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Everyone Down 0-2 in First Round Very Confident Despite History Saying They’re Done

Stephen Douglas

The Memphis Grizzlies are ready to take care of business at home.
The Memphis Grizzlies are ready to take care of business at home. / Photo by Joe Murphy / NBAE via Getty Image
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The Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series on Tuesday night and are now facing a very tough 0-2 deficit. Despite the fact that only 7.4% of teams in NBA history who have been down 0-2 have come back to win, the Bucks remain confident.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was on a Bucks team that came back to win two series they trailed 0-2 on their run to the 2021 NBA championship, told reporters after the game that he "knows the f------ deal." Bucks head coach Doc Rivers then raised some eyebrows by adding that he was, "very confident about this series. Very."

The Bucks aren't the only team in an 0-2 hole after Tuesday night's action. Coming off one of the most lopsided defeats in NBA playoff history, the Memphis Grizzlies lost the second game of their Western Conference playoffs series to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 118-99.

After losing Game 1 by 51 points, Memphis played much better in Game 2 and were actually within eight during the third quarter. There was zero drama in the game, but at least this loss won't come up at any bar trivia night competitions 20 years from now.

Still, having dropped the first two games of the series by an average of 30 points, it's not looking good for Memphis, but that doesn't mean they're going to let on that they know the series is over. Following the loss interim coach Tuomas Iisalo told the team they simply needed to be like Kramer at Brandt-Leland and TCB.

"The message to the team was very short," Iisalo said. "You know, let's get on the plane as soon as possible and they took care of their business. Now it's time for us to take care of our business at home. So, nothing more to that."

Jaren Jackson Jr. echoed his coach's remarks when he spoke to the media.

"It's a series," said Jackson. "You can't... Never too high or too low about anything. You've got to go home and take care of business. You gotta ride the wave of the home crowd and protect home court. You know, have that confidence and that swag. No matter what it was here you would have had to do that so the mentality is just aggression, straight forward and get home."

Unfortunately for the Bucks and Grizzlies, nine out of 10 times it's the team that won the first two games of a series that end up taking care of business.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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