OMGAWD……just saw they won. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻
@Blair Kiel posted:I stopped following when Michigan Packer told me it was a blow-out.
What did I miss?
Tyler Herro with multiple turnovers while playing point guard and Jimmy Butler scoring 0 points in the last 36 minutes of the game.
Heat were up 14 with under 6 minutes left.
Enough with letting Tucker go for 7M. Add in the luxury tax, and it’s more like 20M. They are already paying a healthy amount of tax by bringing back Portis. And let’s get real for a second - does anyone think Tucker - at age 37 - will keep this up come the postseason? I sure don’t. The Heat are idiots for playing him as many minutes in the regular season as they have been. It’s nothing like his last season with Milwaukee. The dude wasn’t playing much before the trade and he was “hurt” when he arrived so he was fresh come playoff time and he balled out. So I’m done talking about Tucker.
I’m also done talking about Miami as a contender in the East. No different than Brooklyn. They aren’t. Brooklyn has too many question marks and chemistry issues and Miami just isn’t good and physical enough. Yes they have a good bench, but unless Butler is all in and inspired Bam cannot carry that team and Herro and Robinson will get abused.
Yes I have concerns about Milwaukee especially on defense and rebounding if Lopez doesn’t return. But if he does? This is still the team to beat in either conference. Simply put, the Bucks have Giannis and other teams don’t. Until Harden and CP3 show they aren’t playoff chokers I can’t trust Philly or Phoenix. Golden State isn’t the same team without Green. Memphis is sort of intriguing as is Chicago but again, do you see either team beating Milwaukee 4 out of 7? Not likely.
As for UW hoops, if Davis plays like he did earlier in the season they could go very far in the tourney. But I worry about another team that knows how to play D and can hit shots. Still, they have a shot.
@Blair Kiel posted:I stopped following when Michigan Packer told me it was a blow-out.
What did I miss?
He hardly ever over reacts
@Tschmack posted:Enough with letting Tucker go for 7M. Add in the luxury tax, and it’s more like 20M. They are already paying a healthy amount of tax by bringing back Portis. And let’s get real for a second - does anyone think Tucker - at age 37 - will keep this up come the postseason? I sure don’t. The Heat are idiots for playing him as many minutes in the regular season as they have been. It’s nothing like his last season with Milwaukee. The dude wasn’t playing much before the trade and he was “hurt” when he arrived so he was fresh come playoff time and he balled out. So I’m done talking about Tucker.
I’m also done talking about Miami as a contender in the East. No different than Brooklyn. They aren’t. Brooklyn has too many question marks and chemistry issues and Miami just isn’t good and physical enough. Yes they have a good bench, but unless Butler is all in and inspired Bam cannot carry that team and Herro and Robinson will get abused.
Yes I have concerns about Milwaukee especially on defense and rebounding if Lopez doesn’t return. But if he does? This is still the team to beat in either conference. Simply put, the Bucks have Giannis and other teams don’t. Until Harden and CP3 show they aren’t playoff chokers I can’t trust Philly or Phoenix. Golden State isn’t the same team without Green. Memphis is sort of intriguing as is Chicago but again, do you see either team beating Milwaukee 4 out of 7? Not likely.
As for UW hoops, if Davis plays like he did earlier in the season they could go very far in the tourney. But I worry about another team that knows how to play D and can hit shots. Still, they have a shot.
We'll have to disagree about Tucker, although I agree with you on the Heat being idiots for playing him big minutes in the regular season (just like Nash is an idiot for playing KD 35-40 minutes in regular season games - no wonder a guy with a repaired Achilles is out right now). In the 17 games Durant was active for before he got hurt, he played over 40 minutes 8 times. That's coaching malpractice.
The problem I have isn't so much that we didn't pay Tucker that but we chose to pay even more for Grayson Allen to go into the luxury tax. We had Wes Matthews playing in crunch time instead of him last night. I guess a better argument is that Wes Matthews at the vet minimum is a better investment than Tucker at 7 million. They give you the same things - great defense and minimal offense.
Grayson Allen is 75% of Bryn Forbes' outside shooting with the ability to finish at the rim (which is obviously huge), but 10 million is a lot of money to pay someone to sit on the bench in 4th quarters of playoff games.
The other thing is that Bud and the Bucks wouldn't be playing Tucker big regular season minutes for exactly the reasons you describe above. He'd be fresher as a member of the Bucks than he will be as a member of the Heat.
I still think Miami is a more likely team to get through the East than the Nets or Sixers. They were playing without Lowry last night. Lowry, Adebayo, Tucker, and Butler are probably the best group of 4 defenders on any team in the NBA. Middleton and Holiday just abused Herro and Robinson last night, but it looks a lot different with Lowry playing (just like the Bucks defense looks a lot different with Lopez).
I think the Heats defense is good enough to make someone other than Giannis, Middleton, or Holiday beat you. Last year in the playoffs, Bryn Forbes went off and that turned what would have been a tight series into a sweep. Can Allen, Matthews, Hill, and Connaughton (and maybe Portis) hit enough open threes to make them pay for building the Giannis wall with Adebayo and Tucker and matching up Lowry on Holiday and Butler on Middleton?
I think they are purposely resting Hill and to some extent Lopez because they know they will need those guys for the playoff run. Pat C is a little different because he’s younger, but clearly Bud knows the regular season isn’t as important to wear your guys down.
I guess I’m higher on Allen in that he’s a bigger body and is stronger and more athletic than either Forbes or Teague last year. He’s also hitting 40% from 3 for the season and will get open looks.
Matthews may not be Tucker, but like Hill, he’s a proven vet that can give you 12-15 quality minutes a game especially on defense.
That’s a good point about Lowry, but his numbers are down this year and he’s not getting any younger either at 35. In another 3 weeks he turns 36. Spolstra is playing him 35 minutes per game. That’s puzzling but it’s also due to the fact that as good as Robinson and Herro have been scoring points they play no defense and will get physically abused by guys like Matthews and Hill and Holiday and Middleton. Lowry at least can hold his own.
People love to harp on Holiday and Middleton (at times), but given how well they play on D and hit free throws they aren’t liabilities in crunch time and both guys have proven they can make big baskets in big moments.
In essence, Miami needs Tucker and Lowry to play in crunch time but since both guys are logging so many minutes and are older to begin with I really question how effective they will be in the playoffs - especially if they advance deeper into the playoffs.
Tucker was really good against Miami and Brooklyn, but not as effective against Atlanta or Phoenix.
