The Milwaukee Bucks were officially knocked out of postseason contention after Saturday’s 113-105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, finalizing the 10-team field for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Milwaukee became the conference’s fifth club to be ruled out, joining the Pacers, Nets, Wizards and Bulls. The elimination ends a streak of seven straight playoff appearances for the Bucks and reopens league-wide speculation about a possible offseason trade involving Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Late push never materialized
The front office kept Antetokounmpo past the February 5 trade deadline, hoping for a late surge into the play-in tournament. Instead, the team went 9-14 afterward while the two-time MVP logged only six games because of a calf strain and a hyperextended left knee.
Milwaukee made just one deadline deal, joining a three-team swap that brought in forward Ousmane Dieng and Phoenix’s Nigel Hayes-Davis; Hayes-Davis was waived the next day. Dieng has provided solid minutes, but the roster otherwise remained largely unchanged.
In early February the Bucks added guard Cam Thomas, who had been released by Brooklyn. After 18 appearances off the bench, Thomas was cut on Monday.
Fallout from the Damian Lillard injury
The franchise’s current predicament traces back to last postseason, when Damian Lillard tore his Achilles tendon. Rather than keep the veteran on the books during a year-long rehab, management waived him and used the stretch provision to spread the remaining $112.6MM of his contract over five seasons.
The cap space created was used to sign center Myles Turner away from Indiana. Turner has stabilized the middle but is averaging 11.9 points on 44.0% shooting overall and 38.4% from three, both below his numbers with the Pacers.
Rivers points to health, depth concerns
Saturday’s exit marks only the second time since Antetokounmpo’s rookie year that Milwaukee will miss the playoffs. Head coach Doc Rivers, 64, voiced his frustration after the game.
“It’s been disappointing, obviously,” Rivers said. “Since I’ve been here, I haven’t had a healthy stretch—it’s been your key guys. It’s been Giannis. It’s been Dame. … This year, having only one ‘star,’ every other team has two and three. We needed health. We were thin.”
Rivers praised young contributors Ryan Rollins, Pete Nance and Dieng and commended veteran Bobby Portis for his leadership. The coach enters the final season of his contract with only six players currently signed for 2026-27, leaving the roster—and possibly Rivers’ tenure—hinging on Antetokounmpo’s status.
Source: Hoops Rumors
