Milwaukee Bucks 2014 - 2015 (part 2)

[Baldkin]

They won't have much money this season after they pay Middleton whatever he gets.

 

With the cap predicted to balloon up to 108 million in 4 years, there's no reason not to match whatever he gets offered.

 

Next summer will be their chance to sign a legit guy, with Ersan, Zaza, Mayo and Dudley all coming off the books, plus the cap going up about 20M.

[tmwiese55]

Yea I don't doubt the new owners would be willing to pay. The players have to be willing to come though. The whole league has tons of cap space and knows the cap is about to balloon. These proven players aren't coming to MKE right now. MKE is still a few years away and these guys want to play for teams with a better shot.

 

Also, Al Jefferson was a train wreck this year and has always been brutal on D. If somehow Canter or Vucevic will come I'll take it but I just don't see it happening. OKC will just match whatever Canter gets. I don't know the details on Vucevic contract to speak to him.

[FVBrewerFan]

They don't need a post player on offense, that really isn't a necessity for their offense- or most offenses run in the NBA these days. They need guys who can get to the rim- and they have that. And Parker will be one more. Then you need guys who can knock down threes- that's the past they're missing on offense.

 

This Bulls match-up is tough, I would rather play anyone in the East- maybe even Cleveland.

[tmwiese55]

Right, post ups on our offense aren't big in the NBA anymore. It's the pace and space ere and it seems that is the style Kidd is trying to play. They need the big for D and rebounding (Chandler, Sanders types). Need shooting big time on O. Best shooters at this point after Middleton are what Mayo, Dudley, Ers? All three will likely be gone in the next couple years.

[paul253]

There was some talk earlier of obtaining Tyson Chandler. How high does Willie Cauley-Stein expect to go in the draft? I see him as an exact replica of Chandler. Good defensive presence. Shot blocker. Rebounder. Very limited offense. Any chance we can maybe move up and get him?

[patrickgpe]

Cauley-Stein is looking like a 8-12th pick player; i think it would be reasoable for the bucks to look at someone like Bobby Portis at 17,

[tmwiese55]

I could see them trying to move up for WCS. They have tons of picks to move if they really like someone

[FVBrewerFan]

Would love WCS, pending character check, investigation, etc. they do with players these days. The thought of at times having WCS, Henson, Parker, Giannis, and MCW on the floor together. Wow, talk about length.

[tmwiese55]

Yea I guess it wouldn't surprise me if they're a little gun shy with guys covered in tats, including on their neck, after what happened with Larry and to a lesser extent Jennings (in spite of the bad ending with Jennings I heard he was absolute model player in the community and youth outreach programs though). And just overall as they worry about their image as they try to get this new arena in place.

[FVBrewerFan]

Yea, and I didn't mean to single out WCS. With all the money, cap space, PR involved you just have to know who you're getting. You have guys like Jabari where it's an easy call, but most guys aren't that cur and dried character wise.

 

Team chemistry is one of the things the Bucks have going for them, so important to keep that in tact. At least for the next couple years that Milwaukee has...you know...a team.

[tmwiese55]

FYI-I don't think Vuvecic is a FA in any way, not sure how that gone thrown out here. Maybe because his name gets brought up in trade rumors a lot. Like I said before, I don't think these proven guys are attainable so they'll just focus on the draft. Needs are rim protector, pick and roll hard to the hoop C, and second shooting in any way.

 

On October 23, 2014, Vučević signed a four-year, $53 million contract extension with the Magic.[15][16] On April 3, 2015, he scored a career-high 37 points in a 97-84 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[17]

[tmwiese55]

I wouldn't want to be a ref for Thursday's game. Bucks have nothing to lose and frankly the Bulls did all the dirty stuff last night so I'm sure the Bucks will have a chip on their shoulder. I'm fine with being physical. But stopping in front of someone while their running back on D and hitting them to cause a collision, and then falling down and acting offended that you got hit is just bush league and looking to instigate a fight.

[FVBrewerFan]

Game 2 was theirs for the taking. Very odd game, season low assists and horrible shooting. They can't get drawn into all this "who's tougher" stuff, that's falling right into the Bulls hands. Bulls have decided to take Giannis out of the game, he's going to have to adjust to that- they need him to be productive.

