HiAndTight

I'd think we'd be able to convince some WR'ers that with Mertz coming up at QB and a great running game, they'll get opportunities at Wisconsin. But even if they're not elite recruits, we've seen the Badgers do plenty with lower ranked recruits. We've had top 10 teams when our classes were ranked in the 40's. I don't believe Cephus was a top prospect. And for that matter, I don't even think Jonathon Taylor was the top recruited Taylor we recruited that year.

I don't know that Lancaster had a down year. He was awful his first year, it's just he was Mike Daniels backup, so we had lower expectations. Lowry I could see bouncing back. He actually showed signs of being more than just a body who can occupy space. I know this is down the road, but how cool would it be to bring JJ back to Wisconsin? If he signed as a FA, he'd be the same age as Reggie White(the player he most reminds me of). Who knows what could happen these next two years, but I'd LOVE to see Watt play a few good years in GB.

Oh...that's brutal...though if you said Rodgers was having a record year as the QB, I think it'd be an even stronger parallel.

Well, kind of. I think the scheme will tend to use fewer 3 and 4 WR lineups, so the need for a WR wasn't as significant. Their focus seemed to be more at adding receivers at the TE and RB position (well, we will see if AJ can catch) instead of more WRs. So the WR position is devauled a bit (so it seems by their offseason's actions*), but not necessarily devaluing passing. *noting that I think three things really drove the lack of WR focus in the offseason: Love dropping to them, liking the TE/RB options over the WR options in the 2nd/3rd rounds, and expecting a bigger development from MVS, ESB, and Lazard than "the pundits"(i.e. better options than available in the 5th+round). Maybe it's just semantics. I don't think they place any less value on the position in terms of acquiring impact talent...they're just not going to keep 7 guys like they did at times in the past. It's also not like we went from playing 5 wide to lining up with 2 TE's 75 pct of the time. LaFleur's still used 3 Wide on ~65 pct of the snaps last year. They obviously really like the two young guys. But I'd be willing to bet if they were offered the same deal that the Texans offered the Cards for D-Hop, they'd have jumped at it and been willing to give him the extension he got.

It's more than a tad disengenious. The NBA was talking about buying the team and moving them if they didn't build a new stadium. Kohl and the new Owners paid at least half the cost. The tax payers were on the hook for at MOST 250 million. Which was a great deal. If the Bucks leave, that's a lot of tax revenue and that would have been felt in a place like Milwaukee with limited entertainment options. I don't think it's really fair at all to say they're penny pinchers. They knew they'd be well into the luxury tax if/when Giannis signed and still overpaid Middleton by about 50 million to, as you said, keep Giannis happy.

I actually kinda liked Kidd's defensive concept when he came here. Back when we had a 20 year old Thon, 23 year old Giannis, Middleton was a little more active. Just a longer team than we have now. But shockingly, trying to replicate the Nolan Richardson style of defense at the NBA level only worked for a season. Firing Bud would be a really gutsy move and they'd have to be pretty damn certain they could get a better coach, an established coach. I doubt they'll do it, but I'm really fascinated to see what they're able to pull off this off-season. If they could somehow manage to keep DD and make a significant trade, that'd be a really encouraging off-season. As long as the player is JJ Reddick or better.

Maybe I shouldn't have said irked with Bud, but more with the situation. My biggest issue with Bud is how they're all standing around watching the guy with the ball, but I think that stood out SOO much in the Miami series because Miami moves the ball exceptionally well. But watching the other teams and trying to keep a closer eye to see how much their guys move without the ball, it's not exactly like Reggie Miller and the Pacers or Ray Allen, JJ Reddick hell, Korver used to be REALLY good at moving without the ball, coming off a screen and taking a 3. I guess mostly great shooters. I'm not expecting Golden State like ball movement, but SOMETHING other than giving the ball to the best guy currently on the court(or the PG) and they dribble until they get in trouble and hopefully their errant pass finds a teammate. Still...there has to be an NBA coach who can explain to their team if a guy is trapped, it MIGHT be a good idea for someone to come to him.

