@Blair Kiel posted:To my uninitiated eye...Miami is a way better team.
They have a much better playoff coach and their superstar can actually score in the halfcourt.
Giannis is never going to win the title as the number one guy. The league is designed for more complete players.
@Goalline posted:Giannis is never going to win the title as the number one guy. The league is designed for more complete players.
Agreed. I'd hate to see him leave, but he's a better version of Draymond Green without the swagger in close games.
@MichiganPacker2 posted:The Bucks are probably going to lose this series in less than 7 games.
The Bucks outshot the Heat from 3. The Heat only at 36%.
I mean, let's face it, Giannis has been awful in the 4th.
Plenty of ball to played yet but in a different thread you explained why Miami would be a tough series.....you were spot on.
Miami is a smarter team, sure. But how many times are the Bucks going to let Butler and Dragic just dribble into the paint? The Bucks defensively have not been good at all this game.
The Bucks have been shit defensively since the bubble started
It’s not like this is even the same team
@Pikes Peak posted:Jimmy Buckets is pretty good.
He's a better version of Sam Cassell. Sam drove us crazy, but his "big cajones" celebration was spot on. He had them. So does Butler.
Giannis looks scared and timid. Middleton has 28. Lopez is 8 for 9.
Giannis has missed 8 of his last 10 FTs.
It’s easy to look good when you (Butler) get the MJ ref treatment
@Tschmack posted:The Bucks have been shit defensively since the bubble started
It’s not like this is even the same team
Their half court defense is fine.
At one point in the first half they had given Miami 16 points on 8 turnovers. Their offense is the problem tonight. Too many easy looks in transition.
@Tschmack posted:It’s easy to look good when you (Butler) get the MJ ref treatment
He's played like MJ tonight. If Giannis plays like the MVP is supposed to, they still win.
The same thing happened in the Orlando series- the Bucks sleep walked through a portion of the game and by the time they realized it, the other team had all the mo and they couldn’t get anything going their way. The Bucks defensive intensity was never there. The officials did effect this game in the second and third quarters, but they can’t play this timid and expect to win it all.
@Music City posted:Miami is a smarter team, sure. But how many times are the Bucks going to let Butler and Dragic just dribble into the paint? The Bucks defensively have not been good at all this game.
You have to take away the 3 point line against them.
The half court defense is not fine
How many goddamn dribble drives into the paint has Miami gotten tonight? That’s not good defense.
@Music City posted:The same thing happened in the Orlando series- the Bucks sleep walked through a portion of the game and by the time they realized it, the other team had all the mo and they couldn’t get anything going their way. The Bucks defensive intensity was never there. The officials did effect this game in the second and third quarters, but they can’t play this timid and expect to win it all.
Correction - Giannis can't play this timid. He's been pathetic. How can a superstar just dribble into a turnover with almost no pressure under a minute? He's been embarrassing.
You can tell by body language that the Heat do not fear the Bucks at all. They know they are the better playoff team.
Hey Bucks
This game is exhibit A why 90% of the National media doesn’t believe in you. With no home court advantage to speak of this may be an issue in this series.
Giannis in the 4th had three assists, but he was otherwise the worst offensive player on the court for the Bucks. I don't want to hear any shit about Middleton or the supporting cast. Giannis choked plain and simple. This happened against Boston last year and he came back, but Jimmy Butler knows he owns them right now (Bledsoe would have helped).
But man, Giannis with 3 turnovers, and 1 for 4 from the floor, and 1 for 4 from the line. At times, the Bucks looked like they were playing 4 on 5 because the Heat knew Giannis was scared to shoot.
Here are some possessions for Giannis in the 4th.
1. Turnover off the dribble with 45 seconds left.
2. Inbounds to Middleton and doesn't give Middleton anywhere to go. Bud drew up a crappy play, but if you had confidence in Giannis, you'd have Lopez take it out and you always have the lob to Giannis to get the ball in.
3. Assist to Middleton for a 3 (mostly Middleton)
4. 2 missed FTs
5. Badly missed 3 pointer
6. Layup (should have been an and one). One of his only positive plays in the quarter.
7. Turnover
8. MIsses 1 of 2 FTs
9. Misses a 3
10. Turnover
11. Misses a 9 footer
I felt a turning point in the game was in the 2nd when the Bucks were up 43-34 and Giannis went to the line and air-balled the first FT and missed the second. After that, the FT was in his head.
