The Rockets' mending knife poked straight at the sore spot of Brother Alphabet, and the Bucks management was trying to force him away
With 5-of-31 three-pointers in 4 games and a 16% shooting rate, you can't imagine that this is a stat played by Damian Lillard!
On January 7, Beijing time, Lillard continued his recent very sluggish form, only 5 of 16 shots, only 1 of 8 three-point shots, and got 18 points and 8 assists in 38 minutes, and the team lost by 11 points when he was on the court. The Bucks ended up losing by four points on the road.
If the number two in the team is this performance, then it is usually difficult to win. That's right, looking at Brother Alphabet 16-of-25, he scored 48 points and 17 rebounds, but just one person is simply not enough to turn the tide. So when watching the young military of the rocket teach the bucks a wave of lessons, Brother Alphabet's heart was really dying.
Everyone knows that Lillard is in a very poor state, and today he is facing the Rockets, who have the best three-point defense in the league. In addition to maintaining the pressure of the Rockets' pinching today, they are desperately pressuring the outside players and will never give them a chance to shoot easily. Therefore, Lillard is indeed under a lot of pressure to shoot three-pointers today, and there is basically no chance to shoot easily. And after missing a few key three-pointers, the Bucks also completely lost the opportunity for this game.
Oh yes, the Rockets also gave up a Dillon and an Ethan. If these two defensive giants can also play, the Bucks' perimeter line will become even more stretched. I really don't know what Lillard was thinking in his mind.
It can be said that the Rockets' successful defense of Lillard today is a fatal stab to the Bucks, and it will also make Brother Alphabet even more congested. Lillard was traded to the Bucks this season, and to that end, they sent away Holiday and Grayson Allen as well as multiple future first-round picks. To put it simply, the Bucks sacrificed their future in order to remain competitive, and Stud got Lillard in the hope that he could become the strongest helper of Brother Alphabet.
But unfortunately, last season, he averaged 32.2 points and 7.3 assists per game, and this season he only averaged 25.1 points and 6.9 assists per game, shooting 42.8% from the field and 35.2% from three-point range, both of which are below the career average. A series of nightmarish performances in the recent stage also directly led to the Bucks suffering defeats one after another. The Pacers lost two times, and then lost to the Rockets, and the Spurs were relatively weak, narrowly winning by 4 points, otherwise a four-game losing streak would be the end of the calf.
What's even more painful is that Lillard still has a four-year, $220 million contract in hand. The 36-year-old Li Gui wants to get an annual salary of 63 million. Ahem...... In addition, Brother Alphabet's annual salary is not low, in the 2026-27 season, his salary is a terrifying 73.77 million, and he and Lillard are close to 140 million. If you can't win the championship in the past two years, then the championship window will be closed in a few years, and Lillard can't be sent away, so why not send Brother Alphabet away? In addition, does Brother Alphabet think about leaving first? The Celtics next door look pretty good.
On the bright side, the Bucks' journey of 8 games and 7 away games has come to an end, and the next 4 consecutive home games have no journey pain, but there are no good games against the Jazz, who have improved their form recently, the Celtics, who have the first record in the East, and the Warriors and Kings.
Therefore, I really hope that Coach Lee will get back to his form quickly through the home game, otherwise, how can you be worthy of such a good state of Brother Alphabet?