2024-25 Milwaukee Bucks thread

[adambr2]

On 11/1/2024 at 1:13 PM, Joseph Zarr said:

Between this and the repeated clips of Bobby absolutely blowing his defensive rotation assignments...these Bucks are just really really bad in their current form. And, now, they have two upcoming versus the red hot and young and talented Cavs. Who, it turns out, are coached by none other than Kenny Atkinson - who plays a movement heavy diverse array of offensive sets. Another qualified coach turned away in the Bucks interview process. I find it absolutely amazing the Bucks fired Bud to hire Adrian Griffin. To fire Griffin. To pay double digit annual Million dollar contracts to one Doc Rivers. The ongoing level of incompetence within the Bucks organization is reverting to a sort of B-Side to the Kohl years. They have money to spend and, boy, are they spending it. Yet, the incompetence is so rich they can't help but get in their own collective ways. 

In a vaccum, trading Jrue and moving on from Bud can certainly be rationalized. Maybe they had reached the peak of that iteration. BUT, the consequent decisions have been nothing short of devastating for the organization. And, as others are pointing to above, the collective failures in the draft process (not to mention the glaring disrespect of draft picks in general when trading away nearly every one) play major major parts as well.

This is an organization in shambles. It really is. Can they turn it around? Maybe? But, I think this type of reversion was always in the cards when you consider the overwhelming history of personnel decisions; coaching decisions; and organizational mistakes. It looked rosy after game one. They looked motivated and organized. They look absolutely nothing close to that resemblance since. They look old. Slow. Uninspired. Lazy. And disorganized. It's a total mess.

Which is why I'm flabbergasted that anyone could say Horst is anything but one of the worst GMs in the NBA. He manufactured this total mess, everything from the coaching to the personnel. 

[Joseph Zarr]

25 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Which is why I'm flabbergasted that anyone could say Horst is anything but one of the worst GMs in the NBA. He manufactured this total mess, everything from the coaching to the personnel. 

Yes and he was always hired on as an easy walk-over. From Day 1 from my POV. I mean that original hire was such a literal quagmire. As bad as he has been in key areas, I think it is very very safe to say he is a consummate 'Yes man'. It is said, for instance, he was very clearly a Nick Nurse and then a Kenny Atkinson guy but he was easily overrode in the final decision-making process. First by Giannis and then by ownership. For me, the entire draft complex and decision-making around those picks and the general disregard of picks (especially considering their ridiculous salary cap situation) is where he and his staff have repeatedly dropped the ball. I just don't know how much final say influence he really has anywhere else. But, yeah, to your point I just don't think he does anything especially well other than play the point man for others' decisions. And, where he does have more agency I don't think he is very good at all.

[jay87shot]

How long does Doc keep his job, giving him a long term deal last year is looking as bad as the Dame trade right now. I don't know how much of the deal was guaranteed I guess so maybe not. I think I would look to trade Bobby and Brook around game 15-20 if this doesn't get much better. I doubt we can get much for Dame or Middleton at this point but we need a younger core to support Giannis.

1)Portis to Hou for Cam Whitmore and Jock Londale

The Rockets need a better big to help Sengen unless Adams comes around (Jabari Smith is still to much of an outside player in my opinion) Cam Whitmore is blocked there and would be a top notch young guy to get.

2)Brook and Pat C to GSW for Wiggins and Looney    The Warriors need some defense and Lopez does that, they have Kuminga, Pod, and Moody to fill in for Wiggins. I am not a huge fan of taking a couple more year of Wiggins but athletically he is still there.

3)Beauchamp for Mo Bamba

Bamba gives a bit more size to help Giannis

Dam, Middleton, Wiggins, Prince, Giannis

Trent, Whitmore, Looney, Londale, Wright, Green, Jackson, Johnson, Smith, Bamba

 

[CheezWizHed]

Do I understand the 2nd apron restrictions to mean that we can't do 1 for 2 trades? No 2 for 2 either? 

Teams above the second apron can't combine multiple players' salaries into trades. 

[brooks_quichenick]

 

[GAME05]

2nd Apron means Bucks can't add salary and can't do a 2-for-1 where they send two small salaries to get a larger one in return. Considering the direction the team is going, the 2nd apron shouldn't really be a hindrance on anything they'd want to do, or at least I assume they're not looking to do some big-splash upgrade.

1st apron also means you can't get more salary than you give. 

[adambr2]

How are we this bad 😂

[sveumrules]

50 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

How are we this bad 😂

Because they aren’t going to win wire to wire tonight?

The last two games they lost to the undefeated Cavs by a total of three points, one of those games with no Giannis and the other on a pretty insane last second shot by Mitchell.

Cleveland has won their other seven games by a combined 111 points.

The last three games have been a big step up compared to the losses to CHI, BRK and MEM.

[adambr2]

5 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Because they aren’t going to win wire to wire tonight?

The last two games they lost to the undefeated Cavs by a total of three points, one of those games with no Giannis and the other on a pretty insane last second shot by Mitchell.

