Confidence Fading For Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are seeing their playoff hopes fading even with Giannis Antetokounmpo returning from a long injury.

The Bucks have lost their last four games and find themselves five games back of the Atlanta Hawks for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. Some members of the Milwaukee Bucks On SI staff were asked to give their confidence on a scale of 1-10 in regards to how they feel about the team's playoff chances.

Ethan J. Skolnick

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo looks on in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks. | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Give it a 3, at most. The assumption was that Giannis Antetokounmpo could lead a furious rally to the Play-in Tournament upon his return, but the reality is that his return may have taken too long. The Bucks finally found a groove without him, then crashed and burned against the Knicks and Bulls, and now seem completely out of sorts.

It's hard to see Milwaukee catching Orlando or Miami, so that means they need to pass the Hawks or Hornets, and those teams have found footing -- especially Charlotte. Remember, the Bucks are below .500 even when Giannis plays this season. If they can't make up much ground in the next two weeks, don't be surprised if he's shut down.

Jeremy Brener

In the words of Tyra Banks, "It's so bad I want to give you a zero. But that’s not possible, so I'm giving you a one."

The most recent loss against the Hawks may be the final nail in the coffin. The Bucks have five games to make up in the standings in the final 21 contests and the teams in the Play-In Tournament are trending upwards. The Hawks have won five in a row while the Charlotte Hornets are winners of six straight. I can admire the Bucks for trying, but they will likely come up short here.

Major Passons

My confidence in Milwaukee could not be lower. They have been a mediocre team all year long with really, no signs of that changing too much now they would be in a much better position if Giannis Antetokounmpo was available for every game, but unfortunately, that was not the case even when he plays, they are still just a .500 ball club. I would put my confidence as a 1 out of 10 but considering they do have a top three player in the world on their team I’ll bump it up to it 2 out of 10.