Grayson Allen incredible today
Hey Hubie, Lavine just put his shoulder into Giannis's chest on that drive. Why isn't that an offensive foul?
LaVine with a dirty play to try to bait Portis.
Holiday in your face Bulls long bomb
3 down.
13 to go.
Bucks win! 119-95. Game 5 in The FiServ Forum on Wednesday at 6:30pm. GO BUCKS!!!!
The way the bench is responding after the Middleton injury has been inspiring... just like last year after the Giannis injury,
Didnât watch because some folks said âseason overââĶ.when Middleton went down. It must be hard to go through life with your glass half-full.
If you watched the playoffs last year whenever it seemed like Milwaukee was in trouble they flipped the switch. Same thing appears to be happening in this series. Just need one more to move on.
@Blair Kiel posted:Didnât watch because some folks said âseason overââĶ.when Middleton went down. It must be hard to go through life with your glass half-full.
I don't think missing Middleton is as much of a problem for this series. Allen going off like Forbes did last year against Miami has turned this series into a breeze. The Bulls won Game 2 because the Bucks played about as poorly as possible on offense, DeRozan went off, AND Middleton went down.
I don't think Allen going off is going to happen against the Celtics' defense. Middleton can get his shots against tough defense in a way Allen can't. I thought the Celtics were the toughest matchup for them even fully healthy. I'd feel better about a matchup with the Sixers or Heat than I would the Celtics - especially without Middleton.
I agree on the Celts. Should be interesting to watch.
@MichiganPacker posted:I don't think missing Middleton is as much of a problem for this series. Allen going off like Forbes did last year against Miami has turned this series into a breeze. The Bulls won Game 2 because the Bucks played about as poorly as possible on offense, DeRozan went off, AND Middleton went down.
Don't forget Portis getting knocked out of game 2.
Bucks need to beat Chicago first then worry about Boston.
Letâs just hope Grayson Allen has come out of what sort of seemed like a slump for quite some time. When I saw him early in the regular season, I thought he was a fantastic pickup. As the season wore on, he just seemed to regress to the point he was a liability at times.
He definitely hasnât been a liability these last 2 games, heâs been a huge asset. I think realistically heâs going to step back a little bit, but only because he played almost perfectly today and perfection is hard to sustain. But if he keeps being an asset throughout these playoffs, maybe they can get by without Middleton for awhile.
@MichiganPacker posted:I don't think missing Middleton is as much of a problem for this series. Allen going off like Forbes did last year against Miami has turned this series into a breeze. The Bulls won Game 2 because the Bucks played about as poorly as possible on offense, DeRozan went off, AND Middleton went down.
I don't think Allen going off is going to happen against the Celtics' defense. Middleton can get his shots against tough defense in a way Allen can't. I thought the Celtics were the toughest matchup for them even fully healthy. I'd feel better about a matchup with the Sixers or Heat than I would the Celtics - especially without Middleton.
Same here. The Celtics will be the Bucks toughest post season opponent.
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Watching last night's Pelicans game, the Suns sure do miss Booker, though I think getting NOLA to eliminate them is a tall order.
Just glad the Bucks avoided the Juggernaut Nets. The likes of Stephen A were so right.
BTW, how the fuck do I know what he was saying when I havenât watch a single second of any of his shows in over a year? Too many people promoting his shit. Hell, thatâs what Iâm doing now. Bullshit really does sell.
Boston looks good, no question about it. But they arenât the 1996 Bulls either.
Milwaukee presents a whole different list of challenges than Brooklyn does on both ends of the court. The only real advantage the Celtics have is home court, but this team has proven time and time again they can win on the road.
Brooklyn basically traded James Harden and Paul Millsap for Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in terms of who is playing this year. I doubt they still make the trade if they knew Simmons wasn't going to play. However, they are still better off longterm by dumping Harden. Harden at 47 million next year is probably going to be a terrible contract, and they'll try to extend him beyond that.
Both the Simmons and Harden contract situations are terrible.
Also, how did Brooklyn justify letting Carter go for nothing?
Boston sweeps Brooklyn. Should the Bucks close out Chicago that's who's up next.
Boy the Nets, like the Lakers and Vikings, always pre-season champs, failures in the real world. Thought Nets could do it tonight, but Celts closed them out and will get some rest before we take them on.
