Milwaukee Bucks 2019 - 20 Season Thread

[adambr2]

The long-term pressure for this franchise to have a deep playoff run is pretty immense right now. I have to think that anything less than advancing to the conference finals would be extremely damaging for our chances of keeping Giannis around. Pooching out in the opening round would be absolutely catastrophic. Giannis is aware as the rest of us as to how much help he got today.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Yeah I dunno. I said before this year that if the Bucks didn't win the East that Coach Bud would be on the hot seat. I got jumped all over but I didn't think it was that outrageous at the time. I don't know if Bubble World has earned some people mulligans. Of course if Giannis wants to leave the HC being on the hot seat is probably immaterial.

 

I'm not concerned about the Bucks beating Orlando. I am concerned about the level of play the last couple weeks as it has not done anything to inspire confidence about this team being ready for a run.

[pacopete4]

The Bucks haven’t been good since the restart. Maybe they find it but it sure looks like they’ve still got a long ways to go.

[adambr2]

Yeah I dunno. I said before this year that if the Bucks didn't win the East that Coach Bud would be on the hot seat. I got jumped all over but I didn't think it was that outrageous at the time. I don't know if Bubble World has earned some people mulligans. Of course if Giannis wants to leave the HC being on the hot seat is probably immaterial.

 

I'm not concerned about the Bucks beating Orlando. I am concerned about the level of play the last couple weeks as it has not done anything to inspire confidence about this team being ready for a run.

 

I wouldn't put the odds of losing to Orlando as more than low, but I also wouldn't put it at basically zero which is what I would have said back in February. I am just not sure how to compare the bubble NBA with pre-COVID NBA.

 

My guess right now is Bucks in 6. But it doesn't have the feel of a glorified exhibition tuneup series like the Pistons series last year.

 

Game 2 is pretty big. If they go down 2-0 I am not sure they are going to figure it out in time.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This is just my gut feeling so take it for the nothing it's worth, but I sense the bubble has leveled the playing field quite a bit. Home advantage in the NBA is significant, the most significant by far in the three major sports. All these guys are world class players, so when you just toss them into a more sterile environment it's more like the practice they're used to than the games. It absolutely sucks for the teams that were seeded high. It's not a good excuse for the Bucks to lose, but if I were a player I can't imagine this felt anything like the home playoff game you're used to.

[HiAndTight]

I remember when they lost the first game in the Boston series and there were people that pretty much wrote them off. This was a bad loss and they really need to get their crap together. But don't go writing them off. Let's see how they respond

 

 

I was pretty defeated after Game 1 vs Boston last year...I really thought Boston had a chance to slow down Giannis with Horford and the wings to be able to score.

 

Today's game...they just looked flat. I don't even think their offense was the problem as much as the defense. The Bucks just haven't been playing as hard defensively. When they do, they get some fast break points, that takes the pressure off the half court game and it changes everything.

 

 

But they're not what...4-10 in their last 14. It's not time to panic obviously...but it'd pretty damn alarming. I can't see them losing in the 1st round, but I could see a round 2 loss vs the Heat if they don't start to gel and get back to where they were earlier this season.

 

I really don't want to think about the Bucks heading into next year with Giannis due to become a FA having gone backwards thereby putting even more pressure on the team.

[HiAndTight]

Yeah I dunno. I said before this year that if the Bucks didn't win the East that Coach Bud would be on the hot seat. I got jumped all over but I didn't think it was that outrageous at the time. I don't know if Bubble World has earned some people mulligans. Of course if Giannis wants to leave the HC being on the hot seat is probably immaterial.

 

I'm not concerned about the Bucks beating Orlando. I am concerned about the level of play the last couple weeks as it has not done anything to inspire confidence about this team being ready for a run.

 

 

I think the pressure is more on the front office and Horst than on Bud. I may be wrong, but the owners weren't in total agreement about him in the first place and I really don't know what Bud is expected to do with this team.

 

This team is really only missing one thing IMO and it's a 2nd guy who can take someone of the dribble and get to the rim, score or kick it out. Bledsoe has all the ability in the world to be that guy but when we get to the playoffs, instead of going up and drawing contact and staying under control, he totally out of control, flailing and either turns it over or he misses badly. I just have lost all confidence he's ever going to figure it out.

 

And it's going to take a very creative GM to try and get an impact player here. You're left with the MLE that you can sign a guy for ~4/40 and a bi-annual and little more.

 

We've got the shooters, we've got length, we're only lacking that 2nd playmaker. Giannis can't do it all by himself...and Middleton is better with his back against the bucket in the mid range game or as a spot up shooter. He's a really nice player, but not the penetrator we need.

 

 

So they've got to figure out how to get it done with who they've got now and that means playing much better defense, getting going earlier and then of course knocking down the open shots that come with some fast break oppurtunities.

 

I think they'll win the next 4 vs Orlando....but given what we've seen since the shutdown, I'm not sure it's more than a coin flip at this point in a potential series vs the Heat.

