By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jun 24, 2021 at 9:21 AM

Giannis played great. Jrue Holiday finally showed up as hoped. You had home court advantage, you were the odds-on favorite to win the game as well as the series, and thanks to the "First Take" nonsense, the entire city was filled with civic pride, ready to explode with cheer and team spirit. 

And the Bucks wasted it all. 

Thanks to a combination of an absent Khris Middleton, a picked-apart defense, missed rebounds and the horrifying and inexplicable return of Jeff Teague minutes, the Bucks yanked defeat from the jaws of victory, losing Game 1 – and home court advantage – to Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, 116-113. There have been a lot of disappointments as a Bucks fan over the years – and this is certainly one of them, as Milwaukee allowed itself to get outworked near the end of the game, missing a golden opportunity to take an early series lead and to squelch a young confident team's thunder. 

Let's take one final look back at 11 key moments and images from the start of the Eastern Conference Finals – and hope things turn out better in Game 2. Because it feels a little bit like it can't get any worse. (*knocks on wood*)

1. Fan fest

Deer District
PHOTO: Dan Garcia
X

Summerfest would usually be going on right about now, but the Bucks are throwing quite a big gig in its place this summer as Deer District has become the place to be this past month. Even on a Wednesday night, the plaza area and surrounding bars were packed with fans hoping to see Milwaukee deliver on the court. About that ...  

2. No blame for Jrue

After laying up a few stinkers against the Brooklyn Nets, Jrue Holiday certainly showed up for this series opener (unlike some players we'll discuss later). Sure, I would've liked to have seen tighter defense on Trae Young, but complaining about a relentless 33-point performance (plus ten assists) is ridiculous. Jrue played tremendous basketball Wednesday night; it's a shame it was for naught.

3. Meet Trae Young

Trae Young
PHOTO: Dan Garcia
X

Few players have owned these playoffs quite like Trae Young. In his first postseason visit, he's seized the spotlight with a dynamite showing against the New York Knicks, an unbowed performance against the Sixers and now a career-best debut in the Eastern Conference Finals, putting in 48 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. He was seemingly unstoppable in the lane, as he laid in gorgeous floater after gorgeous floater over Brook Lopez's head, hit several showcase big threes and knocked down key free throws down the stretch. He may be the smallest guy on the court, but he was easily the biggest player in Game 1.

4. Bobby's back

Bobby Portis
PHOTO: Milwaukee Bucks Twitter
X

After spending the back half of the Brooklyn series on the bench, Bobby Portis returned to the court and gave the Bucks 15 great sparkplug minutes, putting in hustle, rebounds and 11 points – including the above dunk that clearly upset poor #17 from Atlanta. Unlike the last series, I have a feeling Bobby won't be disappearing from the rotations this time. 

5. Speaking of happy returns ... 

Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari and his inhuman ability to make beer disappear were back in the stands Wednesday night. If only Khris Middleton could've gotten a shot to go down like that beer during Game 1. Speaking of which ... 

6. The invisible man

Khris Middleton
PHOTO: Dan Garcia
X

I've always been a defender of Khris Middleton, but you can't put up a no-show performance like that if you're supposedly a team's number two scorer. Coming off some solid Brooklyn Nets showings, Middleton ended Wednesday night with a mere 15 points on putrid 6-of-23 shooting – including an unacceptable 0-for-9 from deep. If this team is ever going to win a championship, he's going to have to get a lot more reliable – because even a merely OK night from Middleton likely gets Milwaukee this win.

7. Ice cold

The Hawks have swagger. The Hawks always play like they expect to win, while the Bucks always seem lucky to have won. Case in point:

Why stop at a shimmy? Trae Young had enough time to do the entire choreography from "Thriller" out there. And this happened ON THE ROAD. If the Bucks have any self-respect, they'll pound the Hawks into the dirt in Game 2 at Fiserv Forum and then sweep the next two. I don't know if they're that kind of team, though. Judging by Game 1, I certainly know the Hawks are. 

8. Well that's cool and also I hate it

I would recommend defense in Game 2. But really, I understand that you can't redesign your defensive scheme in a few days, but everyone on the planet was prepared for Trae Young to floater the Bucks to death ... except apparently Coach Bud and Brook Lopez, who was rendered mostly unplayable. Adjustments will need to be made – which unfortunately isn't Coach Bud's specialty in the postseason.

9. Giannis vs. Trae

Giannis had a great game on Wednesday, leading the team with 34 points along with 12 rebounds and nine assists, and some credit is due to Trae Young for not backing down here ... but I don't like living in a world where Giannis is being guarded by the diminutive, defensively weak Young and only manages a fadeaway midrange clank. This team is painfully allergic to taking advantage of mismatches, and it hurts my brain and heart. 

10. Choking in the clutch

For a moment, it looked like the Bucks would pull away in the late fourth and salvage a sleepy Game 1 win. But then Milwaukee simply got outworked. Clint Capela gave the Hawks the lead with this offensive putback – which happened just a play or two after the Bucks gave up TWO offensive rebounds on a single Hawks possession, ending with a John Collins three in the corner to keep up Atlanta's momentum. You simply can't give a team with this much energy, talent and belief that many opportunities to score.

11. Connaughton air ball

What a well-designed play to get a good shot into ... Pat Connaughton's hands? Listen, I enjoy Pat as a bench mob sparkplug role player – but as the guy taking a clutch shot at the end of a crucial game? Yeah, that ain't gonna work – as evidenced by how this shot turned out. 

Here's to a better Game 2. Please.

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.