Nah, I don't see that happening. If you get rid of Bud, I think you have to try and go and get a proven coach who's an upgrade. Luckily for the Buck, Billy Donovan and OKC parted ways after this season. My take was that OKC is looking ahead at a rebuild while Donovan thinks they can win right now(and rightfully so). I really don't know enough about any of these guys for them to be the "obvious choice" for me. I know Ham's got a lot of experience, but not that much more than the rest of the guys. I think it's tough for most fans to identify top assistants unless they've been head coaches before. Billy Donovan came in when Durant had one year left, they were up 3-1 in the Western Conf Finals and they were a Klay Thompson explosion away from being in the finals. He's made the playoffs the last 4 years with OKC since then and he was a winner at FL. And the players seem to move without the ball. And I realize that seems like a simple concept, but after watching the Bucks in the bubble, it's obviously anything but.

Agree all the way. I swore you said something about how they devalued the WR'er position or they were devaluing it with their new scheme which you did not say, so that's my mistake. Yes, they want to be more balanced. Not even so much in the run pass ratio, but in McCarthy's last year here, I think 76 pct of the time they lined up in a 11 personnel. Little surprising to see that McCarthy was a bit more balanced than I'd thought for most of his career running the ball ~43 pct of the time until his final 3 years, the only 3 he was under 40 and he ran it just 33 pct of the time in 2018. Anyway, whilst trying to forget about the Bucks Meltdown, I'd stumbled on to some interesting articles about the Packers(the interesting ones are the ones that confirm what I already think!). This is a nice one on Tonyan. https://dairylandexpress.com/2020/07/16/green-bay-packers-is-2020-robert-tonyans-year/

Yeah, but it's always mis-leading when you look back at the schedule. Everyone was talking about how tough the schedule would be last year. The Chargers were a 12 win team, Dallas and KC as you mentioned. Chicago, Philly and Minny were playoff teams. Teams are so up and down. The Colts may flop with Rivers, everyone loves the Buccs with Brady but I'm not convinced he's got the arm strength to really thrive in that Bruce Arians system. It's always hard to tell with the worst to first trends in the NFL who's going to be legit. Can the Bears defense be as dominant as it was in '18...can Trubisky be competent. Can Stafford stay healthy. If he does,Det is going to be more dangerous than I think people expect. There's talent on that team.

I don't know how many of them had career years(meaning I'm not disagreeing, it's just hard to guess since they're pretty young) but I do think many had higher turnover numbers than should be expected. I actually wasn't as high on King as some others are. I think his picks masked some risks he took and some breakdowns. A lot of it will depend on if you can get 32 starts from the Smith's again and if they can both be top 10 in the league in pressures again. If you get that, Gary can keep them fresh, Alexander and Savage can both take a jump...then that might make up for the regression that's expected.

I'll be a little more succinct here. What do you think about the Coaching situation? Some reporters noted that Giannis seemed to be maybe a bit irked with Coach Bud for not making adjustments in game(which...hell, why would you expect that when he couldn't do it from game to game) and for limiting his playing time and Middleton's. Would you rather have Donovan heading into next year or Bud?

