Giannis in COVID protocols

Good fucking grief…

This is literally the season from hell so far.

Nets have 7 players in the protocol JFC

They had 8 players on the roster last night.  Thankfully, KD was one of them.

It’s going to be interesting to see if more games get postponed.  Cases are spiking just about everywhere and it could get worse before it gets better especially as people congregate inside over the holidays.

Donte Divencenzo now ruled out for health and safety protocols.

So, assuming Middleton is out they are missing at least 7 players and George Hill hasn't played in over a week and might not play either. Giannis, Lopez, Middleton, Cousins, Matthews, DDV, Ojeleye, Hill all likely out.

So, we are looking at having 9 players available for the Bucks tonight:  Portis, Connaughton, G. Allen, Holiday, Hood, Thanasis, Nwora, Mamu, and J. Smart. Arguably, those last 4 guys should not see minutes outside of garbage time, but you don't usually have to rely on roster spots 13-17 for anything other than having bodies to practice.

And I was going to go to the game tonight… lol

Fucking DDV are you kidding?  You have been out for almost a year and set to return and now in protocols.

Bucks surprisingly up at the half…

Pacers up 1 now. Holiday is dominating Brogdon, but no size is letting Sabonis kill them on putbacks.

Tied after 3. Holiday has played 27 minutes already. Whether the Bucks have a chance will probably come down to how much he's got left (both in minutes and point production). He's already at 24 points and 11 assists. Everyone in the rotation has held up except Grayson Allen who has been terrible (2 for 11)

Bucks go on a 14-0 run and lead by 13 with 5 minutes left.

How about that…

Unbelievable. Bucks with a 21-0 run. Now up 20. Jordan Nwora takes over in the 4th.

25-5 Bucks 4th quarter…

Well, pretty damn impressive result. Hopefully Giannis comes back soon.

With a 20 point lead late in the 4th, normally I’d say “Put the scrubs in”.  In this case, you really couldn’t say that because the scrubs were already out there playing. An awesome unexpected win with Jrue and mostly 2nd and 3rd stringers leading the way.

I still get sad seeing Brogdon on that team.  But it just seems like he didn’t want to stay on the Bucks for some reason.  Oh well, I suppose if he had remained a Buck we possibly never get Jrue, all’s well that ends well.

@fightphoe93 posted:

With a 20 point lead late in the 4th, normally I’d say “Put the scrubs in”.  In this case, you really couldn’t say that because the scrubs were already out there playing.

😂😂😂

@fightphoe93 posted:

With a 20 point lead late in the 4th, normally I’d say “Put the scrubs in”.  In this case, you really couldn’t say that because the scrubs were already out there playing. An awesome unexpected win with Jrue and mostly 2nd and 3rd stringers leading the way.

I still get sad seeing Brogdon on that team.  But it just seems like he didn’t want to stay on the Bucks for some reason.  Oh well, I suppose if he had remained a Buck we possibly never get Jrue, all’s well that ends well.

I liked Brogdon, too, but Jrue absolutely abused him in one-on-one matchups.

Brogdon wanted to be the 1st or 2nd option on an average team and run up counting stats to get paid rather than being the 4th option on a title contender.

And, no, if Brogdon is here they don't get Holiday. Part of the Holiday trade was the pick they got from the Pacers going to the Pelicans. They also gave up one year of George Hill, Eric Bledsoe (just getting out of that contact was huge), and three first-round picks outright (the Pacers 2021 pick, the Bucks 2025 first-rounder, and the Bucks 2027 first-rounder). There are also pick swap options the Pelicans have in 2024 and 2026. Giannis is under contract until 2026, so it's not likely the Bucks are going to have a high lottery pick anytime until maybe 2027.

Overall, they gave up a lot to get Holiday, but it was worth it. The fact that they essentially got Grayson Allen out of assets from the same trade (Sam Merrill) makes it even a little better.

The Pelicans are in really bad shape right now. They are invested in a guy that looks like a superstar if he can stay healthy in Zion, but he would scare me to death about giving a big-money extension to if I was a GM or an owner. They should trade Zion to some team desperate for a marquee name to get the fanbase excited (KNICKS, KNICKS, KNICKS). He may look great for a year or two, but a guy with foot problems at that weight is more likely to end up like Robert Traylor than Charles Barkley.

One of the more satisfying and enjoyable wins in some time.  Think how deflating it must be if you are the Pacers?  The Bucks have absolutely owned that team and you got worked basically at full strength by a team that had no business beating you.  

I know I’m jumping the shark by saying this but this is why Holiday is worth every penny and is probably the most underrated superstar in the league.  He may not do all the things that show up on the stat sheet, but his defense, leadership, and poise can’t be understated.  

Then there’s Brogdon.  Can the media actually be held accountable and give Horst and the Bucks credit once and for all on not resigning him?   The national media killed the Bucks for dealing him and we all know now that was 100% the right decision.  It’s not that Brogdon isn’t well liked or isn’t a good player; in the end he’s just not as important as some would have you believe.

@Tschmack posted:

One of the more satisfying and enjoyable wins in some time.  Think how deflating it must be if you are the Pacers?  The Bucks have absolutely owned that team and you got worked basically at full strength by a team that had no business beating you.  

I know I’m jumping the shark by saying this but this is why Holiday is worth every penny and is probably the most underrated superstar in the league.  He may not do all the things that show up on the stat sheet, but his defense, leadership, and poise can’t be understated.  

Then there’s Brogdon.  Can the media actually be held accountable and give Horst and the Bucks credit once and for all on not resigning him?   The national media killed the Bucks for dealing him and we all know now that was 100% the right decision.  It’s not that Brogdon isn’t well liked or isn’t a good player; in the end he’s just not as important as some would have you believe.

Jrue is one of the top 5 defensive on-ball guards I've ever watched. His defense on Booker and Paul in the Finals should be required viewing for anyone who wants to see what a difference an elite defensive guard can make. As soon as Holiday was assigned to Paul in the Finals, the articles about how Paul must be playing hurt because he has had so many turnovers showed up. When the Pelicans beat the Blazers in the playoffs a few years back, he completely dominated D. Lillard on both ends of the court.

The one benefit of Middleton and now Giannis missing time is that Holiday might finally be named an All-star again. As the defending champs with a top 3-4 seed this year, the Bucks should get two guys in and Holiday may benefit.  He's been an all-star once in his career, mainly because no one values defense enough. I understand a great defensive player not making an all-star team because he contributes almost nothing on offense (PJ Tucker), even though horrifically bad defensive players make all-stars teams because of their offense (Bradley Beal). However, Holiday has averaged roughly 17/5/7 for most of his career on offense which is more than good enough to make an all-star team with his Hall-of-fame level defense. He's at the Sidney Moncrief, Gary Payton, Alvin Robertson, Dennis Johnson level on defense.

To me, Gary Payton is still the best guard defender I have seen in my lifetime.  He was NBA All defensive player 9 times.  Sidney Moncrief is probably 2nd.  Sid won DPOY twice.

That being said, those guys played in eras when hand checking was still allowed, so they were allowed to get really physical and not get called.

It doesn’t diminish what I think of Holiday in any way.  He’s probably my (current) favorite player.  He may not get all of the awards and accolades because half his career he’s played on forgettable teams but he’s an elite defender.  If you had to poll NBA players, my guess is they would say he’s the best guard defender today.

@Tschmack posted:

One of the more satisfying and enjoyable wins in some time.  

I think this was the best win of the season. At least on par with the season opening game against the Nets.