Nickel: We've learned a lot about the Bucks in the last week

"It's easy to go somewhere else and win a championship with somebody else. It's easy. I could go to a super team and just do my part and win a championship. But this is the hard way to do it and this is the way to do it, and we did it. (Expletive) did it. We did it, man." Giannis Antetokounmpo

CHICAGO – When the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA championship in July 2021 and Giannis Antetokounmpo cradled the MVP trophy in one hand and the Larry O’Brien hardware in the other, he said those famous words above.

It was one of the most memorable quotes of the season — and maybe in a half-century of the franchise — because it was so remarkably raw and honest. The Bucks, with cornerstone players Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, toiled for years before finally seizing that ring. That 'ship was earned with sacrifice and sweat equity.

But as we close out 2023, we all might be learning something in Brew City.

Building a super team isn’t easy, either.

Consider the last week. (Pop a few antacid tablets if it helps; I like the berry-flavored Tums.)

Winning at Miami on Tuesday was a bulwark moment for Milwaukee's character. It proved the Bucks could tap in to even deeper reserves and resources to beat the Heat, even after they depleted themselves two days earlier with a historic 26-point comeback victory against Portland. It was a remarkable 60-hour stretch of basketball for a Bucks team still creating its core identity.

So, losing at Chicago in overtime was actually somewhat understandable, given it was the Bucks’ third game in five days and their second straight road game.

But listening to Antetokounmpo, Malik Beasley and Brook Lopez in the visitors locker room in the United Center, it's clear they want no part of moral victories.

So, let’s not do that.

Fact is, the Bulls beat the Bucks in too many ways.

On the boards, from the beginning to the end.

On defense, because the Bulls helped force the elite Milwaukee team to commit 21 turnovers — seven from superstar Damian Lillard. Chicago scored a ton off those TOs, too.

On poise, because despite playing so poorly in the final minute on offense, Chicago surged late in overtime.

On the bench, as the Bulls' subs outscored Milwaukee’s, 31-21.

On having that one gritty, toughnosed defender, as Chicago’s Jevon Carter caused more havoc with his perimeter defense than any of his old teammates could.

And maybe, perhaps, having someone help Giannis with some data, as Antetokounmpo didn't have any idea he'd taken less than a handful of shot attempts in the first half.

As beautiful as this Milwaukee roster is — elite talent, experience savvy, extremely high basketball IQs from the starters to the second unit — the Bucks right now leave us wanting.

Wanting that ruthless, nasty, lockdown defender who will absorb four or five fouls with a sneer. The Bucks could really use Pat Connaughton and his blood-streaked face defense, or Jae Crowder, who will get in the way of anyone.

With those two injured, who is that guy for the Bucks? Leaving those roles up to Antetokounmpo and Middleton puts us right back to the 2019 playoffs, and you remember how that went. Even the superstars find their offensive light dimmed a bit when they have to play savagely on defense.

Then there's Lillard, who must be given time to blend into his new team and his new surroundings, as Milwaukee might feel like another world right now. He is honest about still needing time to develop chemistry here in Milwaukee, and for that, and all that is Dame, he has all the respect in the world. But how is he finding it here? His demeanor on the court right now is the same whether he drains a monster three, or misses it.

Only he can tell us how much he's playing in pain right now, with that oblique injury, about which he recently said, “It’s a pain in the ass. You can feel it with everything you do.”

As Milwaukee goes through this transition period of new coach Adrian Griffin, it's clear it isn't seamless and smooth. And that’s completely reasonable. For one decade, it was always Antetokounmpo and Middleton, and then Lopez revolutionizing what it means to be a versatile center.

With those three here, and others added to complement them, it seemed the defined roles of this basketball team were crystal clear. From Connaughton’s Bench Mob all the way through Jrue Holiday's bump-and-run cornerback-style defense. Everyone knows the real mayor of Milwaukee is Bobby Portis.

Now? Milwaukee appears to be redefining so much right now, from how they want Lopez to play defense, to which generational player — Dame or Giannis — they want to bring the ball upcourt.

It looks like super teams are tricky after all and this super squad has sand flowing through its hourglass. Three of the five starters — Middleton, Lopez and Lillard — are well into their 30s.

The Bucks don’t have years and seasons.

They have weeks and months.

Chicago was just one game; the loss shouldn't be blown out of proportion. This is more looking at November and some telltale signs.

If you aren’t sure why you have so much anxiety about this Bucks team, with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, you’re not alone.

Something continues to feel a bit off about the Bucks and it's just starting to become clear how complicated building a super team actually can be.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: We've learned a lot about the Milwaukee Bucks in the last week