Middleton out due to illness.
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Some are expecting the Bucks to get blown out? I guess that's why we play the games. Waiting to see the outcome later tonight as I can't follow along.
Bucks are getting killed in transition off of made baskets. Lopez getting exploited in drop.
Bucks down 16-9.
OKC making this a track meet. That does not bode well for the Bucks.
Hartenstein being unconscious on 14 foot flop shoots isn't helping.
Bucks cant get a shot to fall.
OKC can't guard Giannis.
Would have been nice to have Middleton for this instead of having to play Connaughton. Must be the Vegas flu?
Bucks up 1 at the half, mainly because OKC is 1 for 17 from three.
Giannis at 14-6-5
Jackson Jr. guarding SGA very well.
OKC back in it (Bucks had led by 13) mainly because Jackson Jr. can't shoot at all and Giannis has been clanking FTs (3 for 8).
Bucks lead by 13 going to the 4th. Bucks have played very good defense, but OKC is missing a lot of semi-contested 3s.
Bucks up 19 with 8:23 left. Portis may get hit with a relatively cheap flagrant 1 here. That could give OKC some life.
Bucks offense struggling here a bit but OKC is down 16 and hanging by a thread.
Bucks win big. Hold OKC to 81 points. Some of that was fluky since OKC shot 5 for 32 from three. That wouldn't happen again in a 7 game series.
Still, to win the cup is a good sign given they were 2-8 not that long ago.
Giannis goes for a 26-19-10 triple double with 3 spectacular blocks. Dame with an easy 23 on 50% shooting.
Beauchamp, Livingston, Rollins, Tyler Smith, AJ Johnson, and Delon Wright each get a cool 514K along with everyone else.
Bucks win!
Hadnât seen OKC yet this year. Theyâre good defensively but wow, they stunk up the house tonight. SGA not impressive, refs let him get away with a push-off/ shove on every drive. Also they were terrible on the offensive boards, one and done almost every trip.
Maybe some of these national analysts will finally start getting their heads out of their asses and start seriously putting Giannis in MVP conversations, where he should clearly be a front-runner along with Jokic.
I liken this to something sort of like when a college team would win the Great Alaska Shootout or the Paradise Jam tournament. Kind of a fun little novelty tournament but it definitely feels like about 20% as cool as actually winning the NBA Title in 2021.
This doesn't mean anything. Stats don't count, game doesn't count in the standings....
It's all nothing......
HAHAAHHAHAHAHA
Chip #3 baby!!! Wooooooo!!!!ðĨģ
REALLY COOL the team starts the season 2-8 and win this cup in year 2!!
Bucks defense was very good tonight.
So when are we trading Giannis and Dame??ð
So Giannis gets a triple double, but these stats donât count at all.
Make it make sense. I donât get the appeal of this entire tournament. It seems like much ado about nothing.
@lambeausouth posted:So Giannis gets a triple double, but these stats donât count at all.
Make it make sense. I donât get the appeal of this entire tournament. It seems like much ado about nothing.
The players and coaches love it. Giannis and Dame really wanted this one and it showed. They beat a team that has been red hot and arguably the #1 team in the West.
Winning team gets $514,000.00 per player
OKC gets a paltry $205k per player for losing.
Unfricken believable win.
Nice coin for the lower paid dudes on the roster.
Now, lets not have a setback and keep winning as the regular gets back underway.
OKC is a really good team but if for some reason they end up playing Milwaukee in the finals Iâm not sure how they beat the Bucks in 4 of 7. The size differential is a real mismatch and that wonât really change much even if a guy like Chet Holmgren returns. Plus we all know the pace slows down and play gets way more physical in the postseason so Iâm not sure how well that will work for OKC.
Not many teams have an answer defensively for Giannis, but trying to guard him with a 6â5â Alex Caruso or 6â6â Jalen Johnson is a recipe for disaster.
The other two things that stood out to me is for starters, Damian Lillard sure seems to hit another gear when the lights are on and all eyes are on him. The other takeaway is A Jax is a real difference maker on defense. SGA was clearly frustrated and even against ATL Trae Young really had to work to get his points. Iâd love to know what their record is in games where he starts and/or plays 20 or more minutes.
The Cup is what it is but clearly the Bucks came in motivated and if thatâs what it takes for them to play at a high level Iâm all for it. This is more of the type of team we thought weâd have at the beginning of the year.
Iâm sure the NBA now regrets not having Milwaukee play on Xmas. Good thing for them Philly and the Lakers are playing. The Sixers might lose by 50 against Boston.
