Caruso just hacked Lopez' entire arm and there was no call. Bud had to challenge a Holiday clean block to reverse the call.
The officials treat Caruso like he's untouchable.
Middleton ruled out for the remainder of the game. I'm guessing it might be longer than that.
Holiday with ANOTHER horrific, unforced turnover. And then gives up a wide open dunk on the other end.
Holiday finally hits a big shot and proceeds to blow a layup that leads to a 3 point make on the other end. 5 point swing. Back down 8.
Man, any argument Jrue Holiday had for all-NBA defense or that he was passed over for a an all-star slot has been eliminated in this game. Just an epically bad game.
That's it. Giannis offensive foul. Hopefully they'll play better in Chicago.
Bucks got out hustled and out coached tonight. Let’s just hope Portis can make a full recovery. Not sure if they win even if he had stayed in the game, but he basically is the only good bench player they have right now with Pat C and Grayson Allen in offense funks.
If the Bucks bow out early this year, I think you can soundly blame the moves they made in the offseason and at the trade deadline that pretty much all look like clunkers. Ojeleye, Hood, Ibaka, Allen and no Tucker or Forbes this time around who were key contributors at times last year. Resigning Portis was the only A+ move they made after winning it all.
As good as Chicago played, the Bucks had a real chance to win this game but couldn’t execute at the end when it mattered. It also didn’t help that they shot 20-31 from the FT line.
Not thrilled about the Portis and Middleton injuries, but it is what it is. Others have to step up.
One observation is it seems like Chicago is packing the paint a lot more often. It’s one reason Lopez is getting so many open (good) looks. The problem is other guys haven’t been knocking down their 3s. Pat C and Allen have been garbage in this series.
It will be interesting to see what adjustments Bud makes for game 3. Does he go smaller with Pat C or does he go bigger with a guy like Ibaka? The benefit of Ibaka is he can hit 3s but is also more physical than Portis and he’s not afraid to mix it up.
To me, the Bucks need to dirty things up and make Derozan and Lavine work for their shot. They have to get knocked around more similar to game 1. Those guys were allowed to get into a rhythm in game 2 and the Bucks couldn’t recover.
In the end, we’ve seen this before from this team. Outside of Miami last year every series was a dogfight. They also haven’t done particularly well in games 1-2 in past playoff history.
Donovan putting Caruso on Giannis was smart. Caruso prevented Giannis being Giannis , in the paint, with his defense and his hands swiping at the ball. Bucks need to do a much better job of protecting the ball and a much better job shooting the ball.
Caruso gets away with a lot of hacking. Some guys just do (PJ Tucker is the best example) because of reputation.
I've been complaining all year that the Tucker decision would come back to haunt them. I'm a little less focused on that now because Wes Matthews does a lot of the same things for a lot less money (and is at least a mild threat handling the ball on offense).
The Bucks need offense from their wings. The break glass in case of emergency guy on offense is Nwora, but he's the typical "score 25, give up 40 type of guy" that usually doesn't get minutes in the playoffs.
Grayson Allen for a second round pick was a good trade, but extending him for 10 million was not a good decision. He just looks lost in real playoff basketball.
Jevon Carter is a good matchup for a small quick guard like Kyrie or Chris Paul or Steph Curry, but his size makes him a liability against a lot of teams.
The Ibaka trade also looks like a dud. If he can't get minutes in a game where Portis is hurt, he's never going to play. I think they may have traded for him just for a Philly series to match up against Embiid, but that's about his only value right now. DDV would have been so much more valuable in a series like this.
In the end though, they aren't beating any good team without Middleton. He finally found a rhythm last night before he got hurt, but he's probably not playing again until at least the EC Finals, and I don't think the Bucks are making it that far.
If it were me, I’d get Ibaka in the lineup now because as good as Portis is offensively he’s an average defender at best. Ibaka will get his nose in there and play aggressive D and he’s the perfect guy to get physical with Vucevic even if it means fouling him. On the other end, Ibaka is a pretty good outside shooter himself so he can draw Vucevic away from the paint.
This is a series where DDV or a not injured George Hill could make a big difference defensively. Allen can’t really defend and Pat C has been terrible on both ends of the court. I like Carter but due to his size I’m not really sure who you match up against?
The other strategy is the Bulls are all shooters. The Bucks need to basically get rough with them like they did in game 1. Holiday in particular was really tentative in game 2. Lavine and Derozan play a lot differently if they are being mugged and challenged physically (like game 1). You cannot be passive with those guys and let them roam free and take open shots. Play like Caruso has been playing. Get up in their grill and make them work for their shot.