Milwaukee Bucks 2018 - 2019

[wildcat83]

Brogdon out 6-8 weeks.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-injury-update-bucks-malcolm-brogdon-could-miss-first-round-of-playoffs-with-plantar-fascia-tear-per-report/

 

Ouch. Thought his breakout year was as key to their success as anything not named The Freak.

[coolhandluke121]

If DDV, Hill, and Brown weren't also injured, I would be a lot less concerned. Fortunately this isn't the same foot that Brogdon had surgery on in college. That doesn't necessarily mean it's not related (he could be compensating), but it's still somewhat reassuring. Having to come back from a long layoff in the middle of the playoffs is not good though.

[Pugger]

Brogdon out 6-8 weeks.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-injury-update-bucks-malcolm-brogdon-could-miss-first-round-of-playoffs-with-plantar-fascia-tear-per-report/

 

Yike. Reading this made my foot ache. Man, I hope he isn't out the rest of the season.

[coolhandluke121]

I think the Bucks are actually kind of a mediocre 3-point shooting team considering how many wide open looks they get.

[RollieTime]

Another terrible game for Middleton today. Really getting tired of watching him dribble around for 8 seconds and then pulling up for a bad shot. Or holding the ball for 5 seconds and then chucking up a random shot completely out of rhythm. Shots like that just don’t go in very often. He really does not fit the offense Bud has implemented. Middleton tries to do too much way too often and leads to a lot of empty possessions on the offensive end. I’m really hoping/looking forward to him being gone after this season.

[coolhandluke121]

His shot seems flatter than ever and he clearly isn't in harmony with the new offensive paradigm. Really don't understand why he can't hit more of his wide open 3's and play off the ball more.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Language please....

[pacopete4]

Lopez not getting a hand in the face of Embid is just ridiculous. All stems from selling out on the play prior against him. Figure it out man.

[lcbj68c]

That 3pt defense....yet...again. Embiid wins the game there. Just blows my mind that they have no desire to contest the perimeter at all.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Embiid shooting 13 threes is exactly what you want. He shot 4 of 13 from 3. Thats less than a point per possession when hes chucking from deep. If he's putting the ball up from range that often the defense is doing exactly what it's supposed to do. The Bucks got beat on the boards, shot poorly most of the game, and didn't get much scoring from any one other than Giannis until they were playing from too far behind.

[homer]

That 3pt defense....yet...again. Embiid wins the game there. Just blows my mind that they have no desire to contest the perimeter at all.

 

Embiid is shooting 29% from three for the year. Why wouldn't you sag a bit and let him jack away? He was 4/13 today

[homer]

I feel like the Bucks have gotten worse since Mirotic arrived. He's been pretty awful IMO.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Yeah, Mirotic isnt fitting in yet. Especially with Brogdon being out now, hope he finds some rhythm and a role before the playoffs start.

[coolhandluke121]

Nothing wrong with the Bucks' defensive strategy per se, but it's not wrong to suggest that they could be better at contesting shots. They don't have much defensive closing speed other than Giannis and Bledsoe. It can hurt them against teams with lots of good shooters and against teams with centers who can shoot. The real story of this game is the Bucks not hitting their own open 3's though.

 

I think Wilson is an important player for them and I'm not convinced he should ever have been benched. He makes so much difference in the energy and quickness department, and they need that more than they need yet another proven but slow 3-point shooter (Ersan, Mirotic, BroLo).

[DuWayne Steurer]

They could be better at contesting shots, and it absolutely does hurt them against a team that has a lot of good shooters. That being said they're 52-18, and they have the best record in the league. On most nights, they have the firepower to outscore even good teams. That's their strategy, and it works. They have the best defensive rating in the league. That's not a mirage. That's something they've accomplished over 70 games.

 

For all the talk that "the Bucks will get killed in the playoff" the Bucks are 9-4 vs Toronto, Boston, Philly, and Indiana, the teams that have any real chance of challenging them in the Eastern Conference.

[coolhandluke121]

Don't get me wrong; I think they should be the favorites against everyone except the Warriors, who I think are kind of coasting the way great teams do when they have nothing left to prove in the regular season. I get annoyed when people dismiss the Bucks because they haven't been there before. If you're a professional analyst, for crying out loud at least come up with a real basketball reason they won't win the East. Don't just say they haven't been there before. I'll grant that it's unusual to improve so much in one year, but even then you should still be able to say what it is they haven't improved enough instead of taking such a weak stance. They have absolutely been the best team in the regular season.

 

On that note, in terms of what they may not have improved enough, I would say slow perimeter defense and inconsistent 3-point shooting (especially when normed against all the wide open looks they get) are the main basketball reasons they might not win the East. Who knows what you're getting from Khris on any given night, but he's getting more open 3's than ever and you would think he would be able to have a career year from behind the arc. Instead, he's having one of his worst seasons shooting the 3.

[CheezWizHed]

On the plus side, Giannis' 3pt shot is looking pretty natural now. A big improvement on early in the season.

