INDIANAPOLIS – Pat Connaughton has been playing with the Milwaukee Bucks for six seasons. He’s seen just about everything during his tenure, so he had no interest in making excuses while chatting with reporters outside a ballroom at the team’s hotel in Indianapolis. But before explaining the path forward for the Bucks, he wanted to make one thing clear.
“For the record, them being hurt, it sucks,” Connaughton said after the Bucks’ film session Saturday.
“Them” are the Bucks’ three best players. As Milwaukee prepares for Game 4 on Sunday, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton all find themselves on the injury report.
The Bucks submitted their first injury report for Game 4 on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Likely: Chris Middleton (sprained right ankle)
Doubtful:
Giannis Antetokounmpo (left soleus strain)
Damian Lillard (right Achilles tendonitis)Absent: Chris Livingston (illness)
– Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 27, 2024
Antetokounmpo began the playoffs on the injury report with a left soleus (calf) strain, which he suffered on April 9 against the Boston Celtics. After the team’s film session Saturday, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers told reporters that Saturday was an off day for Antetokounmpo and that the two-time Bucks forward, NBA MVP, would “go very early and then we would make a decision after that.” ” on Sunday. Rivers admitted he doubted Antetokounmpo would be able to practice early on Sunday and then be cleared to play in Game 4.
Lillard joined the injury report Saturday with a right Achilles strain that he suffered on one of the final plays of the fourth quarter of the Bucks’ 121-118 overtime loss in Game 3. Shortly before Connaughton appeared before the media, Lillard walked slowly in front of reporters with a walking boot on his right foot and on Saturday afternoon, Athleticism‘s Shams Charania reported that Lillard suffered an Achilles injury. The Bucks listed him as questionable for Sunday due to right Achilles tendinitis.
Middleton is listed as probable for Game 4 with a sprained right ankle. He suffered the same injury and had 42 points in 41 minutes of action in Game 3 on Friday. Rivers told reporters they still had to make sure everything was going well for Middleton when he woke up Sunday, but he was confident Middleton should be able to play with the Bucks up 2-1 against the Pacers.
Knowing the Bucks could be without Antetokounmpo and Lillard for Game 4, Connaughton explained why the Bucks don’t plan to give up and how they’re keeping their spirits up.
“I think for us it’s our competitive nature,” Connaughton said. “We think we have a locker room filled with great players and we have guys who can have a ‘next man up’ mentality and can play. We have guys that have been in situations and obviously performed well in the past, especially in the playoffs. So make sure you lean on them.
“We just have to make sure we don’t let these things get away from us mentally. It’s the playoffs. Everyone is facing something, on our side, on their side, how can we get through it? How can we find ways to win a game, to win a battle? Overall, the series will be war, but try to win a battle on Sunday and make sure we do it together and make sure we pull together no matter what.
If the Bucks want to pull off a major upset without Antetokounmpo and Lillard, the Bucks are going to have to play with real purpose on both ends.
Defensively, it will be easy to rely on in Game 3. They gave up 32 second chance points on 19 Pacers offensive rebounds. If the Bucks make a more concerted effort to put a body on each Pacer when a shot is thrown, they will get better defensive results.
“We did a lot of good things; we just couldn’t get the ball back after they missed it,” Rivers said Saturday. “Our initial defense, I think they shot 31 percent, that’s after they got the rebound and scored on the fourth possession, that’s when they scored.”
“A lot of it was guards,” Rivers continued. “I don’t read much, but I’m sure people think they’re our big guys, largely our guards. And a lot of these problems could have been avoided. Some just had great rebounds, that happens in a game, but there were a lot where we didn’t hit. You gotta put body on body, you gotta block. I’ve heard this since elementary school. We have to do it and we have to do a better job, but we have to find guys and I don’t think we have our guys located.
Offensively it will be a little more difficult, but it will also be about playing with intentionality and determination.