Just to play devils advocate, if Giannis DID ask to be traded(he hasn't, so it's a moot point) and they were offered a package like what the Thunder got last year as they held the Clippers hostage(Kawhi wasn't going to sign unless LAC added George)...that's a trade that would probably come as close to a fair market value as you could get for Giannis. A young budding superstar PG in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a 6'6 PG/Combo guard who's just 20, Danilo Gallinari, an extremely valuable stretch 4 who hits about 40 pct from 3 and then FIVE future 1sts and the right to swap two more. But at that point, I'd try and shop Gallinari for a couple 1sts and then you'd have to decide if you're going to build around Alexander. It's also easier to speculate about trading away your Superstar when you know it's not likely to happen as he's actually said he's DEFINITELY not going to ask for a trade and he may even re-sign. By the way, has any franchise EVER done a better job of acquiring assets for the future while actually IMPROVING as a team? You take Westbrook and George and you trade them for Chris Paul(better PG than Westbrook), Gallinari and Alexander...again, a young stud. Then you add TEN FUTURE 1ST ROUND PICKS, plus the right to swap in a few other drafts. And with the Clippers, those picks could actually be worth something. The Picks start when Kawhi's contract is set to expire, so there's a chance they could be a really bad team. Houston's are down the road, so again, COULD be after Harden and Westbrook at done or near the end. So just the players, you might actually acquire more talent and you get the young stud in the trade, but then you also stockpile a ridiculous number of 1st rounders from I think a total of 4 different teams. Now you can trade Paul and likely add young assets...etc... They can afford to draft and stash any talented young European player, take a filer on a high upside guy like Portter Jr who dropped last year, take a lot of risks in the draft or package those picks. But yeah, they weren't in a position to try and add another talented player and make a legit run a title. In fact, the year Durant left was Donovan's first year in OKC and they went up 3-1 on the Warriors.

I'm all for that...as much as I'd hate to lose DiVincenzo since I think he's capable of becoming a really good player. Maybe even a 20 PPG player and one of the only guys on this team who could develop into an All-Star(the only player really). But Beal is just too perfect a fit. And he's really the guy that would make or break that deal for the Wizzards. Do they view him as a Ginobili type player or more of a 6th man. Because if it's the later, you're basically giving him away for a salary dump and two late 1st round picks. You save 7 million this year on Ersan and then you save another maybe 15 on Bledsoe the year after next with his non-guaranteed deal. But damn...Giannis/Beal/Middleton would certainly give you a core that could win a title and you'd have to assume you'd be able to get solid players to sign for the MLE, the Bi-Annual or even the Vets minimum. We'll see how good Horst is this off-season. I don't belive there's much of a chance the Bucks owners limit how much he can spend with the future of the franchise hanging in the balance. I get that people believe they did that last year with Brogdon, but I can't imagine they'd do it again if Giannis doesn't re-sign.

I didn't mean to argue it's semantics, I meant to argue it's...overrated. I don't know what the right way or wording it would be. I don't believe you HAVE to have two superstars to win. I think we're generally in agreement. We need another ball handler who can get to the hoop, distribute and shoot. If that guy is a healthy John Wall or a Bradley Beal...or even an aging Chris Paul, that'd be awesome. But I don't even think it needs to be someone on that level. Disagree about Middleton not doing anything else if he's not scoring though. He's a good defender, good rebounder and a good passer. He's a well rounded player. I think maybe you meant more if his shot's not falling, he's not a guy who's going to run an offense. If so, again, I agree with that. Basically the perfect player for the Bucks is a Bledsoe who can shoot. At least shoot well enough that you're not taking a perimeter defender and sagging off him so that whoever catches the ball is already facing a double team. Regular season Bledsoe is a really solid player. But he's proven beyond a doubt for even the most optimistic fans that he just isn't cut out to be a starting PG on a Championship team. Unless they have a dominant 2 guard. And I even think he's worth the money he's getting paid. But he's really the only piece you can use to make a trade to improve this team. I just have a hard time finding a fit where we get a good enough player back that it makes a difference and a team that is willing to trade that player to get out of a 20-30 million dollar deal. Washington sure as hell isn't looking to dump Beal. I have to imagine they could do better than Bled and Ersan's contracts, a player like DiVinicenzo and a couple of 1sts. Maybe Wall...but he has ~3/120 remaining and I believe a trade kicker that adds another 20 million to that deal. AND he hasn't played since early in 2019 due to a ruptured achillies. I think the Bucks best bet would be trying to find a good ball handler in the draft, hope Donte continues to develop and see who you can get to sign in free agency. We might be able to get a guy to take a 1 year 10 million dollar deal with a player option for a 2nd given the uncertain landscape the NBA is entering this off-season.

