The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Did the Bucks lose on purpose?

By CHRISTIAN KLEMASH

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 11: (EDITORS NOTE this image has been converted to black and white) Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 11: (EDITORS NOTE this image has been converted to black and white) Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 11, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Milwaukee Bucks’ abysmal performance against the Philadelphia 76ers might lead some to question whether or not they wanted to win at all.

The Philadelphia 76ers are good, but they’re not this good.  80 points in the first half?  A 41-point lead in the first half?  Winning by 35 with their second stringers playing most of the game?

This against a Milwaukee Bucks team that was the sixth seed in the East and features the fourth-leading scorer in the NBA.  It doesn’t pass the sniff test.

In today’s NBA, unfortunately, winning isn’t always the top priority for teams on any given night.  Look no further for evidence of this than… the Philadelphia 76ers, whose own four year tank ‘process’ landed them Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, forming the foundation of what appears to be their best team in decades.

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But last night may not have been as blatant as the Sixers’ odyssey.  It was one game, not 328.  Nevertheless, do I think the Bucks took a look at the seedings and decided they’d rather face Boston without Kyrie Irving than Sixers in the first round?  Absolutely.

The calculus isn’t that complex.  Here’s an analogy for you: If you win tonight you fight a young Mike Tyson next (not the paunchy, facially tattooed, older Mike).  If you lose tonight you face Marvis Frazier.  What would you do?

The players aren’t stupid.  They know who they match up well against and against whom they don’t.  This may explain why The Greek Freak was freakishly ineffective, scoring only 10 points when he averages 27 a night.

It may also explain why the Sixers were shooting wide open threes all night long.  Defense requires commitment and intensity.  The Bucks appeared obviously apathetic on defense at best, and completely against it at worst.  Six Sixers’ second stringers scored in double figures, led by Justin Anderson (25), Richaun Holmes (19), T.J. McConnell (16), and 13 each by Marco Belinelli and Markelle Fultz, who incidentally became the youngest player in NBA history, at 19 years of age, to record a triple-double.

Like I said, the Sixers are good, but not this good.

So do I think the Bucks intentionally ‘threw’ the game?  No.  Do I think they considered all of the relevant factors and were content to give minimal to no effort?  Yep.

Next: Who predicted the Sixers' final record correctly?

What do you think?