Last game before it re the all star break, against a beat up Memphis team. They better not fuck this one up.
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And after one, the Bucks are down by 3, 29-26. Dame is 3 for 6 from the floor and 2 for 4 from behind the arc, with 10 pts, the rest of the team is 6 for 18 and 3 for 12 from 3.
Now down 32-26. Memphis is 19-36 missing at least one starter. No excuse for the Bucks to be playing this poorly to start.
Lopez, Green and Dame with back to back to back 3s.
Grizz on a 10-0 run in the 3rd Quarter. Rivers burns a time out. Bucks down 57-62.
Beverley with some good D, creates a turnover.
94-85 Grizzlies after 3. Bucks have to fix their D in the paint, if they want to pull this one out.
This is just sad. I guess the All Star break has begun early for Milwaukee.
Beasley and Beverly a combined 1 for 10 from 3.
Milwaukee 9 of 33 from behind the line. That’s 27.3%.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But by all means, keep chucking up bricks, guys. That’s a great idea.
Down 5 with 10 minutes left. They can still come back, but it’s been a really poor effort tonight.
Missed shots and put backs aren't helping, either.
Finally, Memphis misses some shots, in the paint.
Giannis's feet were in the lane on Williams's FT.
Beasley gets his shot blocked. This game feels like it is over.
Since my post about the Bucks being 9 for 33 from 3, they’ve shot seven more, and have missed them all.
9 for 40 from 3 pt range is comically bad.
Dame has gone ice cold. 2-4 from 3 to start, 1 for his last 8.
The Bucks are going to lose a game in which Giannis was 15 of 17 from the floor.
The rest of the team is 25 for 70 from the floor. If I’m the Freak, I’m absolutely pissed. This kind of performance against a 19-36 team that’s beat to shit by the injury bug is inexcusable.
Are we missing Middleton that much, for this kind of effort?
Beasley hits 2 threes and the Bucks are down by 3 with 29.2 to go.
110-113 Bucks lose. Sloppy ball handling on the last possession forced a bad shot by Lillard.
@lambeausouth posted:Everything was sloppy tonight.
Giannis was 15 for 17 from the floor with 12 assists and 1 turnover. That's not exactly sloppy.
It's looking more and more like Dame, while still good, is done as an elite player. Either that, or he really wanted to go to Miami and have some fun as a single guy and reluctantly accepted going to Milwaukee.
@mrtundra posted:Are we missing Middleton that much, for this kind of effort?
They win tonight if he's healthy. But he's not going to be enough for a deep playoff run.
Just another disappointing and sickening loss.
Now that we are about 50 games through the year, it would seem there are three primary issues with this team:
1) other than Portis, the bench is terrible. Perhaps Gallinari will help that aspect.
2) Lopez isn’t a great fit anymore defensively and teams are actively seeking him out and exploiting his lack of athleticism and versatility.
3) Lillard at 2/3 his scoring capacity isn’t good enough. We don’t need a Dame that’s averaging 24 points a game and shooting 32% from 3. We need the 30PPG and 37% from 3 guy.
I understand Middleton being injured isn’t helping matters, but Dame at his best and better depth on the team would offset his presence and they win these type of games against a bad Memphis team.
In the end, maybe these things can all improve prior to or during the playoffs but as of right now this is not a championship caliber team.
As it stands now, I don't see this team going anywhere, in the playoffs. All the hype after they picked up Lillard, was just hot air. Middleton, seemingly, has missed more games than he has played, this season. His fragility will have to be dealt with, at some point. Our bench, other than Portis and Beverley, is not good. I do, however, like our young guys, in Jackson, Beauchamp and Livingston and would like to see them play more often. That will not happen, most likely, as the team is going to need every win they can get and there won't be any room for growing pains.
Damian Lillard is the wild card in all of this. If he plays at or near his best with Giannis that’s still the best 1-2 punch in the NBA regardless of the defense.
The problem is, over the last 6 weeks Dame has been terrible. He’s literally giving you about 22 PPG and shooting 30% from 3. In February he’s been turning the ball over like crazy. For the year he’s not been as good at protecting the ball.
If he and the team don’t make a positive impression in the playoffs quite frankly I think the entire roster is on the table, including Dame.
@Tschmack posted:Damian Lillard is the wild card in all of this. If he plays at or near his best with Giannis that’s still the best 1-2 punch in the NBA regardless of the defense.
The problem is, over the last 6 weeks Dame has been terrible. He’s literally giving you about 22 PPG and shooting 30% from 3. In February he’s been turning the ball over like crazy. For the year he’s not been as good at protecting the ball.
If he and the team don’t make a positive impression in the playoffs quite frankly I think the entire roster is on the table, including Dame.
If things continue the way they are now, you have to move Dame after the year.
His complete lack of effort on the defensive end is alarming and he's playing like a guy that doesn't want to be in Milwaukee. If Miami would still want him if they flame out early this year, would it be worth flipping him for Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and a couple of picks? I'd say yes. Lillard is going to be potentially one of the worst contracts in the NBA when he's making 60 million in 2026. If you can sell on that (if this poor play continues) you have to.
I agree with that MP2. Not sure I’d deal him to the Heat, but there are a lot of teams that would trade for him and despite a “down” year he’s still an elite player in this league.
If a team said we’ll give you a decent starter, another good role player and a couple of 1s for him I think the Bucks would do that. The good thing for Milwaukee is Dame still has a lot of value even at his age and with that contract.
The fact of the matter is the way he’s playing right now- or in recent history - isn’t good enough for them to make a deep run.
I know he’s got a lot of issues going on related to his divorce but at times his level of disinterest is really obvious. That seems a lot more about him not wanting to be in Milwaukee or play with this group than other issues.