Has this season been a failure for the Bucks? Answer by Yannis and Budenholzer
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mike Budenholzer were asked if they thought the Milwaukee Bucks had a bad season. Their responses were passionate and powerful.
Cassidy Hill, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Yes, we have to ask. Is the Milwaukee Bucks' stunning five-game loss to the Miami Heat in the first round of the NBA Playoffs the most devastating upset in Wisconsin sports history?
Even from an innovation-biased perspective, it's hard to say unequivocally yes, but it will definitely take its place in the pantheon. The Heat scored 16 points in the third quarter on Wednesday, the largest fourth-quarter comeback in a split game in NBA playoff history. And the Bucks benefited in the process. 1 seed. 1. five or fewer losses in eight games in the first seven-game stretch.
This is at least one of Wisconsin's top 10 athletes, but there are certainly plenty to choose from. That's not to say that Wisconsin sports fans are particularly worried, although it sometimes seems that way. The Packers' four Super Bowl victories are sometimes overshadowed by obsessive failures, which can be unfair. The Bucks won the 2021 championship and may be saying goodbye to them, although the Bucks and Brewers (and the Milwaukee Braves before them) only made six championship series (World Series or NBA Finals) in 122 combined three-win seasons. . . .
There are different types of pain, like making a mistake on the eve of a championship game (or a win) and leaving early after the regular season, which meant more serious things. Wisconsin fans have experienced both.
Where are you on this grief list?
10. Fourth and 26th
That statement alone causes heartburn in Packers fans. On January 11, 2004, the Packers came close to a victory that would have clinched a berth in the NFC Championship Game, but Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb famously found Freddie Mitchell with 1:12 left. interception, a 28-yard connection that allowed David Akers to kick a field goal to tie the game and force overtime. Brett Favre's interception in the extra session set up another Akers field goal that advanced the Eagles to the next round, a loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Why it hurts: How do you let 4 and 26 flip? The following week, the top-ranked Eagles lost to third-ranked Carolina 14-3, and the Panthers lost to New England 32-29 in the Super Bowl.
On a positive note: The Packers stunned Seattle last week with Al Harris' famous pick 6 and made the playoffs behind Arizona's iconic Nate Poole to eliminate the Vikings, so they may have shopped at home.
9. Brewery at NKLSH 2018
There's a lot to love about this postseason run, but a win before the franchise's first World Series in 36 years is a tough pill to swallow. Milwaukee won Game 6 on October 19, forcing a Game 7, but despite MVP Christian Yelich's first-inning homer in Game 7, Milwaukee never got into the game. Puig is sixth en route to a 5-1 win.
Why it hurts: Game 7, home, World Series on the line. This elusive second World Series is very close to the franchise, but so far. Unstoppable again in 2019, Jelic suffered a season-ending injury that year and was unable to play in the Wild (another heartbreaking loss) and then failed to repeat his success in subsequent years. Fortunately, the Brewers won't be back for many years.
On a positive note , it was still an interesting season, with Yelich winning the MVP and the Brewers starting a four-game playoff streak, though neither ended with back-to-back wins.
$8 in the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals
The 2021 team probably eased that pain a bit, but this town hasn't stopped talking about the 2001 team for years. Not only did Milwaukee lose Game 7 of the conference finals, but they're also losing without Scott. Williams, this is a beautiful thing. . however, he was suspended for the final game against the Philadelphia 76ers after a controversial decision by the league office. Philadelphia beat the Bucks 108-91 on June 3, and Milwaukee's spiral continued from that point with the failed acquisitions of Anthony Mason and Gary Payton in the following years. It would be 18 years before Milwaukee returned to the conference finals.
Why it hurts: True or false, the sense of larger forces conspiring against the Bucks is reflected in the way Milwaukee fans view their entire status and sports status in a small market. The Los Angeles Lakers, who claimed the finals, lost to the Bucks twice in the regular season. The Bucks haven't won a playoff series in 18 years.
On a positive note: Could the Bucks really beat Kobe and Shaq's Lakers team in the Finals? At least one goal would have been nice, but you might think Milwaukee finished second in the East.
7. Super Bowl XXXII Packers
As with the baseball example above, Packers fans can still be satisfied with their recent success, winning the Super Bowl last year. But the Packers blew a huge lead to beat the Denver Broncos on January 25, 1998, and it just didn't happen. John Elway won the Lombardi Trophy that eluded him, and Terrell Davis went on a 157-yard run with 1:45 left to put the Packers down 31-24. It still might be one of the five biggest Super Bowl losses in history.
Why it hurts: The monumental upset that served as the springboard for John Elway to finish his career with two straight Super Bowls, maybe twice, should belong to Brett Favre. Green Bay hasn't been back to the Super Bowl in 13 years.
On a positive note, the Packers won the previous Super Bowl, so Green Bay won't be leaving empty-handed this time around.
6. Wisconsin in the 2015 NCAA Championship Game
For those still reeling from the Packers' 2015 collapse, a few months later there's a new cause for pain. The Wisconsin men's basketball team made it to the NCAA Championship game, but suffered a controversial 68-63 loss to Duke. With 1:53 remaining, the ball was initially awarded to Wisconsin and then returned to Duke on replay, although video evidence showed the ball was indeed out of bounds for Duke. Wisconsin leads by nine points with 13 minutes left. While the final was painful, it's also fair to remember that the tournament was successful for Wisconsin, which defeated undefeated Kentucky in the national semifinals.
Why it hurts: The Badgers' program isn't one you'd expect to be a championship regular, and this once-in-a-generation group has gone to back-to-back Final Fours without that crown. Juste touched on that as well.
On a positive note, Kentucky's loss in the national semifinals avenged last year's semifinal loss to UK and is considered one of the biggest upsets and high-profile tournaments of this century.
