NBA: Biggest X-factor for all 30 teams in the 2019-20 season

Milwaukee Bucks: Eric Bledsoe

For all of his success in the regular season during his short stint with the Milwaukee Bucks, Eric Bledsoe has garnered a well-earned reputation of a playoff no-show.

One of the more gifted floor generals in the game today, his numbers slip in the postseason and the Bucks have been worse off for it.

Consider the 2018-19 campaign where Bledsoe played a large role in Milwaukee’s 60-win season with a defensive effort that landed him on the All-Defensive Second Team.

He wasn’t part of the shooting barrage that elevated the Bucks to the top of the east, but his dynamic athleticism was welcomed on a team ranked fifth in pace.

Milwaukee may have gotten to within two games of the NBA Finals, but Bledsoe was nowhere to be found. His points, rebounds and assists all took a noticeable dip while he shot just 41.1 percent from the field and 23.6 percent from downtown.

His efforts during the regular season prompted the front office to lock him into a four-year, $70 million deal before he could hit free agency, confident in his abilities to be the point guard on a championship team.

Bledsoe may have struggled in the 2018 playoffs, but Mike Budenholzer’s modernized offense was supposed to help remedy those poor performances.

The Bucks were up 2-0 in the conference finals but went on to lose four straight to the Toronto Raptors. During those four games, Kyle Lowry‘s pestering defense held his matchup to just 11.0 points on 30.4 percent shooting from the field.

Led by the reigning MVP, Milwaukee certainly has the pieces in place to make a run at the Finals out east. Until their starting point guard shows up when it matters most, the Bucks will always find that run more difficult than it needs to be and it may wind up costing them in the long run.