“We know we’re leaving Vegas as a better team,” Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s voice was filled with pride when he declared it. The glow of victory was illuminating his face following the NBA Cup win. After all, the Bucks’ leader took three long years to finally add a shimmering achievement to his legacy. The Greek Freak was convinced that this was just the beginning of a brighter future. Well, he couldn’t be more wrong. While the team certainly showed growth during the tournament, the story is taking a different turn than what he anticipated. And money could certainly be the root of their current slump.

After the narrow 105-102 loss to the Trail Blazers and his double-double (31 points, 11 rebounds) performance, Giannis Antetokounmpo made his stance clear in the postgame locker room. “We’re not playing well,” he stated boldly. The frustration of failing to win two straight games, despite coming so close to the scores, weighed heavily on him. “Two close game. Wasn’t able to get them. Definitely hurts. But we’re not we’re not playing well,” he added.

What the Bucks are missing right now is consistency. They win a couple of games and show promise, only to lose the next two and fall back to where they started. However, the 30-year-old felt the team was playing much better before the in-season tournament victory. “I feel like before, Vegas, we were figuring some things out. We had a great rhythm playing very well as a team. After Vegas, I think we kinda took, like, a deep, you know, digging ourselves again to in a hole,” the 2-time MVP explained.

Looks like the team is overwhelmed with the $9.3 million prize money they earned for their win last month. That’s $514,970 each for all the 18 roster players. Half a million may not be a significant amount for Giannis, who earns in the millions but it certainly holds value for the other role players.

Probably they took the phrase “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” a little too seriously, leaving their performance behind in the desert and continuing to deliver lackluster efforts since then. However, Giannis isn’t the only one pointing out the issue. The Bucks head coach too had a similar perception.

Doc Rivers and Giannis Antetokounmpo are on same page about Bucks’ performance

In the postgame press conference, Doc Rivers appeared to have had enough of the excuses the Bucks offered for their back-to-back losses. And after the defeat, the 63-year-old didn’t hold back, delivering harsh criticism of the team’s performance.

“It’s frustrating watching us play,” he told media. “I just think where we had them… a week or two before Vegas and then going into Vegas, we haven’t returned. We’re not playing right.” One thing was clear that both Giannis Antetokounmpo and the coach shared the same sentiment about the team’s struggles following the Vegas trip.

After their NBA Cup win, the Bucks have lost 5 out of their last 8 games, slipping to the eighth spot with a 17-16 record. The competition in the Eastern Conference is fierce this season, with several promising contenders eyeing the title. So, like Giannis put it, “Gotta lock in as a team, play harder, compete, and try to get the next one.” The Bucks need to adopt that mindset and move forward with urgency if they hope to get back on track.