5. Money in the 1974 NBA Finals
Milwaukee won the title in 1971 and went on a playoff rampage in 1974, going 8-1 in the first two rounds. Boston took a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals with a 5 game win at the MECCA, but Milwaukee pulled off a thrilling 102-101 win over Boston in double overtime. the rest But Dave Cowens scored 28 points in Game 7 on May 12, 1974, and Boston beat the Bucks 102-87 to win the championship.
Why it hurts: Milwaukee won the city's first championship (1957 Brewers and 1971 Bucks won on the road) and couldn't make a deal. It was also the end of an era in which Oscar Robertson retired after the season and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played just one year before telling the Bucks he wanted to play elsewhere.
On a positive note: A franchise has won a championship in the recent past, like the Bucks or the Packers' blunders this year in 1997 and 2011. Kareem played just six seasons with Milwaukee and made two NBA Finals appearances, a huge asset that Milwaukee fans may not fully appreciate given the franchise's origins.
4. Brewers 1982 World Series
On October 17, 1982, Milwaukee's Bob McClure hit a shutout in the ninth inning at County Stadium to clinch the win and give the Brewers a 3-2 World Series lead. At this point, the Brewers were one win away from their first World Series title. But three days later, the dream ended. The series returned to St. more times. was eighth in this final.
Why it hurts: History remembers the Brewers as the best team, but not as the team that pulled off big wins over surprise players like the Cardinals. Forty-one years later, the Brewers never looked back.
On a positive note, Milwaukee still took the team on a parade of glory and resembled the glory of the achievement. The team still has a place downtown.
3. Karim is leaving
Before the 1969 NBA draft, the Bucks' fortunes changed in the blink of an eye after Milwaukee won, giving them the opportunity to sign top pick and UCLA basketball prodigy Lew Alcindor. Then he became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and took a franchise from an expansion team to a championship in three years en route to becoming the leading scorer in NBA history. For six years, the Bucks relied on an otherworldly center, but Abdul-Jabbar was eager to play on the coast and eventually expressed his desire to leave the team. Milwaukee fared well in 1975 when Abdul-Jabbar was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers — Junior Bridgeman and Brian Winters were among those returned — but the Bucks were never the same.
Why it hurts: There's been a fair amount of fear among Wisconsin sports fans about superstar players not wanting to play here (which may have subsided after Giannis Antetokounmpo signed a supermax extension at the end of 2020). The Bucks also went 47 years between appearances in the NBA Finals.
On the plus side, at least Abdul-Jabbar was open about his intentions and allowed Milwaukee to make the most of a bad situation, even if it didn't lead to any rings. Karim and Siti are on good terms these days and the 2021 Championship has certainly removed some of the lingering frustrations.
2. The Packers in the 2014 NFC Championship
But what about the 16 missing bonuses?
If we're talking about the playoff score, then nothing beats the incredible heartbreak that took place on January 18, 2015. About: Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix misses 2-point conversion, Julius Peppers tells Morgan Burnett to take a knee after crucial interception, Seahawks 3rd-and-19 in 3rd quarter, fumble return and overtime Two completions for 35 yards gave Seattle a 28–22 victory. The Packers, who led 16-0 at halftime and 19-7 early in the fourth quarter, were destined for the Super Bowl and surprisingly fell short.
Why it hurts: If you replay the fourth quarter, will the Packers win 80% of the time? 90%?
On the plus side, maybe not much, it only prepared Packers fans for the pain of three more league losses in the coming years. You can point to the Super Bowl just four years ago as consolation, but it still blows Packers fans' minds.
1. The Braves are moving to Atlanta
In 13 years, the Braves never had a losing season during their stay in Milwaukee, with two trips to the World Series, one championship, and a roster full of future Hall of Famers like Eddie Matthews, Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn (and more recently). standing , Phil Nicro, Red Shondienst and Enos Slaughter). But the 1965 season was arguably one of the saddest in the city's history, with the club agreeing to move to Atlanta despite the efforts of Bud Selig and others to keep them. The city went without baseball for the next four years, a depressing silence that shook the community for years (and will likely continue).
Why it hurts: You thought Kareem's departure hurt the townspeople, but what about the entire franchise? The Braves were a league favorite at best. But even when Milwaukee baseball made a comeback, it took nearly a decade to catch up, and in 54 seasons the franchise reached the World Series (the Braves went back and forth during their 13-year stay in Milwaukee).
On a positive note, it's been a long time and the new franchise has been around since 1970, so time has healed those who remember. And that may have played a small part in the Milwaukee Bucks' early frenzy.
other
The conversation also features other Wisconsin sports fans:
- The 15-1 Packers' surprising playoff run came early in 2012.
- The Brewers are suffering their eighth loss of 2019 in Washington.
- The tragic collapse of a crane during the construction of Miller Park.
- Lost the 1958 World Series to the Milwaukee Braves.
- The Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Toronto Raptors 2-0 in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals.
- Brett Favre's sudden departure from the Green Bay Packers.
- A loss against Wisconsin in the 2017 Big Ten Championship game kept the undefeated Badgers out of the College Football Playoff.
- Overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship on January 20, 2008 at Lambeau Field.
- January 24, 2021 Another loss in the NFC Championship at Tampa Bay at Lambo, 31-26.
- Seattle's unfortunate Fail Mary loss on September 24, 2012.
- Brewer loss in 2011 NLCS.
- Terrell Owens catches the San Francisco 49ers as they beat the Packers in the 1998 playoffs.
- Marquette's men's basketball team lost to North Carolina State in the 1974 NCAA Championship game.
What does your list do differently? JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @JRRadcliffe. Note: Many elements of this story first appeared in 2019.
