HiAndTight

Khris put up 36 and 23 points against a playoff team while constantly making his own offense while his team stood around and watched. And while said playoff team knew he was their only real offense. Now, he does disappear at times, but perhaps this means more offense should run through him instead of just Giannis. I think part of the problem is this obsession(which I certainly play into) with calling someone a #2 or a #3...like you need these certain guys to be a 1 a 2 and a 3 in order to win. There are a lot of ways to win. The Piston's won without a #1 but with a bunch of #3's and a GREAT defender/rebounder. Probably the best for a period since Rodman in Ben Wallace at playing that role. The Spurs won with a #1 but without a prototypical #2....even as Parker and Manu developed, they were a well rounded team that played so well together that they could get by with Manu playing terribly or Parker playing poorly. I think Bled is underappreciated. His flaws are obvious and people focus on that...and part of that I think again goes back to the offense. He made some incredible passes after penetrating tonight. And he can beat just about anyone in the league off the dribble...even with them sagging off and he can finish at the rim as well as most PG's...during the regular season. In the playoffs it's like he becomes so much more worried about getting a shot blocked and bails out(though nobody's cutting) and gets caught trying to make an overly difficult shot near the rim while falling away when if he just went up, he'd be exponentially more effective. Khris Middleton is basically like a better version of Glenn Robinson. He doesn't have great handles, he gets in a little trouble when he dribbles in a crowd(not as bad as Big Dog, but...not great). But he's a very good defender and he's outstanding at hitting contested shots and the mid-range 3. That said, if I'm the Bucks, I'd be using Bledsoe as trade bait. At 17 million, he's got value and when you factor in he doesn't have a guaranteed salary the year after, he's got that much more trade value. First, I'd shoot for the moon. I'd package a guy like Bledsoe, Ersan's non-guaranteed deal, our 1st this year and in '24 and if we had to, Donte(though that'd hurt) for a guy like Beal. Not sure if that gets it done, but it does give them a young upcoming stud in DiVincenzo, ~25 million in cap relief for a team that's not competitive and 2 firsts and that first in '24...I guess you leave it unprotected because otherwise, it doesn't have much value. That's pretty unlikely, but it's leave you with that "Number 2" that would fit the Bucks like a glove(and a team that he's praised REALLY strongely very recently). When/if that doesn't work, I'd look at two guys; JJ Reddick...a guy who was on the block this year. Not sure what it'd take to get him. His contract isn't that big. I'm guessing again, you'd have to part with DiVinenzo. I REALLY think he can be our Manu type, so I wouldn't love that for a 36 year old sharp shooter, but... Goran Dragic-I think the Heat may let him walk. They want to both contend and maintain as much cap space as possible for the following summer. The question is, would he be willing to sign on for ~4/40 million or 2/20 to play for the Bucks as that's as much as they could offer. If he would...that'd be a nice upgrade offensively and as a playmaker. Another maybe more realistic option would be Bogdan Bogdanović. He's a very solid shooter and with the uncertainty that surrounds the NBA's cap moving forward, he'd be a big upgrade over Matthews at the 2(though I'd certainly try to bring him back as he's a helluva glue guy). Danilo Gallinari would also be a fantastic addition...and again, the only way I see this being plausible is if the market is poor and he's willing to take a little less to play for the MLE. And then there's a rumor that the Bucks are interested in Chris Paul...who I love, but I'm at a total loss as to how in the hell that could happen. The Thunder aren't taking Middleton back and Bledsoe, Ersan...I guess Brook Lopez would get you there financially. The Thunder may send something else back like a pick or...whatever, I can't even begin to guess. It seems totally unrealistic. Which is too bad. Paul's still a great player and exactly what the Bucks need. But it appears as though his wanning years will be wasted on a good-but not great team. So Bradley Beal, Danilo Gallinari, JJ Reddick, Bogdan Bogdanović, and the guy who just killed us, Goran Dragic. More than anything...someone who's able to calm this team down and make big shots. The Bucks blew game 2 when they had 3 turnovers and couldn't get ANYTHING going in the end of the 4th quarter until a fluke sequence of events culminating in the Butler foul. They lost game 3 by again, folding like a chair in the 4th quarter, giving away a 12 point lead and getting outscored by 27 in the 4th quarter. If they're able to operate efficently in either game, the Bucks are up 2-1 heading into game 4(which they won) and may very well be moving on. So again, maybe that's mostly coaching, but if I ran the Bucks, I'd try covering all my bases by swapping Bud for Donovan and adding a better decision making ball handler who can shoot the ball. And ideally, I'd do that while keeping Bledsoe as I think his all around game is really underrated player who's game reminds me of Marcus Smart's...but he's expected to faciliate too much and he's proven that's where he's rather inept in the playoffs.

