MILWAUKEE -- Apparently, a nerve was struck with the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee's locker room remained closed to the media for 50 minutes as a players-only meeting was held following a 108-101 loss to the Charlotte Hornets at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Players downplayed the significance of the meeting, but the sheer length of the session raised eyebrows.
"It was apparent that we needed to talk about some things after this game," Bucks center Larry Sanders said. "We're not happy with ourselves. A trait of teams that want to get better is that they meet.
"We don't like the way we played, so we're going to talk about it. We don't want to ignore issues. That's what bad teams do. We aired it out in the open and talked about it. That's what we are trying to do now."
Following a west coast trip in which they exceeded expectations to pick up two wins, the Bucks put forth a lackluster effort against the Hornets. Coach Jason Kidd held his usual postgame press conference quickly after the final horn sounded, meaning nobody was aware of the team meeting when he was available to the media.
"We didn't have that spark," Kidd said. "Being a young team, this was kind of a trap game, playing well and also thinking about the holidays. It is something we can learn from."
Milwaukee turned the ball over 20 times and was poor defensively against Charlotte. The Bucks certainly didn't play well Tuesday, but to jump from feeling good about themselves after a four-game trip to a 50-minute team meeting seems like a giant leap.
But according to those involved, disappointment with the energy and effort Tuesday was the only reason for the meeting.
"We're not happy," Bucks center Zaza Pachulia said. "We're just not happy with the way we played today. We talked about it. Next game we're going to be ready to give a better effort.
"There were no voices raised. We're family. Nobody is happy. We're trying to get better. That meeting was about getting better."
After holding a 56-54 halftime lead, the Bucks allowed Charlotte to score 34 third-quarter points to take control of the game. Kemba Walker killed Milwaukee off the pick-and-roll to finish with 27 points, while Gerald Henderson scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half.
Charlotte also attempted a season-high 36 free throws, hitting 28 of them to outscore Milwaukee by 13 at the charity stripe.
"There was no energy defensively," Pachulia said. "There was no presence in the pick-and-roll. We weren't aggressive enough. We weren't the Bucks you guys have been talking about. We also had 20 turnovers. When you combine those two things, it is not our game."
The players insisted the vibe of the meeting was positive and no fights -- either verbal or physical -- occurred.
"We haven't had any negative," Bucks forward Jared Dudley said. "It wasn't like guys wet the bed in the sense of not showing up. We showed up. I thought we could have played harder and smarter.
"We fouled them and made it so easy for them throughout the night. Kemba looked like he was Steph Curry out there. He's a great player, but I thought our pick-and-roll coverage on him was just terrible. That's the best word."
The Bucks showed no signs of any issues while on their west coast trip, as they beat Phoenix and Sacramento while playing Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers tough.
Milwaukee returned home Tuesday with an opportunity to continue its momentum against a Charlotte team with a 9-19 record. The Hornets are certainly improving, but the Bucks needed to grab a win before a weekend home-and-home with red-hot Atlanta begins Friday.
With two games against the Hawks and a two-game trip to Charlotte and Cleveland looming in the next week, things could unravel quickly if the Bucks don't put whatever set them off Tuesday in the rearview mirror.
"It was trying to figure things out," Bucks forward Khris Middleton said of the meeting. "Nothing drastic. No fights, no arguments. Just in here talking trying to get better.
"One game cannot kill us. We have to get ready for Atlanta."
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