2024-25 Milwaukee Bucks thread

[Joseph Zarr]

28 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

So you’re saying Doc promoted to POBO after the season wouldn’t surprise you then?

Absolutely not. Well played.

[adambr2]

Apparently Doc didn’t have a revelation and learn how to coach between Games 1 and 2.

[CheezWizHed]

8 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Apparently Doc didn’t have a revelation and learn how to coach between Games 1 and 2.

What do you mean?  We are twice as close tonight...

[yourout]

Has an NBA coach ever been fired in the middle of the playoffs?

[HarryDoyle]

Say what you want about Doc, but the fact is that just like last year, the Pacers are the better and deeper team. The Bucks are Giannis, Lillard coming back from a month layoff, and a bunch of guys.

[adambr2]

2 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

Say what you want about Doc, but the fact is that just like last year, the Pacers are the better and deeper team. The Bucks are Giannis, Lillard coming back from a month layoff, and a bunch of guys.

And that falls on Horst.

[nate82]

Not sure any coach could get this team to be any better than what they are.  If Giannis and Dame are not scoring this team is just absolutely a joke.  Not only on offense but on defense also.  Lopez is a statue and is well beyond his prime.  I think Giannis demands a trade after this early exit.  

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This is going about exactly as expected. It's not even disappointing. 

[nate82]

These next two home games are probably the last time we will see Giannis in a Bucks jersey.  I don't see how he will want to stay on this team.  The team isn't even close now to contending for a championship which is and was one of Giannis' demand to stay with the team.  The Bucks don't have the assets to make a trade for a #3 and they don't have the cap space to sign one either. 

I think Giannis and Dame get traded and it happens during the draft with Giannis and Dame staying quiet to the media but the Bucks are told they want out.  Knicks and Heat come out the winners on this one.  In the Knicks trade below the Bucks get another pick but it is in 2033. 

 

 

Giannis to the Knicks:

 

Dame to the Heat:

 

 

 

 

[Samurai Bucky]

Keep Giannis.  He is the cornerstone of the franchise. If they get rid of him, it will be back to the "desert" of no playoffs before he started maturing.

Trade Dame -- I wish he was doing better, but he isn't.  You have to be able to get some good pieces back for him.  @nate82 -- I like the trade suggestion there, for sure.

Unfortunately, Brook is too old and immobile.  He has to go.

Bobby can stay.

Kuze -- I'm not sure.  He seems like a (wait for it) deer in headlights out there. I think he has potential, but needs to be much better.

KPJ -- dude... keep your head in the game.  We don't need gangstas on the team.

The rest of the team seems to be a mess.  This is not on Doc Rivers -- he is doing the best with what he has.

I get what the Bucks tried to do.  They were trying to go "all in" and it is backfiring.

Sigh...

[adambr2]

32 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Keep Giannis.  He is the cornerstone of the franchise. If they get rid of him, it will be back to the "desert" of no playoffs before he started maturing.

Trade Dame -- I wish he was doing better, but he isn't.  You have to be able to get some good pieces back for him.  @nate82 -- I like the trade suggestion there, for sure.

Unfortunately, Brook is too old and immobile.  He has to go.

Bobby can stay.

Kuze -- I'm not sure.  He seems like a (wait for it) deer in headlights out there. I think he has potential, but needs to be much better.

KPJ -- dude... keep your head in the game.  We don't need gangstas on the team.

The rest of the team seems to be a mess.  This is not on Doc Rivers -- he is doing the best with what he has.

I get what the Bucks tried to do.  They were trying to go "all in" and it is backfiring.

Sigh...

Well, it’s not like the Bucks were loaded with bench talent when they won it all in 2021. Obviously, Middleton was a completely different player then and that’s probably the biggest difference. And as talented as Lillard is, he’s just not the fit here that Jrue was.

I’m not saying this mess is Doc’s fault, but he’s clearly one of the worst coaches in the NBA. I agree that he’s getting the most that he is able to out of what he has, and that’s the problem — he’s never been able to get much out of what he has because he’s just not a very good head coach.

Someone said, can’t remember if it was here or somewhere else, that Griffin should have been given the entire ‘23-‘24 season and then if it was clear that we needed to move on, a real coaching search should have been conducted then. I pretty much agree with that take.

I don’t know what the future holds, I don’t know if Giannis will be back next year but it is clear that the Milwaukee Bucks are going nowhere anytime soon.

