Preseason

Someone noted that Giannis dramatically changed his FT form. On the left is a still from the Miami playoff series. On the right is a still from last night.

I DVRd the game so will need to go back and look but he seemed much more relaxed and comfortable at the line.  

His 3pt shooting was still an adventure although he hit a couple of nice turnaround jumpers near the baseline.

Doncic - man he is deadly from long range.  Even guarded he can still hit them.  I’d love to watch he and Dame and Curry to see who can hit the most the furthest guarded.  

I didn't watch the whole game, but was at least a little disappointed at how the Bucks played in the start of the 2nd half.   It was Bucks starters vs. Dallas bench warmers and Dallas bench warmers out played them.

Nothing to jump off a bridge over as it's the 1st game of pre-season and who the hell cares. But after watching how awful the Bucks were this past summer in the bubble, I was hoping they'd look better than they did last night. 

I did have hopes that Portis would have been working on his game, and that appears to be the case. Offensively, they’re going to be a WIP. But the defensive side is going to be exciting- they’re going to be much quicker in rotations and contesting, and that’s going to make them better defending the P&R- and in the playoffs, you either defend the p&r or you lose.

That first quarter the Bucks just stifled the Mavericks.  Holiday and DDV caused all sorts of issues for Dallas and this a good Mavericks team.  Arguably the deepest team in the league. But the Bucks just stoned them.

I said it earlier but I think they held Doncic scoreless for a good portion of the first half.  That’s a tall task in itself.

Let’s also not forget the Bucks shot like 20% from 3 and missed a lot of open or non contested shots.   It should get better. Plus the Mavericks couldn’t miss in the 3Q.  I think they hit 9 or 10 bombs alone and the Bucks were playing all their guys.  

Giannis leaving, per his barber, on thesportsrush.com. Good. I’m tired of the drama. Please get Bam and Herro and some picks.

@tsr86free posted:

Giannis leaving, per his barber, on thesportsrush.com. Good. I’m tired of the drama. Please get Bam and Herro and some picks.

This is every day for the rest of the season if he doesn't sign some sort of extension. That's why they need to trade him if he doesn't sign.

Well, if that’s it then that’s it. You better get a haul. Go out and get Harden, Adebayo, and Herro, try to keep Lopez, and reshape the whole damned thing.

Yeah I saw that piece about the barber and now it’s a certainty he’s gone?  I mean, the limo driver or his personal dietician wasn’t available?

But MP2 is right.  If he doesn’t sign by Dec 21 it will be an absolute media circus.  There is no way that can’t serve as a distraction.  

What’s frustrating is if he wants to “wait and see” then just come out and say it.  The Bucks didn’t create this situation, you did.  Or you and your agent did.   Either way, the Bucks have done just about everything in their power to placate him and if it’s not good enough I doubt it’s going to change a week or a month or 3 months from now.  It’s not like waiting will change his financial situation.

Assuming he doesn’t extend by Dec 21 we will learn a lot about Horst in the upcoming months.  This will test their mettle and patience for sure and I see no way out of it unless they trade him ala Anthony Davis.

It’s getting awfully late, though... season kicks off in a week. If there is even a chance to trade him and then also flip for Harden (I still think that they need another team to get Houston the haul they’re asking for), they need to do it pdq.

The fact that he hasn’t signed yet seems to indicate he wants to bide  his time. Trade him ASAP to get a maximum return.

@Music City posted:

It’s getting awfully late, though... season kicks off in a week. If there is even a chance to trade him and then also flip for Harden (I still think that they need another team to get Houston the haul they’re asking for), they need to do it pdq.

I have no interest in Harden.  This is really disappointing.  You just can't risk him leaving.

He will get courted by Dallas, Toronto and Miami among others.   Sad, but need to move him.   A trade can happen anytime during the year,  correct?  If so, there's not urgency around moving him asap.

@tsr86free posted:

The fact that he hasn’t signed yet seems to indicate he wants to bide  his time. Trade him ASAP to get a maximum return.

It's getting annoying that he's pulling this shit about hiding behind his agent on this. If he isn't going to sign something before December 22nd, then just say that when he's asked. It would suck, but it would be better than this "I'm just focused on getting better" BS cliche stuff. It's his right to wait until after the year to sign the supermax because the NBA is a business, but then the Bucks have to treat it like a business and move him for something. If he's not going to sign an extension now, he's probably gone after this season even after a long playoff run. Maybe he wants a warm weather city, maybe his wife wants to move closer to family. That's all within his rights and it wouldn't the first time it's happened in the league.

