Bucks up 8 in the third.
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Bucks let what was once an 18 point lead get down to 2 after Giannis misses a pair of FTs.
Just sleepwalking right now.
Tie game going into the 4th.
Biggest problem? DDV.
After his breakout game against the Pelicans he's
7 for 26 from the floor and
2 for 12 from 3.
Bucks completely shitting the bed. Now down 5 3 minutes into the 4th.
Looks like another bad loss.
Now down 7. Bucks looking ahead to their vacations and an embarrassing effort in the second half.
JRUE HOLIDAY!!!!!! How about that! Great send off to the AS break!
Connaughton hits a big 3 to get it close and then Holiday hits a game-winner with 2 seconds left.
Holiday also with a huge steal with under a minute left.
That's a loss without Holiday
Gotta learn how to win these... gotta play em to learn.
Not sure if this All Star break will help or hurt Holiday. He’s got to keep building stamina because with how lackluster the other guards are, he needs to start getting well over 30 minutes once he’s back in playing shape.
He looks like he’s getting there. It’ll take another month I think.
Middleton needed the break. He was a turnover machine the last couple weeks.
Brook Lopez tried to step up tonight. In a very physical game, he actually held up ok against Valenciunus.
Bucks have a very busy second half coming. 8 BTBs will rest their stamina. A 6-game west coast trip end of March/start of April: Clippers, Lakers, Portland, Sacto, Golden State, and Dallas, which they come hone after Dallas BTB against Charlotte.
Hold onto your hats... going to get bumpy from here.
I'll take the win. Muchachos.
A much needed win and while it shouldn’t have been a close game I’m glad it was because they closed it out.
Good time for a break as some of their guys look worn down.
@Tschmack posted:A much needed win and while it shouldn’t have been a close game I’m glad it was because they closed it out.
Good time for a break as some of their guys look worn down.
It's too bad Giannis couldn't have reported that he developed "lower back stiffness" or "knee tendinitis" after the game tonight. He's too big a star for the NBA not to force him to be in Atlanta, but a nice rest would have been much better than three days of fluff.
@fightphoe93 posted:Not sure if this All Star break will help or hurt Holiday. He’s got to keep building stamina because with how lackluster the other guards are, he needs to start getting well over 30 minutes once he’s back in playing shape.
I criticize him during games too, but relative to what he's making, Connaughton has been very productive. Look at last night, 15 points and 9 rebounds. He has limitations, but he often gets stuck playing the other teams best scorer on switches and he at least makes them work to get their points. Contrast that with Forbes, who often lets his guy go right past him for a layup. Connaughton appears to be capable of rising to the moment (the 3 last night). He gives you a couple of difference-making performances in playoff games over the years too.
Forbes is the guy who fools you based on empty stats. He's a terrible defensive player, that's obvious. But his shooting performances are telling. He's the guy that comes in an hits a bunch of open 3s when you are way ahead in the 4th. His shooting goes WAY down in the close games.
The Bucks have 16 double-digit wins this year. In those games Forbes is 42 for 81 (51.8%) from 3. You could argue that the reason they win by double digits is that he gets hot, but my sense is that a lot of these are low-pressure shots when things are already going well.
In the other 20 games, Forbes is 31 for 82 from 3. That's not terrible (37.8%), but he clearly tightens up when the games are close.
DDV has the same trend. 35 for 79 in blowout wins (44.3%) vs. 33 for 98 in other games (33.7%).
You know who has the opposite trend? Connaughton. He's at 36.8% in the blowouts (14 for 38) and 32 for 79 in the other games (40.5%). He's also shot 40% from 3 in the playoffs as a Buck.
As I believe Music or Tshmack said on here, Augustin's value is that he's a true point guard. The ball moves much better when he's out there relative to Forbes or Connaughton and it results in better shots, but he's a huge liability on defense as well.
I actually think the reason they acquired Augustin is that he’s a veteran that has a knack for understanding how to play PG and he excels when the pace slows down. In the playoffs it’s more about half court offense and if and when Holiday isn’t in the lineup they need a guy like Augustin to effectively set up plays and run the offense.
We talk a lot about Bledsoe’s shooting woes, but he was also prone to making a lot of bad decisions in the playoffs especially in close games. Either he’d force a shot or turn it over or just not get the right person the ball at the right moment.
I have to remind myself to be patient with this team because they have a lot of new players and they really didn’t have an offseason to gel. You see this with other teams around the league as well. Denver added a lot of new pieces and they are having some ups and downs like the Bucks and you add in quarantines (like Holiday) and all bets are off.
My gut would tell me that they need to make another move or two but by doing that they will need time to acclimate to the roster. That’s the value of a Pat C or Lopez or even DDV. They have been inconsistent this year for sure, but they know the tendencies of Giannis and Middleton and Holiday is still in learning mode as well.