I don't agree with that. I'll take them at their word rather than think they felt the WR'er position was less important than the RB position and or a H back. Even teams that run the ball a lot STILL throw the ball over half the time. The Ravens who had an all time great season(set the NFL record) for rushing ran the ball 54 pct of the time and many of those were passing plays that Lamar. That was by FAR the most. Even the Titans, the team that "road Derek Henry to the AFCCG" threw the ball more often than they passed it. I think what the Packers mean by they want to run the ball isn't they are devaluing the WR'ers, I think they want to become a more physically team. But it's 2020 an the passing game, ESPECIALLY when you have Rodgers and you draft a guy because you believe he has Mahomes type upside...so I'll just take their word for it that the WR'ers they liked went off the board before they could get one and by the point they were back on the clock, they didn't feel the players available were better than St. Brown or MVS(Who was dealing with a pretty significant injury last year that we didn't know about while the other was out for the year with an ankle injury). I mean....I get the premise, they want more physical players and they want to try and change their identity. I still believe if the Packers happened to end up with a top 5 pick in this upcoming draft, there's a VERY good chance they'd take Chase with a top 5 pick. They're still gonna be airing it out 55+ pct of thee time and they still have one of the top QB's to ever do it.

Is St. Brown was the 2nd-3rd round pick he was projected to be, would that somehow make you feel better? And when someone says a player "flashed" they're OBVIOUSLY not saying he had a great full season as a raw 21 year old, they're saying he showed signs and had some bursts that showed he could be a productive NFL player. I keep seeing this " he was a 6th round pick." That doesn't matter anymore. He's in the NFL...he has the size and speed. Nobody cares anymore where a guy was drafted. Especially a guy who was as highly touted(and who people always knew had the talent...particularly if you read his draft profiles). He had 58 catches for 958 yards and 9 TD's with just a serviceable QB, came back to Brian Windbrush or whoever and was projected to be a day 2 pick. EQ write up coming out of last year; There's plenty of reason to be optimistic about EQ. You listed a bunch of guys who did nothing in the NFL(none of who had his size and athletic ability and came out about 3 years older than EQ) and one guy who had about 9 concussions and couldn't stay healthy. And why do we always hear about fliers the Packers took on guys? What about Ty Hill, AB, Emanuel Sanders, Brandon Marshall, Pierre Garcon, Steve Smith, Michael Thomas... The guy's shown he has talent. He's still just 23 years old(younger than any of those guys in their rookie years IIRC) and he still has that 6'5 215 LB frame with that 4.48 speed and put up a monster season as a Soph for ND. Lets not compare that to Jeff Janis or Boykins or others who never possessed a fraction of his talent and who still had 2 years left of College left by the time EQ was starting his 3rd NFL season.

