Why the Golden State Warriors were stopped at Milwaukee

Stephen Curry and Co’s fatigue caught up with them

The Golden State Warriors' post-title run ended at 24-0 and 28-0 in total, if one counts their wins since last season. It was not by luck that they lost to the Bucks at Milwaukee and there are many reasons for that.

The NBA trophy holders had a strong motivation to break the longest winning streak record in the NBA, 33 wins in a row, set by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971/72 term and also snapped by the Bucks, but they failed.

Pragmatically speaking, it is impossible for even the most perfect team to go unbeatable for a whole year, thus it is normal that the NBA Champions were finally defeated.

During that journey, they set records, which will probably remain unbroken for a very long time, so they must not feel overly depressed for that defeat.

The question is why the Warriors lost for the first time exclusively to the Bucks, who are not a powerhouse in the league, and not to another team who are in fact, better than Milwaukee. What then, is so special about the Milwaukee Bucks?

The obvious reason is their road-weariness, as they played 7 consecutive games away from home and in their last they lost. Utah, Charlotte, Toronto, New York, Indianapolis, Boston and Milwaukee were their destinations and they keeled over in their last stop.

However, there are more thoughts on Warriors’ first loss that can be mentioned to show what stopped Golden State at Milwaukee.

Regardless of what solely happened in the match, with the inside-court plays, there is rationality which leads to an interpretation of why the Bucks were the first to beat the Warriors this season.

First of all, the unexpected and the unknown, sometimes has more dangers than expected and known conditions and this year’s Milwaukee Bucks are a mystery, because they have ups and downs.

Nonetheless, for those who watch NBA gingerly, this result was not a surprise at all, as the Bucks play with a great fighting spirit in every game, no matter with how they come up in the end.

The key point is that they beat the NBA runners-up, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in a thriller, something that made them able to compete equally with more capable teams than them. They are not elite yet, but certainly look better than the previous few years, with Jason Kidd in their foxhole for a second season.

Milwaukee have some very good players, born after 1990, who are extremely ambitious and want to grow with the team. This means that they intend to guide Bucks to success and at the same time progress individually, so as to reach a higher level in basketball.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a rare talent in their roster with extraordinary performances for his young age and unprecedented records; he became the youngest Buck (21) to score a triple-double (11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assist) in an NBA match, in the win against Warriors.

Besides, it is like winning the lottery to have a player with his height (6'11''/ 2.11m), capable of playing in all positions in the court, from point guard to center. Literally, an all-around player.

Jabari Parker is also a player, who has the potential to become a star athlete in the best basketball league in the world and was also a protagonist versus Golden State.

These two players and some of their teammates (Monroe) have burst, passion, will and above all nothing to lose. They only have to show what they are capable of when they meet with the vigorous sides; their effective displays have already revealed their merit.

They just want to prove they deserve to be at the highest level and with this win they made it, plus having a legend as a coach, adds more prestige to a team that theoretically is weaker than most of the others.

The Bucks have invested in the future with the hope that in a few years they will be in the position to compete for something bigger in the NBA compared to what they have achieved the previous seasons.

This win, along with the Cavs’ one, shows that they are in the right direction and it was more their ability to reach the victory rather than the Warriors’ inability to win. It also helped the Bucks that they were playing at home, as in Oakland things can be different, but this fact doesn’t reduce their recent success at all.

For Warriors, there is no reason for disappointment, as they still have the best chance to complete back-to-back domination in the NBA, provided that they won’t fall apart after their first loss in 2015/16. It is in their hands to handle the situation well and return to victories in the next games.

It will be interesting to see how they will react now that they landed on earth and that reaction could be an indication of whether they are able to triumph for a second consecutive season.