I don't think it was an organizational failure and I don't think Brogdon would significantly change this team...I DO think the Bucks need a better coach. Their offense in game 5 actually moved. They lacked the talent without Giannis to beat the Heat, but there was at least a LITTLE movement. Billy Donovan is now available and on the market. I don't know if firing another Head Coach would make Giannis more or less likely to stay, but I do think Donovan is a better coach and he'd give the Bucks a better chance moving forward. Beyond that...I really don't know what the Bucks can do. I think DiVencezo is going to be a stud, though not a #2 on a championship team type. I think the Bucks CAN win a Title without having a better #2 than Middleton but it's going to require at LEAST adding a player like a JJ Reddick...a real shooter who is at least a capable defender and who can score and better coaching. I just watched game 5 and thought if the Bucks could run this type of offense AND incorporate Giannis into it as opposed to Giannis starting with the ball 3 feet behind the line and trying to drive while 4 guys stay in their designated spots on the court, THAT could be a team that could win. If DiVincenzo could faciliate, Bled, and Giannis was the one cutting or if Middleton could operate out of the low post and get some damn ball movement, that team could win. I still think this team as constructed if nothing changes, they could contend and maybe get to a finals next year if they only make minor tweaks and minor adjustments, but it's hard to see them beating a healthy Clippers, Lakers team or even keeping pace with the young and upcoming Mavs(who will actually be able to afford a Max contract in '21-22 which is a truly scary thought for the rest of the league as well as Bucks fans). I loved Brogdon and thought he was a very nice player, but we saw what he did this year as the primary PG. He's not a primary option. He shot under 33 pct from 3 and wasn't as effective as he was last year. We'd be better with him, but only marginally. We need to fundamentally change HOW we run our offense as you can't rely on Giannis just taking over vs every team in the post-season. You need to be able to manufacture offense through simple things.

Oh...ok. Would you look at them losing in 7 in the NLDS(when you'd also lost confidence in him) or making another run last year(when, again you'd lost confidence in him) as nice accomplishments...or no?

Oh...ok. Would you look at them losing in 7 in the NLDS(when you'd also lost confidence in him) or making another run last year(when, again you'd lost confidence in him) as nice accomplishments...or no?

This is where not being able to watch any of these guys sucks from a fans perspective. Haven't seen any of the CB's this year. Ento looked more like a safety to me last year, but the Packers are obviously very high on him. WR'er, I'm sure it has to be hard on the coaches as well. St. Brown is a guy Rodgers has talked about(so was Kumerow for what that's worth) and clearly has the upside. And Nijman...that RT spot is going to be a problem for the Packers. At least early in the season with Turner banged up and Wagner coming back from an injury. I'd love to have seen how much progress Nijman had made and if he got any playing time at RT. Should be a real fun opening day, fill with surprises. And the Foster signing...seems like a really nice one. Had a really nice stretch to finish his rookie year with a pretty erratic Josh Allen throwing to him. And he has a lot of ability after the catch, a big factor in this scheme(though obviously that's important in any scheme). I expect an obvious regression from last year's 13-3 team, but am still pretty fired up about this team. I think it's very likely they play better on offense...their defense doesn't get quite as many turnovers and they end up with ~10 wins...which could win the division. I do think all 4 teams in the North have a legitimate chance to win the division this year.