I think what it is right now is that he's marketed himself as an "aw shucks, humble attitude guy who's different than the AAU guys." If he leaves as a free agent for some superteam, he's compromised that PR and it puts a lot more pressure on him to win where he goes. If, instead, the Bucks trade him, he'll just say he was still considering staying and that he just wanted to see how the new Bucks roster was going to gel before committing long term. He can say he didn't really want to bail on them. Of course, this is mostly BS as he has to know that playing a season where he's got one foot out the door is not a recipe for success.

What happens if he has a minor injury at the end of the year or in the playoffs. The Bucks went against their own interests and sat him down against the Heat. If he's sitting without a contract and is already picking out real estate in Miami Beach, it sets up a potentially bad situation where he's not going to be willing to play with some dings. Not to mention that by not extending, it's a big middle finger to Middleton, Holiday, B. Lopez, and the rest of his teammates this year about what he really thinks about their collective talent. It's not going to help develop team chemistry or allow them to overcome the challenges that will eventually come up. If that's what he thinks, just man up and say it and move on.

The barber is backing the truck up a bit.

https://twitter.com/itsjwills/...465971580928/photo/1

That’s my concern.  A number of these guys signed with the Bucks thinking that Giannis would be around at least for one year if not longer.

If he doesn’t extend before the deadline, then it could send a message (intentional or not) that he doesn’t think this team is good enough.  If you were Holiday or Middleton or Lopez or others how would that make you feel?

I’ll go a step further.  The longer this drags out the less the Bucks can get back in return.  If he truly wasn’t going to extend he should have told the Bucks 4-6 weeks ago before all the player moves were made.  They never would have had more leverage as a team then at that point and teams would have been tripping over themselves to give away the farm to get him.

Now, much like Harden, he’s limited to where he can actually go and that’s not a good situation.  You don’t want to recoup 50 cents on the dollar when you could have gotten 80-90 cents on the dollar for him back then.   The minute the season starts his trade value drops like a rock.

This is what sucks so bad about this whole situation.  He could be totally sincere and mean what he says - play out the year and run it back for the next 5 years.  But what’s preventing you now from doing that?  Nothing!  

If you are still unsure, which is understandable, then tell your agent to split the baby.  Do a 2+1 or something similar to allow you the chance to test the waters in 3 years from now.  By that time you will know if Milwaukee can win it all or not.

@Tschmack posted:

I’ll go a step further.  The longer this drags out the less the Bucks can get back in return.  If he truly wasn’t going to extend he should have told the Bucks 4-6 weeks ago before all the player moves were made.  They never would have had more leverage as a team then at that point and teams would have been tripping over themselves to give away the farm to get him.

Now, much like Harden, he’s limited to where he can actually go and that’s not a good situation.  You don’t want to recoup 50 cents on the dollar when you could have gotten 80-90 cents on the dollar for him back then.   The minute the season starts his trade value drops like a rock.

This is what sucks so bad about this whole situation.  He could be totally sincere and mean what he says - play out the year and run it back for the next 5 years.  But what’s preventing you now from doing that?  Nothing!  

If you are still unsure, which is understandable, then tell your agent to split the baby.  Do a 2+1 or something similar to allow you the chance to test the waters in 3 years from now.  By that time you will know if Milwaukee can win it all or not.

If Giannis wanted to set up a scenario to force a trade to another team to another team while giving himself as good a chance as possible to win this year with that team, this is exactly what he would have done.

Toronto is lurking and Siakam fits even up for Giannis (likely with some picks thrown in).

The deadline is only for the Supermax

There’s nothing preventing him after that point to sign some other form of contract extension

@Tschmack posted:

The deadline is only for the Supermax

There’s nothing preventing him after that point to sign some other form of contract extension

So he can get asked after every game whether he's going to sign a 1+1 or a 2+1? That's almost worse than knowing or not knowing by a specific deadline.

The devil is in what you know.  The fans may not like it but a 1+1 or 2+1 is still preferred to doing nothing because he could walk and the Bucks get nothing back in return.

The Supermax has only guaranteed a few players would stay in their markets.  Steph Curry was one.  Damian Lilliard is another one.  Now PG13 is one (Clippers) and AD (Lakers).  Wall and Westbrook have been traded, and Harden appears to be on the verge of being traded.

Been watching this preseason game. Some observations.

1. DJ Wilson looks like a different player. Just the body language is different. Maybe he can give them 15 good minutes a night in the rotation.

2. Holiday, Giannis, DDV, and Middleton need a lot more reps in offensive sets.

3. Forbes can shoot.

4. 3 point defense with the drop defense is still a problem.

Giannis 0 for 6 from the line tonight.

