Bucks up 12 early despite Giannis sitting out a large part of the first. 32-20 in the first as Holiday already has 13 points in 10 minutes.
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Bucks up 11 after one quarter. Holiday with 13-2-2.
Giannis only with 4-1-0, but they haven't needed him much.
Bucks get very sloppy in the second quarter and let the Pistons cut the lead to 8 going into the half. Pistons made up 7 points in the last 75 seconds.
Need to put the hammer down to start the second half, mainly by keeping Cunningham from going off (19 points)
Giannis with a sort of "meh" half - 11-2-2.
Pistons go 6-0 in the first 43 seconds of the second half. Lead down to 2.
If G. Allen has to do anything other than catch and shoot wide open 3s, he has very little offensive value.
Now only a 3 point lead with Giannis in foul trouble.
Bucks up 11 going to the 4th. Pistons maintaining enough contact to have to play a good 4th quarter.
Bucks up 10 in the second half despite going 0 for 12 from three after half-time. A lot of these were wide open 3s off the defense collapsing on Giannis. Still up 8, but really missing Middleton in these situations.
You have Giannis. How about getting him some shots near the rim?
Holiday and J. Carter can't finish at the rim.
Giannis how has 5 fouls with 5 minutes left and Giannis sits again
Cade Cunningham is already getting superstar calls. The same calls Giannis hasn't gotten tonight.
Tie game with 57 seconds left after Giannis misses two shots at the rim and splits FTs.
Bucks hold on to win. Giannis was 0 for 3 from the floor and 1 for 2 from the line in the last 2 minutes. He looked terrible down the stretch and was never really in rhythm. But when
31-7-2 with 2 blocks on 12 for 23 from the floor and 7 for 9 from the line as your worst game of the year means you are pretty good.
I just love Dofu Sports app….I have too many damn subscriptions to spring for NBA games…was able to watch last 10 minutes.
After the first quarter, Bucks are up 31-26. Giannis with 17-7-1 in 9 minutes.
Bucks should be up more, but are 1 for 10 from three.
Start the quarter with Beauchamp. On first 4 possessions, he misses a wide open 3, and then has two bad turnovers.
Bucks up 4 now. Giannis with 21 in 12 minutes, but the Bucks are 1 for 16 from three.
They were 11 for 40 Monday night.
Bucks now up 12 despite going
1 for 18 from three and giving a lot of empty minutes to Beauchamp and Nwora.
Bucks are up 14 in the third, despite being 3 for 27 from three.
Bucks up 17 after 3 quarters despite going 6 for 31 from three.
Giannis is not exactly exerting a lot of energy on offense but sits at 28-9-3 with 4 steals in 25 minutes.
A win.
82-0 Baby!
The Bucks won by 27 despite going 10-38 from 3. Look a little further and it’s obvious why.
+17 on the boards including 15 offensive rebounds.
17 steals compared to 7 for Detroit.
56 points in the paint compared to 30 for Detroit.
+9 in FT attempts
This is why teams like the Nets have no fucking chance to win a title. They do not come close to rebounding and playing defense like Milwaukee. Yes, Giannis has a lot to do with that but Milwaukee had literally 30 more possessions or opportunities than Detroit. That’s crazy.
@Tschmack posted:The Bucks won by 27 despite going 10-38 from 3. Look a little further and it’s obvious why.
+17 on the boards including 15 offensive rebounds.
17 steals compared to 7 for Detroit.
56 points in the paint compared to 30 for Detroit.
+9 in FT attempts
This is why teams like the Nets have no fucking chance to win a title. They do not come close to rebounding and playing defense like Milwaukee. Yes, Giannis has a lot to do with that but Milwaukee had literally 30 more possessions or opportunities than Detroit. That’s crazy.
The Nets (and the Lakers other than the bubble year) prioritized getting as many flashy players as possible. It was all about letting LeBron and Durant get as many of their buddies on the teams to supposedly win rings. That's how you end up with the guys that are shells of their former selfs that didn't like playing defense even when they were younger like Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Lemarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, Andre Drummond, and Russell Westbrook getting money and minutes, but getting rid of cheaper guys like Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter, and Avery Bradley who will actually buy into to the effort it takes to play defense.
Last year, the Nets released Jevon Carter so they could keep roster space for Blake Griffin and Goran Dragic. Carter was exactly what they needed and he is on a minimum salary.
The Bucks have a chance every year because of Giannis, but also because they have a ton of guys that play defense at a high effort and skill level. Holiday is a top 10 defensive guard of all-time. Carter must be on the most annoying guys to bring the ball up against in the NBA. George Hill always plays hard. PJ Tucker and Wes Matthews are the same way. Middleton is also very good.
Great points. I really think the biggest key is Carter. He sets the tone and an already defensive minded team gets that much stingier with him getting real minutes. Matthews always plays hard D but I think Hill is bringing even more energy then he usually does this year...maybe he is feeling healthier which has to help. Even Nwora has stepped up his defensive game. With opposing guards having to work harder at the 3 point line it makes it easier for Giannis and Lopez to challenge them in the paint. Lopez looks like a new player post-op. Also kudos to Bud and the staff as they have definitely made a concerted effort to improve the Bucks defensive focus this year.