This is where not being able to watch any of these guys sucks from a fans perspective. Haven't seen any of the CB's this year. Ento looked more like a safety to me last year, but the Packers are obviously very high on him. WR'er, I'm sure it has to be hard on the coaches as well. St. Brown is a guy Rodgers has talked about(so was Kumerow for what that's worth) and clearly has the upside. And Nijman...that RT spot is going to be a problem for the Packers. At least early in the season with Turner banged up and Wagner coming back from an injury. I'd love to have seen how much progress Nijman had made and if he got any playing time at RT. Should be a real fun opening day, fill with surprises. And the Foster signing...seems like a really nice one. Had a really nice stretch to finish his rookie year with a pretty erratic Josh Allen throwing to him. And he has a lot of ability after the catch, a big factor in this scheme(though obviously that's important in any scheme). I expect an obvious regression from last year's 13-3 team, but am still pretty fired up about this team. I think it's very likely they play better on offense...their defense doesn't get quite as many turnovers and they end up with ~10 wins...which could win the division. I do think all 4 teams in the North have a legitimate chance to win the division this year.

Damn...just looked at Orr's 40 time and saw he ran a 4.65. I thought he was expected to run a much slower 40, but if that's a better measure of his speed, yeah, that'd be a great addition. I'd prefer Connelly, but both were impressive at Wisconsin. Both are extremely instinctual and smart LB'ers.

Damn...just looked at Orr's 40 time and saw he ran a 4.65. I thought he was expected to run a much slower 40, but if that's a better measure of his speed, yeah, that'd be a great addition. I'd prefer Connelly, but both were impressive at Wisconsin. Both are extremely instinctual and smart LB'ers.

Randall's not a bad safety. We just drafted him, asked him to play out of position and then he played out of position when he was hurt and looked awful. But I'm with you on the trade. By the time his second season was up, it was definitely worth taking a flier on Kizer to ship him out. I don't recall any specifics, but I thought he had a few issues on the sidelines or in the locker room(not to mention he was pretty hated by the fan base). I could see him catching on as a nickel corner, 3rd safety type.

Randall's not a bad safety. We just drafted him, asked him to play out of position and then he played out of position when he was hurt and looked awful. But I'm with you on the trade. By the time his second season was up, it was definitely worth taking a flier on Kizer to ship him out. I don't recall any specifics, but I thought he had a few issues on the sidelines or in the locker room(not to mention he was pretty hated by the fan base). I could see him catching on as a nickel corner, 3rd safety type.

Packer WRs didn't line up tight to the LOS, but there were a lot of plays where Kumerow and Lazard were in there intentionally for blocking purposes. Big 6-4, 6-5 WRs that command a CB to defend them, shove them around to seal the edge in running plays. Jones sprung a lot of outside running plays that way. I would assume Funchess was targeted for similar reasons. Plus St. Brown this year and MVS isn't tiny either. They obviously didn't line up as an inline blocker, but the Packers often used a bunch formation with Lazard on the inside and they'd ask him to seal the edge as you say, but often blocking down on OLB'ers, or Ends as a TE would do. They also used him a lot to seal the backside when running different counters, especially when Tonyan was down last year.

Yeah, Parker was supposed to be that #2. Then I thought for a minute it could be Maker. It's not Middleton though. At least he's not the traditional #2. Not his fault, he's come back after signing better than ever and he can be a 2nd playmaker at times...for short bursts, but he's just not athletic enough. Bledsoe is the guy who's most physically capable and even in game 2 we could see that. He could get to the rim almost at will. Dragic or Robinson can't defend him while he's probably the best option we have vs Dragic. But of course, counting on him is a shaky proposition at best as he seems to struggle with the pressure. The Bucks are going to have to really be willing to either spend or they'll have to get lucky and find a star like the Spurs did with Manu or Parker if they're going to be able to ever get over that hump. But that's not going to help us much now. For this series I'd just like to see the Bucks at least TRY to give the Heat different looks. Giannis isn't great on the log block, but at least put him down there once in a while and throw it down to him. He's certainly got the court vision to either get to the rim or find the open shooter once they collapse on him from down there. It's a helluva lot better than asking him to take on 3 Heat who are all well coached and who have scouted him well enough to know his tendancies. I still think we have a decent chance to pull out this series...and I DO still think the Bucks are the better team. But even if they do and even if they CAN get past a Celtics team that looks better at this point than they did a year ago, it's hard to see them beating the Clippers in the finals. A LITTLE more realistic that they could beat the Lakers, but that seems like a long shot at well.

