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It was more like that. While Khris Middleton blocked the Celtics with 3 points, Milwaukee's defense swarmed with Kyrie Irving, and Giannis Antetokounmpo feasted on "MVP" vocals from the Fiserv Forum crowd during the second half of a victory. from 123-102 Game over Boston, the Bucks finally resembled the team that had spent the regular season stomping the rest of the Eastern Conference. Three days earlier, in a defeat in the first game, Milwaukee had played as an untested team unprepared for the rigors of a high stakes series against a seasoned and talented opponent. But his response on Tuesday was a stark reminder of what Giannis and his team had been doing all season. After years of hard work among NBA riders, the Bucks now have a favorite of the MVP title and legitimate hopes, just as the organization's plan to revitalize basketball in the city has become a reality. Their climb to the top of the East came at the perfect time for a fan base that has long claimed this moment.
In their first season in their new arena, the Bucks have won 60 games, a league-high, the franchise's best campaign in 38 years. They finished the regular season as the most effective team in the NBA and their dismantling of the Celtics in Game 2 showed how devastating they could be. Milwaukee was hooked to a three-point lead while there was only 7:06 left in the third quarter and the match came out of nowhere. Antetokounmpo's ability to play in the paint and play with the fencers around him in the open system of head coach Mike Budenholzer has been an ideal recipe all season, and this combination has allowed Boston's move away quickly. As the Bucks' advantage increased, reaching 25 points at the end of the quarter, the mood in the arena changed. The anxiety that began to mount after the Bucks' loss in the 1-0 series and the difficulties encountered during the first part of the second game were replaced by the joy that followed this team for most of the season. "Honestly, it happened fairly quickly," said Brook Lopez about the newly created optimism. "We had that feeling at training camps and summer sessions. We gathered this group of guys and we saw each other motivated. We realized we could do great things and we all wanted to do great things. "
The Bucks are perhaps now part of the NBA elite, but just five years ago, the franchise was in intensive care. They had a 15-67 record in Antetokounmpo's rookie season in 2013-14, the fourth consecutive campaign of defeats against Milwaukee. The team was playing in a dilapidated arena and many thought they could move to Seattle. But on the final day of the regular season, the Bucks held a press conference to announce that long-time owner, Herb Kohl, was selling the team to billionaires Marc Lasry and Wes Edens, based in New York. Kohl, the Wisconsin senator, also took the opportunity to unveil his intention to build a new arena – and pledge $ 100 million – which had become a prerequisite for maintaining the franchise in Milwaukee . Although the Bucks lost 111-103 against the Hawks to complete the worst season of their team, a sense of optimism permeated the franchise. For the first time in a long time, the Bucks were driven by great aspirations.
Bucks fans are reluctant to vex Kohl by mentioning the shortcomings of his term. During his nearly three decades as an owner, Kohl has done a lot to promote the interests of sports fans in Milwaukee, and even his detractors recognize him. you can always find the Kohl brand in a children's area in the lower lobby of the Fiserv Forum. But the franchise lacked ambition under his leadership. The management was built around appropriate players like Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis while paying too much for the veterans. And the Bucks were largely satisfied with sneaking into the playoffs with a low seed and acting as an aperitif for the Eastern Conference powers such as the Pistons, the Heat and the Bulls.
Ersan Ilyasova was hired by the Bucks in 2005 and spent a total of eight seasons in the franchise, split in two years abroad and a few others as a companion to the NBA. But Milwaukee has been home since he left Turkey 14 years ago. Although he found himself in front of teams like Pistons, Magic, Thunder, 76ers and Hawks, his three children continued to live in Wisconsin. Nobody on the Bucks list is in a better position to review the changes in franchise infrastructure in recent years, and he said he could feel the change of direction almost immediately. "It's two different things when you look back," says Ilyasova. "You have a new facility, a new arena. The new owners came and intensified their efforts. It's not like the old owner was bad, but that's what he is. Sometimes a new owner and a new way of managing the team can [accomplish] different things."
