2023-24 Bucks Season Thread

[nate82]

Lopez is horrible and is an absolute liability if he has to play anywhere but near the rim defensively.

[SeaBass]

Wow Middleton.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

6 seconds is eternity. That's a recipe for Wiscon heartbreak. You nail two ridiculous shots and then get crushed. 

[nate82]

It is the Middleton show.  Great he finally decided to show up.

I would almost be tempted to just bench Lopez going forward.  

[adambr2]

All that just to lose anyway. That game was their shot at this series. 

[nate82]

This teams rebounding is just absolutely horrible.  I will be glad to see Lopez gone after this season he is just done.  He couldn’t out run Robert Traylor from his grave.  Definitely need to draft a C who can actually move around the court and isn’t a liability beyond the rim.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

If Giannis isn't healthy enough to play they weren't going to win 4 games anyway. If he is healthy enough to play, I don't think it's over quite yet. 

[adambr2]

The rebounding in the last few minutes of regulation and OT was the difference. Indiana wanted it more and outhustled us. 

[HarryDoyle]

It's just not meant to be this year, folks.

 

[nate82]

14 hours ago, HarryDoyle said:

It's just not meant to be this year, folks.

 

Yeah that is the proverbial put the fork in them they are done.

[nate82]

So much for Lopez being an elite defender who alters shots in the paint.  The Pacers are just attacking him in the paint and he is no where to be found.  OVERRATED!

[nate82]

Off season plan trade Connaughton for a bag of balls.  Only resign Lopez if he is willing to take the vet minimum.  Hopefully someone becomes desperate and trades for Middleton.  Otherwise this team is doomed for the next 3-years.

Fire Doc Rivers and replace with someone who isn’t afraid to play younger players.

[nate82]

Uggg Connaughton the chicken with its head cut off defense and Lopez I am a statue on the floor at the same time is just unwatchable basketball.  

[HarryDoyle]

28 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Off season plan trade Connaughton for a bag of balls.  Only resign Lopez if he is willing to take the vet minimum.  Hopefully someone becomes desperate and trades for Middleton.  Otherwise this team is doomed for the next 3-years.

Fire Doc Rivers and replace with someone who isn’t afraid to play younger players.

What does it matter what Lopez gets paid if he's going to be a liability who's past his prime? This team is made up of players who are three days older than Moses and when Indiana wins the series, the championship window will be officially closed and the youth movement should go into full effect. We weren't winning this series even with a healthy roster. Indiana is just a better team and proved it the entire year. Turns out the Lillard trade sucked the chemistry out of this team and hiring Doc was a big mistake. It was a year of bad decisions. 

[Brewin]

15 hours ago, HarryDoyle said:

We weren't winning this series even with a healthy roster. Indiana is just a better team and proved it the entire year. 

This is funny to me, as watching this series tells me the Bucks hammer Indy with a healthy roster (probably in 5). Indy is not the better team by a long shot.

However, being available is a big part of the equation in the playoffs, and with the Bucks roster being older the future is clearly uncertain

[Samurai Bucky]

What do the Bucks do with Doc Rivers if they lose?  Personally, I don't know how you can hold him accountable.  People forget -- the Bucks had the easiest record before Rivers came on board, and the toughest after.  I question the use of some of the players down the stretch (would have liked to have seen more AJax and Beauchamp).  I would not be opposed to brining him back next year.

 

[sveumrules]

17 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

What do the Bucks do with Doc Rivers if they lose?  Personally, I don't know how you can hold him accountable.  People forget -- the Bucks had the easiest record before Rivers came on board, and the toughest after.  I question the use of some of the players down the stretch (would have liked to have seen more AJax and Beauchamp).  I would not be opposed to brining him back next year.

 

I don't think Rivers is going anywhere.

They are already paying Budenholzer, Griffin and Doc something like $20M combined for 2024-25 season, don't think they'll want to add a fourth head coach salary to the ledger.

[GAME05]

Also probably get every top coach to boycott this ownership group if you fire Doc in the offseason, as it says you better win the Finals that year or you're fired. 

Lopez has another year left at $23M and Connoughton has two years left, same as Middleton. I just can't figure what you could really do with those contracts.

A trade of Portis and/or Lillard is the only way I can figure to shake things up, but you'd sure have to find a scorer in return for either. Not really sure what this team can do apart from just waiting for the Lopez/Middleton contracts to expire. 

[nate82]

11 hours ago, GAME05 said:

Lopez has another year left at $23M and Connoughton has two years left, same as Middleton. I just can't figure what you could really do with those contracts.

Middleton could be traded to the 76ers but would you really want to trade with an East team that would be a potential playoff opponent?

The only other option would be to trade Connaughton to GSW as a salary balance in a three team trade for Wiggins.  I am not sure how to get rid of Connaughton so Rivers doesn’t play him at PG.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The window is shut. It's a question now of whether they deal Giannis to try and salvage some kind of rebuild or just play it out with 42-48 win seasons where everyone knows they aren't a true contender, which has been the case since 2 years after the championship. We sold out to win one, and we won one. It does feel like we could have gotten a second one, but I'd argue the time to do that was probably 2019. The sun has set on this era.

I like Giannis, so I hope he is able to pile one or two on with somebody else.

[LouisEly]

3 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

The window is shut. It's a question now of whether they deal Giannis to try and salvage some kind of rebuild or just play it out with 42-48 win seasons where everyone knows they aren't a true contender

Yes and no.  The NBA is kind of like MLB in that all you need to do is just enough to get into the playoffs.  Rest Giannis, Khris, and Lillard as much as feasible on non-nationally televised games and try to pick up some players who were bought out of their contract who think that playing with Giannis/Khris/Lillard give them a shot.  Go for the #7 or #6 seed and see what happens.

But they should explore a Giannis trade.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

3 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Yes and no.  The NBA is kind of like MLB in that all you need to do is just enough to get into the playoffs.  Rest Giannis, Khris, and Lillard as much as feasible on non-nationally televised games and try to pick up some players who were bought out of their contract who think that playing with Giannis/Khris/Lillard give them a shot.  Go for the #7 or #6 seed and see what happens.

But they should explore a Giannis trade.

The big three is too old. There's almost zero possibility of those guys all being available for the NBA's 2-month playoff run. Their tradable assets wouldn't net enough win-now pieces to make a difference. They are a mess.  They needed something big to happen like Marjon shocking the world and becoming an all-star level player. I give them credit for swinging on Dame and I don't think running it back with Holiday would have been any better, but it's not going to work.  

[adambr2]

I don't know that there has been a less enjoyable Bucks season in my lifetime. There have been worse teams, for sure, but this one may have been the least enjoyable. 

They're like a sick Old Yeller at this point, just take them out back and shoot them. 

[LouisEly]

Nembhard and Turner were 11th and 10th and Ben Sheppard 14th on the Pacers in 3-point % during the season (36%) and are shooting over 50% for the playoffs.  I wouldn't have game planned around stopping them from beyond the arc.

[lcbj68c]

When will this team start to defend the 3?  Havent seen it since Doc's hiring.