2017: Suter, Hader, Woodruff 2018: Burnes, Peralta 2019: Keston, Adrian, Grisham 2020: Williams, Rasmussen, (Urias) A couple two tree long term pieces coming up each year seems like a pretty consistent flow to me. How many of those players are impact talents. Looks like the makings of a terrific bullpen and not much else. Woodruff has a 3.36 FIP primarly as a starting pitcher. Burnes has been outstanding this year and he was outstanding as a rookie, including the post-season. Hiura looks like a middle of the order 2nd basemen. Hader's been one of the top relievers in baseball the last two years and Devin Williams may be the top reliever thus far in the NL. What exactly are you looking for? Yearly Tatis Jr type players coming through the system?

Though I'm about 80 pct sure the Heat will score even if Midds hits all 3...

And a chance to tie the game with 4 seconds left...

Like right there...they get the 2 FT's, they hit get the offensive board and Olynyk comes down and hits a 3. Those have been killing us. (And now a terrible turnover with Matthews).

The way Bledsoe has played has inspired confidence..a little. He's so strong and long that he should be able to finish at the basket like he has. And the Heat had been nailing 3's. But everytime we get a little run going, the Heat seem to just suck all the momentum out of the Bucks. Turnovers suck all the momentum. Sure, that's definitely been a big part of it...but the Heat have been knocking down 3's seemingly everytime we get something going. They need to be much smarter with the ball and Giannis HAS to stay under control.

This is gonna be their best shot. This SHOULD be a Flagrant 1 and a shot at a 4-5 point possession. If they're going to win, they gotta hit these FT's and then get a good look.

Who drafted him? Does that excuse the fact that the majority of this lineup is terrible. Yes...it does.

Back in the early 90s, during Holmgren's first few years, they had a DT in the same mold as Lancaster in John Jurkovic. Jurkovic was a pretty terrible nose tackle, and was eventually replaced by waiver wire acquisition Gilbert Brown. But the fans loved Jurkovic because of his boisterous (and at times obnoxious) over-the-top personality. While Lancaster may not have the same type of personality that Jurkovic had, he's a very similar type of player, i.e. one who is eminently replaceable by better talent. I don't remember him being as bad as Jurko...but maybe that was because he was such a fan favorite. I also don't recall the obnoxious behavior, but that was in my early days as a fan. I think he was probably gone by the time I was 10. As for Lancaster...yeah, he's very replaceable. If he's not replaced, I don't really see how this run D improves much.

I was thinking this for a bit but they upped the intensity a bit later in the second quarter. I hope the Bucks keep posting up, it was far more effective than drive+dish for a 3. Yes...and they've gotten much better ball movement when they're working out of the post.

The way Bledsoe has played has inspired confidence..a little. He's so strong and long that he should be able to finish at the basket like he has. And the Heat had been nailing 3's. But everytime we get a little run going, the Heat seem to just suck all the momentum out of the Bucks.

Each team had a supporting player play great, the Heat's superstar came through and ours didn't quite play up to his standard. One game...and I was thinking we were in a lot of trouble at the same point in Game 1 of the 2nd round last year, but this one feels a little different. I REALLY hope I'm as wrong as I was last year...

Yup...Bled doesn't offer as much in the playoffs on offense, but he's still a monster on D. We need him to defend Dragic. And now down 8...it's not looking good. Middleton and Lopez played great...but man, Dragic just played great until Butler got going.

I took it that way as well. But also, Counsell almost had to say something to that effect. He has to put a positive spin on it...not sure he has to say Stearns found a deal he "couldn't pass up." That tells me they really liked the arms they were getting back. I feel no different about this teams potential this year than I did before I heard about the trade. If the guys who are struggling start to hit like they have in the past and like they're capable of, they can make things interesting. But that's the area of the team that's been underperforming. Their established hitters whov'e struggled.