Giannis is 4 for 12 in this game. Easily his worst game in a long time. He looked like he was a second year player. He played hard, but really soft. It's like he doesn't want to go at Tucker hard.
@lambeausouth posted:How the fuck did we give up 39 to Miami in the third with the talent they have on the floor? What a sad showing. I know it’s December, and we’re down two starters, but come on. You have to show up in games like this.
If you watched the game, you’d know how wrong this post is.
Games like this one can really screw up seeding in the spring. Oof.
@Music City posted:If you watched the game, you’d know how wrong this post is.
The officiating made that big a difference?
Giannis 4 for 13. I'm guessing he's going to be embarrassed after this.
Tucker goes 17-7-8
Giannis goes 15-6-4
And the stats probably don't capture how badly Tucker outplayed Giannis.
@lambeausouth posted:The officiating made that big a difference?
Miami slaps, grabs, and pushes constantly. Giannis is my favorite Wisconsin athlete of all time, but they get in his head badly. He's probably played worse against the Heat than against any other team. He plays tentatively against them. He's had some absolutely horrendous games in Miami in his career.
Even in the playoff sweep last year, he was subpar. He was 36 for 84 from the field.
@lambeausouth posted:The officiating made that big a difference?
Yes. The Heat were “physical” and got a lot of fouls called, hence the Bucks advantage at the FT line. But it’s what they didn’t call that was the story. And the Bucks would get a foul called on them every time they “matched their physicality”…
@lambeausouth posted:Games like this one can really screw up seeding in the spring. Oof.
As long as the Bucks are in the top 6 it really doesn't matter. They won the biggest single game in the last 50 years of franchise history in Brooklyn last year (Game 7). They are good enough that home advantage isn't required.
The problem isn't the seeding. It's that losses like this build the idea that the Heat will beat them in a playoff series this year. The Bucks need to replace the Lopez/Tucker physicality.
They really screwed up not resigning Tucker. Ownership didn't extend him because they wanted to save luxury tax money. REsigning him would have not affected their ability to sign anyone else at all. They just cheaped out. At worst, Tucker would have regressed and it costs you money, but if nothing else you would have a contract to trade that you could get something back for. No matter what happens, it was a really bad move.
Interesting stat.
In the 28 minutes Herro played, the Heat were -19.
In the 20 minutes he was on the bench, the Heat were +28.
It certainly helps when you shoot almost 50% from 3 (making 22) and get 15 more FT attempts.
Look, we all know the media and to a lesser extent the league wants to push this narrative that Miami is a contender and they will challenge Milwaukee but I just don’t see it. Nor do I personally think letting Tucker go was a big mistake.
What’s impacting things is without Lopez they are playing Giannis and some others like Portis and Pat C probably more than they’d like to but over the long haul (season) I think they can figure that out. I fully expect they will try to add another frontcourt guy if Lopez can’t go.
In a 7 game playoff series I think the Heat can win maybe a couple of games against this team. But to beat them 4 out of 7? Not likely. If Giannis plays like he normally does (even without DDV and Lopez) they win that game last night despite the Heat shooting the lights out and getting favorable ref treatment and extra points at the line.
I’ve said this before about this Bucks team. You might catch them napping once in a while, but in a slog having to beat them multiple times that’s going to be difficult. I know Miami likes to think of themselves on the same level but they aren’t. Lowry is not Holiday, Butler isn’t Middleton, and Bam isn’t Giannis. It’s the Bucks and Nets and the Heat and Bulls and Hawks and Sixers are a notch below.
Where things could get interesting is if Portland really does get impatient or grow tired of Dame and the Simmons for Lillard deal goes down. That move automatically lifts Philly to contender status in the East at the same level as Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
@Tschmack posted:Look, we all know the media and to a lesser extent the league wants to push this narrative that Miami is a contender and they will challenge Milwaukee but I just don’t see it. Nor do I personally think letting Tucker go was a big mistake.
The main reason I think letting Tucker go was a mistake was the way the NBA salary cap is structured. The Bucks could have paid Tucker what he got in Miami without affecting a single other thing they did all year in terms of team building. It wasn't like they had to choose between Tucker and someone else. It just meant they would have gone deeper into the luxury tax. Signing him also essentially expands your salary cap because it creates a salary slot you can trade for something else down the road. That salary slot simply disappeared when he signed with the Heat.
