2022-23 Milwaukee Bucks

It's all about minutes, and the ability of the coaches to create match ups that work. I knew at the end of the 3rd quarter the Bucks were going to lose. Bud made it perfectly clear that he wasn't capable of coaching them to a win.

We have to quit talking about age. That wasn't the problem with this team. The problem was coaching. During the regular season, the starters only played a little over 30 minutes a game. When it got to the playoffs, Bud completely changed it, and added minutes to them.

In last night's game, Holiday played 47 out of 53 minutes! The only starter that played under 41 minutes was Allen. What did people expected? These guys were gassed during the 4th quarter, and Bud wasn't smart enough to give them rest.

The Heat sat their big guns late in the 3rd, and even into the 4th, to insure they could play the last 7 to 8 minutes with enough energy, to overpower the Bucks on defense, and offense. This loss, like the rest of them during this series, falls directly on Bud. Even his failure to call a time out, that they had in the bank, with 9/10ths of a second left in the 4th quarter, that could have set up an underneath lob which could have resulted in a bucket, or even a foul, that could have put a Buck on the line for a free throw to win it, was just plain stupid.

Then there's his constant "evaluation" of play. The only thing he ever says is, "We have to make more plays," "We need to continue making plays," and "We didn't make enough plays." Yet, when you watch them on the floor, the only play I really see is give Giannis the ball and let him drive to the hoop for a score. As far as it being a magnet for fouls, when the guy hits under 50% of his free throws, you need to see that there's some magic in getting guys moving off the ball, so he can pass it to them, for open shots, not catch the foul, and miss one or two of his free throws.

Then there's the issue of them putting the ball in Giannis hands on the drive when it could be a game winner. Teams are fouling him, knowing that odds are he can't make two free throws. Why aren't they using Giannis as a decoy, and having either Middleton or Holiday making a run at the hoop, and dishing to them? Both of them can make free throws.

I'm sick of the Bud is a good coach BS. He ain't. He's only been a winner because his teams have had top level talent. He needs to be sent packing.

I'm in favor of getting Nurse, or maybe Sam Cassell in there. Nurse might be the best option. I think he can make it work, and quit worrying about age. No matter how old you are, when you play too many minutes, you wilt going down the stretch. Middleton is only 30, and both Lopez and Holiday are 35, but both have played very well, but been overworked because Bud chokes in the clutch.
 
Excellent points TW, and yes, the Coach should have done something - anything when it was falling apart or preferably before it fell apart.

But, these guys are professional athletes and should have been physically and mentally in shape to play 48 and not wilt like lilly.
 
Excellent points TW, and yes, the Coach should have done something - anything when it was falling apart or preferably before it fell apart.

But, these guys are professional athletes and should have been physically and mentally in shape to play 48 and not wilt like lilly.
You can do 40 minutes if you've been playing 40 minutes. When they've been playing 30, it's a real stretch. It's just like runners. A guy who is faster than all get out in 100 meters, and trains for it, is going to hold up to win a 400 meter race, just you put him in it. You have to train at a given level, to play at a given level, and that includes building the stamina, through repetition, to handle the grind.

After listening, all season, to Bud and his supporters saying how his playing his players less to keep "fresh legs" will make all the difference down the stretch. That's a crock. All that happens is that you begin to lose the ability to play longer stints, and the fresh legs doesn't mean squat. During the NBA season, there's so little time for players to work out in a way that adds to their stamina. With the organized practices, and travel, there's not much time left except for eating, a short time to relax, and sleep. With one day off between games, you're trying to catch up on sleep, because half of what you get is when you fly from location to location. It's a grind. It's up to the coaches to slowly build your stamina up by working in extra minutes on the floor, during the season, so you have what you need to go through the playoff grind. Bud doesn't get it. Winning coaches do.
 
You can do 40 minutes if you've been playing 40 minutes. When they've been playing 30, it's a real stretch. It's just like runners. A guy who is faster than all get out in 100 meters, and trains for it, is going to hold up to win a 400 meter race, just you put him in it. You have to train at a given level, to play at a given level, and that includes building the stamina, through repetition, to handle the grind.

After listening, all season, to Bud and his supporters saying how his playing his players less to keep "fresh legs" will make all the difference down the stretch. That's a crock. All that happens is that you begin to lose the ability to play longer stints, and the fresh legs doesn't mean squat. During the NBA season, there's so little time for players to work out in a way that adds to their stamina. With the organized practices, and travel, there's not much time left except for eating, a short time to relax, and sleep. With one day off between games, you're trying to catch up on sleep, because half of what you get is when you fly from location to location. It's a grind. It's up to the coaches to slowly build your stamina up by working in extra minutes on the floor, during the season, so you have what you need to go through the playoff grind. Bud doesn't get it. Winning coaches do.
Many brilliant points.

But, I'll say it again. They were not ready to play 48. I think a lot had to do with coaching and player use in games. But, when you are playing 30 minutes / game during the season to rest your legs so you can go the distance in the playoffs, you sure as hell better man up and go the distance.

Again, lots on coaching. If you saw your guys fade in game 4, you should have been resting them early in 5.

Probably, need to look at strength and conditioning as well.
 
Many brilliant points.

But, I'll say it again. They were not ready to play 48. I think a lot had to do with coaching and player use in games. But, when you are playing 30 minutes / game during the season to rest your legs so you can go the distance in the playoffs, you sure as hell better man up and go the distance.

Again, lots on coaching. If you saw your guys fade in game 4, you should have been resting them early in 5.

Probably, need to look at strength and conditioning as well.
Honestly, I don't think conditioning was the biggest issue. This team has shown over and over that in the playoffs, they're soft and they can't adjust to the more physical play that happens in the post season. And that issue was exposed a few years back when Miami upset them early on in the playoffs . . .
And unless you're LeBron James, the officials aren't going to help you. :censored:
 
Lots of truth in what you say TW, but this whole minutes discussion just doesn't have dramatic numbers attached. Every team rests their star players during the year, with some exceptions.

Examples:

Jimmy Butler, reg season - 34min/game; last night - 46min
Jrue Holiday, reg season - 33min/game; last night - 47min

Bam Adebayo; reg season - 35min/game; last night - 40 min
Giannis; reg season - 32min/game; last night - 42 min

Bench minutes last night: Miami - 67min, Milw - 66min

There are some differences there, but nothing that really stands out as a major outlier. Did Miami rest it's players at better points in the game, maybe, I didn't look at things that specifically. In the end, the bottom line was the Heat were just better at finishing games and they wanted it more, played harder and were better coached at the end of games. Now, maybe that's because the Heat was in more of a battle just to make the playoffs. Either way I think Coach Bud needs to go.
 
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