To take my mind off the Bucks suffering the Gentlments sweep at the hands of the heat, I thought I'd turn my attention toward the Packers(and the next once in a generation talent we're likely to lose in the near future...so with that, my scattered Packers predictions! WL Record @Minnesota W 20-17 vs Det W 31-27 @ NO L 38-21 Vs Atl W 34-24 Bye @ TB W 31-28 @ Hou L 27-20 Vs Minn L 23-20 @ SF W 17-13 Vs Jax W 38-13 @ Indy W 35-19 Vs Chi L 20-17 Vs Philly W 30-24 @ Det L 30-21 Vs Car W 33-14 Vs Tenn L 30-20 @ Chi W 20-16 NFC North GBP 10-6 Chicago 9-7 Det 9-7(I think they played hard all year and looked good with RodgersStafford...and I'm one of about 5 people who believe in Matt Patricia). Minn 8-8 I think the North becomes the best division behind the AFC and NFC West. 10-6 Tough schedule...just throwing it out there. Two obvious upsets would be TB and SF. I feel like we're going to be able to get after Brady and our secondary is going to play well. SF...I think that's a break out game for AJ Dillon and the running game and Kirskey and the D with Raven Greene playing a HUGE role are going to help slow down that rushing attack that burtalized us twice last year. Breakout players; Robert Tonyan-Extremely athletic TE who's moved from QB at Indiana State to WR'er to TE in the NFL finally puts it all together in 2020. He catches 60 balls, 8 TD's and he improves his blocking again(Which was pretty solid last year). Jenkins-Not sure he SHOULD be considered a breakout player, but you know how OL are. They're not always shown the respect right away. But with the new emphasis on running, I think he ends up finding his way to the Pro-Bowl this year, but makes a couple All Pro teams. Unless Nelson or Martin get banged up, likely as a 2nd team AP, but AP nonethe less). The WR'er core...which has been highly scrutinized comes through as EQ St. Brown steps up big after missing a year and his pre-season performance translates onto the field. MVS healthy now from an injury nobody knew about outside of the Packers last year becomes maybe not a "reliable" WR'er, but a big play threat. Ervin, Jones, Wiliams all play a big role in the passing game. BOLD PREDICTION-The Packers have one of the most effective passing offenses in the NFL this year in Aaron Rodgers second season...and makes people ask, "Jordan who?" Finishes with his best year since 2016, 4500 passing yards, 35 TD's, 5 INT's, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, he doesn't miss the potential big plays he did last year(which was more last year than any other 3 seasons he's played combined based on my poor and factually incorrect memory). Aaron Jones doesn't reach 1,000 yards again and falls well off in TD's as AJ Dillon gets more of the short yardage carries. Dillon ends up with ~400 yards rushing, Williams ends up with about 400 yards(probably a little less) but is another strong reciever out of the backfield and the Packers finish in the top 10 in both total rushing yards, but also in passing offense. Defense- This is tougher. Whenever a team gets bit turnover numbers, that is almost certainly likely regres the following year. The Smith Brothers end up with ~16 sacks, but still finish in the top 15 in QB pressures. Rashan Gary gets himself 7-8 sacks and matches their pressure rate and knockdown rate while playing about 40 pct of the snaps. Based on how well it sounds like he's done in camp and how he's improved his pass rushing repertoire, a healthy shoulder and a 2nd year in the offense and the 22 year old SOOOOO many were ready to write off ends up having a VERY productive year 2 while Pettine and the D play with different looks, going with a bit of a 4 man front with Gary and Preston Smith outside, Clark and Za'Darius kick inside in passing situation. But the rookie who makes the BIGGEST leap...Darnell Savage. The guy who showed SOME signs of the Earl Thomas-esque impact we were hoping from when we drafted the big hitting safety. He doesn't create many turnovers, but he plays the run well and covers a ton of ground on the backend. The Unsung hero, the TRUE breakout player...I was gonna go with Chandon Sullivan, but since people are high on him, I'll go with our Nickel LB'er, RAVEN GREENE. Greene came in and was a difference maker in week 1 vs the Bears, helping to limit the underneath passing game to the backs and the running game before suffering a season ending injury, he didn't get to show off the masive transformation his body went through in the off-season packing on the muscle. He'll help in all facets and he's tough. Biggest remaining Question Marks? What the hell are we gonna do on the right side of that OL. That should be a great run blocking OL, but if it's Turner starting over there, it's going to be rough. And on the other side of the ball, that DL and it's run stuffing ability. 175 yards before contact in the NFFCG is going to end up a blowout every time. My prediction is that after week 1 the Packers will add a veteran defensive linemen so they don't have to guarantee the entire salary. Hester, the one guy they did add is and...he's gone(or waived injured, so likely not helping this year). So I think at some point they look to upgrade that front, but I also think you'll see more Patriots type looks with Preston or Z Smith kicking down inside with Gary stepping up and playing at OLB'er. Not ideal, but should be better in the pass rusher and a helluva lot better than Lancaster. Lots of reasons to question this squad after a mis-leading 13-3 season last year that's likely unsustainable, a NFCCG in which they gave up ~175 yards BEFORE contact and a passign game that was stagnant for much of the year...but year two in this Shannahan/McVeigh scheme is when teams have generally taken that jump. Hoping that's the case here with the Packers under Matt LaFleur. We shall see, but I'm a big fan of Raven Green, Robert Tonyan, I'm warming on EQ and feel more optimistic after hearing how MVS was hobbled with an injury much of last year. The addition of Kirskley and then just Aaron Rodgers with another big chip on his shoulder. I think it'll be a weird season...which is why I have them beating both the 49'ers and the Buccs but losing a couple games they probably should win.