Last part is their schedule over the next 20-25 games is pretty favorable so nowâs the time to make hay. They get into February and March and things will tighten up a lot in terms of level of competition they will face.
Whenâs the parade?
@Boris posted:The players and coaches love it. Giannis and Dame really wanted this one and it showed. They beat a team that has been red hot and arguably the #1 team in the West.
Winning team gets $514,000.00 per player
OKC gets a paltry $205k per player for losing.
Looks like e every body but the fans love it
Sunday night at 3:00 AM CST on tape delay.
12.18.24 #Bucks Win NBA Cup; Bryan Bulaga and Homer #ScheduledToAppear https://t.co/tqSPpXeoIr
â Wilde & Tausch (@WildeAndTausch) December 18, 2024
@Pikes Peak posted:Looks like e every body but the fans love it
The NFL's ratings are never going down. They also do some very selective comparisons to MLB (which I think has a much bigger problem than the NBA going forward).
So far this season, the NFL has averaged 17.3 million viewers, its highest average since 2015. This past World Series was the highest-rated since 2017.
You know why this past season had the highest World Series ratings since 2017. Because it was the Dodgers vs. the Yankees. The other argument is that a minimum of 6 first-ballot Hall of Fame players were playing in this World Series - Ohtani, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Gerrit Cole. Stanton is definitely a candidate as well. Ohtani, Soto, and Judge might be 3 of the top 50 players of all time. But, if you had these same teams in markets like Milwaukee, Cleveland, Minnesota, etc. and had them face off in a World Series, the ratings would be mediocre.
The NBA would love a Knicks-Lakers final too.
The NBA's real problem is the way they have marketed the game and specific players. It's LeBron James, Steph Curry, and, to a lesser extent, KD. It's been that way for the last decade. They (and the media partners) don't really want to market Giannis, Luka, Jokic, and SGA. They really, really want those guys to be in New York or LA. Boston is a good team, but Tatum doesn't have the charisma and star power these other guys do.
There have probably been more stories about Bronny James than about Giannis this year.
@Tschmack posted:The other two things that stood out to me is for starters, Damian Lillard sure seems to hit another gear when the lights are on and all eyes are on him. The other takeaway is A Jax is a real difference maker on defense. SGA was clearly frustrated and even against ATL Trae Young really had to work to get his points. Iâd love to know what their record is in games where he starts and/or plays 20 or more minutes.
The Cup is what it is but clearly the Bucks came in motivated and if thatâs what it takes for them to play at a high level Iâm all for it. This is more of the type of team we thought weâd have at the beginning of the year.
Iâm sure the NBA now regrets not having Milwaukee play on Xmas. Good thing for them Philly and the Lakers are playing. The Sixers might lose by 50 against Boston.
Last part is their schedule over the next 20-25 games is pretty favorable so nowâs the time to make hay. They get into February and March and things will tighten up a lot in terms of level of competition they will face.
They are 9-3 (10-3 if you count last night) when Ajax plays more than 18 minutes. The three losses were by 2 points to Cleveland, 6 points to Boston, and 1 point to Charlotte (the phantom call at the end that Ball got).
They are 5-8 when he plays less than 18 minutes.
So not being much of an NBA fan I am curious about the NBA cup. Correct me if I am wrong but it's an in-season tournament? And its kind of meaningless? Are these games on top of their current 80 something game schedule?
I do think the NBA has some serious issues on their hands with ratings and appealing to the casual fan. I personally think their season is too long and they should consider shortening their season and starting it on or about Christmas. IMHO going head to head with college football and the NFL is not going to end well.
I think marketing only certain players like crazy to me is actually backfiring on them. I don't know how many times I hear people say "Damn ESPN made it 15 seconds without mentioning LeBron" I get it that he is their biggest star, but I also think people get turned off by it and skip the NBA.
MLB is in major trouble. In reality, 2/3 of the teams in baseball have no shot of winning a title and close to half of the teams donât care about winning at all.
The NBA will be OK because they have a lot better competitive balance and if a star wants to opt out and be traded the team can reload and restock and likely be relevant again. OKC and Cleveland are good examples of this and San Antonio wonât be far behind. Heck, Detroit may be starting to turn the corner.
That being said, the season is too damn long and the back to backs are just stupid. If they kicked off the season around Christmas and finished by end of July that would be perfect. They are losing early season viewers to CFB and the NFL right now and summer playoffs would draw more interest away from boring ass baseball.