 

 

I do think you're right about home court or the lack of really hurting the Bucks. If these were normal playoffs, you'd have game 1 at thome at 7 PM, you'd have the place going nuts and I think obviously that would translate to the court. But I mean...c'mon. We've still gotta be good enough to be able to beat a team like Orlando even in the sterile like atmosphere that is the bubble.

[FVBrewerFan]

We've got the shooters, we've got length, we're only lacking that 2nd playmaker. Giannis can't do it all by himself.

 

That's the problem, Giannis can't do it by himself but he wants to. Adding another playmaker would not matter, Giannis wants the ball in his hands all the time. This is Bud's failure, being able to convince Giannis that he'll be better, more importantly the team will be better if he doesn't start the offensive sets.

[patrickgpe]

This is Bud's failure, being able to convince Giannis that he'll be better, more importantly the team will be better if he doesn't start the offensive sets.

that's easy to say, but has there ever been an MVP that hasn't. that's great to say, but if he is the best player in the league, he is going to want to have the ball in his hands, or go somewhere where he can.

[FVBrewerFan]

This is Bud's failure, being able to convince Giannis that he'll be better, more importantly the team will be better if he doesn't start the offensive sets.

that's easy to say, but has there ever been an MVP that hasn't. that's great to say, but if he is the best player in the league, he is going to want to have the ball in his hands, or go somewhere where he can.

 

Shaq, or any Center who has ever been MVP. Bird, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, Kawhi, Barkley. That's just off the top of my head, not all were even MVP but could have been. I get he wants it in his hands, and he still should have the ball in his hands a lot. But it's not what's best for this offense. That only works when you can knock down the 3 at a high percentage, making yourself a triple threat.

[tmwiese55]

They don't really have shooters. The holes on the team are a PG who can shoot well, like the modern mold of lead Gs we see all over the playoffs right now. And the rest of the guys are not great shooters outside of Middleton, Hill, and of course Korver (but he's awful at everything else so..). So you have Giannis generating tons of wide open 3s being shot by blah/mediocre shooters like Bled, Pat, DDV, Lopezes, and Wes (bit better than the rest). If you watch the rest of the league, there is shooters galore and we don't have them.

 

For scheme stuff, the O right now is too much standing and watching just like vs Tor. There has to be more motion and ball movement. Ball screens have to happen. Big chunk of this is on Giannis for holding, dribbling and just barreling into the D. The D is obviously a mess right now. IDK if it's all scheme or what the issue is there, but they look old.

 

For hot seat, I'd guess I was one who said no way. I'd still say that as long as they win 2 rounds, probably even so if they lose to MIA as the stoppage messed everything up. They were clear cut east faves before that, now obviously not. Lose this round, yea the chatter is gonna start.

 

Another huge killer has been DDV turning to complete trash. He was an elite player all season. He's now awful, need him to get back or they have no shot. Him and Bled being out of it makes our G play be a joke compared to rest of league. At least Hill seems to be shooting better the last couple games, so hopefully he's back from a poor beginning to the restart. Now if they can get back on track the next 4 games and get guys like Bled and DDV back up to speed some confidence will come back.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I don't buy into this idea at all that Giannis is the problem because he wants the ball and so much and can't co-exist with a 2nd star. I am starting to believe though they need someone like Bradley Beal (I know) instead of Eric Bledsoe.

[tmwiese55]

Yea I didn't mean it like that as if he shouldn't want to dominate and be the man or that he shouldn't have tons of usage. More out of how they're trying to do it with just dribbling by himself at the top and going crashing in while everyone else stands. Granted some of this scheme/coaching too to not have more motion involved. There just has to be more passing and motion and then he can go nuts when he sees an easier crease than he has now. This was the same vs Tor too.

 

Even just last game the few times he was the screener/roller they got good results and a couple easy finishes for him, that has to come in more. But like you just said, they don't have that PG to shoot off that like a Beal could. Since they don't I'd just do it alot with Khris at this point, if they give him the midrange open shot cuz they sag on Giannis, shoot it.

 

And yea I don't think he'd have any problem co-existing with a 2nd star. Heck Mid this year was a top 12-18 player and they played together just fine. Who knows if Khris can maintain that level for years but he was this year. But overall I agree the better fit for that 2nd star would be the modern PGs we're seeing all over the playoffs now rather than someone like Khris. It's why I had a hard-on for Lillard for years hoping he'd demand his way out of Por to come here. But yea if we could add that guy (beal would be close enough) while also keeping Khris that's probably our best case scenario.

[HiAndTight]

I don't buy into this idea at all that Giannis is the problem because he wants the ball and so much and can't co-exist with a 2nd star. I am starting to believe though they need someone like Bradley Beal (I know) instead of Eric Bledsoe.

 

 

Beal would be just about the ideal fit on this team...but what would that take? DiVincezo to really break out next year and become a star and then trade him and Bledsoe's non-guaranteed salary for the following year?

 

 

I don't agree either that Giannis is the problem or that he demands the ball. I think he'd be thrilled to have someone else who could take more of the load off of him. I think he knows...as does everyone else, he's the best option by far.

