What was rock bottom?
Through 35 games, some of you may point to game #2. Coming off a banner night high, the defending champion Bucks went into Miami for an Eastern conference blockbuster showdown and...lost by 42.
Or hey, what about that Knicks game where we collapsed in on ourselves in front of a national audience? The one where the team came out to a 21-point lead, and let it slowly creep away into a Knicks blowout over the final 3 quarters, as the fans watched on with existential dread? Julius Randle was looking like- well, Julius Randle in empty arenas without crowd noise. Which I mean might’ve been the case at Fiserv by the time the 4th quarter came around.
Being trounced by the Heat, national tv embarrassment. Want the worst of both worlds? December 8th, the night where the big 3’s unbeaten record when all playing (11-0) came to an end on national tv, at the hands of a depleted Miami team led by Caleb Martin. Don’t remember? Fear not, every Heat fan on the internet will make sure forgetting is not a problem ever again. What a post-LeBron championship for Miami.
Maybe it’s an injury; you have plenty to choose from. Brook’s back, Khris’ covid, Jrue’s heel, Rodney and Semi constantly exchanging their spots on IR. Or most recently, health and safety chaos transpriring just as the Bucks started gaining traction and climbing the standings.
You want to know which injury was my breaking point? It’s none of those actually; it was Grayson Allen being listed as questionable due to a non-covid illness 24-hours ahead of tip off with the Wizards. Why? When Khris was out, Brook was out, and Jrue only just came back, it felt like as soon as things were starting to turn around, Boom! the curse comes back again. The one that traumatized our fanbase annually, from game 6 in Toronto, to everything in the bubble, to even game 5 in Brooklyn. And it was back to ruin our coronation. We couldn’t catch a break.
Ironically enough, he ended up being fine and playing the next day. And maybe that’s the whole point. We ended up being fine.
After starting 6-8, here we are. In the blink of an eye, the slow start was answered with an 8 game win streak, which became winning 16 of the last 21 and a 22-13 record, setting the Bucks at 3rd in the East as of December 26th. (One game better than the 21-14 start the championship team delivered!) A season that lacked fun in the first month, has suddenly turned a 180 since.
Giannis casually dropping 40-point games left and right, while maybe having the best playmaking and defensive season of his career. Signature performances, like the Jordan/Drexler-esque night against Anthony Davis, or capped off with game winners like it did against the Hornets on the first night of December. Insane highlights, like when he chased down a lob to Darius Bazely from half court to prevent a game tying basket, or when he was able to recover from an awkward angle and effortlessly block a Saddiq Bey reverse in mid-air. All leaving us in nothing but amazement, and appreciation that he plays in a Bucks uniform.
And while Giannis has been the expected consistent, shimmering light through everything, the supporting cast has shown us moments to remember too. gRAYson Allen, the man acquired for Sam Merill and filler, shooting at a 40% 3PT clip, retiring any SG worries. Bobby Buckets and Pat “The Gentrification Sensation” Connaughton electfiying the 2nd unit, bound for a 6MOY teammate duel like Ingles and Clarkson did last year. Jrue Holiday, with everybody out, manning the offense like a point god. Or while we remark on Steph Curry becoming the all-time leader in 3-pointers made, let’s also remember: he’s not the only person to surpass a Ray Allen-held record this season. Khris Middleton took the crown of Bucks 3pt champ on November 19th.
It just makes you think about how far this franchise has come. A decade ago, the Milwaukee Bucks were a team mired in mediocrity, punished with purgatory. The headliner wasn’t a 2x MVP, it was John Salmons. Without a new arena, Seattle and Las Vegas licked their chops at the potential to be an NBA city. And yet here we are, going into the year 2022 as defending champions, with an all-time great leading the charge. Hell, we even got Boogie Cousins to sign here and ring chase. Imagine telling a basketball fan in 2011 that Milwaukee would be the go-to hub to RING CHASE. What a turnaround.
Turnarounds. Just yesterday, the Bucks overcame a 19-point deficit on Christmas, going on a 2nd half run that electrified the packed Forum. A type of game that could make you fall in love with the sport of basketball all over again.
Who knows if we’ll see an era this golden in Bucks history again. So, if there’s any takeaway, it’s this: take it all in.
Be glad we have 3 bonafide all-stars at the helm, with distinct games we can spend hours admiring, who can take over a game on any given night.
Be glad we have a team that guarantees playoff basketball every season, and personalities so easy to root for.
For all the years of Bucks fans having to live on the niche, be glad we have a team that 65,000 people in downtown Milwaukee will risk covid to not even watch live, to gather together to watch on a big screen for.
Be glad we got to see our Milwaukee Bucks on the biggest basketball stage, on broadcast television, with Larry O’ Brien imagery surrounding the walls of Fiserv Forum, Spike Lee placing footage of this team next to the gods of the game to open the telecast, and the voice of Mike Breen ushering the names and actions of said team. Be glad that on this stage, they delivered in a way so memorable, it will gel into being the gods of the next generation of Spike Lee opens. Booker the drive, gets inside, leans in…Knocked Away and Stolen By Holiday!
Be glad we got to have a night like July 20th, one that not every sports fan will get to experience this lifetime. I’ll never forget staring at the television screen, overwhelmed with emotion, almost in solidarity to the emotion coming from the man that scored 50 and caused this. The glisten of the Larry O’ Brien trophy that blended so well with the asethetic of the building that night, and the feelings of relief, love, and happiness all around it.
Be glad we’ll have a story to tell for the rest of our lives, about a team that overcame everything, and brought so much to a city, that like many, needed a lift in spirit and unity after a pandemic, and long-standing social issues.
Be glad for the Brook Lopez game.
Be glad another collapse to the Knicks didn’t happen in the rematches at MSG this season, yes, but also be glad we’ve reached the point where we can comfortably jump out to leads.
Merry Christmas, Bucks fans. Or more appropriately, Happy Holiday.
