This season is a blast.

The Bucks are 10-8 since their hot start. It’s been a tough schedule, but they have a couple bad losses. The inconsistency of their supposed stars outside of Giannis is why they’re basically playing .500 ball since October. 

82 games is a long time... lots of ups and downs. But right now they need to play defense like they did tonight every night. Like T said, they controlled the final 2 minutes and Brogdon hit the big shots. 

Nice little moment of coaching- Toronto was doubling the receiver of the inbounded pass in the final sequence. Bucks call timeout after almost turning it over. Buds dialed up a fake to Bledsoe and instead goes to Giannis the other way for the dunk. 

They’ve had a season of big wins already in just the first 25 or so games. 2-0 against Toronto including a win at their place which doesn’t happen often.  

The losses against the Knicks and Phoenix were disappointing, but their other 6 losses have been to good teams usually on the road.   And outside of the loss at Portland and this past week against the champs they’ve had 2-4 point losses.  So it’s not like they are getting blown out in the Ls. 

Before the season started if you said they’d be 17-8 through their most difficult stretch of the season I’m pretty sure we all would have taken it. 

Their next dozen or so games through the holidays should tell us a lot more about this team as the only real difficult games in that stretch are games at Boston and at Indiana so they should make hay over the next month.  Many winnable games in there but they have to play with effort and intensity.  I think early in the season they got a jump on teams and suprised them but not anymore.  Opposing teams practice and watch game film as well.  

I still think Milwaukee is shaping out to be a top 4 team in the East.  You expect Boston will figure things out.  Toronto is now entering their tough portion of the schedule but they will be there at the end. The Sixers have played better with Butler but I wonder about that chemistry.  

What in the world is up with Middleton?  We can't afford to have such things happen (thinking of loss of Parker for nothing, realizing he seems a headcase as he will not play defense).

Middleton plays defense.  When he wants to he can actually play above average defense. 

But clearly he’s in a funk right now.  No idea why? 

Maybe he read his thread in this sub forum?

He’s just not a great player. He’s good in moments. He’ll have some great games. So is Rudy Gay. Or Peja Stojakovic. Or Harrison Barnes... none of these guys are max players. 

He’s a part of the team’s future as long as he doesn’t think he’s a max player. $20m-22m per? Yes. $25m per? Starting to wane. More? Walk. He needs to look at Klay Thompson, and mirror that. Klay has taken a similar path, is a greater player, yet never maxed. 

Music City posted:

He’s just not a great player. He’s good in moments. He’ll have some great games. So is Rudy Gay. Or Peja Stojakovic. Or Harrison Barnes... none of these guys are max players. 

He’s a part of the team’s future as long as he doesn’t think he’s a max player. $20m-22m per? Yes. $25m per? Starting to wane. More? Walk. He needs to look at Klay Thompson, and mirror that. Klay has taken a similar path, is a greater player, yet never maxed. 

Somebody will make him a max contract offer. He's obviously butting heads with the coaching staff right now, but the Boston playoff series last year means a lot.

In 7 games, he averaged 25/5/5 and shot 60% from the floor and 61% from 3. He also played above average defense. That was a high pressure situation and he was outstanding.

The challenge he has is that he should be the second option at the end of close games. Right now, he has to be the guy because Giannis' lack of ability to hit outside shots makes it difficult to isolate him against anyone in a 5 or 10 second possession at the end of the game - it has to be Middleton right now. Middleton is not the guy you want to be isolating against Kawhi, LeBron, or other defensive stoppers, and it shows in some of these possessions. It should be Giannis, but as great as Giannis is, he's not there yet. Your offensive closer has to be able to hit contested 18-20 foot shots consistently.

If you lose Middleton, I don't think your going to get anybody close to his talent.

The Bucks we see now are the Bucks we'll get for the next 2-3 years. They are a 50-52 win team now. Giannis developing an outside shot is what's going to be the difference between a team that makes the second round of the playoffs and one that can compete for championships.

That Boston series is not why you give him a max deal. That’s complete foolishness. 

If  someone gives him a max deal, you let him go. And there is a lot of talent in the league that the Bucks can acquire. Middleton isn’t a smart enough player to invest that kind of money. 

And I am not convinced Giannis needs to be a 3 point shooter to go to the next level. Step backs, baseline turnarounds, all sorts of midrange stuff... if Demar Derozen can be a 30ppg midrange Guy, Giannis can do the same and go to the stratosphere. 

If the Bucks are what they’re going to be, they will have wasted the greatest talent they have had on the team since Alcindor. They won’t stand pat... they can’t. 

They have a brand new stadium to keep full.

They won't stand Pat. They won't unless they want to lose Giannis to LA.

I want good defenders too. Players willing to play defense. That's why Jabari was sent packing...right??

The Bucks were in a no-win. Parker wanted to be considered a cornerstone again, but he’s not. The Bucks offered him during the season, but he wanted more. He thought he should have been a 4-5 year deal guy- no one was paying that. The Bucks could have offered him the same deal as Chicago, but he wouldn’t have taken it. If the Bucks would have taken a hard line, they were have been made out to be the bad guy. By letting Parker go, they avoided that.

It’s  that $20Mper that’s the killer- it would have cost them one of their upcoming free agents (Middleton, Brogdon, and Bledsoe). Parker is one of the league’s absolute worst defenders. Cannot have that if it costs you all that.