Milwaukee Benching Jevon Carter Cost Them an NBA Championship

Morgantown, West Virginia – The Milwaukee Bucks, last year’s NBA champions, fell to the Boston Celtics, 109-81 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Jevon Carter, who played an integral role in the Bucks’ first round series against the Chicago Bulls, played in only six minutes in the final four games of the series against the Celtics.

Instead, Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee’s head coach, chose to play George Hill over Carter. Hill, who was injured with an abdominal strain and did not play in the first round against Chicago, played very poorly against the Celtics. In five games against Boston, Hill played in 77 total minutes (15.4 minutes per game) and scored only 5 total points, averaging 1.0 point per game.

In addition, former Duke guard Grayson Allen, who started for the Bucks, averaged 26.4 minutes per game against the Celtics, averaging 5.0 points per game.

In addition, neither Allen or Hill provided the defensive intensity that Carter would have if was playing. In fact, the Bucks would’ve likely won Game 6 in Milwaukee with better, more consistent guard play.

Although Jevon Carter once again showed that he’s capable of contributing and elevating his team, he was overlooked when it really mattered. When Carter played 10 minutes or more during the playoffs, the Bucks were 5-1. When he played less than 10 minutes, they were 1-4.