When Lasry and Edens took over, they made radical changes. And the ride was not always smooth. Jason Kidd's tenure as head coach – which began when Milwaukee fired Nets as a result of a failed power struggle with New Jersey General Manager Billy King – had a lot of promising moments, but ended up falling into another period without any glamor with a defined ceiling. . Entering Mike Budenholzer in 2018 after being released by the Hawks after an excellent five-year run has turned out to be a coup, as well as the last stage – with clever additions like Lopez and Nikola Mirotic – who have completed the Bucks' short vision. Armed with a progressive coach, a new arena and more powerful decision makers like President Peter Feigin and General Manager Jon Horst, the Bucks have finally been calibrated as a successful modern basketball organization.
In many ways, the rise of Antetokounmpo followed the path of Bucks. At the beginning of her career, Giannis was a kind of cuddled curiosity: a growing teen trying smoothies and loving life. But in recent seasons, it has gone from delicious to dominant. Giannis has emerged as a sports hero in the city: a truly transcendent talent that Milwaukee can call his own talent. Aaron Rodgers can be revered, but Green Bay is about two hours north of the most populous city in the state. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun helped reinvigorate the Brewers a decade ago, but none of them has reached the heights achieved by Antetokounmpo in his young career. He's already been the Bucks' best player for two generations, and even the biggest players who played in the city before him – like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson – made only pit stops in Milwaukee. If Antetokounmpo decides to stay here after the summer of 2021 (when his contract is over), he will become a staple of the Milwaukee sports scene as no one has ever done.
The Bucks are no longer just a story of well-being that deserves to be told on League Pass. It's a team that aspires to the NBA Finals and who knows how great it can be. "In your basketball career, [these] opportunities are really scarce, "says Ilyasova. "We have a very good chance to play for a championship. It must be our mentality to go forward. It's not about winning a game or a series. We must focus on the big picture. "
Perhaps even more striking than their rise in the league hierarchy was the hierarchical rise of the Bucks in the sports hierarchy in Milwaukee and Wisconsin in general. In the third quarter of Tuesday's victory, the Jumbotron showed former Wisconsin running back and 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne sitting in his lower bowl. The crowd went crazy. Prior to the recent success of the Bucks, they ranked at the bottom of the list of priorities for most sports fans in Milwaukee. The beloved Packers, Badgers and Brewers football and basketball teams have all overtaken many people in the state, which has made Bucks Mania's climb so rewarding for their players and followers. . The interest of local television has exploded: at 3.1 this season, Milwaukee has had its best rating since 2003. "I have just seen it more and more," says Lopez. "By the way, seeing" Go Bucks "on the buses, seeing flags on cars or placards in the lawn. It's really a contagious feeling. And that was picking up the whole thing [year]. "
Antetokounmpo's face is everywhere in downtown Milwaukee these days, but it's nowhere near as big as the banner hanging east of the Fiserv Forum. That's good, since the presence of Giannis was a determining factor in the construction of the arena. During the 2014-15 season, Antetokounmpo, his second in the league, averaged 12.7 points per game and showed that he had become the superstar that he is today. . The Bucks went 41 to 41 as debate continued over whether the city and state should help finance the new building. As the state prepares to cut $ 250 million from the University of Wisconsin's system budget, many residents have struggled to justify the use of so much public money to subsidize the vision of two billionaires . But the alternative – losing the Bucks and their bright future suddenly – did not seem acceptable either. In August 2015, a bill approving public funding of $ 250 million was signed. Ask any fan of Bucks, and they will say: Fiserv Forum is the house that Giannis built. Now this is the place where the faithful come to pay homage.
The east side of the arena includes a large square with a big screen, an outdoor beer garden and two giant bars. For the first time, the organization has tried to create a sense of community on match day, to create the kind of tradition that is so important to other teams based in Wisconsin. The entire installation is a sanctuary for all that is new and exciting about the Bucks, which makes the pile of rubble next to it even more discordant. Pieces from the old BMO Harris Bradley Center are on the other side of the street, remnants that will be removed once the building is completely demolished. In the midst of twisted pieces of metal and concrete, four blue letters – "B-R-A-D" – remain unresolved on what was previously half before the arena. The Bradley Center was built to attract an expanding NHL team, and its seating arrangement was designed in this way, which means it was cavernous and unsuitable for basketball. As they have been through Milwaukee in recent decades, the Bucks have been an afterthought in their own building.
The Bradley Center's decaying carcass may be reminiscent of the Bucks' passionless past, but it also makes their future more promising. Bucks fans have been waiting for this for more than 30 years – this team, this player and this opportunity.
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