Carter has been a smaller and quicker version of PJ Tucker. Dude plays relentless on D.
Philly got beat handily at home tonight. Up 3-0 now itâs 3-2 and the Sixers are trending in the wrong direction.
@fightphoe93 posted:Letâs just hope Grayson Allen has come out of what sort of seemed like a slump for quite some time. When I saw him early in the regular season, I thought he was a fantastic pickup. As the season wore on, he just seemed to regress to the point he was a liability at times.
He definitely hasnât been a liability these last 2 games, heâs been a huge asset. I think realistically heâs going to step back a little bit, but only because he played almost perfectly today and perfection is hard to sustain. But if he keeps being an asset throughout these playoffs, maybe they can get by without Middleton for awhile.
I have an idea as to why Allen is playing so well, in Middleton's absence. Allen is shooting shots and threes from the spots Middleton shoots from. Allen alluded to that in a post game interview, the other day. It was an interesting take on his recent success. He was saying that when Middleton is playing, he(Allen) has to move to a different spot to take shots and now that Middleton is out, Allen moves to Middleton's spots around the arc.
@YATittle posted:Watching last night's Pelicans game, the Suns sure do miss Booker, though I think getting NOLA to eliminate them is a tall order.
Hubie Brown, the color announcer for the last Bucks-Bulls game, predicted that the Pelicans will win their series with the Sun's and much of it is due to Booker being injured.
I love how much Allenâs playing well pisses off the Chicago fans.
In the NBA, if you are wide ass open you should be hitting a higher percentage of your shots. Portis and Allen normally shoot the 3 at a 40% and 41% clip respectively. So they are good long range shooters.
In games 3-4, Portis and Allen have had and have made a lot of uncontested 3s while the Bulls try to focus on and slow down Giannis. That strategy has failed miserably for Chicago. Giannis is a very good passer and will find those guys open on the wing.
While Allen might not be defensive player that Middleton is heâs a very solid offensive player. Heâs arguably an elite shooter if you donât challenge him or contest his shot. Whatâs impressed me the most is he has been adequate on D in this series as well.
Unless Derozan and Lavine go crazy the Bulls will have a tough time beating the Bucks head to head. The one game they won Milwaukee didnât play well and still almost stole it.
This is the challenge playing a team like Milwaukee. Giannis draws so much attention that if you try to double him someone will be open. Portis, Allen, Holiday, Middleton all shot 40-42% from 3 this season. Carter and Pat C were around 38-39% from 3. Matthews and Lopez were lower but in the playoffs have proven if you leave them open they can bury long range shots as well.
They also defend and rebound as well as any team in the league, and Giannis isnât a complete liability at the FT line anymore.
Boston would be their next opponent and they will be a much tougher out, but letâs not forget the Bucks arenât the Nets defensively. Not even close. Tatum made a living in the series shooting over his defender or taking it inside while being defended by a guy like Bruce Brown that is maybe 6â4â at best.
Couldn't believe Tatum fouled out last night and the Nets didn't take advantage of that.
If the Bucks-Celtics series happens, the thing that may decide it is how many flop calls Marcus Smart gets against Giannis. The margin for error without Middleton is much lower and it will be harder to manage time with Giannis on the bench with foul trouble without Middleton.
Allen is at least as good a shooter as Middleton when the shots are wide open. Middleton was off in Game 1, but he was 5 for 7 from three in Game 2 once he knocked the rust off. The Bulls might change defensive schemes in Game 5 and just decide to let Giannis go off, but limit Allen by not digging down on Giannis when he has the ball with that defender. Let Giannis get 40, but limit Allen's open looks, might be their best chance.
However, Middleton is so valuable in the playoffs when the defenses get locked in because he's one of the top 3-4 guys in the league in hitting contested mid-range shots. Allen can't back a guy and shoot over him. Middleton is HOF-level at that. He's 80% of peak Carmelo Anthony on offense combined with being an excellent (and willing defender). I guess Portis is the guy they go to against the Celtics when they need someone to make a contested mid-range shot in crunch time without Middleton.
The old Sid Hartman ployâĶ.setting up the loss.
Zach Levine is on Covid protocols. Will miss game 5 against the Bucks.
Gee, that's a shame.....
@mrtundra posted:Zach Levine is on Covid protocols. Will miss game 5 against the Bucks.
DeRozan might take 50 shots.