[HiAndTight]

They don't really have shooters. The holes on the team are a PG who can shoot well, like the modern mold of lead Gs we see all over the playoffs right now. And the rest of the guys are not great shooters outside of Middleton, Hill, and of course Korver (but he's awful at everything else so..). So you have Giannis generating tons of wide open 3s being shot by blah/mediocre shooters like Bled, Pat, DDV, Lopezes, and Wes (bit better than the rest). If you watch the rest of the league, there is shooters galore and we don't have them.

 

For scheme stuff, the O right now is too much standing and watching just like vs Tor. There has to be more motion and ball movement. Ball screens have to happen. Big chunk of this is on Giannis for holding, dribbling and just barreling into the D. The D is obviously a mess right now. IDK if it's all scheme or what the issue is there, but they look old.

 

For hot seat, I'd guess I was one who said no way. I'd still say that as long as they win 2 rounds, probably even so if they lose to MIA as the stoppage messed everything up. They were clear cut east faves before that, now obviously not. Lose this round, yea the chatter is gonna start.

 

Another huge killer has been DDV turning to complete trash. He was an elite player all season. He's now awful, need him to get back or they have no shot. Him and Bled being out of it makes our G play be a joke compared to rest of league. At least Hill seems to be shooting better the last couple games, so hopefully he's back from a poor beginning to the restart. Now if they can get back on track the next 4 games and get guys like Bled and DDV back up to speed some confidence will come back.

 

 

Hill hit 46 pct of his 3's

Middleton JUST barely missed a 50/40/90 season

Korver hit over 40 pct.

Matthews 36 pct.

Bled hit 34 pct. Slightly below average.

 

And they have bigs who can shoot

Ersan has been extremely consistent at 36.5 pct for his career and is right around there again this year.

Lopez-Didn't he smash Dirk's record for most 3's made by a 7 footer in a season last year? So he's not shooting it at a great clip for a SG, but he's a proven shooter for a big man.

 

 

That looks like enough shooters to be effective to me.

[tmwiese55]

Two good shooters doesn't add up vs the rest of the league. Korver is a 3rd but he's basically unplayable because of everything. Mathews is good enough/fine. That is not that good enough when comparing to the rest of the league. Lopez is good 'for a big guy' but he's still not a good shooter. Aaand, don't forget Giannis is generating a crazy amount of open shots that other teams aren't, and these other guys are still just mediocre. If you disagree I'd urge to watch the other games more closely.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I think that if you primarily watch one team, you will think that team is better at "shooting" than it is, because the game has changed so much. On most teams everyone can shoot now to some degree. Growing up it was normal to have 2 or 3 guys on the floor that could REALLY shoot. Someone like Larry Sanders would have no role or a very limited role on a team now because of that. It's all about stretching the floor now.

[nate82]

I am not all that worried about playing the Magic the Bucks should win and will win. The next series is more worrisome against the Heat. The Heat are probably the worst match up for the Bucks even before the pandemic. That series will go a full 7 games.

[adambr2]

We should not write off the Magic so quickly. It's not just one game. We're in a funk. We've been in a funk the last 15 games or so. We can't pretend everything is the same as it was in February.

 

It's not just us. The Lakers lost. The Clippers lost. Things just are just different than they were.

 

We need a nice 15-20 point win to start getting some confidence back and avoid a dangerous 0-2 hole where we'll REALLY start pressing, and I think we'll get it.

 

Bucks 119, Magic 101

[nate82]

We should not write off the Magic so quickly. It's not just one game. We're in a funk. We've been in a funk the last 15 games or so. We can't pretend everything is the same as it was in February.

 

It's not just us. The Lakers lost. The Clippers lost. Things just are just different than they were.

 

We need a nice 15-20 point win to start getting some confidence back and avoid a dangerous 0-2 hole where we'll REALLY start pressing, and I think we'll get it.

 

Bucks 119, Magic 101

 

I am not writing the Magic off I just don't believe they have the depth to win but Portland is a horrible match up for the Lakers and they could easily lose that series as Portland does a lot of things offensively that the Lakers are poor at stopping. The same thing the Lakers are poor at stopping offensively mainly guard play is what Houston is good at. The Lakers have no one to stop Westbrook or Harden. Portland just has Lillard that the Lakers are having a hard time guarding. The Lakers are in more trouble than the Bucks are though the Bucks may also be lucky to get out of the 2nd round.

[owbc]

Orlando seems to have come back down to earth.

[adambr2]

To be fair they are shooting out of their minds bad. 4 for 34 and 1 for 15 from 3. They are going to be hard pressed to meet their end of 119-101.

[owbc]

To be fair they are shooting out of their minds bad. 4 for 34 and 1 for 15 from 3. They are going to be hard pressed to meet their end of 119-101.

 

Yeah, the Bucks' offense is still a work in progress. But it sure is good timing for Bucks to get hot behind the arc while their opponent is ice cold.

[adambr2]

Are we allowed to breathe on them without being whistled?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I think we can expect more games like this. The crowd is such a huge factor in NBA games getting way out of hand, I just think not having one at all is really going to be an equalizer for medicore teams.