2023-24 Milwaukee Bucks Season Thread

TW said:
Last night's game against the Clippers was impressive. The defense was amazing. Harden got his points, but Harden always gets his points. Paul George was lighting it up too, but he can do that. Leonard was playing his usual outside game, which was nasty at times, but after that, the Clippers were nearly toothless. Even though their big 3 hit on a high percentage of shots, they turned the ball over often enough that it took the edge off their game.

What shocked me, and I think the Clippers as well, is how well conditioned the Bucks players were, as they actually force offense, by moving down the floor as quick as they did. The Clippers defense couldn't set up fast enough, and the Bucks were slashing to the bucket. It paid off, at the free throw line.

Portis showed why it was stupid for anyone to consider trading him. He's a spark plug out there. Not only self motivation, but he brings everyone up with him. Beasley had a tough game offensively, but he did a good job creating havoc on secondary Clipper players, defensively.

That 4th quarter was pretty much the diagram of how this team is capable of playing defense. They can be in your face, and make you run time off the clock, without realizing it. They did that repeatedly, as even Dame stepped up, and was cancelling opportunities for the Clippers. Awesome job pretty much by everyone out there.

I do like Beverley on this team. He's a lot like Portis, but his presence has been a real road map as to how you talk to each other out there, and the entire team seems to be picking up on it. It's helping their defense be more aggressive.

I don't think I'd be selling this team short at this point. There's talent there, they just need to keep using it, one game at a time, and hope the chemistry is good enough to go all the way.

I'm gonna admit it. If Doc continues to pressure them to play defense, I might have been wrong about him in a lot of ways. But, I still don't believe he's a great long term fix for this team. What he does offer most is that he's "coaching," not letting the players dictate the game.
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I don't think the addition of Beverly can be overstated.
 
Streak of 6-0 after all star game is snapped after ass kicking in SF.
 
It wasn't a good game for the Bucks, and the Warriors came out possessed after their last game. I think a rematch, in two days, could be a different story, maybe not. Not certain.

But, I do know the Bucks pretty much threw in the towel at the end of the 3rd quarter, and the deep substitutes on the roster showed why they'll never move above that level. They just don't have what it takes to do much more than fill a jersey. Even playing against the Warriors deep subs, they were totally outclassed. This may well be what brings the Bucks down.
 
GBP4EVER said:
Bad loss losing to LA with no James.
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Some dumb moves late in the game. You can't turn the ball over late and expect to win tight games. You also look for better shots than the last one Lillard put up. It was contested, and definitely not in one of his shooting zones.
 
GBP4EVER said:
Middletion after missing over a month with a ankle injury has triple double in his 3rd game back.
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Excellent game by Khris. I think they had 7 players in double digit scoring? That's spreading it around. I was happy to see their defense. I noticed Connaughton is being asked to take on the opposition's hot shooters right now, and doing it respectably well. He's running his legs off to do it, but he's been doing it well, and still dropping down to create double teams. It's a tiring job, because you're on the run all the time.

What doesn't show in the stats sheets is how well Lillard was creating space last night. When he does it, he usually doesn't end up with an assist, but the next guy who handles the ball does. It's selfless, but a real necessity for a team that intends winning.

Lillard's admission, the other day, that the transition to the Bucks was the most difficult thing he's ever done in basketball. He went from being a pure offensive machine to being active on defense, and still expected to provide firepower. Plus, not constantly making himself the #1 option, all a huge change for him.

Every day he gets better at it, but it's always going to be something that he is not comfortable with doing. Dame is a shooter and scorer, and I doubt very much he's going to be a Buck beyond this year to be honest. I think they deal him to get a reasonably good draft pick. The same will possibly happen with Khris, and Pat Connaughton. They're going to start rebuilding, win or lose.

Lopez, on the other hand, will be the old man on the team, but next year could well be his last.

It's now or never for the Bucks. I think they all know it too. Over half that roster will be blown up after the last whistle this year, even if they win the whole thing.
 
Wow Bucks lost that game? What a freaking embrassment. This team won't even make it to the finals. No james in this game either.
 
GBP4EVER said:
Wow Bucks lost that game? What a freaking embrassment. This team won't even make it to the finals. No james in this game either.
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What bothers me is how they totally imploded over the last 5 minutes of regulation, and mismanaged the clock continuously during the rest of the game.

Finals? They won't make it out of the second round the way they're playing. They take one step forward, then take two back continuously. If Rivers had any hair, he'd be tearing it out!
 
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