In the hours after the Bucks got eliminated Sunday, it would have been easy enough to look at the reigning NBA champions and think that all they needed was a healthy version of All-Star Khris Middleton in the mix to repeat this season.
It’s tempting to think that, and it might even be true. But we’ll never know. Middleton, hobbled by an MCL sprain he suffered in the first round, couldn’t go against the Celtics, who delivered a 108-81 knockout punch to Milwaukee in Game 7.
In a way, the series was hotly contested, as it obviously went the distance.