Milwaukee Bucks 2019 - 20 Season Thread

[jjfanec]

I don't think they are going to jump right to the Finals, no way. They'll have a full playoff field, and from the sounds of it all series will be at a neutral site, best 2 out of 3.

 

Which really sucks, it nullifies a lot of the advantages for a dominant team and makes it more of a crapshoot. Much better than a single elimination tourney, but much worse than a best of 7 for us.

 

I could see a top 4 teams instead of top 8. Eliminating a whole round would definitely simplify things. But I agree it wont just be the finals.

 

Bucks vs Heat

Celtics vs Raptors

 

Lakers vs Jazz

Clippers vs Nuggets

 

The NBA would be disappointed not getting Houston but it is still a very solid field and they get a likely Lakers vs Clippers match up and Bucks vs Celtics or Raptors. Very easy to market match-ups.

[patrickgpe]

https://thegamemke.iheart.com/content/2020-03-31-nba-considering-plan-to-finish-season-at-one-arena-with-no-fans/?fbclid=IwAR1G9aCWrBD_PkV-cApeabnSHjdYmHJ8IF-ixt0K3jA5R84AiIVTHhfG0bg

 

This would be interesting. I think finishing the season would allow teams to "practice" for the postseason, and would probably make the playoffs less random. I think if you just picked up the playoffs after being off for 2-3 months, it would be anyone's guess on how it would play out.

[PrestigeWorldwide]

Here's how it all went down on draft night (in a nutshell): Prior to chosing Traylor, Nelson called Bucks GM Bob Weinhauer and locked him into selecting Nowitzki at No. 9 and Garrity at No. 19. Only then did Nelson take Traylor at No. 6 for the Bucks. The deal was submitted to the league; the Bucks could not renege. Had the Bucks not made that promise, Nowitzki would have been a Dallas Maverick with the sixth pick. "It was prearranged," Mavericks coach and general manager Don Nelson has said. "We wouldn't have done the deal unless (the Bucks) picked the right players we wanted." Now you know the true story. Aside from never holding the rights to Nowitzki, even for a second, the truth also shows it was Dallas who actually took a risk of not getting Dirk. Nelson felt getting pick 19 was worth the risk of Nowitzki getting picked 7th or 8th. If Dallas knew Dirk was going to be a HOFer they would've stood pat and taken him themselves at pick 6.

 

Ugh, can someone who is on Twitter let Matt Dollinger at The Ringer in on this "secret?" They put up an article today about the 1998 draft and as you can probably guess, tons about Dirk and "what if" for the Bucks, including this gem: "Would Milwaukee have had the same extended success Dallas experienced if Dirk had posted up there for 21 seasons? Would they have won a title? And what would Giannis and Dirk have looked like on the floor together for their overlapping seasons? These are likely the questions that have kept Bucks fans up at night for the past two-plus decades." Not those of us who actually know NBA history and aren't just looking at transaction logs. I am a fan of Simmons and The Ringer but this is just ridiculous.

[nodakfan17]

I understand the context of the situation, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Bucks literally drafted Dirk Nowitzki and immediately traded him for Tractor Traylor. Honestly, the whole, ‘Bucks could’ve traded Andrew Bogut for Steph Curry, but wanted Monta Ellis instead’ misconception is more ridiculous.

[patrickgpe]

the bucks drafted Dirk for the Mavs. If they didn't want to trade up for Tractor, the pick would have (most likely) not been Dirk. This happens all of the time, teams draft players for other teams, not because they wanted to pick him.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I understand the context of the situation, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Bucks literally drafted Dirk Nowitzki and immediately traded him for Tractor Traylor. Honestly, the whole, ‘Bucks could’ve traded Andrew Bogut for Steph Curry, but wanted Monta Ellis instead’ misconception is more ridiculous.

 

Dirk was a Buck the same way Eli Manning was a Charger. It was simply a prearranged deal that due to some odd rules was not allowed to be announced until afterwards. The Bucks targeted Traylor, and Dirk was more than likely never on the radar whatsoever.

[monkeyman343434]

The mind blowing part, is the Mavs used the extra pick they got from the Bucks, to help trade for Steve Nash.

Pat Garrity (drafted with the extra pick the Bucks traded), Bubba Wells, Martin Muursepp, and a future first, for Nash.

[DuWayne Steurer]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29027466/25-day-program-part-potential-return-plan-discussed-nba-sources-say

 

Basically proposing a 25 day camp. No mention of how many regular season games they're hoping to get in before they roll into a playoffs or if they're still wanting to do a full playoffs. Encouraging that they're not writing off the season yet.

[GAME05]

If this were basically any other year where the Bucks were garbage I wouldn't much care about the return of the NBA season. But now I can't wait and will blame Covid if they don't win the Finals.

 

I'd still prefer a full-length playoffs even if it means many of the regular season games are cut. I can't imagine teams would need THAT much time to get back in the swing of things since we're not dealing with player and coaching changes like in a regular offseason. A shortened regular season would hurt those teams vying for a low playoff seed, but that's not a big deal.

[CheezWizHed]

Agreed. There is normally a big gap between the top 4 seeds and the teams vying for the 8th seed. I'd play a few games to "warm up" and then get the full playoffs going.