Up that point, he was 3 for 4 from the floor and 2 for 2 from the line. with 1 turnover. After that, he was 3 for 8 from the floor, 2 for 8 from the line, and had 5 turnovers. He became a liability on offense. I really think it was the air ball that got to him.
@Tschmack posted:Hey Bucks
This game is exhibit A why 90% of the National media doesn’t believe in you. With no home court advantage to speak of this may be an issue in this series.
I think the Bucks season ends in this series. I hope I'm wrong, but this is not a fluke. The Heat did this to them during the regular season as well.
Anyone claiming that Middleton was the problem and Giannis needs a better supporting cast should get their head out of their rear end. Middleton went for 28 when the Heat knew he was the only half-court option. Lopez was 8 for 10 from the floor.
The narrative will be that Giannis needs to get out of Milwaukee to win a title. For the second year in a row, the main reason they may not win a title is that Giannis wasn't a good enough offensive player in the half-court. Until he proves otherwise, he's a regular-season MVP and a playoff defensive stopper and rim finisher.
When Butler took over don't you switch and try Giannis on him? Is he too quick? Middleton could have moved to Crowder. What did Bud have to lose?
Your MVP needs to shoot 70%+ from the free throw line. We don't have a dribble penetrator that can create in the half court. You must have that player somewhere.
Players that can do/did this:
Jimmy Butler, Kwahi Leonard, Dwayne Wade, MJ, Lebron James
@The Crusher posted:When Butler took over don't you switch and try Giannis on him? Is he too quick? Middleton could have moved to Crowder. What did Bud have to lose?
Your MVP needs to shoot 70%+ from the free throw line. We don't have a dribble penetrator that can create in the half court. You must have that player somewhere.
Players that can do/did this:
Jimmy Butler, Kwahi Leonard, Dwayne Wade, MJ, Lebron James
Bledsoe is actually there best penetrator and rim finisher. Middleton is a guy you run off screens to get shots. He'd look great playing with LeBron or the Warriors. Bud leaves him in isolation for offense but because Giannis can't shoot it's even tougher for Middleton to work himself open. Middleton isn't a slasher.
Giannis is the problem in the half court. They've had 14 months to come up with something and they haven't changed a thing. Post Giannis up. Don't let him sit outside the 3 point line and look lost.
@The Crusher posted:When Butler took over don't you switch and try Giannis on him? Is he too quick? Middleton could have moved to Crowder. What did Bud have to lose?
Your MVP needs to shoot 70%+ from the free throw line. We don't have a dribble penetrator that can create in the half court. You must have that player somewhere.
Players that can do/did this:
Jimmy Butler, Kwahi Leonard, Dwayne Wade, MJ, Lebron James
Chris Paul, James Harden, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, Russell Westbrook, Devin Booker, Brandon Ingram, Oladipo, Doncic, Durant, Kyrie Irving.
Tonight you saw why Bledsoe is important. He can stay in front of guys like Butler and Dragic. So could Malcolm Brogdon.
They miss Brogdon in this series especially with Bledsoe limited. George Hill is a good defender but he isn't physical enough. DDV is unplayable. He's more likely to be out of the league in 3 years than a starter. Connaughton is what he is - he's a little better version of Dellavedova. He's an energy guy not a difference maker.
They may have to play Korver more minutes. He opens things up for the other guys.
Bucks were up 1 with 6 minutes left.
The MVP of the league was scoreless the last 6 minutes with 2 missed FTs, a missed 3, and a turnover.
This one was disheartening. Not so much because they lost, but because it looks like the Heat are the better team.
@The Crusher posted:When Butler took over don't you switch and try Giannis on him? Is he too quick? Middleton could have moved to Crowder. What did Bud have to lose?
Bud is the Bo Ryan and Mike McCarthy of NBA coaches. We do what we do.
He commits to a system and sticks with it. He didn't panic after Game 1 of the Boston series last year and it paid off. He didn't panic after Game 4/5 of the Raptors series and it didn't pay off.
Can anyone answer why they didn't try Giannis on Butler? Middleton would have switched to Crowder who is tough but 2 inches shorter.
It’s kind of scary to say they need Bledsoe, but he’s probably the only thing that can turn things around. Maybe Hill plays better in more limited and effective minutes if Bledsoe plays. That said, we all know Bledsoe can be a mess even when healthy if he’s not hitting shots. If nothing else, he probably slows Dragic maybe a smidgen in the 1st half.
