Lopez gets his 4th foul.
Charge called on Giannis. Rivers challenging the call. Looked like Zion was not set.
Challenge won. Zion late getting to his spot.
Bucks offensive sets down 5. How does the thought process happen that you have Giannis, Dame, and Middleton and end up basically losing any long shot of winning by having Beasley driving to the hoop?
Bucks literally throwing the game away with bad passes.
Middleton clanks a 3 at the end.
Fitting. He was awful. 3 for 12 with 4 turnovers.
@MichiganPacker2 posted:Middleton clanks a 3 at the end.
Fitting. He was awful. 3 for 12 with 4 turnovers.
A border line HOFer at that.
@Pikes Peak posted:A border line HOFer at that.
He has been if you look at his entire career. He hasn't been the last two games. Hopefully it's just a blip in working his way back from an injury. If it's going to be the norm the rest of the year, the Bucks will be lucky to get out of the first round.
And yet another game where Milwaukee had a sizable disadvantage at the FT line. 34 to 19 for the Pelicans. Lillard said as much after the game which was surprising as did Giannis.
As for Middleton, he didn’t play well again last night. But they are going to need him come playoff time.
Can they get a new coach? Third time's a charm?
@Maynard posted:Can they get a new coach? Third time's a charm?
Doc Rivers isn't incompetent like Adrian Griffin was. Griffin benefitted from the Bucks having a disproportionate number of games early in the schedule against teams that are at the top of the lottery. They were 30-13 when they fired Griffin, but there are 5 teams in the NBA with less than 20 wins so far and Griffin's was 11-1 vs. them and 19-12 versus everyone else. Griffin was 6-0 alone vs. the Wizards and Pistons which are two of the worst dozen or so teams of all time. He also had no West Coast road trips to deal with.
Rivers hasn't gotten to play as many patsies (he's 2-0 vs. those same 5 poor teams (Charlotte which isn't a total pushover when Lonzo Ball plays)) and had the two West Coast road trips. Rivers is not a bad coach and there isn't much in these games they are losing (mostly to playoff teams) that you would say is due to poor scheme or being unprepared. The game last night was close in the 4th, but it really got away from them in the second quarter when they put Giannis on the floor without Dame or Middleton and there was no spacing. Pat Beverly and Giannis missed outside jump shots on about 6 possessions in a row and, all of a sudden, a 1 point game at the end of 1 was up a 16 point deficit.
They will still probably be OK in the playoffs if Giannis, Middleton, and Dame can play 38-40 minutes a game. If one of those guys (presumably Middleton) isn't in shape to do that it gets tough because they are really one player short (a backup wing that can hit outside shots and hold up on defense) to let Dame and Middleton get more rest. Pat Bev can't shoot well enough even with a good wrist and AJ Green just doesn't appear ready for primetime (yet). That means more minutes for Connaughton.
If Middleton isn't in game shape for 40 minutes a game do they consider bringing him off the bench? Would get some good matchups with other teams subs and would bring some firepower off the bench. Would obviously limit the time Dame, Giannis and Middleton are on the court together though.
@MichiganPacker2 posted:That means more minutes for Connaughton.
Why? One shot and one rebound in 22 minutes of playing time? There has to be a G league player that can do better than that.
Giannis was brilliant and Beasley hit shots but in reality Middleton and Dame and especially Portis played well below average.
That can’t happen against good teams unless Giannis goes nuclear (like 50 points).
If 3 of those 5 play well they can be in just about any game.
@ammo posted:Why? One shot and one rebound in 22 minutes of playing time? There has to be a G league player that can do better than that.
Connaughton is a guy who does everyone at like a C+ level. He's a decent shooter (36% from three) but not good enough that opposing teams will scheme to prevent him from shooting. He is a decent passer, but not a great creator. He is a good enough athlete to not get dominated on defense, but not a good enough defender to not get targeted on switches. He's a little less sure bringing the ball up, but he's not a complete liability there either and can do it for a couple of possessions against the right matchup if needed.
Mainly, coaches like Bud and Doc like him because he's always in the right place and won't get you beat by making mental mistakes or missing assignments. He will get beat, but it will be because the other player is just better than him, not because Pat screws up.
If he's your 3rd or 4th guy off the bench playing 10-12 minutes in the playoffs, you are OK. If his minutes go up because Middleton is dinged up, then the fact he does most things at least at an average level, but nothing at a superior level starts to hurt you.
Pat C is sort of like Middleton. When he plays his A game or close to it he’s very effective and someone that can make an impact.
When either guy plays the average or below average versions of themselves I’m not sure the other team gives a rip.
Giannis and Dame can play at a C+ level and still make an impact. Dame can go 4-12 from 3 but if it’s the game winner circus shot no one will care that he went 3-11 on the other attempts. Giannis has to be accounted for at all times because he’s capable of taking over and scoring 20 points in a quarter if you don’t take him seriously.
Pat C usually does everything OK other than try to defend bigger wing guys. From a coaching standpoint, you can put him in a couple of different positions and he won’t get exposed. But he’s also not going to win you many games either.
@Tschmack posted:Pat C is sort of like Middleton. When he plays his A game or close to it he’s very effective and someone that can make an impact.
When either guy plays the average or below average versions of themselves I’m not sure the other team gives a rip.
Giannis and Dame can play at a C+ level and still make an impact. Dame can go 4-12 from 3 but if it’s the game winner circus shot no one will care that he went 3-11 on the other attempts. Giannis has to be accounted for at all times because he’s capable of taking over and scoring 20 points in a quarter.
Pat C usually does everything OK other than try to defend bigger wing guys. From a coaching standpoint, you can put him in a couple of different positions and he won’t get exposed. But he’s also not going to win you many games either.
Even when Middleton doesn't play his A game, he has some impact since every team schemes to prevent him from getting uncontested looks. When Giannis was going off for 20 points in a row, Middleton was on the court last night. When Giannis was on the court without Middleton or Dame at the start of the second, the offense was non-existent because no one scared the Pelican defense into unclogging the middle.
Pat C. gets a lot of uncontested looks because teams are more than happy to let him be the one to try to beat them.
I think the difference is is that when Pat C. plays his A game, he's got the ceiling of a solid NBA starting wing. When Middleton plays his A game (like in the 2021 playoffs) his ceiling is HOF level. When Pat C. plays his C+ game, he's a guy you are just looking to steal minutes with. When Middleton plays his C+ game, he still commands attention because the other teams are wary of him going off. Middleton has played so many games (especially in the playoffs) where he'll start the game something like 4 for 11 from the floor and then hit 4 of 6 contested shots in crunch time and end up with an 8 for 17 type game from the floor.
So if they don't scheme to stop him from shooting how can he only take 1 shot in 22 minutes? Maybe Doc needs to tell him to let it fly more.
@ammo posted:So if they don't scheme to stop him from shooting how can he only take 1 shot in 22 minutes? Maybe Doc needs to tell him to let it fly more.
Maybe he should. Connaughton has tried to speed his release up because his height and windup allowed people to close out on him from farther away.
Connaughton knows his role is to be the glue guy. AJ Green is the guy that is told to fire away.
And now the Knicks lose to the Spurs to fall 2 games back behind. Wembenyama goes for 40 and 20 in an OT game.
It’s been such a strange season. People talk about the Bucks being up and down but I don’t recall a year where there have been so many upsets. A 17 win Spurs team beating arguably the hottest team in the NBA (Knicks) is just the latest example.