[Mr Southpaw]

One thing that would make things go faster is limiting time between playoff games. The first four games of a seven game series could be back to back. Something like Day 1,2,4,5,7,9,11. It would favor teams with depth, like the Bucks. It is a team game, so I don't see a big problem with it.

 

Ten days of training camp, play each team in your division one time in a neutral location. Bucks play the Cavs, Pistons, Pacers, and Bulls say at Notre Dame. That could be done in eight days. Then off to the playoffs in 44 days. Total of 62 days. Starting May 1 that makes Game Seven on July 1.

[owbc]

Playoffs in front of no fans has minimal appeal to me. The whole fun of the Bucks making a deep playoff run would be the crowds, people gathering outside the arena to watch on a big screen, and a celebration parade if they won the championship. None of that is happening. The question is whether they can at least replicate some sort of playoffs that feels semi-legitimate. I'm glad they are trying but whatever comes out of it is going to have a huge asterisk.

[nate82]

Agreed. There is normally a big gap between the top 4 seeds and the teams vying for the 8th seed. I'd play a few games to "warm up" and then get the full playoffs going.

 

I would like to see 1-2 weeks worth of games before starting the playoffs.

[patrickgpe]

My idea: an 8 team tournament between all lottery teams a seeds 8 for the final playoff spot. The other teams can play exhibitions to keep fresh.

 

If you play a few games and let the playoffs begin, teams will play an unbalanced schedule. Not all western conference teams will play every eastern conference team twice, which could affect playoff seedings. Maybe it really doesn't really matter if the nuggets play the bucks twice or if the Celtics play the bucks 4 times and the heat 3, but in close races that could make a difference.

[Mr Southpaw]

My idea: an 8 team tournament between all lottery teams a seeds 8 for the final playoff spot. The other teams can play exhibitions to keep fresh.

 

If you play a few games and let the playoffs begin, teams will play an unbalanced schedule. Not all western conference teams will play every eastern conference team twice, which could affect playoff seedings. Maybe it really doesn't really matter if the nuggets play the bucks twice or if the Celtics play the bucks 4 times and the heat 3, but in close races that could make a difference.

 

I am sure the seven and eight seeds now would not like the lottery tournament idea as some of them have a 3.5 game lead over the number nine team. The more I look at it, I think the playoffs should start after a 10-14 day training camp. Forget about the rest of the regular season. It would make Game One of the first series REALLY interesting.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Playoffs in front of no fans has minimal appeal to me. The whole fun of the Bucks making a deep playoff run would be the crowds, people gathering outside the arena to watch on a big screen, and a celebration parade if they won the championship. None of that is happening. The question is whether they can at least replicate some sort of playoffs that feels semi-legitimate. I'm glad they are trying but whatever comes out of it is going to have a huge asterisk.

 

All true, but if the alternative is wiping everything off, then yes, I'll take the sterile TV playoffs.

[CheezWizHed]

Just think... we could set an NBA record for the championship team with the smallest average attendance.

 

And this might actually help Giannis' free throws.

[Baldkin]

Regional sports networks are "guaranteed" 70 games to broadcast for their money, that's the number the NBA will want to hit in the regular season - at least per Brian Windhorst.

 

Now, all teams won't hit that threshold (the Lakers and Bucks most likely won't, because of too many national TV games), but the less the NBA has to refund the better for their bottom line.

 

My guess is they would schedule 2 weeks of games, and try to get everyone up to 70-72 games (the Bucks are at 65 right now)

[DuWayne Steurer]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29051197/adam-silver-too-much-uncertainty-clear-path-nba-possible-return

 

There's a lot of vague language here. I'm sure they definitely want to get some regular season games in before they bounce into the playoffs, but Silver is basically saying the same thing Manfred said, just with a different tone.

 

"On top of that, Silver said health care workers on the front lines have to be "taken care of before we begin talking about NBA players or sports."

 

 

As much as I understand and agree with this position, my emotional response is I'm going to be pissed if the NBA season ultimately gets dumped in a year during which we see the Bucks best chance in my lifetime to win an NBA title go down the toilet during a global pandemic.

[Mr Southpaw]

One thing that would make things go faster is limiting time between playoff games. The first four games of a seven game series could be back to back. Something like Day 1,2,4,5,7,9,11. It would favor teams with depth, like the Bucks. It is a team game, so I don't see a big problem with it.

 

Ten days of training camp, play each team in your division one time in a neutral location. Bucks play the Cavs, Pistons, Pacers, and Bulls say at Notre Dame. That could be done in eight days. Then off to the playoffs in 44 days. Total of 62 days. Starting May 1 that makes Game Seven on July 1.

 

May 1 is here and no start in site. Maybe June 1.

[wallus]

If the season doesn't resume, the Bucks are NBA Champs right?

[sveumrules]

If the season doesn't resume, the Bucks are NBA Champs right?

 

If there is no NBA Championship there is no NBA Champion.

 

2019-20 Bucks = 1994 Expos.

[patrickgpe]

plus who wants to hang up a banner they didn't earn anyway?

[owbc]

The 1994 Expos is not a bad position to end up in. They are way more famous than they would have been if they had lost in the playoffs.

[CheezWizHed]

plus who wants to hang up a banner they didn't earn anyway?

 

Just because they didn't win it in a typical fashion, doesn't mean they didn't earn it.