Milwaukee Bucks 2019 - 20 Season Thread

[homer]

Pre-season is over. Time to get to business. First game is a tough one @ Houston.

 

Can they get to 60 wins?

Will they be able to replace Malcolm Brogdon's production?

Will Dragan Bender play meaningful minutes?

Can they trot out a Giannis, Lopez, Lopez, Bender, Ersan/Wilson lineup just for fun?

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Don't ask me how I know this, but the Bucks are going to win the 2019-20 NBA Championship

[young guns]

I'm pumped! Cant wait for real games to start.

[homer]

Don't ask me how I know this, but the Bucks are going to win the 2019-20 NBA Championship

 

Don't you live in Vegas? The fix is in!

[RollieTime]

The last quadruple-double was David Robinson in 1994. I’ll say Giannis will have one quadruple-double this season with the Bucks putting up another 60+ win season.

[GAME05]

I'm looking forward to seeing how Budenholzer has planned to attack the Giannis Wall, which I'm expecting to see against Giannis every time he brings it up. I think the key is to have quick shooters race up to get ahead of Giannis to take an outlet pass for 3, but we'll see. And hopefully the Bucks improve their half-court offense this year, which was pretty bland last year.

 

I still think the Hill contract is bad, and I'm not expecting Bender to see many meaningful minutes unless someone is injured. Also expecting Giannis to go about 25% from three on about 2.2 attempts per game for the season.

[FVBrewerFan]

Pre-season is over. Time to get to business. First game is a tough one @ Houston.

 

Can they get to 60 wins? YES

Will they be able to replace Malcolm Brogdon's production? YES

Will Dragan Bender play meaningful minutes? YES, well depends on the definition I guess

Can they trot out a Giannis, Lopez, Lopez, Bender, Ersan/Wilson lineup just for fun? YES. Well, close. Substitue Middleton for Bender and I think they'll try it.

[Mr Southpaw]

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2019/10/21/bucks-pat-connaughton-competes-kyle-korver-wes-matthews/4050964002/

 

Nice article on Pat and Donte. I hope to see both of them starting at different times this year at shooting guard. I am very excited about our different options.

[tmwiese55]

Bledsoe is gonna start opening game on Thursday. That's nice and all, hope they're not rushing anything though. Regular season should just be a formality this year.

[long ball]

Bledsoe is gonna start opening game on Thursday. That's nice and all, hope they're not rushing anything though. Regular season should just be a formality this year.

 

Eric Nehm mentioned on Locked on Bucks a week or so ago that it's more of a pain tolerance thing and not at serious risk of re-injury/re-aggravation/worsening. I'll take that at face value since I'm not familiar with this type of injury.

 

Not that any single regular season is that important, but Bledsoe is pretty important defensively vs Houston.

[patrickgpe]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2859475-giannis-decision-to-re-sign-with-bucks-a-lot-more-difficult-if-team-struggles

 

i wonder if this means if the bucks don't win it all, I'm gone. I would love to know what he considers underperforming. Yes, i'll be very disappointed if they don't get atleast to the ECF and play a deep series in it, but its so hard to make all of the way.I grant, that the only team right now that concerns me is philly, so if they don't get to the ECF i'll be royally disappointed.

 

also it must be noted that most likely if the bucks struggle, it will be at least partially because of him.

 

I know the media will be asking him all season about it, but i wish he would focus on bball, and not answer any questions about next summer.

[tmwiese55]

The interview was from last spring. So prior to them not underperforming in the playoffs. I don't put too much weight in it, to me its just saying "yea if the team isn't good I have to consider my option". which he should. Sure looks like the team is good to me.

 

Also, I don't see what good teams could have cap space to sign him. Basically, his best spot to win will be in MKE unless he wants to somehow finagle a trade like AD did. Something like, saying he's decided he's out and I want to go to GSW. Which forces MKE's hand to trading him for Draymond's contract and 3 Firsts

[long ball]

Ya I'm not any more concerned about the quote given the timing of it and I haven't read the full "study" so I don't know the full context. It's essentially what I'd expect.

 

I would not trade Giannis if he doesn't sign an extension this off season though. I'd just want to play it out and see if they win in 2021. If the Bucks don't have Giannis they won't win a title so I don't really care how much longer the rebuild would be if they lose him for nothing.

 

Keep in mind, the super max contract is like $100mm more than any other team can offer him. That's a ton of money to walk away from.

[HiAndTight]

I'm looking forward to seeing how Budenholzer has planned to attack the Giannis Wall, which I'm expecting to see against Giannis every time he brings it up. I think the key is to have quick shooters race up to get ahead of Giannis to take an outlet pass for 3, but we'll see. And hopefully the Bucks improve their half-court offense this year, which was pretty bland last year.

 

I still think the Hill contract is bad, and I'm not expecting Bender to see many meaningful minutes unless someone is injured. Also expecting Giannis to go about 25% from three on about 2.2 attempts per game for the season.

 

 

The Hill contract wasn't good, neither was the Middleton contract, but you have to overpay sometimes. If Hill's as awful as he was in the regular season but as good as he was in the playoffs, he's worth it.

 

I also think the "Giannis Wall," is exaggerated. Teams aren't game planning in the regular season like that and the only team that was really able to pull it off was Toronto and even then only after they put Kawhi on him. He'll Euro step around everyone but Philly and vs Philly, he'll just have to work harder to get points. At least in the East. The Clippers are the obvious favorites, but who knows how things will play out over the next ~95-100 games before we'd even get to them.

 

I don't think you see the Bucks do anything different this year. It's just a matter of growth as a team and for Giannis personally. And even then, it's really about maintaining what they did in the regular season and then taking the next step in the post-season.