As for the Bucks, A Jax probably wouldnât be as impactful on another team because he canât score. Milwaukee can literally have 3-4 other scorers or options on the floor at any time so A Jax doesnât need to shoot. His defense has been close to elite.
@Tschmack posted:MLB is in major trouble. In reality, 2/3 of the teams in baseball have no shot of winning a title and close to half of the teams donât care about winning at all.
The NBA will be OK because they have a lot better competitive balance and if a star wants to opt out and be traded the team can reload and restock and likely be relevant again. OKC and Cleveland are good examples of this and San Antonio wonât be far behind. Heck, Detroit may be starting to turn the corner.
That being said, the season is too damn long and the back to backs are just stupid. If they kicked off the season around Christmas and finished by end of July that would be perfect. They are losing early season viewers to CFB and the NFL right now and summer playoffs would draw more interest away from boring ass baseball.
As for the Bucks, A Jax probably wouldnât be as impactful on another team because he canât score. Milwaukee can literally have 3-4 other scorers or options on the floor at any time so A Jax doesnât need to shoot. His defense has been close to elite.
The NBA will be fine because it's the second most popular sport worldwide behind soccer. There have been HOF level players in the last 20 years from almost every inhabited continent except Australia (and there have been plenty of solid NBA players from Australia as well).
@The Heckler posted:So not being much of an NBA fan I am curious about the NBA cup. Correct me if I am wrong but it's an in-season tournament? And its kind of meaningless? Are these games on top of their current 80 something game schedule?
I do think the NBA has some serious issues on their hands with ratings and appealing to the casual fan. I personally think their season is too long and they should consider shortening their season and starting it on or about Christmas. IMHO going head to head with college football and the NFL is not going to end well.
I think marketing only certain players like crazy to me is actually backfiring on them. I don't know how many times I hear people say "Damn ESPN made it 15 seconds without mentioning LeBron" I get it that he is their biggest star, but I also think people get turned off by it and skip the NBA.
Except for last night's game, the NBA cups are specifically designated games that count towards the teams regular season record.
The game last night doesn't count in the standings and could be considered meaningless - except that every player on the winning team got over $500,000. It would be nice to build some more incentive into it though.
One thing I had thought of was to use how far you advance in the NBA cup as the primary tie-breaker at the end of the season. Let's say the Bucks and Magic tie at the end of the season. Since the Bucks advanced farther in the NBA Cup, they would automatically get the higher seed. If the teams got to the same level in the NBA Cup, then go to the other tiebreakers you would normally use.
Damn, an NBA championship topic doesn't roll over to page 2? 
By the way, what's the latest on the Dame and Giannis trades?
Dame said he's going to donate his payout to the Bucks support staff.
@MNPackman posted:Dame said he's going to donate his payout to the Bucks support staff.
Thanansis?
@PackerHawk posted:By the way, what's the latest on the Dame and Giannis trades?
Giannis was never going anywhere. I think there was a possibility Dame could have gone somewhere if things hadn't improved. If 2-8 would have turned into something like 8-17 right now instead of 14-11 something would have been done.
The big turnaround was that stretch right after they fell to 2-8 and the Houston game was huge 4 games in. They beat Toronto and then had to go OT to beat Detroit when they survived a phantom foul on Giannis at the end of regulation and then Giannis ended up with 59. The next game they lost to Charlotte when they called another phantom foul on Giannis. At that point they were 4-9 and facing the Rockets. They beat the Rockets by 1 when Dame (who was coming back from injury) hit a driving layup to go ahead and then the Bucks blew the inbounds coverage on the final play but Segurin couldn't catch the pass for an uncontested layup. You could see almost in real time a weight came off their shoulders and the run started.
From then on, shifting minutes away from Connaughton and Delon Wright and to AJ Green and Ajax is what improved things, not really Dame or Giannis doing anything different.
Gary Trent Jr was also dealing with some injuries and has come around and is a key contributor now. Heâs as good as Beasley shooting the 3 but quite a bit improved defensively.
But 100% correct the fortunes of the Bucks turned once Doc started trusting A Jax and AJ Green more and playing them more minutes.
The funny thing is they very well could have 4-5 more wins now. The game in Charlotte was stolen from them on that horrific call on Giannis. The two Cavs games and Boston very well could have gone Milwaukeeâs favor.
As it stands right now, the Sixers are DOA and that was a team that as constructed (and healthy) is probably a top 4 team in the East. Embiid is also the one guy that could give Giannis some problems. Cleveland is decent but I donât think the Bucks are concerned about them. The Knicks and Celtics are probably the teams to beat in the EC.