@MichiganPacker2 posted:

Bucks bring starters back in to start the 4th and watch the Mavs backups roast them 9-0

Now a 14-2 Mavs reserves run.

I don't get why Bud brought the starters back in there. Didn't make sense given its preseason.

Mavs go 22 for 46 from 3.

The body language of the Bucks starters does not look good. Maybe I'm ready too much into it, but they look awkward leaving the court.

Mavs look good. It’s preseason. Bucks might be a WIP this year with the lineup changes.

@Music City posted:

Mavs look good. It’s preseason. Bucks might be a WIP this year with the lineup changes.

If Giannis would sign some sort of extension, no one would care about preseason. But everything they do is under a microscope. Holiday needs some more game reps with Giannis/Middleton/DDV/Lopez. They've had like 8 practices.

Start of the season might be a little ugly...

And Giannis reverts right back to missing free throws.  0-6?   That’s horrendous.  

I get it you can have off nights shooting the ball but until he shows he can do more than once a week he’s a terrible FT shooter.  And given his inability to hit shots that makes him a liability at the end of games.

He does things around the rim and finishes like few others have except maybe Dr. J or AI.   But many years in now he’s still an unfinished player.  That’s a concern if he does end up extending.

The Mavs are basically what the Bucks are trying to be.  The difference is the Mavs star player hits his shots and ours does not.

The Bucks have two DJs having a good (albeit abbreviated) camp. Would be a nice boost to the bench if DJW can show a jump forward.

If and when Giannis signs some sort of extension, the big question will be whether Bud adapts to run something other than the drop defensive scheme. It's great against a lot of teams in the league, but it got lit up both nights by Dallas and is a huge reason for the series losses to the Raptors and the Heat.

If Bud develops an alternative to that, then it takes Lopez off the floor because he can't switch. I think Portis has a lot of potential in the Marvin Williams type role and a lineup that has some combination of Holiday, DDV, Middleton, Craig, Giannis, and Portis could switch almost everything on the perimeter. For this to work, they need another mobile big guy to give them a few minutes when Giannis or Portis have to sit. This is where DJ Wilson comes in. He doesn't have to be great, just good enough to not get overrun.

BOOM!

@ShamsCharania: Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo is signing a landmark NBA contract: Five years, $228.2 million. He remains a Milwaukee Buck:

I’ve spent a lot of time watching DJ Wilson these first two preseason games.  He seems like a different player.    He’s playing with a lot more energy and confidence and it shows.  He’s also looking for his shot and playing aggressive.   I realize it’s preseason but it would be a pleasant surprise for him to step up and give them 10-12 quality minutes a game as an outside shooter.

The other DJ seems to have knack for finding the open guy and they must be pushing him to distribute the ball more.  He has always been known as a shooting and scoring threat, but this team needs someone other than Holiday that can set up the offense especially when the pace slows down.

Not sure what to make of the Bucks giving up so many 3s but Dallas has a number of good outside shooters.   Josh Richardson is a fantastic scoring threat and I have no idea why the Sixers traded Seth Curry for him.  And Porzingis isn’t even playing.  That’s a sneaky good Mavericks team.

@ilcuqui posted:

BOOM!

@ShamsCharania: Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo is signing a landmark NBA contract: Five years, $228.2 million. He remains a Milwaukee Buck:

Fantastic.

At this point, it’s on coach Bud to get the most out of these guys as there’s no significant distractions.  If things are shaky at any point this year, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Darvin Ham take over.

Alright alright alright!

Just saw the Giannis news.  Nicely done.  Now that’s behind them and they can focus on the season.  

In the meantime, the Lakers, Raptors, Heat and Mavericks can fuck right off.  Miami is on the clock to deal for James Harden.

@Tschmack posted:

Alright alright alright!

Just saw the Giannis news.  Nicely done.  Now that’s behind them and they can focus on the season.  

In the meantime, the Lakers, Raptors, Heat and Mavericks can fuck right off.  Miami is on the clock to deal for James Harden.

Yes. The floodgates are going to open on Harden now.

The Raptors let Gasol and Ibaka walk while waiting on Giannis.

Wonderful news.  So happy for Wisconsin Sports and Milwaukee!!!  A breath of fresh air for small markets.

The 5 year extension includes an opt out after the 4th year.  Makes sense to me and probably explains why it wasn’t done sooner.

Jon Horst and the Bucks just outsmarted Masai Uriji and Pat Riley.  Serves them right for tampering, I mean, talking about adding Giannis after this year.  

Now I hope they play both teams in the playoffs and send them packing.

I’m most happy for the state of Wisconsin.

Great news! Now work on free throws and your outside shot, G!