Cleveland has won their other seven games by a combined 111 points.

The last three games have been a big step up compared to the losses to CHI, BRK and MEM.

How far we have fallen from 2021 to refer to consecutive losses and a 2-6 record as "a big step up".

When I posted that they were losing to 1-6 Utah in the 3rd. They did pull away after that.

[sveumrules]

1 minute ago, adambr2 said:

How far we have fallen from 2021 to refer to consecutive losses and a 2-6 record as "a big step up".

I didn’t say a 2-6 record is a big step up, I said their performance over the last three games has been a big step up compared to the three embarrassing earlier losses.

[adambr2]

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

I didn’t say a 2-6 record is a big step up, I said their performance over the last three games has been a big step up compared to the three embarrassing earlier losses.

Well...yeah. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I don't think the Bucks are 1-6 bad. I think they'll get it together enough to be a top 5 team in the East. I just don't think they're a championship team anymore. And yes, Doc is horrendous.

[adambr2]

Top 5 seems unlikely to me. They were #3 last year, but only 3 games separated from #8. They have two great players and everything else is junk. I think they'll be in the play-in tournament.

[adambr2]

Bucks now an unfathomable 2-8. But it was a good day if you like moral victories.

[sveumrules]

On 11/8/2024 at 8:08 PM, adambr2 said:

Top 5 seems unlikely to me. They were #3 last year, but only 3 games separated from #8.

After winning their first game of the  Emirates Cup last night Bucks are currently 2.5 games out of the #3 seed.

If they can pull off the B2B with Detroit tonight that would be two in a row.

Follow that up with a win at Charlotte on Saturday and it’d be an honest to goodness winning streak…it has happened before.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

13 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

After winning their first game of the  Emirates Cup last night Bucks are currently 2.5 games out of the #3 seed.

If they can pull off the B2B with Detroit tonight that would be two in a row.

Follow that up with a win at Charlotte on Saturday and it’d be an honest to goodness winning streak…it has happened before.

Yeah, I'm hopeful for an OK season, but it's based more on gut feeling than anything I've seen. If they can get Khris for 2/3 of what's left, it helps. He is old and held together by Elmer's but when he does play he provides a significant value that no one else on the roster does. Giannis and a couple bright spots should be enough to win 45 games.

I have a hard time believing they are as bad as their current standing, but I thought the same thing about the Jets.

[sveumrules]

13 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Yeah, I'm hopeful for an OK season, but it's based more on gut feeling than anything I've seen. 

Coming into the season I would have split up these first eleven games as such...

WINS (4)
CHI, atBRK, UTA, TOR

LOSSES (3)
atBOS, atNYK on B2B, BOS

COINFLIP (4)
atPHI, atMEM, CLE, atCLE

They are 0 W- 3 L in their three losses. They are 1 W - 3 L in their coin flip games, but no one had CLE as an unbeatable 12 W - O L juggernaut (who Milwaukee has still played closer than anyone else twice, once no Giannis) to start the season. The only two true ugly losses against clearly inferior teams so far this year were CHI and atBRK in the 2nd and 3rd games of the season.

Most of the 3 W - 8 L ugly start comes down to a stacked early schedule (MEM is even 5th in NetRtg so far), and no Khris who is admittedly more of a luxury item than an everyday staple at this point.

Just get to the playoffs in the three to six range with a healthy Giannis, Dame, Khris trio and they've got as good a chance as anybody against BOS or CLE.

[adambr2]

When I have 22 points after 1 quarter and we’re still losing at home to the Pistons because my teammates are 0 for 12, I'm asking for a trade.

[nate82]

So much garbage on this team.  Trent absolute garbage, Prince flaming garbage, Connaughton lol garbage, Green and Jackson developing garbage and Wright garbage can pretending to be a recycling bin.  

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This team is really bad. The cast of role players is embarrassing - it would be hard for a random fan to put a worse group together. 

I thought Brook was cooked two years ago, but the rest of the guys mentioned above bring absolutely nothing to the table. I'd rather take a bunch of G League flyers and try to find the next Khris Middleton. 

The Giannis era is over in Milwaukee. I hope he gets a dignified end and is traded somewhere to win before he declines. He isn't absolved of guilt as he demanded a lot of the bad decisions, but that's par for the course in the NBA. 

[adambr2]

Lol, Giannis fouls a 92% FT shooter at the buzzer in a tie game at the end of regulation. And he misses both FTs.

[nate82]

The Bucks are really playing with a 3-man bench?

[adambr2]

Glad they won. Would’ve been a shame to waste 59 out of Giannis.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Well, I hope that was the turning point of the season. It felt like it. 

[Joseph Zarr]

13 hours ago, adambr2 said:

Lol, Giannis fouls a 92% FT shooter at the buzzer in a tie game at the end of regulation. And he misses both FTs.

I mean, it was called a foul. BUT, I think there is a very reasoned take that it was emphatically not the right or appropriate call. As they say: "Ball don't lie."