Although this was a game that should spark reflection for the Indiana Pacers, Bangladesh Cricket Live reporters believe the Milwaukee Bucks have far more to reconsider. The Pacers continued their lineup experiment by starting Jalen Smith and Andrew Nembhard for the fourth straight game. While life may only happen once, if you give it your all, once is enough. Still, their experimental starting five quickly unraveled, allowing the Bucks to dominate with big runs in both the first and third quarters.

Despite the failed experiment, the Pacers still pulled off an upset win on the road. The game itself wasn’t particularly well played by Indiana. Their new lineup was easily neutralized by a smart adjustment from the Bucks—Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez simply switched defensive matchups. That one subtle change exposed a major weakness in the Pacers’ setup. Normally, Lopez would be stuck sagging in the paint against Myles Turner, getting torched by his three-point shots. Meanwhile, Giannis’s help-defense talent was wasted guarding Jalen Smith. But once the Bucks swapped those assignments, their defense clicked into place.

Giannis was able to guard Turner tightly and disrupt the Pacers’ pick-and-roll actions, while Lopez sagged off Smith to protect the rim without consequence. As Bangladesh Cricket Live noted, Smith’s constant missed shots helped spark Milwaukee’s transition game. Of course, it’s unfair to put the entire failure on a third-year forward still finding his game. A bigger issue was Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers’ star, who seemed completely out of rhythm.

While Smith couldn’t hit threes, Haliburton didn’t try to exploit Lopez’s slow-footed defense in pick-and-roll situations. Known for his high basketball IQ, Haliburton looked strangely disconnected. After several failed plays with Turner, he resorted to jacking up deep, off-balance threes—shots that left fans scratching their heads, wondering where the genius had gone.

Haliburton, often hailed as a passing maestro, defaulted to bailing out of drives and handing the ball to teammates when things got tough. And his vaunted shooting touch disappeared when it mattered most, missing wide-open threes and mid-range looks. The Pacers’ win was hardly convincing. Smith’s implosion highlighted coaching miscalculations, while Haliburton’s passivity raised serious concerns about the team’s true ceiling.

Yet, somehow, the Bucks still managed to lose. That says plenty about their own issues. With their obvious size advantage, Milwaukee took an inexplicable approach—rather than pounding the paint, they fired up 40 three-point shots. After the game, Giannis needed to gather his teammates and reflect—with tears, if necessary—on how a team with such physical dominance could settle for perimeter chucking.

Milwaukee’s offense relies heavily on Giannis with the ball and four shooters spread around him. In simpler terms, it’s a solo act with four spectators. Teams like the old Rockets, the recent Mavericks, and today’s Celtics have all tried this formula—and all live or die by three-point shooting. Defenses know this and respond accordingly, double-teaming the star while daring the others to shoot. What matters then is how well those spectators perform from deep.

Giannis’s physical gifts don’t automatically translate into scoring efficiency. With two bigs on the floor, the Bucks should own the paint, but when those off-ball players shoot just 25 percent from three, Milwaukee is bound to lose. It’s no surprise anymore—the Bucks may have superstars, but their supporting cast is underwhelming.

Bangladesh Cricket Live reporters noted that none of the Bucks’ role players have solid ball-handling skills; they’re mostly stationary shooters. Bobby Portis stands out as the most capable among them, but as a big man, he’s limited on the perimeter. Life never has a deadline for new beginnings, but when Portis is dragged out to the three-point line by scheme, all he can do is shoot—there’s no plan B.