I'm sure we all saw this coming.
Ben Simmons has to be moved by the Sixers after this.
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Atlanta is going to be damn tough. It’ll be nice having home court, and I’ll say Bucks in 7.
January 4th 2019, I went to the Fiserv Forum and watched the Bucks make the Hawks look like the worst NBA team I had ever seen. The 32 point win doesn’t do justice to just how superior the Bucks were on that night.
Just two years later the only guys left from that horrible Hawks team are Young, Huerter, and Collins. What an incredible turnaround that organization has had in just 2 years.
I’m happy the Bucks have home court advantage back for this series. On paper they’re the better team but the Hawks have enough 3 point shooters that they can cause the Bucks some problems. Beating Philly 3 times on the road shows the Hawks are capable of another upset if the Bucks don’t bring something close to their A game or high B game.
Getting home court is great- a real boost.
The Bucks just experienced a player that gets calls upon calls and parades to the FT line… now they get another. That’s Young’s shtick. It’s fucking annoying.
Their 3 point shooting should worry everyone. It’s the Bucks primary weakness.
If the Bucks don't defend the 3, they had better shoot the 3 a helluva lot better than they did vs. the Nets.
FWIW, Fun living here and watching the Suns and the valley area vibes.
Atlanta presents some different challenges that’s for sure. They are less one dimensional than Brooklyn, but they also don’t have a Kevin Durant type player to defend.
Having home court should help but Atlanta has proven they can win on the road so the Bucks will need to be ready.
I concur. Hawks are a talented young team with an underdog’s heart and I fear Bud may not be up to the challenge.
Durant is such a unique challenge to defend against because no matter what he’s going to get his 40PPG. And he opens a lot of things up for others.
Atlanta is much more balanced and they match up better inside with Milwaukee but it also allows Bud to play more guys like Portis and Forbes. Against the Nets, they were huge defensive liabilities. Not so much now.
The better team, with better players, with an all timer and with home court ad.
No excuses.
None
Yup- much like the stars aligned for ‘19 Raptors, the path has cleared for the Bucks to hang a banner.
But Atlanta and Phoenix are smarter basketball teams than the Bucks- and that’s should scare Bucks fans. Phoenix with Paul playing is a problem for the Bucks. And that’s not mentioning the Clippers, who may not survive if Leonard is out.
They need to get past Atlanta first, but I agree this reminds me a lot of 2019 and the Raptors.
The Bucks have to handle their business from this point forward. That’s the bottom line.
And I predict once the Bucks fall behind at any point in any game, one of you people (TM) will declare the series lost.
Previous results are indicative of future behaviors. 😀
Oh boy, more BK playing hall monitor I can’t wait.
It’s what I do.
You’re in the front of class.
We speak American here, bub.
I agree with Pike's Peak. I know we as Bucks fans are conditioned to expect the worst, but there should be no excuses at this point. The Bucks should win this series 99 times out of 100.
If the Hawks were full strength, the Bucks would still be heavily favored. Deandre Hunter, who averaged 15 points a game and was their best wing defender, is now out for the year. Bogdanovic was ineffective in the Sixers series because his knee is hurting as well.
Trae Young is a good offensive player, but he might be one of the worst defenders in the league. Lou Williams is instant offense, but the Clippers moved him mid-year because he can't guard anyone either. The Hawks got by those deficiencies in large part because they could play 5 on 4 against the Sixers. Ben Simmons has now set the standard for disappearing in the playoffs. If you watched the game yesterday, the Sixers posted him up late in the 4th quarter, he spun around his defender on the block and had an open dunk with the help defender being Trae Young. Simmons turned down a virtually uncontested dunk on a guy almost a foot shorter because he was worried he might have to shoot FTs. Look at the play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BHRLuyXJu8
The point is, the Hawks beat a Sixers team whose best player was playing with a sore knee (Embiid) and whose second-best player was unplayable on offense in crunch time (Rivers did take Simmons out on most possessions). If Simmons doesn't implode in a way that makes Eric Bledsoe look like a superstar, the Hawks probably don't win a game in that series.
The Hawks could theoretically win a series against the Bucks, but it shouldn't happen. It shouldn't even be close. I would predict Bucks in 5, because Young or Lou Williams may win one for them. But if they control Young, it should be a 4-game sweep.
Trae Young, Clint Capela, Kevin Huerter, John Collins, Gallinari (who can't guard anyone either), a banged-up Bogdanovic, and Lou Williams.
Capela guards Lopez, Collins on Giannis. That's their two defenders. Who guards MIddleton? Who does Young guard? Holiday was terrible from the arc against the Nets, but he outmuscled Harden and other inside, and he played bully-ball against Marcus Smart during the season. Trae Young has no prayer against him. I'd guess they'd try to hide Young on Tucker?
The Bucks are better at every position except bench offense (Lou Williams). Young is good, but would you trade Holiday for him? Middleton against Hueter? Lopez and Capela? Maybe Gallinari vs. Tucker, but I'd rather have Tucker for a playoff series? Is John Collins going to slow down Giannis?
Can't disagree.
Win Wednesday night and go from there.
The Hawks losing Hunter was a significant blow because he is the one guy that could defend Milwaukee on the perimeter and he’s big enough to even give help support to defend Giannis.
Capela and Collins play solid interior defense and rebound pretty well, but they are undersized as compared to Giannis and Lopez.
I have no idea who is going to defend Middleton and Young and Williams are smallish guys that have no chance holding up physically against a guy like Holiday. Both Hawks guards are probably giving up 2-3 inches and 25 pounds on Holiday.
