Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have hit a stumbling block in the Playoffs that even they didn’t expect. They were on the verge of being swept by the Miami Heat before they won game four in OT. The interesting thing about the game 4 win was that it was mostly without Giannis playing.
Giannis has been nursing an ankle injury and sat most of game four out, as the Bucks rallied behind Khris Middleton to avoid a series sweep. The two-time all-star had a game-high 36 points in the win. However, he did it by taking 28 shots in the absence of Giannis, who played just 11 minutes.
Middleton spoke about the win later and ESPN reposted his comments. He praised the depth of the team behind Giannis and said that the team will fight to overturn this deficit.
“We’re a complete team. He’s the MVP, should be again this year. But we still have a hell of a team behind him. We’re going to fight to win every night.”
Milwaukee Bucks pull off a historic upset without their superstar?
The odds the Bucks pulling off a 3-0 series comeback without Giannis is very improbable. While it is possible in certain mathematical combinations, the odds of that happening in actual basketball is rare. However, we don’t see the number one seeded team go down 0-3 in the Playoffs often, so we may have a small data sample to evaluate whether the Bucks can do this.
In all honestly, the Bucks may fight back, but it is unlikely they win 4 straight against this Heat team. Especially if they miss their juggernaut Giannis Antetokounmpo. Even if he struggles in the playoffs, he is still the player most teams would want on their team to lead them. The odds of the Bucks pulling it off are unlikely on their own, but they become much slimmer when you factor in Giannis possibly missing.
Game four has to be encouraging for this team nonetheless. Middleton may have been efficient, but it was his clutch performance that facilitated this win for Milwaukee. Can it happen three more times consecutively? Unlikely.
The post Khris Middleton Affirms Milwaukee Bucks Ready to Fight With or Without Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared first on EssentiallySports.
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