Giannis returns, and the only Bucks that won’t be on the floor tonight is Divincenzo.
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Chris Webber on Tra Young: “don’t forget about his assisting.”
His assisting??? 🤮
@Goalline posted:Playing with Forbes is like playing 4 on 5. Ugh!
As Music City alluded to in another thread, Jordan Nwora may be a better option for the same role.
Good timeout... lost a little focus there. Get your shit together, fellas...
If there is a play I think should be outlawed, it should be the idea that 20-25 feet from the basket, a player can pump a guy in the air and jump in an unnatural direction to draw contact to get free throws.
Same with a dribble drive- if you’re going one way on your drive, and you jump 90 degrees into the defender, it should be an offensive foul.
Not bad..almost a whole quarter before a ref whine, Congrats
Who in the Bucks front office thought signing DJ Augustin for 6 million was better than signing Teague for 2.5 million?
Good job my McMIllan to go into a zone so that Forbes can get off a wide open 3?
Pretty good first half. Bucks a little too much iso ball and early shots for my liking... a few possessions we saw the ball really move, open looks. They can do it... just need to commit to moving the ball.
I wish they’d sit Middleton. His decision making is terrible when he’s tired.
Hawks 8-0 run in 90 seconds to start the second half. Holiday blows a dunk, Middleton misses from 3.
Teague’s had a nice impact again tonight. Getting everyone in a good rhythm, working a little 2-man with Portis. It’s nice to have someone to give the ball to on the second d unit...
Great work by the second unit. Tucker had 8.
They have these transition basket opportunities where they can really put their foot on their throats and they come up empty. Middleton can’t make layups anymore...
Got up 19 and letting this leak a little closer. It's still very likely a win, but if you are great team you need to close these out with 3-4 minutes left and let the Merrill, Nwora, and Diakite unit finish it out.
Middleton has about 4-5 plays every game that are just stupid. To get that clear path foul here- 2 and the ball- that’s how you piss away a 19 points lead in about 2 min.
Now that I’m done watching the WNBA draft, I’ll watch the end of this game.
Good sequence- 3 offensive rebounds, a dunk, a steal, and a dagger 3 by Connaughton. That should do it...
The Bucks at full at full strength will be a major problem for teams.
The Hawks have been on fire since the AS Break but made no difference. Onto the next one.
@Tschmack posted:The Bucks at full at full strength will be a major problem for teams.
The Hawks have been on fire since the AS Break but made no difference. Onto the next one.
They pretty easily dispatched a decent team on the road without 3 of their 5 best players making major contributions. Giannis was probably at about 50% and Middleton struggled all night. DDV- another key guy (especially against a perimeter-oriented offense) didn't play. When they have their full complement of guys, what emerges is this.
1. It can't be said enough how big an upgrade Holiday is over Bledsoe. Not just the talent, but the calming presence. Jrue is never in a hurry and just sort of calmly backs guys down and ends up with a good shot in the half-court almost every time, usually after some pump fakes and hesitation dribbles. It's like he's in slow motion sometimes, but he's almost always in control of the situation. Most importantly, he seems to get better when the pressure of the situation goes up. He's the anti-Bledsoe on some many levels.
2. PJ Tucker is a huge upgrade over Marvin Williams and Ilyasova for what the Bucks need. Like Holiday, he can guard anyone from Trae Young to Kevin Durant without being completely overmatched. You have to guard him on that corner 3, so you can't help out too much away from him on defense.
3. As I've said in the game chats, who in their right mind decided that Augustin was a better option than Teague before the season. Luckily, they ended up in the right place, but Teague is just so much better in finishing in the lane and is much less of a liability on defense.
The funny thing about Augustin is they check and adjusted and actually came out much better anyway.
Tucker (like Teague) is exactly what they need come playoff time. Saavy vets that aren’t washed up and play important roles off the bench.
To me, the key guy though is Holiday. As you stated, he’s in control and plays under control and doesn’t get rattled. And when the pace slows down and possessions are magnified that becomes more important.
If I’m in the East, the Bucks should scare you because they’ve addressed every problem area and honestly don’t have any blind spots or gaps.
The other guy that is warming up at the right time is Brook Lopez
In the month of April, he’s shooting 43% from 3 and if he can continue to play at that level look out.
@Tschmack posted:The other guy that is warming up at the right time is Brook Lopez
In the month of April, he’s shooting 43% from 3 and if he can continue to play at that level look out.
And for as much as we (including me) rip on his perimeter defense, he actually comes out as good as any big guy out there. He's better than Drummond, Gasol, and several others. You don't want him switched onto Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving, but that goes for 90% of the NBA. In the recent Warriors title model, he's Andrew Bogut who can shoot.
I think they simply have a lot more options defensively now so you can use Lopez a little differently.
Tucker can basically guard just about anyone, including bigs. Holiday and Middleton and DDV are also plus level defenders. Giannis is Giannis- one of the best in the the league.