon as Middleton was lost in the team’s first-round series against the Chicago Bulls.