'Spend Time Together': As Bucks Face Offseason Questions, Team Chemistry Remains Paramount

"What If?" is the biggest question plaguing the Milwaukee Bucks amid their first-round exit, relating to the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in the season's biggest games, but regardless, the veteran team remains focused on improving in the offseason.

Apr 30, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo sit on the bench. / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't included in discussions about players known for wearing "street clothes," but that's what he sat wearing for the final nine games of the Milwaukee Bucks' season.

After going down during a late-regular-season contest against the Boston Celtics, Antetokounmpo was clearly bothered by his leg — a left-calf strain with a few weeks' recovery was the prognosis — and didn't end up playing again. Not during the Bucks' regular-season finale, nor their postseason exit.

For Milwaukee, it's a tough pill to swallow. It lost its star for a series in which winning was clearly feasible without him, so it's only fair to assume that its chances would've increased with him in the game, if not swung completely in their favor. But, it doesn't get to know that.

All it knows is that the Indiana Pacers are moving on, and it will have to do as well.

Apr 10, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) sits on the bench during a game. / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

"It's definitely disappointing," Lillard said following the game, referring to the Bucks' bad luck with injuries affecting him, Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. "You know how much better of a team we are when (Giannis) is on the floor and how much things change."

There isn't anything to argue against his point. Yes, the Bucks lost, but they also would have been in a vastly different position with Antetokounmpo. But more than the on-court outcomes, their team chemistry would have looked quite different as well, which Lillard duly noted.

"You play an entire 82-game season," the Bucks star said. "You go through training camp, you go through all the ups and downs of a NBA regular season. You get to the point where ... (you) play for everything, and you're not whole. You don't have the best opportunity to reach where you want reach.

"So it is frustrating, it's disappointing, but it's part of the game."

Lillard joined the Bucks under the impression that he could be the piece to push them back to the top. He was supposed to band together with Giannis and Middleton as the trio became one of the most feared in the league. And he did all he could, even coming back from injury "early" to make sure he was on the court for the Bucks' final game of the year.

“I don’t think I would’ve went into the summer feeling good ... if I felt like I let the team go out there and me not at least try,” Lillard said.

The Bucks tried, and coaching struggles aside, they proved how good they could be. They proved they had an extremely strong team — one capable of making a deep playoff run — but fell short.

So, what comes now?

Antetokounmpo took it upon himself to answer that.

"We'll go, work out together, talk, sit down, just spend time," the power forward said of his summer plans, specifically regarding Lillard. "It doesn't have to be basketball, just spend time together."

Both Bucks stars will likely be seeing plenty of each other this summer. Obviously, the goal remains the same, and with an already-strong base to build on with Lillard, Antetokounmpo and Middleton next season, Milwaukee feels it can get there. It'll have to stay healthy, but it's doable.

Doc Rivers affirmed that.

"It's rare, usually right after the year you want to take a break," the Bucks coach said after being eliminated in six games. "(But) I can't wait to get started. To get to camp and be able to put all the things we think we need."