The Bucks dominated the Pacers for the final three quarters of Game 3, but their first quarter performance was so disastrous that all they could do was tie the game in the final three quarters and force overtime. For a second consecutive game, the Bucks lost their offensive discipline and they paid for it.
“After the first nine minutes, the pressure didn’t bother us anymore,” Rivers said Saturday. “We did everything we wanted. We managed our affairs. Our guys finally realized, “Okay. It’s the pressure. That’s it.’ We managed it. I thought for the first nine minutes of the game they rushed us. We were breaking every set. We couldn’t even perform a set. That’s why they took the lead, so I hope that carries over into this match.
When the Bucks don’t take good shots and force bad ones, the Pacers take advantage on the other end with easy buckets in transition. If Antetokounmpo and Lillard can’t play on Sunday, the Bucks will have to pay attention to the ball and play with determination, taking only the shots they want and leaning into the actions of their strongest offensive players.
In a normal situation, instead of the end of a quarter, the Bucks would want to get into this action earlier to give Middleton time to handle any extra attention, like traps or double teams, than the Pacers could send it to him, but it’s a targeted set. The Pacers have worked to deny Middleton the ball throughout the series, so one of the easiest ways to get him to hit is to set a screen.
On the play above, the Pacers were forced to honor Connaughton’s drive because Middleton set a good screen and Connaughton drove hard on Aaron Nesmith. On the pass, Nesmith managed to get back to his original assignment, but the Bucks still managed to get the ball to Middleton inside the arc with a live dribble in a spot he could attack with good spacing around it.
If the Bucks repeat something like that on Sunday and hand the ball to Middleton in the same spot, the Pacers will have some tough decisions to make. If they let Middleton work in isolation, he showed the ability to score on Nesmith throughout Game 2. But if they send help, Middleton will be able to see the help ahead of time and find a teammate.
Without Antetokounmpo and Lillard, their best creators, the Bucks will have to cut and filter with a specific end goal in mind on every possession.
Defenses need to respect Middleton’s ability to score off the dribble, so the Bucks need to take advantage of that to open up opportunities for the rest of the roster with good cuts and screens. This play begins with a pick-and-roll between Middleton and Portis, but the initial action is just a decoy to get Post’s position for Portis on the left block, his favorite spot on the court.
From there, Portis can operate and score points like he did in the second half of Game 3 when he scored 15 on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. His performance helped the Bucks get back into the game and eventually take the lead. If the Bucks want to pull off an upset in Game 4, they’ll need Portis at his best all game.
On Saturday, Rivers told reporters that he thought the Pacers’ pressure forced the Bucks to put Portis on the “wrong” side, the right block, far too often in Game 3. In the second half, Portis also slowed down.
“We didn’t start it; Plus, he just calmed down,” Rivers said of Portis’ second-half play. “Bobby was going really fast at the start of the match, for some reason. The pressure kind of pushed us.
“But once he settled in and kept up with Bobby, I think Bobby was out of control. I told him this several times during downtime. And then once he started doing it, he saw it. So he will be a better Bobby tomorrow.
If the Bucks exploit Middleton and Portis correctly, they can create shots for their others as well.
It was a simple play for AJ Green, but his sophomore sniper’s open shot in the third quarter was the perfect example of playing with purpose on the offensive end.
The Pacers will have spotted every action much better for these other players and they will be much more prepared to take those things into Game 4. But just avoiding turnovers and taking the right shots with good floor balance, even if missed, will allow the Bucks to score points And better position the Bucks on the defensive end.
“We’re one game away from a balanced series,” Rivers said. “It’s the playoffs. Things happen. Obviously you don’t want injuries to happen, but when they do, you just have to play a game until you get more guys back and that’s how you have to do it.
It won’t be easy for the Bucks to steal Game 4 in Indianapolis, but it’s not impossible either, as long as the Bucks play with purpose on both ends of the court.
(Photo by Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis: Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)