The Bucks are loaded with + defenders and rebounders. Giannis and Holiday are arguably the best on ball defenders at their positions within the NBA. Lopez is still an elite rim protector. Matthews and Hill and Carter are high effort guys. Ibaka may be old but he’s proven. Middleton is one of the best 3 and D guys in the league. Portis is a walking double double.
You line up Milwaukee with anyone else in the league and assuming everyone is healthy who is better than this team?
It’s early but Lopez looks 5 years younger and is asserting himself on D and on the glass.
You talk these guys up like most people talked up the Packers defense in August.
@Blair Kiel posted:You talk these guys up like most people talked up the Packers defense in August.
Except these guys have actually had success in the post-season.
Point.
Lopez has been playing elite level defense and rim protection so far. That’s based on his grades and stats and watching him play.
Giannis and Holiday were All NBA defensive players last year and Holiday should have been first team All NBA. It’s not subjective how good they are or have been.
Middleton plays solid defense for a wing player, and on a different team without as many good defenders he probably gets a lot more credit and publicity.
For role players, Matthews and Hill and Carter are all above average defenders and Pat C and Portis are decent rebounders.
The Packers are nothing like the Bucks in any way shape or form. Offensively or defensively. Or intangibles. Or leadership. The GBP have become fat and happy the last 25 years so they are OK being OK to decent.
We were sold a bill of goods on GB in the offseason and I’ll admit I took the bait. Not Graham Mertz level hype, but clearly the Packers in just about every aspect of play have underachieved and underperformed but honestly maybe they just aren’t that good. Time will tell.
@Tschmack posted:Lopez has been playing elite level defense and rim protection so far. That’s based on his grades and stats and watching him play.
Giannis and Holiday were All NBA defensive players last year and Holiday should have been first team All NBA. It’s not subjective how good they are or have been.
Middleton plays solid defense for a wing player, and on a different team without as many good defenders he probably gets a lot more credit and publicity.
For role players, Matthews and Hill and Carter are all above average defenders and Pat C and Portis are decent rebounders.
The Packers are nothing like the Bucks in any way shape or form. Offensively or defensively. Or intangibles. Or leadership. The GBP have become fat and happy the last 25 years so they are OK being OK to decent.
We were sold a bill of goods on GB in the offseason and I’ll admit I took the bait. Not Graham Mertz level hype, but clearly the Packers in just about every aspect of play have underachieving and underperformed but honestly maybe they just aren’t that good. Time will tell.
I really thought the narrative of the Packers season was going to be that they'd win a lot of close games by scores of 17-13, 24-20, etc. and go something like 10-7. Then, they'd get beat in the playoffs because they didn't have enough playmakers on offense when the good teams had guys that could beat even elite defense.
I thought the offense would struggle like it has.
I don't know of anyone who would have predicted that a defense with this many first-round picks, and more importantly, guys with previous NFL success would be this bad. The irritating thing is that besides Stokes and Savage (two big problems obviously) the individual players have looked very good pretty consistently. Preston Smith has played well. R. Gary has had success rushing the passer. It's obvious that Walker and D. Campbell provide speed at ILB they've lacked since Nick Barnett. Kenny Clark has collapsed the interior line. Alexander got beat by McLaurin, but other than that appears to be back. Amos has generally been solid.
The problems on defense are that the sum is much less than the individual parts and that's all about the choice of Joe Barry as a DC.
There is a lot of intangible stuff that also contributes to the differences between the two teams. Now that we know more about Rodgers, it's clear he's not a guy that most players like playing with. He's just a weird guy in general. Giannis is a guy that everyone likes and he'd be a popular player in the locker room even if he was a benchwarmer (just like Thanasis). With a couple of exceptions (Cobb, for example) Rodgers just isn't likable.
The other thing that's lacking is a leader in general for the Packers. It doesn't have to be the QB - Rodgers was probably just as much of a flake in 2010 as he is now, but Charles Woodson set a tone. Favre has always been a POS human being, we just know that now because it is no longer covered up by a fawning press. But he had Reggie White, Sean Jones, William Henderson, and LeRoy Butler on those teams to establish accountability.
The Bucks have Holiday and Middleton besides Giannis to do this. There might be no more respected player in the league than Holiday. You constantly read stuff from players about how Middleton is constantly coaching up the young guys. Wes Matthews and George Hill (and PJ Tucker) are there to show everyone else how it's done in terms of effort.
Finally, another difference between the teams is the assistant coaches. Budenholzer hires guys that go on and have success at other places. Taylor Jenkins has had immediate success in Memphis. Darvin Ham has been dealt a tough hand in LA, but it's clear he's setting a tone there. Charles Lee is the next guy up for a job. MLF's coaching hires leave a lot to be desired. Drayton? Joe Barry? N. Hackett has looked lost on his own in Denver even with a good QB. MLF just doesn't hire the best people for these positions. Is that MLF or is that Murphy/Gute/Ball influencing things?