Bucks 2020-2021 season thread

[nate82]

It looks like Bud has changed the offense a bit and Giannis is struggling a little bit with the changes. He hasn't been Giannis yet though he is still playing at an elite level.

 

Middleton is thriving and Portis also. Jrue looks as though he is struggling a bit at times also. I think once Giannis and Jrue start to settle in this team is going to take off offensively.

[CheezWizHed]

It looks like Bud has changed the offense a bit and Giannis is struggling a little bit with the changes. He hasn't been Giannis yet though he is still playing at an elite level.

 

Middleton is thriving and Portis also. Jrue looks as though he is struggling a bit at times also. I think once Giannis and Jrue start to settle in this team is going to take off offensively.

 

I've only had the chance to watch 1 game this season... any observations on what has changed?

[CheezWizHed]

It looks like Bud has changed the offense a bit and Giannis is struggling a little bit with the changes. He hasn't been Giannis yet though he is still playing at an elite level.

 

Middleton is thriving and Portis also. Jrue looks as though he is struggling a bit at times also. I think once Giannis and Jrue start to settle in this team is going to take off offensively.

 

I've only had the chance to watch 1 game this season... any observations on what has changed?

[nate82]

I've only had the chance to watch 1 game this season... any observations on what has changed?

 

Giannis isn't handling the ball as much as he used to previously. I believe that is the main change also when you look at all of the assists that the Bucks are putting up you can see the ball is moving more and it isn't just Giannis bully ball anymore.

[SeaBass]

It looks like Bud has changed the offense a bit and Giannis is struggling a little bit with the changes. He hasn't been Giannis yet though he is still playing at an elite level.

 

Middleton is thriving and Portis also. Jrue looks as though he is struggling a bit at times also. I think once Giannis and Jrue start to settle in this team is going to take off offensively.

 

I've only had the chance to watch 1 game this season... any observations on what has changed?

If you have access to The Athletic this article kind of talks about some of the tweaks they installed going into this season:

https://theathletic.com/2281277/2021/01/11/bucks-new-offense-blue-dunker-spot/

[CheezWizHed]

I knew I should've taken that Tmobile offer of a free year of The Athletic...

 

Thanks for the summary.

[Baldkin]

Things that have really changed offensively:

 

1) They are putting a guy in the dunker spot. On the baseline, just outside the lane, usually opposite where the on-ball action will be.

2) They are setting way more ball screens. Giannis has become a willing screener this year for guys not named Kyle Korver.

3) People other than Giannis handle the ball more. Bud spent 2 years trying to unlock playmaker Giannis and maybe he just never gets there. He is a willing passer, but he isn't a good playmaker. He doesn't see the double team coming and make the right read. He still gets surprised by the double team, then looks around, thinks about the right read and then tries to make that pass.

[SeaBass]

Watching Bucks vs Pels and Bledsoe is shooting 7-12 from 3 lol. 25 pts, 9-19 FGs overall. Because of course he is.

[adambr2]

And Jrue bricks a free throw in the last minute and then travels to seal it for the Pelicans. Sounds about right.

[nate82]

Watching Bucks vs Pels and Bledsoe is shooting 7-12 from 3 lol. 25 pts, 9-19 FGs overall. Because of course he is.

 

Every once in awhile a squirrel finds a blind nut.

[PinaMadness]

Is it just me or does every team set their franchise records for three point shooting against Bud's Bucks?

[HiAndTight]

Watching Bucks vs Pels and Bledsoe is shooting 7-12 from 3 lol. 25 pts, 9-19 FGs overall. Because of course he is.

 

Every once in awhile a squirrel finds a blind nut.

 

Yeah, if he finds it in Man, then I'll be a bit more annoyed. His regular-season performances were never the issue. If he could have been just the same player in the post-season, I think there's a good chance we've got a banner hanging right now and we go back to the finals last year.

[HiAndTight]

It looks like Bud has changed the offense a bit and Giannis is struggling a little bit with the changes. He hasn't been Giannis yet though he is still playing at an elite level.

 

Middleton is thriving and Portis also. Jrue looks as though he is struggling a bit at times also. I think once Giannis and Jrue start to settle in this team is going to take off offensively.

 

I've only had the chance to watch 1 game this season... any observations on what has changed?

If you have access to The Athletic this article kind of talks about some of the tweaks they installed going into this season:

https://theathletic.com/2281277/2021/01/11/bucks-new-offense-blue-dunker-spot/

 

 

Can someone let me know what they think of the Atlantic? I've got Subs to PFF, ESPN and a couple other things, but not that. ESPN is probably gonna go..rendering that site useless as it seems most of the good content is behind a paywall, but I'll live.