 

However, I kept wondering what the Bucks would be looking like this year if they had drafted Embiid instead of Parker. *drool...*

[nate82]

Another terrible game for Middleton today. Really getting tired of watching him dribble around for 8 seconds and then pulling up for a bad shot. Or holding the ball for 5 seconds and then chucking up a random shot completely out of rhythm. Shots like that just don’t go in very often. He really does not fit the offense Bud has implemented. Middleton tries to do too much way too often and leads to a lot of empty possessions on the offensive end. I’m really hoping/looking forward to him being gone after this season.

 

If the Bucks lose Middleton this off season they go from a top 4 team in the East to a 7-8 seed team. The Bucks can't replace him in FA and they won't be able to trade for a replacement either. The quickest way to get Giannis out of Milwaukee would be to allow Middleton to walk.

[adambr2]

Another terrible game for Middleton today. Really getting tired of watching him dribble around for 8 seconds and then pulling up for a bad shot. Or holding the ball for 5 seconds and then chucking up a random shot completely out of rhythm. Shots like that just don’t go in very often. He really does not fit the offense Bud has implemented. Middleton tries to do too much way too often and leads to a lot of empty possessions on the offensive end. I’m really hoping/looking forward to him being gone after this season.

 

If the Bucks lose Middleton this off season they go from a top 4 team in the East to a 7-8 seed team. The Bucks can't replace him in FA and they won't be able to trade for a replacement either. The quickest way to get Giannis out of Milwaukee would be to allow Middleton to walk.

 

I don't buy this. They're a top 4 seed team in the East still without Khris as long as Giannis is here. I think Brogdon is more important to their success than Middleton and his loss hurts them more right now.

 

I don't have a problem keeping him depending on the circumstances but Middleton is not nearly such a team cornerstone that you're the top team in the NBA with him and a #7-#8 seed without.

[Pugger]

Yeah, Mirotic isnt fitting in yet. Especially with Brogdon being out now, hope he finds some rhythm and a role before the playoffs start.

 

Not having Brogdon might be affecting this team more than we think.

[coolhandluke121]

 

I don't buy this. They're a top 4 seed team in the East still without Khris as long as Giannis is here. I think Brogdon is more important to their success than Middleton and his loss hurts them more right now.

 

I don't have a problem keeping him depending on the circumstances but Middleton is not nearly such a team cornerstone that you're the top team in the NBA with him and a #7-#8 seed without.

 

Agreed. Keeping Khris is all about the way the CBA works, but at worst it takes you from being a slight East favorite to maybe being a 2/3 seed if you lose him. As of now, they're the 17th team in NBA history to have a +9 ppg differential. A 7/8 seed in the East is a slightly below average team. No way Khris matters even half that much. Not the way he's playing this year.

 

The only dilemma is if you think he's going to get even more lackadaisical, to the point where you're better off with DDV, Wilson, Brown, and Snell dividing up his minutes. And even then, why compromise your depth? Using the full MLE instead of the reduced tax-payer MLE for a couple years is also a factor, but that's not a huge difference.

 

Someone might know more about this, but I think sign and trade options will be pretty limited because he's only making $13m this year and will presumably get a decent raise, even if it's not as much as some expected at the beginning of the year. That often makes it harder to match salaries. The point of Bird Rights is to help teams keep their core together, so Bird Rights are much harder to exploit if you're only signing the player on behalf of another team. What I'm not clear on is how much salary the Bucks could take back in a sign-and-trade involving Khris. It might be only about 120% of his current salary.

[nate82]

 

I don't buy this. They're a top 4 seed team in the East still without Khris as long as Giannis is here. I think Brogdon is more important to their success than Middleton and his loss hurts them more right now.

 

I don't have a problem keeping him depending on the circumstances but Middleton is not nearly such a team cornerstone that you're the top team in the NBA with him and a #7-#8 seed without.

 

Replacing Middleton with Snell or Wilson is a significant decrease in production both offensively and defensively. Not only that but you are also impacting the bench with Snell or Wilson starting. Both Snell and Wilson are better coming off the bench than starting.

[Baldkin]

Yeah, Mirotic isnt fitting in yet. Especially with Brogdon being out now, hope he finds some rhythm and a role before the playoffs start.

 

Not having Brogdon might be affecting this team more than we think.

 

It's not that. It's being down 3 guys at 1 position. Hill, Brogdon and Brown.

 

Attrition sets in at some point.

[RollieTime]

Bucks have waived Christian Wood and signed Tim Frazier. I think Wood is going to be a good player in this league and I am very disappointed that he was waived. I understand the need for adding a guard since they have so many injuries, but I think this one will come back to bite them down the road.

[SeaBass]

I made this counter-point on another board last week: The Bucks 2001 playoff run came after not winning a playoff series since 1989. They took the 76ers to 7 games in the ECF and game 7 came right down to the wire.

 

So yeah, the talking heads that keep saying they "haven't won in the playoffs" are just being ridiculously lazy.

 

I get frustrated by losses like this too but like some have said some nights they're going to struggle to score, that's just the NBA. They're really not getting blown out by anyone, their worst loss was by 20 pts to the Magic in February and, including that game, the Bucks have only lost by double digits 4 times all season. The other 3 were to the Blazers and Pacers by 15 and to Golden State by 10. That's pretty incredible.

 

I'm hoping Bud is keeping some stuff under wraps until it's needed in the playoffs.