This is incredible. 3 top recruits are all from out of state and the Badgers are building what looks like a dominant OL that hopefully will help recruit an elite RB. We already have Berger coming in and hopefully Edwards picks UW over 'Bama and some of the other elite programs. Nab a guy who's from PA and had his list narrowed down to his home state PSU, Clemson...arguably thee elite program in the Nation at this second, Michigan and ND. Certainly helped that they snagged Hayden Rucci last year from ND to play TE...a move that was downplayed by some. With Graham Mertz, a few studs at DE, OLB'er, a dominant OL...I know they're just recruits and of any program, the Badgers and their fans should realize how recruiting rankins aren't the end all, but it sure as hell helps to close the gap on programs like OSU...and who knows, as close as they've come to being in the playoff discussion at times, maybe this string of classes puts them over the top. I'd like to see them at least add a little more CB and WR'er help(doesn't need to match up with DB U over at OSU, but some threats) to round the classes out, but Badger football is looking at good as it has in a looong time in terms of recruiting. Could this be the best 3-4 year run they've ever had?

Especially in the manner in which they lost. I'm not blaming the pandemic though. I love Coach Bud...and I think he'd have been great in past years when we didn't have a Two-Time MVP and DPOY, but I REALLY hope the Bucks Owners look at how this team has been out-coached by Nurse and Spolestra in back to back years and they take advantage of Billy Donovan suddenly becoming available. I'm just gonna be sick if we watch Giannis have another MVP caliber season, get to the post-season, and watch a team committ almost exclusively to "building the wall," to slow him down...and then have absolutely nothing else they can do. The Bucks in game 5 ran just a basic offense that every one of these guys learned in HS and it got them more open baskets than they were getting with Giannis in the game in the first 4 games. You CAN rely too heavily on your 7 foot freak. I'm officially on the Billy Donovan bandwagon(especially if these crazy rumors that Chris Paul is the Bucks #1 target this off-season...however the hell that could possibly work out given the contract issues.

I think 43.5 of the 54 million in new money is guaranteed. That said, there are some special players who are worthy of that type of money. D-Hop is as close to a Jerry Rice type player as we've seen since Rice. Anything he gets his hands on he catches and he's an amazing route runner...AND when you spead the money out over 5 years, it becomes less significant. Also, once we get over this whole Covid deal and the Cap eventually shoots back up. In the end, this is a 5 year deal worth about 94 million with 8 per year counting against the Cap. When you look at what Michael Thomas signed for, Hopkins is signed for less and his cap hit is smaller earlier on in the deal so that when they have to pay Kyler, it won't hurt as much. I actually think Dallas manages the cap the best and they hand out the longest deals....something you can afford to do if you're willing to spend the cash that comes with these long deals and then eat some of that dead cap space when a player gets toward the end. Basically Dallas wants a longer deal so that later in the contract the cap hit isn't as large(provided that the Cap continues to go up as it has every year...with the exception of a world wide pandemic that causes it to dip for a year) I believe if you have a real difference maker who's responsible, takes the game seriously and keeps themselves in good shape, the earlier and longer you sign them, the better. It's the fringe players that I'd be leery of. FA's coming off their biggest years(like Preston Smith or Za'Darius Smith before the Packers signed him or Nick Perry). But the real blue chip talents...I'd definitely lock them up long term.

