By admin 
The Milwaukee Bucks avoided what would have been another catastrophic loss by narrowly holding off the Houston Rockets, but all that win did was improve their record to 5-9. If the regular season ended today, the Bucks wouldn’t even be in a Play-In spot. It’s been that bad.
It is clear that the Khris Middleton injury has affected things, but it’s very clear that this Bucks team isn’t where it wants to be for a variety of reasons. The slow start has sparked the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors warm up.
These three individuals deserve to take the majority of the blame for the season going so poorly.
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Jon Horst deserves a lot of credit for building a roster that won the 2020-2021 NBA Championship, but things have only gone south since then. The Bucks won one playoff series the following season before being sent home, and have lost in the first round in each of the past two seasons. Based on where things stand right now, the Bucks might not even make the playoffs.
Some of their early exits have been injury-related, but still: the Bucks haven’t lived up to expectations and Horst has made several questionable moves along the way.
The firing of Adrian Griffin and the hiring of Doc Rivers could have been worse. Rivers was 22-28 as head coach of the Bucks, while Griffin was 30-13 in the same role. The Damian Lillard trade failed miserably. Jrue Holliday helped Boston win a championship, while the partnership between Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t nearly as dynamic as expected. Lillard’s defense also appears to be a major problem.
The depth of this Milwaukee roster is another area where Horst went wrong. It’s difficult for him to navigate the lack of cap space and draft picks, but some of that is also his fault. It was hard to imagine this roster winning an NBA championship before the season, and based on how things have started, it would be shocking if the Bucks won a playoff run.
The Bucks’ biggest move of the offseason was replacing Malik Beasley with Gary Trent Jr. in the backcourt. It’s safe to say the move hasn’t gone well so far. Trent has averaged just 7.6 points per game on 34.5/31.6/92.9 splits, along with 1.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 24.8 minutes per game.
The 25-year-old has also struggled defensively, with his overall woes forcing Doc Rivers to move him to the bench. He’s played better in a smaller role, but that’s not why he was brought to town in the first place.
To make matters worse, Beasley shined with the Detroit Pistons, averaging over 15 points per game and shooting 39.3 percent from downtown on nine attempts. He has been the shooter the Bucks need to make room for their stars. Trent’s career numbers suggest he will turn things around, but so far he hasn’t come close to being the impactful guard he’s been created to be.
The Bucks thought they were upgrading from Jrue Holliday to Damian Lillard in the backcourt. The Lillard trade gave Milwaukee a clear second star they needed as they pushed for a championship. Lillard was underwhelming last season and hasn’t played like the superstar they expected this season either.
Not only has the 34-year-old been consistently picked on defensively, but he hasn’t been as efficient as the Bucks would like him to be on offense. Sure, he’s averaging over 25 points per game, but shooting just 43.4 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three-point range. He is having his second-worst season of his career from behind the arc.
Lillard has had some exceptional games, but has also had several duds. For example, he has shot 16 of his last 48 from the field over the past three games, averaging 17.0 points on 16 shots and shooting 33.3 percent overall. Just four games earlier, he shot 1-for-12 from the floor in a blowout loss at Memphis.
The Bucks need a consistent No. 2 option to work with Giannis, and Lillard hasn’t been that this season. He’s had his share of good games, but with their 5-9 record, the bad ones have outpaced them. Lillard seemed like a perfect fit for Giannis on paper, but has been anything but.