Milwaukee Bucks: 3 Players that disappointed this season
During the 2018-19 regular season, Milwaukee rose to greatness in just a matter of 82 games. They finished with a league-best 60-22 (0.732) win-loss record and were top contenders to bag an NBA Finals berth this year.
Their postseason runs were as dominant as everybody had expected. Sweeping Detroit in the first round followed by getting rid of the ultra-talented Celtics squad in just five games in order to schedule an East Finals meeting with the second seed Raptors. Everything was going as planned for Giannis and his Bucks until Kawhi caught fire and led the Raps to four straight wins after an initial 0-2 hole in the series.
Heading into Game 3, Milwaukee had lost just one game in the playoffs and were clear favourites to lead the LeBron-less East in the coming future. They were in a perfect position to make an NBA Finals appearance for the first time since 1974 and now all of a sudden, they're gone.
No doubt the team was brimming with quality talent and if the franchise could manage to run it back with the same squad again next year, good things await for the mean streets of Milwaukee.
However, there were some players who just didn't quite live up to the level of basketball that the Bucks were playing on a consistent basis. Let's take a look at the three most disappointing individual players during Milwaukee's 2018-19 campaign.
#1 George Hill
Hill was traded to the Bucks in December of 2018 and ended up coming off the bench in 47 regular season games. With an average playtime of over 20 minutes per contest, the 32-year-old averaged 6.8 points (dipping from his 10.8 ppg with the Cavs the year prior), 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
His three-point shooting plummeted to an unacceptable 28% during the regular season as he shot 42% overall (lowest of his career) from the field. Hill scored in single digits in ten of his last 15 regular season games wearing a Bucks jersey.
The American's contribution saw a welcome rise in the playoffs as he averaged 11.5 ppg in the 15 games Bucks played as he saw increased minutes (26.3) down the stretch. But his impact was never big enough to save them from losing four in a row.
“Of course there is a sadness, but we had a good chance to go to the finals and that’s why I feel super excited about the direction Milwaukee has taken. I am happy about all this,”, admitted the Bucks' backup point guard.