The Bucks did the same thing with Brogdon and in the end, they still won a title, but this was an even "cheaper" decision. At least in Brogdon's case, they were still under the luxury tax and didn't want to go in that direction for a team they weren't sure could win a title. The Bucks now have won a title, are already paying the luxury tax (when Holiday's bonus kicked in for winning a title), and they let a very key role player go for nothing to a potential playoff opponent because some hedge fund billionaires didn't want to spend the money.
@Tschmack posted:Where things could get interesting is if Portland really does get impatient or grow tired of Dame and the Simmons for Lillard deal goes down. That move automatically lifts Philly to contender status in the East at the same level as Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
Portland is a dumpster fire right now and might sell off a lot of pieces, but Lillard has struggled (for him) this year for the same reason Harden has. He's not getting the BS calls and getting to the line and teams can more aggressively guard him. He also wants a 2 year, 105 million dollar extension. If the Sixers trade for him, it could go South for them in a hurry. Imagine paying a guy whose back and/or feet could go at any time and who has played over 51 games only twice in his 7 years (Embiid) and a guard who relies on quickness but who will be in his mid-30s (Lillard) over 100 million a year in 2-3 years. Those contracts are John Wall/Westbrook-level risks in a couple of years.
I agree on Embiid. The simple fact is like Anthony Davis, he cannot stay healthy. Now, I’m not suggesting either of those guys are lazy, but being available becomes really important especially if you are being paid at a max level or are a key player.
It’s precisely why I had no problem with Milwaukee not retaining Malcolm Brogdon. I really liked him as a player, but not for 20MM+ per year when there’s a good chance he only plays 1/2 or 2/3 of the season.
The Tucker thing is interesting because at times he was very important in their rotation, ie Brooklyn. But at other times, I’m not sure he was playable. And of course the tax matters. I think the Bucks incurred a hefty tax anyway bringing back Bobby Portis.
I also worry about him breaking down at some point. He will be 37 by the time the playoffs come around and his style of play doesn’t exactly take pressure off his arms and legs and back. He throws his body around a lot and is very physical. He’s not 25 anymore.
@Tschmack posted:I agree on Embiid. The simple fact is like Anthony Davis, he cannot stay healthy. Now, I’m not suggesting either of those guys are lazy, but being available becomes really important especially if you are being paid at a max level or are a key player.
It’s precisely why I had no problem with Milwaukee not retaining Malcolm Brogdon. I really liked him as a player, but not for 20MM+ per year when there’s a good chance he only plays 1/2 or 2/3 of the season.
The Tucker thing is interesting because at times he was very important in their rotation, ie Brooklyn. But at other times, I’m not sure he was playable. And of course the tax matters. I think the Bucks incurred a hefty tax anyway bringing back Bobby Portis.
I also worry about him breaking down at some point. He will be 37 by the time the playoffs come around and his style of play doesn’t exactly take pressure off his arms and legs and back. He throws his body around a lot and is very physical. He’s not 25 anymore.
I like Brogdon too, but agree with you on him. He is a very similar player to Holiday, but Holiday is a little to a lot better at everything except FT shooting. Brogdon developed a reputation as a lights-out shooter with the Bucks. But look what happened when he went to Indiana. He shot 40.8% as a Buck from the 3 point line and has now shot 35.5% in his Indiana career. Holiday is shooting 38.4% from three as a Buck and was a 35.4% shooter over the rest of his career. So, basically they are shooting identical percentages when Giannis' presence isn't setting them up for a bunch of wide-open jumpers.
The other concern from last night was that Grayson Allen kind of disappeared. Bryn Forbes was a big reason they swept the Heat in the playoffs. Forbes knocked down those wide-open looks, Allen struggled to last night. The Heat's game plan has always been to prioritize not letting Giannis get in the lane and making sure that Middleton doesn't beat them (he was 4 for 8 from three last night, but didn't go off). Make anyone else beat you. Holiday almost did himself, but the guys getting the wide-open looks from three last night were terrible. If you remove the Big 3, the other guys were 5-22 from three and almost all those shots were wide open.