 

Watching this series, plus some of the other match-ups off and on, one thing is clear to me. The Bucks need someone where you put the ball in his hands and he can score any way possible. Shoot a 3, drive and score, get fouled, whatever. Brandon Knight was that guy, now they have nobody who can do it. Every really good team has 1-2 guys like that, and the more I watch that seems to be the difference between great teams and good teams.

[molitor fan]

Anybody that prefers knight to MCW on this team is someone that I will always look down upon in terms of their basketball acumen

[superfly]

What a trainwreck in 2OT...we could have won all three of these games if we just execute in crunch time.

 

On a side note, *** is wrong with the Bucks organization allowing all these Bulls fans in? They should not have processed any ticket orders from Illinois when they put that playoff ticket special into effect...the Chicago media caught that and spread it everywhere. Looks terrible.

[FVBrewerFan]

What a trainwreck in 2OT...we could have won all three of these games if we just execute in crunch time.

 

On a side note, *** is wrong with the Bucks organization allowing all these Bulls fans in? They should not have processed any ticket orders from Illinois when they put that playoff ticket special into effect...the Chicago media caught that and spread it everywhere. Looks terrible.

 

The Bucks have no control over the secondary market. (Stubhub, ticket brokers, etc.) That's where the Bulls fans got the lion's share of their tickets from.

[tmwiese55]

I don't know about the slight rip on Knight there, what's missing on this team right now is someone who can create his own shot and get a bucket when you need it. MCW not being able to shoot is killing the spacing which was evident in the OTs last night. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with the trade and see exactly what they're doing for the future but to say we wouldn't be better right now with Knight is foolish.

 

I hope they bring in an expert shooting coach this offseason to work with MCW and Giannis, it's very tough for them to drive because the Bulls are sagging off them so much. This isn't as big of a problem in the regular season when teams don't have time to prep, but in the playoffs D and scouting gets increased big time. Those two will be beasts if they just get competent jump shots.

 

Have to say I liked that they played all the young guys last night to finish, yea they didn't pull it off but I'd rather get them the experience and see how they do in that situation. Probably win with Bayless in instead of MCW but who cares, not winning the series anyway and all that was good for MCW going forward. I liked what I saw from Giannis too, I think he's got some of that Kobe/Jordan/Westbrook 'eye of the tiger' in him, confident he'll take the next step up to become a big time star.

 

Yes you could tell there was a strong Bulls contingent in there but I was pleasantly surprised by how rowdy the crowd was for Milwaukee. If they become legitimately good the fans will come out and be a good home court advantage. Too bad they couldn't pull that out, would've created another great environment for game 4 rather than everyone being resigned to our fate. Those two wide open 3s by Juice and Middleton in last minute of first OT were their chances, Middleton crushes corner 3s thought he'd hit that one. Plus if MCW doesn't shove Rose at the end of regulation Giannis was going to swat that thing regardless.

[FVBrewerFan]

Anybody that prefers knight to MCW on this team is someone that I will always look down upon in terms of their basketball acumen

 

Well, that's pretty condescending. Instead of throwing out a cheap shot, care to elaborate on why MCW is so superior? Here are the facts. MCW's playoff performance:

 

39% shooting

0-4 3FG

4.5 Assists (Pumped up by huge minutes in Game 3)

+/- -11

 

But wait, look what he does on defense! Ok, let's look. Rose has dominated in this series. Is that all on MCW? Of course not, but he is the primary person guarding him.

Besides all that, everyone saw him standing and dribbling time after time this playoff series, including the entire 2nd OT.

 

With all that said, MCW may or may not be a better PG than Brandon Knight now or in the future. But there's no doubt in my mind Knight would have been a better fit in the playoffs this year for THIS team. They sorely needed someone who could get hot and knock down 2-3 threes. Brandon Knight can do that, MCW can not.

[Baldkin]

They gave Rose the shots they wanted to give him: 3 pointers. He shot 28% from 3 on the season. He's shooting 46% this series.

 

The Bucks aren't losing because of MCW, they are losing because the Bulls front line is simply light years ahead of the Bucks talent wise. Noah and Gasol vs Zaza and Illyasova/Dudley.

 

Using plus-minus without comparing it to the rest of the team is also being disingenuous.

 

Giannis Antetokounmpo -3.7

Khris Middleton -11.0

John Henson -2.7

Ersan Ilyasova -10.7

Jared Dudley 1.3

Michael Carter-Williams -11.3

Jerryd Bayless -0.3

O.J. Mayo -1.7

Zaza Pachulia -6.7

 

It's almost like, their starters are clearly better than the Bucks starters -- which anyone would've said going into the series.