 

But it seems like there are a lot of good articles in the Atlantic. Is that because I can't see them so I'm always guessing or getting the cliff notes or is it really that good of a site? Thanks in advance.

[nate82]

 

 

Can someone let me know what they think of the Atlantic? I've got Subs to PFF, ESPN and a couple other things, but not that. ESPN is probably gonna go..rendering that site useless as it seems most of the good content is behind a paywall, but I'll live.

 

But it seems like there are a lot of good articles in the Atlantic. Is that because I can't see them so I'm always guessing or getting the cliff notes or is it really that good of a site? Thanks in advance.

 

The Athletic is worth the subscription. They have recently unveiled they will have more sports betting information also so if the quality of their articles continue into that realm it is definitely worth paying for the Athletic.

[SeaBass]

The Athletic is good and worth a subscription but I'd recommend waiting for a promo which they seem to do fairly often. Because of that I wouldn't sub unless there was a discount unless you just can't wait. I want to say back in November they had a deal for a year subscription for a dollar a month. I wouldn't expect that great of a deal to be common but I've gotten some good ones over the years. Finding 30% off shouldn't be hard.

 

Nice part is no ads on their site, and no annoying auto play videos, in addition to quality content.

[stoutdude04]

Charlotte 5 of 7 from 3 to start. Early, but man the 3 point defense has seemed bad.

[stoutdude04]

Now 10 of 13 from 3.

[lcbj68c]

Hornets 11-15 from 3pt land, just being allowed the space to jack em up. #ThisTeamBlows

[homer]

And the Bucks are down 4 at the half.

[wallus]

I honestly don't feel they play hard enough on defense (minus Jrue). Gosh, I sound like Jason Kidd.

[adambr2]

Trail by 18, find a way to come back and take the lead, and still find a way to get blown out by being dominated by a mediocre team in the last 6 minutes.

 

I don't know what happened to this team when COVID hit but they have not been a bit of fun since then.

[HiAndTight]

Trail by 18, find a way to come back and take the lead, and still find a way to get blown out by being dominated by a mediocre team in the last 6 minutes.

 

I don't know what happened to this team when COVID hit but they have not been a bit of fun since then.

 

 

Yeah, it sucks...but it looks to me like they're trying to create an offense with more movement, more cutting, screening, and less Giannis on 5 type ball.

 

That may not benefit them in the regular season...but if they can gel by mid-season, it should make a difference for the playoffs.

[Baldkin]

Turns out revamping both the offense & defense (which is needed), getting 7 new players and then playing 19 games in 34 days makes it tough to actually practice and get better at those things.

 

I have faith they'll figure it out, but so often they don't seem like they are on the same page as a team on the floor.

[brewerfan82]

The past couple years it's been obvious part of their strategy is to play shut down defense at the basket at the expense of giving up more 3-point opportunities. If the opponent shoots three's out of their mind, they have a chance to win and good for them, but it's difficult for opponents to shoot three's at a high enough percentage to win consistently.

 

I was curious to see just how accurately that has played out so far this year, and it's pretty remarkable, lol. (screenshot of my spreadsheet: https://i.imgur.com/4rEf5uk.png)

 

Here are some key findings:

 

- The Bucks have won all but one game where the opponent shot UNDER 43% from 3pt range (with the one exception being a 38.5% effort by the Heat where they still made 15 3-pointers)

- The Bucks have lost every game the opponent has shot OVER 43% from 3pt range

- The opponent has made AT LEAST 15 3-pointers in every Bucks loss (although the Bucks have also managed to win a couple games where the opponent made 17 and 22 3-pointers)

- The Bucks shoot the 3 at a higher rate in their wins than their losses (43% vs. 33%), but the difference isn't as large as it is for their opponents in their wins versus losses (47% vs. 33%)

- The team that has the better 3pt percentage has won 15 of the 19 games (with the Bucks winning 3 games where the opponent shot a higher percentage).

 

It's also interesting to note that the Bucks rank 4th in the NBA in opponent 3pt attempts per game. I'm not sure if that has more to do with the lack of defense against the 3 or if opponents are just going into the game knowing their only chance to win is to knock down a ton of 3's, so they come out blazing.

 

But anyways, keep the opponent under 43% from 3-point range and 15 total 3-pointers and the Bucks win. Does that mean they need to do better at defending the 3 (while possibly taking away from their interior defense) or do they just need better luck in their opponents not going nuts from 3-point range against them? *shrugs* But I thought it was interesting none-the-less.

[sveumrules]

Bryn Forbes is to Stephen Curry as Danny DeVito is to Arnold Schwarzenegger.