So, be glad we won that title I suppose, because this would all hurt much worse if we hadn’t come back against Phoenix down 2-0.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

They've simply followed the lifecycle of the vast majority of recent NBA champs. An ascension, a title, and a descension that typically involves a handful of years middling in purgatory with old guys being paid too much, and a lack of assets because you sold them off to go for it. I am not upset about it, it's just what happens in the NBA. Does anyone here think Denver will win again? Toronto? Golden State bucked things because they had a ridiculous draft streak for a bit. Curry is the superstar, but Thompson and Green allowed for the dynasty. You can be frustrated we didn't get a second one, but realistically 2021 should have been the second one. It was the years before that where I would say they blew it, if they did blow it.

[LouisEly]

13 hours ago, adambr2 said:

Apparently Doc didn’t have a revelation and learn how to coach between Games 1 and 2.

In no way am I saying that Doc is a good coach, but I don't think that he is coaching them to travel, double dribble, take wild shots, miss shots at the rim, grab opponents' feet, and not work to box out.

[nate82]

5 hours ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Keep Giannis.  He is the cornerstone of the franchise. If they get rid of him, it will be back to the "desert" of no playoffs before he started maturing.

I want to keep Giannis but if he demands a trade there is no way the Bucks are going to be able to convince him to stay.  The best they can do is run it back again with the current roster maybe minus Lopez.  Is that a championship caliber team?  Is the current team a championship caliber team?  If any of those answers are a no then I don’t see Giannis wanting to stay.

I don’t believe the Bucks will want to trade Giannis but he will force them into a trade.  This is just how the NBA works and has been working for a while now.  Enjoy Giannis for the next two as a Buck because I believe this is the final two games he will be playing for the Bucks.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I don't think Giannis is going anywhere. 

[nate82]

2 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I don't think Giannis is going anywhere. 

Why would he want to stay?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

8 hours ago, nate82 said:

Why would he want to stay?

Because he is happy. I just don't think he is the "demand a trade" type. It wouldn't shock me if he did, but I think he's like Dirk. He's said many things over the years that indicate as much as he wants to win, it's not the be-all, end-all. His upbringing and life story give him a different perspective than a lot of guys.

If he is traded I think it's more likely initiated by the Bucks - they get a life-preserver of an offer that they know opens the door for the next generation of the team, which is currently slammed shut by mortgaged assets. That would require some foresight though and a major economic blow in the short term, so, maybe not likely either.

 

[CheezWizHed]

I'm honestly torn.  I really like Giannis, but I can't see this team getting any better than they are now.  And if they wait too long, they won't get anything for Giannis or Lillard. 

[patrickgpe]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44834863/bucks-gm-jon-horst-reach-extension

 

Doesn't' seem like the bucks plan any sort of rebuild of else you don't do this 

[patrickgpe]

19 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

I'm honestly torn.  I really like Giannis, but I can't see this team getting any better than they are now.  And if they wait too long, they won't get anything for Giannis or Lillard. 

I agree, the lack of salary cap space and pick assets will not get better by itself. Team looks old against Indy especially on defense

 

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, patrickgpe said:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44834863/bucks-gm-jon-horst-reach-extension

 

Doesn't' seem like the bucks plan any sort of rebuild of else you don't do this 

Wow. True shocker. Thought for sure Horst would take the fall with Doc moving up to POBO and Ham sliding into the head coach spot.

[patrickgpe]

41 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Wow. True shocker. Thought for sure Horst would take the fall with Doc moving up to POBO and Ham sliding into the head coach spot.

thats not any better of a situation IMHO

[OldSchoolSnapper]

They ain't gonna win. I'd rather just keep Giannis as long as possible and entertain crowds, pad stats as a Buck as long as possible. It is what it is.

[adambr2]

Now I definitely don’t believe Giannis is going anywhere. Neither is Doc anytime soon.

The entire Horst extension article screams “we know we are destined for the 6 seed and a first round exit for the rest of the Giannis era, and we are fine with that.”

[OldSchoolSnapper]

1 hour ago, adambr2 said:

Now I definitely don’t believe Giannis is going anywhere. Neither is Doc anytime soon.

The entire Horst extension article screams “we know we are destined for the 6 seed and a first round exit for the rest of the Giannis era, and we are fine with that.”

Agree and they probably aren't wrong. 46ish wins and 1st, maybe 2nd round exits are money in the bank. The doldrums are not. We are headed there, and as owners they should want to delay that as long as possible. 

The NBA has always kinda sucked in that there isn't a whole of difference between 6 and 14 when it comes to actual odds of a championship. Bill Simmons said a long time ago that the worst thing you can be in the NBA is a lower seeded playoff team. He's not wrong.