These refs suck
Bucks play like shit and win.
Let's build on that
Kyle Lowry can't play any better and it didn't matter. Kawhi and Siakam were decent.
Middleton and Bledsoe were 7-24 from the field and 1-12 from 3.
Imagine if they get normal games from Middleton and Bledsoe and Lowry plays close to normal.
They didn’t play like shit in the 4Q
Toronto has to be deflated. Lowry and Kahwi had 60+ and they still lost. And Bledsoe and Middleton basically did nothing in this game.
This is what should concern the Raptors. I’m not sure they can play better and the Bucks certainly can play better. And still an L for “the North”
Stupidest tagline ever we the north. No you the lame. As long as Drake is repping you I feel good about the Bucks chances.
I've never seen Lowry play anything close to that. Another Kyrie game one moment ?
Toronto was clicking on all cylinders .....gotta be demoralized.
The Bucks took Toronto's best shot and still won. This series goes 5, 6 maybe.
The Raptors outplayed the Bucks but the 4Q came around and Milwaukee just curb stomped them. This is what is so tough about this team. Bledsoe sucks and Brogdon comes up big. Middleton was sketchy but Lopez steps up. Giannis had an ordinary game for him.
Don’t be surprised if Bucks win by 25+ on Friday. I’m not sure the Raptors can play much better than they did in this game and still lost.
Things were looking bad for 3 quarters and guys stepped up. Mad props to Lopez, he laid it all out there...not only behind the arc, but driving to the hoop, protecting the rim, rebounding, playing defense. Great game by Splash Mountain.
The Bucks overcame a crappy start and shut the Barnies down in the final minutes. Lopez letting them know they have to pay attention. And kudos to Giannis for making the right play. 3 more of those open threes and it was a 17 point blowout.
And kudos to Middleton for his defense of Leonard- 31 points but 26 shots. And they burned their starters over 40 minutes except for Danny Green. Giannis locks down Siakam to a tune of 6-20.
Bucks did what they do. Barnies keep burning their starters like this it’s a sweep... they’ll run out of gas.
Tschmack posted:7 more wins
Let's get 3 more wins first.
Bucks demolished Barnies 60-46 on the boards, 15-8 on the o-boards.
Bucks played like Champions tonight. This is what Champions do. Win games even when they don't play their best. It's a grind. Just ask Golden State. They grinded out this win & it's a big one to start.
- Win Friday Night to hold serve
- Win minimum one in "The North"
- Become EC Champs in Milwaukee.
- Head to the Finals well rested.
No more effing around now. No mercy in game 2!
What the Raptors need to worry about is fatigue. 4 of their 5 starters played 40 minutes or more. Heck Danny Green played 35 minutes as well. It was obvious late in the game that Leonard looked tired.
This is where the bench and depth becomes very important. If Toronto wants to burn their guys out this series will be over quickly. It may be over quickly anyway. Lowry and Kahwi played pretty well and Siakam was OK and they still lost.
On the other hand, the only two guys that played well for Milwaukee were Brogdon and Lopez. Giannis played OK, but he was far from his usual dominant self. Bledsoe, Middleton, Mirotic, and Hill played below average. Connaughton didn’t do much either. Yet they still won.
This is what the Bucks do. If they start out slow they know that they can outplay and outlast their opponents because they can go 8-9 guys deep without much drop off. They just wear you down. It’s a lot like the Badgers under Barry Alvarez. Keep running the ball and later in the game guys get tired and don’t want to tackle you anymore.
Toronto looked dejected at the end and they should. I’m sure after the 1st quarter they thought it was in the bag. Then the Bucks take over in the 4Q and ripped it away from them. Personally, I would be surprised if the Bucks didn’t blow them out on Friday.
Raptors went three minutes without a point late in the fourth quarter. At the press conference Leonard blamed "turnovers, missed shots." Completely missing that fatigue makes cowards of us all, and the Milwaukee bench, even on an off night, is hard to overcome, something Sir Charles has been talking about for a long time.
By the way, how far has Giannis come when everyone is commenting that he had, at best, an average game when he went for 24 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals and was the primary defender on a guy who will win MIP in the league and held him to 6 of 20 from the floor.
Pau Gasol wrote a nice article for the Players Tribune detailing why Giannis is the MVP:
It’s interesting but Greg Popovich got blasted in years past for resting guys and come playoff time they looked fresh. Coach Bud managed their minutes this year including Giannis. Unlike idiot Jason Kidd who would play Giannis 60 minutes a game if he could.
Hopefully Kidd starts playing Lonzo & L'Bron 45 minutes a game.
Boris posted:Hopefully Kidd starts playing Lonzo & L'Bron 45 minutes a game.
I still can't get over the fact that Jason Kidd would instruct guys to purposely miss a FT up 3 with 1 second left to guard against a 4 point play. It's like something out of the onion.
https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1450422
Can't believe Kidd got a job after the mess he made in Milwaukee.
I love the fact that Kidd is going to the Lakers. That team is so ****ed.
Jeannie Buss is a moron. LeBron made a stupid decision joining that team. They are many moves away from becoming relevant again and that’s fine with me. Jerry West made that team. Now they are living off the past (much like the Knicks) and no one cares.
The 4 teams remaining are technically small market teams. You could debate Golden State but whatever. I hope the Knicks and Lakers and Bulls and Celtics and Sixers continue to eat a shit sandwich.
Toronto put all of their eggs in one basket. Kahwi is a great player to add to your team but in doing so they lost a really solid bench ...... they just don't have the horsepower to go against such a deep roster that is the MILWAUKEE BUCKS.
I'm guessing it's not one of the 3 guys circled? 
So, what do we think about Game 2 tonight?
I'm thinking that the Nurse will have to try to get more minutes out of his bench. His 3 bench guys (Ibaka, Van Vleet, and Powell) played 40 minutes total in Game 1. The Bucks bench gave them 80 minutes and that's without playing Sterling Brown or Tony Snell who would both get minutes if they were on the Raptors.
If Nurse does this, the Bucks have to make them pay when it's bench mob vs. bench mob.
Not playing Ibaka more was a big mistake by Nurse. He's often been a Bucks killer and he's a guy that can make GIannis work.
Toronto's bench guys can't be on the court for very long. They are getting annihilated by the Bucks bench.
MichiganPacker2 posted:Toronto's bench guys can't be on the court for very long. They are getting annihilated by the Bucks bench.
Yeah, Brogdon sure hurt them. I think he is 3/3 with 8 points.
What a BS call Lowry got there. He did that to Giannis earlier.