The Bucks went with Bledsoe over Brogdon when they extended Bledsoe which was a bad idea. Plus Brogdon isn't even worth the contract he got but I would take Brogdon and that contract over Bledsoe and his contract. I don't think that's the case. Remember, even after Brogdon broke out last year people were talking about him getting 12-14 million. So I'm not convinced that they signed him thinking, "this means we're gonna let Brogdon leave." Also...I think Brogdon's a little overrated. He was outstanding coming in last year in the post-season and hitting some timely shots, but in a larger role for the Pacers this year, as the central focus of that offense, he shot WORSE than Bled did from the field and he shot worse from 3 than Bled's career averages and worse than Bled shot this year. Brogdon was great as the 4th or 5th guy, and I loved him...but we kinda saw what he did when more was exected out of him. Add to that that Bled is a FAR superior defender and he's getting paid less and his contract isn't guaranteed after the 21-22 season(meaning he's got a lot of trade value for a team that may be looking to move a big contract*cough*Bradley*Beal*cough) and I think it's really an oversimplification that they both choose Bled over Brogdon and that Brogdon would be better for this team. Now if you could somehow just get a sports psychologist to talk to Bled so that he doesn't change the way he attacks the basket in the playoffs compared to the regular season, THEN we might actually have a player who's worth what he's paid...but I don't think anyone's counting on that transformation. Bledsoe is a Marcus Smart-esque player. The flaw...IMO is not with him. It's with what we're asking him to do. And I think Brogdon would be equally limited if we asked him to go out there and actually run the point for a full season.

It's not popular because it's not true. There's no rule that your #1 option needs to be a great perimeter player. The problem isn't Giannis, the problem is that Giannis is asked to be the main facilitator late in the game. Shaq was a terrible shooter. He was a #1 option even before Kobe became the 2nd greatest 2 guard of all time. The problem is the over-reliance on Giannis in late game situations and 4 players standing around. That means you're going to have to make tough, contested shots MOST of the time and you're not going to get the easy buckets you saw Matthews, DiVincenzo and Hill get at times in game 5 when they were actually moving.

Middleton is a 3. A shooter that isn't a reliable enough scorer to generate his own offense. They're masquerading him as a 2 and paying him like one, but he's a superb #3. This^. Middleton was easily a #3 and not a #2 as being trotted out there as. Definitely not a max contract paid like a #1 much less a #2. Brogdon over Bledsoe. As the #3. Should have found Giannis a true #2. Just a terrible end to what was such a shoe-in promising season. I do fully believe the "Bubble" vs a true H/A matchup advantage played a huge roll in the demise. Home games with fans in basketball to me have got to have the largest impact of any sport being home vs on the road. Energizing vs Deflating. A quick 6-0 run can explode to 24-6 run in a matter of minutes. Can the team pull off a High contract trade involving Middleton for another? that nets the true 2 Giannis and the Bucks need? No, I don't believe they can. Who can you think of that's both an upgrade over Middleton RIGHT NOW, but also a player another team wants to get rid of? The Thunder aren't trading Paul for Middleton and I don't think I'd want a 35 year old who has 85 million remaining in place of Middleton anyway. I really don't see Middleton as even part of the problem, much less THEE problem. We saw what the Bucks were able to do with ball movement. Play that same way WITH Giannis and this team can compete.

As a fan I both love hearing that. But I have two concerns about it. 1-He DOES sign the Super Max this off-season, and we all rejoice and breath a sigh of relief, but it doesn't put as much of the onus on the Bucks to go out and spend the money to put a better team on the floor. 2nd-Most stars say this. If they come back and don't figure out whatever it is that causes this team to play soooo slopily for such long stretches in big games, he may be signing a different tune. He also made other quotes that were VERY strong about winning in Milwaukee and how some people see a wall and they try finding a way around it and others find a way over it.