2025-26 Milwaukee Bucks / NBA Thread

[LouisEly]

20 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Are we living in a world where Kuzma is becoming Bobby Portis part duex (slightly worse on 3s, greatly better on D)? AND outplaying Middleton? 

@Joseph Zarr has been awful quiet lately...

[Matt Breen]

Dallas fired Nico yesterday. I still can't believe he dealt Luka. For Davis, Christie and a 1st. It seemed so light at the time - and looks even lighter today. And of all the teams to gift Luka to - the Lakers. Sigh. I understand there were concerns about Luka's conditioning and so forth - but it's 25-year old Luka. Still incredible. 

[Joseph Zarr]

1 hour ago, LouisEly said:

@Joseph Zarr has been awful quiet lately...

😅

Hey Kooooz has been very good early in this season. Absolutely refreshing. However, I was also fooled in the first two weeks Koooooz was a Buck saying absurd things like "Has Horts sneakily won the trade deadline?!". I think it's fair to say the only way this version of Kooooooz works is if it's an actual long-term adjustment to the entire way he plays basketball. I personally fear the Kooooooz relapse potential - which, if I'm being honest looms like an inefficient basketball ghost. BUT, to your point, I have been quiet. I have been appreciating this sudden controlled player also playing very good defense. BUT, I'm jaded. I'm a Bucks fan after all. 

[Joseph Zarr]

22 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Are we living in a world where Kuzma is becoming Bobby Portis part duex (slightly worse on 3s, greatly better on D)? AND outplaying Middleton? 

Funny, I've been tracking how Khash Munny was arguably the best player on the floor when he faced the Buckaroos early season. He's been playing like a glorified Buy Out player nearly every game since 😅. Savvy vet move showing his skillz and readiness to his old friends and org and then tanking his way back to them.

[Joseph Zarr]

On 11/10/2025 at 12:13 PM, sveumrules said:

The Bucks defense is 3.5 points per 100 possessions worse when Green is ON the floor (119.3) versus OFF the floor (115.8), but their offense is 13.7 points per 100 possessions better when Green is ON the floor (125.1) versus OFF the floor (111.4).

Add it all up and AJG's +10.2 ON/OFF is 2nd on the team behind only Giannis at +16.3 after the first ten games.

The guys who have been killing the Bucks so far in their minutes are Amir Coffey (-9.5) and especially Gary Trent Jr (-19.8).

GTJ's early season woes are eerily reminiscent of his early season woes of 2024. Is he like the NBA version of an MLB player who just stinks early and needs time to get going? Very odd.

[Joseph Zarr]

AND, with Giannis out we get the coveted 'Bad Kooooooozma Game'. Inevitable.

[CheezWizHed]

On 11/12/2025 at 9:01 AM, LouisEly said:

@Joseph Zarr has been awful quiet lately...

Right on cue... 😂

16 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

AND, with Giannis out we get the coveted 'Bad Kooooooozma Game'. Inevitable.

Clearly, he is better when he tried to do less and play within himself.  Seemed like last year he didn't quite get how to work with Giannis.  This year, he is much better.... evidently until he gets to work without Giannis again.  

[Joseph Zarr]

38 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Right on cue... 😂

Clearly, he is better when he tried to do less and play within himself.  Seemed like last year he didn't quite get how to work with Giannis.  This year, he is much better.... evidently until he gets to work without Giannis again.  

Yup. He's been very good as a player who commits to his clearly defined role player role. BUT, when he gets glimpses of impact within that role, and then a no Giannis game, it's pretty clear he wants to take another stab at being the Guy. Now, this being said, he had a nice company of poor performers in their loss at Charlotte. I certainly don't need to solely single Him out. He has very clearly been the more consistent performer in his role than GTJ who has been an early season train wreck for the most part. Or Bobby's inability to offer any defensive resistance at the 5 (doesn't even have a single double digit rebound game). Cold Anthony was a Dion Waiters clone last night etc. They really do need KPJ back healthy so they can play he and Rollins alongside each other. Push GTJ to the second unit. Unfortunately, that second unit remains a problem at large with their glaring inefficiencies. Moving GTJ to the bench gave him a meaningful spark last season. Would it do the same this year? Too early to tell.

[CheezWizHed]

18 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Yup. He's been very good as a player who commits to his clearly defined role player role. BUT, when he gets glimpses of impact within that role, and then a no Giannis game, it's pretty clear he wants to take another stab at being the Guy. Now, this being said, he had a nice company of poor performers in their loss at Charlotte. I certainly don't need to solely single Him out. He has very clearly been the more consistent performer in his role than GTJ who has been an early season train wreck for the most part. Or Bobby's inability to offer any defensive resistance at the 5 (doesn't even have a single double digit rebound game). Cold Anthony was a Dion Waiters clone last night etc. They really do need KPJ back healthy so they can play he and Rollins alongside each other. Push GTJ to the second unit. Unfortunately, that second unit remains a problem at large with their glaring inefficiencies. Moving GTJ to the bench gave him a meaningful spark last season. Would it do the same this year? Too early to tell.

I wonder how much playing GTJ at SF has impacted him too.  We really don't have someone that can really play SF decently.  Doubly worse with Prince out. 