 

And I certainly hope he's improved his shot. He was hitting 30 pct two years ago, so if he's back down to 25 this year....that's not a good sign. It's a sign that he's stagnating and I don't think he's there yet. Though probably more important than his 3 point shot is that 15-18 footer, or that runner so he doesn't have to finish through contact at the rim the majority of the time. If he can shoot 35 pct from 3...a attainable goal IMO and add that mid range game, he's going to be impossible for anyone to guard. And giving his shot, I don't see why he wouldn't continue to improve.

 

 

As for Bender...I don't know what to expect. He'd probably take minutes from Ersan(likely to miss some games(Wilson) and that's about it at the 4. They're not real deep there, though obviously Giannis can and does play there. If he plays, it'll be because he's fitting in with the offense well and knocking down shots. I'm a huge fan of that signing. Very little risk in signing the 7 footer who can shoot and was drafted 4th just a couple years ago and is still just 21.

 

What I've read about him is that he's a smart player, a really good passing big and he's got a soft touch. I don't think they're counting on him, but if he does produce, that'd be huge for the organization.

 

 

 

I'm gonna miss Brogdon, but after coming to terms with that loss, I'm excited about this roster. I can't wait to see if Cam Reynolds can establish himself as a player in this league. He looked like he had the potential to be a late bloomer last year with the Wolves. Bender still has a ton of upside, Donte Divencenzo has had a great pre-season(or so I hear). DJ Wilson....there are a lot of young guys who are going to be in positions to thrive with Giannis, Middleton and Bledsoe taking up most of the attention.

 

I think the Bucks finish with 62 wins, the #1 seed and the go to the Finals to face...hopefully ANYONE but the Clippers. If they play any team other than the Clipps, I think they'll win the title this year and Giannis will sign the Super Max.

[nate82]

I think the Bucks will win 60 games this year. Giannis will be the MVP again and they will reach the Finals and win against the Clippers in 7-games in Milwaukee in a double overtime thriller where Giannis and Kawhi score 70 each.

[HiAndTight]

I'm not calling anyone a liar....but if you're a Bucks fan and you're not worried about anything Giannis says that isn't, "I'm definitely staying in Milwaukee," you're lying

[patrickgpe]

I'm not calling anyone a liar....but if you're a Bucks fan and you're not worried about anything Giannis says that isn't, "I'm definitely staying in Milwaukee," you're lying

yup, KD said he would never leave OKC too. you have to be concerned that some star is going to convince him to become a package deal. Lets face it Milwaukee has a bunch of really good players but no STARS besides Giannis.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'm not calling anyone a liar....but if you're a Bucks fan and you're not worried about anything Giannis says that isn't, "I'm definitely staying in Milwaukee," you're lying

 

Just came out that he was misquoted, which is pretty much what I expected. Much ado about absolutely nothing.

[tmwiese55]

I'm not worried about him resigning and I'm not lying. I would acknowledge that if the team falls apart a couple years from now that he could pull the superstar trade move. But as of now I have no fear of him not taking the 250 mil a few months from now.

[homer]

I'm not calling anyone a liar....but if you're a Bucks fan and you're not worried about anything Giannis says that isn't, "I'm definitely staying in Milwaukee," you're lying

 

Just came out that he was misquoted, which is pretty much what I expected. Much ado about absolutely nothing.

 

He says he was misquoted. Apparently the convo was recorded so should be able to clear it up.

[FVBrewerFan]

I don't care about comments, I care about actions. And I'll be concerned until he actually signs the super max. I used to believe it was a 95% chance he stays, but now I'm closer to 50/50. IF his agent, TV networks, family members, his girlfriend, and most of all Nike all encourage him to move that's a lot to overcome. Not saying any of those ARE putting pressure on him, just noting if most/all of those sources are encouraging him to leave, it's not as easy as "I'm loyal, I love Milwaukee." Sorry, I'm just not that naive.

[homer]

So you don't care about comments but you care about....non existent comments? Otherwise it's weird you've gone from 90 to 50/50.

[FVBrewerFan]

So you don't care about comments but you care about....non existent comments? Otherwise it's weird you've gone from 90 to 50/50.

 

No. He did not sign it yet when he could have- that's beyond comments. That's not why I went from 95 to 50/50 though, that's more about months going by and taking the emotion out of it. Realizing a superstar staying in Milwaukee has never been something to rely on.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I think anyone saying they are 100% sure is more like 70% and just saying 100% because they'll probably be right. I will admit concern. There is absolutely no predicting what athletes do in these situations and we know nothing. It could be anything from his girlfriend/their kid not wanting to spend so much time in MKE, long, brutal winters wearing on him, better commercial exposure, we have no idea. He can say all the right things to make his life easier and then "change his mind" when it counts.

 

I would avoid betting on this completely but if forced to do so...I think he stays. But I learned a long time ago you don't take pro athletes at their word.

[FVBrewerFan]

I think anyone saying they are 100% sure is more like 70% and just saying 100% because they'll probably be right. I will admit concern. There is absolutely no predicting what athletes do in these situations and we know nothing. It could be anything from his girlfriend/their kid not wanting to spend so much time in MKE, long, brutal winters wearing on him, better commercial exposure, we have no idea. He can say all the right things to make his life easier and then "change his mind" when it counts.

 

I would avoid betting on this completely but if forced to do so...I think he stays. But I learned a long time ago you don't take pro athletes at their word.

 

Exactly. And I'll say this. If he wants to leave for any of those reasons, fine. But if I hear about not being able t win here, etc., that's a different story. Bucks have done everything Giannis wanted then to do. He wanted everyone back, wanted his brother on the team, etc. If they don't win, it will largely be because of himself anyhow, just like last year.

 

I'm really not consumed by this anyhow, i'm just going to enjoy the season and try to avoid all the off court noise.