It seems that, when it comes to the NBA playoffs, teams gotta learn to walk before they can run. After all, didn't Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls struggle for several seasons to get past the roadblock that the Detroit Pistons provided.
I think it worked out pretty well for Mike. Six titles (two threepeats there). He may well have had eight if he hadn't left to play baseball. Of course, that self-imposed exile is still a tad questionable...
So it's no surprise to me that the Milwaukee Bucks came up short of playing for the NBA championship this season. Yes, the Giannis Antetokounmpo-fueled squad won a league-best 60 games this season. And yes, they won topped Detroit and Boston in the playoffs. Still, there are those who are SEVERELY disappointed that the squad won't get a chance to take on the Golden State Warriors.
Seriously? To many Bucks fans, just getting a series win in the playoffs was great. Everything after that was house money.
When the Bucks, two years in existence, made the playoffs and lost in the conference finals (4-1 to the New York Knicks), they did so led by rookie hall-of-fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor).
Over the course of five Jabbar's five seasons (1970-1974), Milwaukee made the conference finals four times, won a title in 1971 and lost to the Boston Celtics in the 1974 finals (4-3).
After that season, the Bucks traded Jabbar -- who wanted out of the city -- to the Los Angeles Lakers for a boatload of draft picks and players.
While Milwaukee may or may not have that long a run with The Greek Freak, enjoy this season and those that follow.
The Bucks will need to make some difficult decisions in the coming weeks -- whether to resign Brooks Lopez, Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon for example. It's best to look at this with a practical eye, as Giannis will become a free agent in 2021.
giannis antetokounmpo
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