[Joseph Zarr]

G-Man returns. Kooooz swaps into Starting Line-Up and proceeds to have an incredible game and his best game as a Buck. Clutch shots. Good God let this continue!😅

[Joseph Zarr]

On 11/14/2025 at 8:22 PM, Joseph Zarr said:

G-Man returns. Kooooz swaps into Starting Line-Up and proceeds to have an incredible game and his best game as a Buck. Clutch shots. Good God let this continue!😅

This aged like rancid vinegar. Gull dern. He giveth and He taketh at the House of Kooooooz.

[Joseph Zarr]

The NBA Bucks officiating bias in 2025 has truly reached ludicrous levels. This Cavs game has been so ridiculously tilted toward the Cavs it's almost funny. Now we lose G-Man to a groin strain - likely on another play he was fouled on with zero call. Life is not easy for the Bucks fan. We literally are given absolutely nothing and in 2025 it's as if the League wants us to earn everything twice before it counts. This is not bueno.

[CheezWizHed]

Bucks really need a 3 and D SF.  Emphasis on the D.  GTJ is way out of position.  

11 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

The NBA Bucks officiating bias in 2025 has truly reached ludicrous levels. This Cavs game has been so ridiculously tilted toward the Cavs it's almost funny. Now we lose G-Man to a groin strain - likely on another play he was fouled on with zero call. Life is not easy for the Bucks fan. We literally are given absolutely nothing and in 2025 it's as if the League wants us to earn everything twice before it counts. This is not bueno.

Seems like a non-traditional player like Giannis gets ref-ed to minimize the advantage he has.  Bucks need to start doing a promo campaign to show all the terrible non-calls against GA.

[Samurai Bucky]

7 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Bucks really need a 3 and D SF.  Emphasis on the D.  GTJ is way out of position.  

Seems like a non-traditional player like Giannis gets ref-ed to minimize the advantage he has.  Bucks need to start doing a promo campaign to show all the terrible non-calls against GA.

Was at the game on Friday night and seeing Giannis get hacked vs. Ball's flopping was crazy.

Pat Murphy in the front row stoic as ever, though... 😉

[Joseph Zarr]

SO, as established above...

There is the Bucks whistle. There is most definitely 'The Giannis Whistle'.

And, then, well then there is this:

[CheezWizHed]

On 11/19/2025 at 1:13 PM, Joseph Zarr said:

SO, as established above...

There is the Bucks whistle. There is most definitely 'The Giannis Whistle'.

And, then, well then there is this:

Been getting coached up by LeBron...

[jay87shot]

8-8 with Giannis out a couple weeks is worrisome. After Rollins no one is specifically playing great (Green, Kuz, Portis ok). I am getting pretty worried that the outside pressure to trade Giainnis is going to force him to want out with a team that is likely going to be 3-4 games under .500 when he comes back.

[adambr2]

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I love Giannis and hope he sticks around but they’re just not coming close to title contention again in this era. And I can understand if he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his career hoping to win a play-in game every year.

[Brian]

On 11/21/2025 at 8:49 AM, adambr2 said:

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I love Giannis and hope he sticks around but they’re just not coming close to title contention again in this era. And I can understand if he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his career hoping to win a play-in game every year.

The Bucks are almost unwatchable when Giannis is not in there and Doc Rivers has zero answers for this team. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Personally, I'm just ready for the Bucks to complete the Holy trinity of incompetent and incapable NBA HC's: fire Doc and hire Monty, of course. I couldn't think of a more desperately hilarious next Bucks outcome if I tried.

It's pretty obvious this current Bucks team can't win without the gravity and amazingness of Giannis. They definitely can't win without the gravity of Giannis compounded by the absence of KPJ's ability to break defenses down. If you pair these current roster IL woes with the ongoing foul and FT disparities and general reffing inequities every night and a coaching staff offering absolutely nothing in terms of a team identity on either end then, well, then you get a team miraculously down 21 at Home to a Portland team on their second leg (on the road, none the less) of a B2B. 
 

@adambr2: I absolutely echo your sentiments. It's a sad realization, sure, but Giannis absolutely deserves wayyyyy better. 
 

 

[CheezWizHed]

When is KPJ coming back? 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

It's past time to trade Giannis. This team is completely cooked. Personally, I don't get any joy from watching one of the best players in the world fight to go .500. Do him a solid and let him win elsewhere, don't make him demand it. There is no way he wants to be doing this. 

[adambr2]

Well at least we can dream on hitting it big with all our upcoming lottery pi….

Oh, wait.

[adambr2]

37 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

It's past time to trade Giannis. This team is completely cooked. Personally, I don't get any joy from watching one of the best players in the world fight to go .500. Do him a solid and let him win elsewhere, don't make him demand it. There is no way he wants to be doing this. 

The irony is that the turning point for this team was when they fired Adrian Griffin.

They were 30-13 at that point in the 2023 season. Really not that long ago. That was even with all the defensive issues and Giannis and Dame really not meshing.

Not saying Griffin was the right guy, but Doc has come in and completely run this team into the ground.

[sveumrules]

24 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

The irony is that the turning point for this team was when they fired Adrian Griffin.

They were 30-13 at that point in the 2023 season. Really not that long ago. That was even with all the defensive issues and Giannis and Dame really not meshing.

Not saying Griffin was the right guy, but Doc has come in and completely run this team into the ground.

You're close.

What Adrian Griffin got was the last stretch of healthy Middleton, with him playing 37 of those 43 games he coached.

Khris only played 16 of the the 36 games Doc coached after taking over midseason, then 23 of 49 games before being traded at the deadline the following season.

If NBA front offices believed Griffin was a true talent level .698 W% guy he would have gotten another HC gig by now.