The Indiana Pacers walloped the Milwaukee Bucks in the first game of the NBA Playoffs, giving fans nationwide a strong sense of 2024 dèjá vu.
We know this Pacers team has Milwaukee’s number. We also know the Bucks are shorthanded, with Damian Lillard still in the final steps of recovery from deep vein thrombosis. Even so, this was a troubling performance for the Bucks. It’s difficult to see the path forward, even if it’s only Game 1.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was, predictably, fantastic. He finished with 36 points on 14-of-23 shooting, adding 12 rebounds, an assist and two blocks. He was also the only Bucks starter to log double-digit points. Two of ’em, Taurean Prince and Kyle Kuzma, were held scoreless.
It was a one-man show for the Bucks, which is seldom a successful strategy this time of year. Milwaukee’s aging, piecemeal supporting cast has been a frequent issue all season. It was uniquely terrible on Saturday, however, and Kuzma was easily the most glaring example of what ails the Bucks.
Kuzma spent the first half of this season chucking shots and recording empty stats for the NBA’s worst team in Washington. He arrived in Milwaukee at the trade deadline in exchange for Khris Middleton. In theory, it was an attempt to get a little younger and infuse the starting lineup with more athleticism and shot-making.
It was a nice theory, but there’s an issue: Kuzma is meaningfully worse than Middleton almost across the board, even if he’s only 29 and quite spry.
He became the second player this season (and the sixth in NBA history) to log zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals and zero blocks in at least 20 minutes of playing time.
Kyle Kuzma has done it! The second time this season a player has recorded 0 PTS/REB/AST/STL/BLK in = or > 20 mins played.
He joins this regular season fraternity from the last decade (left) and also those who have accomplished it in the playoffs (right), the first in a decade! pic.twitter.com/z5Jgl5LVYT
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 19, 2025
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Kyle Kuzma makes NBA Playoffs history with all-time stinker for Bucks in Game 1 loss to Pacers
Is Kuzma “bad”? Not really. He’s good when he’s good, ya know? The microwave scoring comes when it comes, and when it does, he can certainly impact a game. We have also seen Kuzma commit more effort on the defensive end since arriving in Milwaukee. He’s a versatile athlete at 6-foot-9, with the tools to handle challenging matchups for a Bucks team in need of perimeter stoppage.
That said, Kuzma’s hot-and-cold tendencies have never been fully tested at the postseason level, with the exception of a fluky championship run in L.A. during the Bubble. And that was a far different role. We cannot overstate the whiplash of going from a meaningless basketball void in Washington to a win-now postseason aspirant in Milwaukee. It has been a while since Kuzma was playing in important games and next to good players who suck up oxygen on the court.
We should never write a team off after a single game. Giannis got where he wanted, when he wanted in this game. Dame should be back in the lineup soon. There’s a world in which the Bucks’ stars carry them through the rest of this series with a superhuman effort.
Milwaukee’s supporting cast is a huge point of weakness, however. A weakness Kuzma is very much a part of, even though he was brought in to fortify said point of weakness. It doesn’t help that Doc Rivers is Doc Rivers. Rick Carlisle ran circles around the Bucks’ head coach all game long. Milwaukee did not have a single viable counter to the Pacers’ explosive offense and savvy defensive game plan, which basically invited Giannis to beat them one-on-five.
The Bucks’ entire gameplan was to belly flop into the mud and then watch the Pacers soar over them in a fever dream. One of the worst playoff gameplans I think I”ve ever seen https://t.co/tO0K2RakGi
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 19, 2025
Kuz and the Bucks need to figure this thing out fast. The Pacers are the real deal, and Indiana has a year’s worth of momentum and mental real estate on their side. It could get out of hand quickly.
I’ll leave you with these prophetic words from Kuzma in 2023.
Next stop: Shanghai 📍
— kuz (@kylekuzma) August 21, 2024
Cue the “does he know?” meme.