[FVBrewerFan]

You've just proven the front court is NOT the problem with those +/- numbers. (And I do realize that stat is far from being the be-all/ end-all.) Henson and Zaza have held their own, which has really surprised me. Have they been outplayed? Sure, but nowhere near what I expected. In fact, Henson has had a really nice playoff series.

 

Also, Rose hasn't done all of his scoring with 3PFG, he's had plenty of drives as well. And no, I don't think giving him wide open 3s are the shots they wanted him to take. Especially once he's proven he's hot.

 

Finally, I never said they lost because of MCW, I said Knight would have been a better fit for this team right now. Bulls are winning 3-0 because they're better at every position.

[patrickgpe]

Anybody that prefers knight to MCW on this team is someone that I will always look down upon in terms of their basketball acumen

 

Well, that's pretty condescending. Instead of throwing out a cheap shot, care to elaborate on why MCW is so superior? Here are the facts. MCW's playoff performance:

 

39% shooting

0-4 3FG

4.5 Assists (Pumped up by huge minutes in Game 3)

+/- -11

 

But wait, look what he does on defense! Ok, let's look. Rose has dominated in this series. Is that all on MCW? Of course not, but he is the primary person guarding him.

Besides all that, everyone saw him standing and dribbling time after time this playoff series, including the entire 2nd OT.

 

With all that said, MCW may or may not be a better PG than Brandon Knight now or in the future. But there's no doubt in my mind Knight would have been a better fit in the playoffs this year for THIS team. They sorely needed someone who could get hot and knock down 2-3 threes. Brandon Knight can do that, MCW can not.

 

you have to give MCW next season before making a judgement. The suns lost 10 out of there last 11, its not like Knight took Phoenix by storm. I will admit though that Knight would be very helpful for this series, but bucks fans should not be worried about this season, and instead should be looking to the future.

[superfly]

Anybody that prefers knight to MCW on this team is someone that I will always look down upon in terms of their basketball acumen

 

Well, that's pretty condescending. Instead of throwing out a cheap shot, care to elaborate on why MCW is so superior? Here are the facts. MCW's playoff performance:

 

39% shooting

0-4 3FG

4.5 Assists (Pumped up by huge minutes in Game 3)

+/- -11

 

But wait, look what he does on defense! Ok, let's look. Rose has dominated in this series. Is that all on MCW? Of course not, but he is the primary person guarding him.

Besides all that, everyone saw him standing and dribbling time after time this playoff series, including the entire 2nd OT.

 

With all that said, MCW may or may not be a better PG than Brandon Knight now or in the future. But there's no doubt in my mind Knight would have been a better fit in the playoffs this year for THIS team. They sorely needed someone who could get hot and knock down 2-3 threes. Brandon Knight can do that, MCW can not.

 

Could you also post Knight's postseason stats for 2014-2015? Lol

 

 

No, that's not all Knights fault, but he wasn't all that great once he left & he got injured to boot...we might not be sitting here enjoying these playoffs if we didn't make the trade. MCW's stats are also irrelevant.

 

He's just a kid, and came from an organization that is arguably the worst run in decades & the worst team(s) in decades. You can't just flip the switch overnight...quite frankly I think he has come a long way since he was traded here already. He has a long way to go, but progress is being made and he seems like he is fully bought in & a willing learner.

[superfly]

I liked what I saw from Giannis too, I think he's got some of that Kobe/Jordan/Westbrook 'eye of the tiger' in him, confident he'll take the next step up to become a big time star.

 

It's pretty remarkable where he has come from in 2 years...less than 24 months ago when we drafted him we weren't even sure if we would bring him across the pond and let him work with the team. Thank goodness we did. He absolutely has that "mojo" about him, and I think we're going to be treated to 10-15 years of a superstar.

[FVBrewerFan]

Guys, I don't think I could have been more clear. Never once did I say MCW won't be better than Knight- maybe he already is. I was talking about this playoff series specifically. You know it's not fair to throw in Knight's injury, performance with Suns, etc. None of that would apply if he stayed with the Bucks. To say MCW's stats are irrelevant puzzles me. It doesn't matter to you if he shoots 70% or 20%?

[superfly]

I'll say this - we're playing the Bulls better and better every single game of this series. We might make a game 6 here before it's over with.