I have always felt for all championship teams, you need a reliable 3rd option. The last time there wasn’t a team with a reliable 3rd option was probably the 2011 Mavericks. Since then, each team that won a championship had a reliable 3rd option. Now, if you’ve been following my posts, you would know that I don’t think the Milwaukee Bucks will win the championship, much less go to the NBA Finals. Why? A couple of things: 1. The Milwaukee Bucks record is somewhat inflated due to the fact that they have one of, if not the, easiest schedule in the NBA. 2. The Milwaukee Bucks do not have a reliable 3rd option.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a freak of nature. He is the best player in the NBA in my opinion and should win MVP in back-to-back years. That’s a lot of praise from someone who doesn’t think this Milwaukee Bucks team will win the Finals. Khris Middleton is a reliable 2nd option with his statline of 20.9 PPG, 4.1 APG, and 6.3 RPG.
But who is the 3rd option? Eric Bledsoe? Eh. Brook Lopez? Probably not. Then who? Donte DiVincenzo? Yeah, okay. The fact of the matter is, I knew the Milwaukee Bucks weren’t winning the finals as soon as Malcolm Brogdon left for the Pacers. At this point in time, the Bucks don’t have a reliable 3rd option on their team. Eric Bledsoe is producing the same amount of production as last year. If you’re satisfied with that as a 3rd option, then I’d be concerned. If the Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t win last year with Malcolm Brogdon, what makes you think they’ll win this year without him? Remember the playoffs are a different animal than the regular season. The regular season is just for seeding purposes, nothing else.