One thing that’s been evident in the bubble, the Bucks bench for as impressive as they were in the regular season looks old and a step slow for the past month. They could use some young athletic blood there. Divencenzo for whatever reason has come out of the shutdown a much less impressive player than he was before it and it has killed the bench offense.
No Big Deal.....
Bucks in 6
Just disappointing.
After the playoffs last year.... watching Toronto (Nick Nurse) build a wall to stop Giannis and Bud not be able to adjust, it was frustrating. You wondered what Bud and Giannis would do to lift their games “next year” ??
Watching this game, same old shit. The knock on Bud is that he is a great regular season coach but can’t adjust for playoff basketball. Same old stuff, no offensive flow, too heavy on Giannis’ volume, and no answer to some nice strategy by the Heat.
Giannis came up small. Turnovers , horrible FT shooting, and why in the hell would you keep driving into triple teams. Be a team basketball player.
Spoelstra > Bud
Props to Jimmy Butler. That’s some clutch basketball.
Hopeully Bledsoe is back to add some grit and defensive intensity for Game 2.
So thoughts on Giannis guarding Butler? In this debacle and moving forward? No one brought it here but someone was smart enough to ask the question post game. Remember Nurse switching Leonard to Giannis defensively in Game 3 of the ECF brought them 4 straight wins and eventually an NBA Championship.
I certainly think some rotation adjustments need to be made in addition to the matchup adjustments.
The Heat play both Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro 27+ minutes tonight- neither of these guys is going to defend anyone. You gotta make them pay for that.
You also gotta make them pay for playing small. Marvin Williams blew several put backs tonight- cant play him if that’s what you get. Play RoLo, Ersan- need to beat them up on the boards. The Heat were better on loose balls, and destroyed the Bucks in the paint because the Bucks defended the 3 but gave away the paint. Get back to what you do. Destroy them in the paint- that’s how you beat them. In the games the Heat lost this year, they got out-rebounded.
And George Hill can’t defend the Heat. DiVincenzo is not going to find his way offensively sitting on the bench, and you need his tenacity and athleticism on D. Start him- get Hill back to 6th man.
But the biggest adjustment I think they need is to go big. Beating them on the boards is the key going forward IMO.
@MichiganPacker2 posted:You can tell by body language that the Heat do not fear the Bucks at all. They know they are the better playoff team.
Not unless the Bucks believe it too...
After sleeping on it I think Music City has it right. How or why the Bucks decided to abandon packing the paint on D is beyond me. Once the Heat figured it out they took it to the hoop and either got the easy conversion or the FT attempts.
You can’t trade 3s with the Heat. You have a distinct size advantage over Miami and you get physical and pound them into submission inside and make them hit the 3s. That’s been Milwaukee’s recipe all year and no reason to change it up now.
@Tschmack posted:After sleeping on it I think Music City has it right. How or why the Bucks decided to abandon packing the paint on D is beyond me. Once the Heat figured it out they took it to the hoop and either got the easy conversion or the FT attempts.
You can’t trade 3s with the Heat. You have a distinct size advantage over Miami and you get physical and pound them into submission inside and make them hit the 3s. That’s been Milwaukee’s recipe all year and no reason to change it up now.
You are contradicting yourself. Bud's small ball approach was taking away the Heat's 3's but giving up the paint. If you go big you are trading 3's.
@Music City posted:I certainly think some rotation adjustments need to be made in addition to the matchup adjustments.
The Heat play both Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro 27+ minutes tonight- neither of these guys is going to defend anyone. You gotta make them pay for that.
You also gotta make them pay for playing small. Marvin Williams blew several put backs tonight- cant play him if that’s what you get. Play RoLo, Ersan- need to beat them up on the boards. The Heat were better on loose balls, and destroyed the Bucks in the paint because the Bucks defended the 3 but gave away the paint. Get back to what you do. Destroy them in the paint- that’s how you beat them. In the games the Heat lost this year, they got out-rebounded.
And George Hill can’t defend the Heat. DiVincenzo is not going to find his way offensively sitting on the bench, and you need his tenacity and athleticism on D. Start him- get Hill back to 6th man.
But the biggest adjustment I think they need is to go big. Beating them on the boards is the key going forward IMO.
I agree with DD seeing the floor more but I don't want to see Ersan step on the floor. He's looked bad. He's slow and is too much of a defensive liability. Same with ROLO. I was screaming at Marvin Williams missing the put backs. Bucks need to finish stronger and their high turnover rate will kill them. I will continue to ask the board why we didn't put Giannis on Butler.