I would put Tucker on Bogdonovic and let him get physical with him so he’s not comfortable. Good luck with that Atlanta.
Honestly, unless the Hawks go nuts from 3 I don’t see how they can match up defensively. The Bucks are taller and more physical and in some cases more athletic than anyone the Hawks can roll out there. And unlike Philly, Atlanta will have to defend multiple guys that can shoot and score.
This is also a series where a guy like Portis can have a major impact because if he’s out there you have to honor his offense and all that will do is wear out Collins and Capela who will already have their work cut out defending Giannis and Lopez.
I swear the analysis above is spot on much better than SI or ESPN
The Milwaukee Bucks besting the Brooklyn Nets still doesn’t feel real. Years and years of heartbreak have inevitably led to trust issues between our fanbase and the franchise we blindly follow. All day Saturday, I felt my stomach churn in anticipation of what I presumed would be another gut punch. And then, after all the shouting, ref cursing, cries of agony, free throw woe, and begging for buckets to fall, after all that, this team, from top to bottom, flipped the goddam script.
More here....
I don't follow the NBA anywhere close to what I once did, but I watched the Hawks beat my Knicks and grind out a series win vs a Sixers team they had no business beating. They battle and scrap the entire 48 minutes and it seems Philly started coasting once they got double digit leads.
As much pub as Young is getting, I think the key for the Bucks is to lull him into situations like the past two games. He can hurt you, but he did a good bit of hurting his own team as well. When he feels pressed, he tends to play completely out of control. At one point, he was 4 for 22 or something, and rather than driving to set up good looks for his teammates, he did a ton of forcing the issue. If he had the smarts to rein himself in, ATL probably would have had an easier time in game 7. Huerter and Simmons bailed out the Hawks despite Young's half cocked play.
The Bucks should win this series 99 out of 100 times, but that applied to Philly as well. It would be nice to see a Wisconsin team besides the Pack win a title, but you can bet the Hawks will make them earn it.
I agree… Young will provide plenty of chances for rebounds and transition but they gotta get rebounds. Capella and Collins will be a challenge inside on the glass.
But this series might be a series where the bench gets some traction. Portis did some scoring this year against this team… could be a chance for him to do some damage.
Hope the quick transition game is productive against the Hawks. Take it to them.
Honestly, I’m not surprised the Hawks got past the Sixers.
Embiid is probably 75% at best with a jacked up knee and we all know Ben Simmons and his struggles offensively allowed Atlanta to defend that group much differently than a team like Milwaukee.
The other major difference is the Hawks have to account for Holiday and Middleton on both ends of the court.
Lol I remember when that spot came out.
Al Horford 15 dude getting clotheslined into the Milwaukee River best ever
Interesting that some pundits think Capela and Collins will equalize Giannis inside. I think they can slow him down but neither of them are close to his level. Did they also overlook Lopez and Middleton?
That’s the thing with this team. It’s not a one man show. You pay too much attention to Giannis and guys like Middleton are more than capable of hurting you. Hell, look at what Lopez did to Miami? And Portis? I think you have to pick your poison and if you are Atlanta you go for broke. Take 55 long range shots and hope that 25 fall because you cannot trade points in the paint.
https://twitter.com/logan_wins...382274727940096?s=20
Then stay the fuck out, you pieces of shit…
Too funny. I’ll take TNT and Inside the NBA over those clowns at ESPN any day of the week.
@Music City posted:https://twitter.com/logan_wins...382274727940096?s=20
Then stay the fuck out, you pieces of shit…
The fact that Stephen A. Smith has been prioritized at ESPN above other employees that can add actual insights and informed opinions is all you need to know about the state of sports journalism.
I can actually understand not wanting to go to a Super Bowl in the middle of winter in Minneapolis, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, etc. That's just logical, but to complain about having to spend time in one of those places when it's 80 degrees and pleasant is idiotic. It's revealing that they really want to hang out and party with celebrities in Miami Beach or LA than focus on the actual games and analysis.
They were also bashing Phoenix, which was a bit surprising to me as well.
Milwaukee has done a nice job making the downtown area become more attractive to those wanting to visit or spend time in the area. Having Fiserv Forum and the Deer District will only make it more accommodating and exciting.
But hey, you want to go clubbing and be seen then it’s Miami and NYC and LA or Golden State.
@Tschmack posted:They were also bashing Phoenix, which was a bit surprising to me as well.
Milwaukee has done a nice job making the downtown area become more attractive to those wanting to visit or spend time in the area. Having Fiserv Forum and the Deer District will only make it more accommodating and exciting.
But hey, you want to go clubbing and be seen then it’s Miami and NYC and LA or Golden State.
I've spent time in Phoenix during the summer. It's brutal. It also really doesn't have much of a downtown for as big a city as it is. Nonetheless, when Jordan's Bulls were playing Barkley's Suns in the mid 90s, I don't remember anyone complaining about having to spend time in either Chicago or Phoenix.
The international ratings (at least European) should be higher than ever before if Giannis is playing in a Finals. Chris Paul and Booker are exciting guys to watch. Actually, of the Final 4 teams, the Clippers would be the most boring if they somehow made it without Kawhi.
There are nearly 5MM people that live in the Phoenix metro including who knows how many professional athletes in the offseason. We spend a lot of time in AZ and it’s a great place to be. Maybe not middle of July but so what.
I like SAS but he and Molly are fucking knobs on this one. No one gives two shits about what you want; you want to get pampered and spoiled and act like you are important just STFU.
It’s bullshit like this that I hope Milwaukee wins several titles just to stick it to these morons.
Bucks continuing to struggle from 3, but up 13-10 to start.