It's Dame Time!

[Gianstoppable]

Damien **** Lillard is on our team.

I keep seeing this dude's face in my head saying, "Dude, you're getting Dame."

I picked up Tank Dell in fantasy football a couple weeks ago and this dude's been stuck in my elder millennium brain non stop lol.


Guys. We have Dame. We have an actual PG that hasn't stopped talking about pick and rolls with Giannis and Giannis says he will completely buy in as a #2 ball handling (huge upgrade). This likely means the end of out of control Giannis come playoffs, his only weakness besides free throws. If we are healthy next year and Giannis can take a small jump to 70%+ and get back to his early career FT% we will have the most exciting team to watch hands down. Funny how a few weeks ago it was starting to seem like Giannis being cryptic might mean dark darks. Complete opposite.

[Daver]

Damien **** Lillard is on our team.

I keep seeing this dude's face in my head saying, "Dude, you're getting Dame."

I picked up Tank Dell in fantasy football a couple weeks ago and this dude's been stuck in my elder millennium brain non stop lol.


Guys. We have Dame. We have an actual PG that hasn't stopped talking about pick and rolls with Giannis and Giannis says he will completely buy in as a #2 ball handling (huge upgrade). This likely means the end of out of control Giannis come playoffs, his only weakness besides free throws. If we are healthy next year and Giannis can take a small jump to 70%+ and get back to his early career FT% we will have the most exciting team to watch hands down. Funny how a few weeks ago it was starting to seem like Giannis being cryptic might mean dark darks. Complete opposite.

Spot on even though he still has no midrange game and no J his fts% is his biggest bugaboo.The games they lost (philly heat ) just 2 examples of how bad his FT shooting costed us.Would love to hear just once him spendong a off season working on his Fts him shooting at 70% add another 5 points a game to his average plus no more hack a giannis at end of games

[Gianstoppable]

So when can we get an updated NBA Jam shirt with Giannis and Dame?

[ShootingtheJ]

Dame hit 37% from 3 last year. Surrounding talent and Coach Bum Billups were huge factors in that low number. What does it jump to this year playing with Giannis in Stotts offense?

I'll say 42%.

Question when stotts was HC there n the blazers had a top 0 what did dame shoot then.Stats csn be deceiving i always thought he shot better than that from 3

He only shot 40% from 3 in 1 season of his entire career. Obviously, that's because of shot quality, he's an obnoxious level shooter.

[Daver]

I guess taking 35 foot 3s dont help your % ive seen alot of his games where he goes like 7-11 or 9-14:from 3 lol must be those lucky nights then

[Balls2TheWalls]

So when can we get an updated NBA Jam shirt with Giannis and Dame?

https://www.homage.com/products/nba-jam-bucks-antetokounmpo-and-lillard

Now.

[engelmartin]

Listening to the latest Lowe Post. Boston has six of the top nine players between the two teams and a depth advantage, I guess.

just completely glosses over how unstoppable the Bucks offense will be lol

Yo BTW they are simultaneously creating an “underdog” narrative for the Bucks with this BS. ESPN is all about creating narratives. They always “see” “both sides”

[MikeIsGood]

Watch on YouTube

[tedbrogen]

One aspect lost in the Dame talk is that while his defense is not good, it’s a lot easier for a team as a whole to play defense after a make than a miss. Dame will lead to way more made shots, so the Bucks can get back and set their D.

It’s not a coincidence that when the offense had massive collapses in previous seasons that the opponents were able to get easier looks.

[Ayt]

This is a great interview with Dame from last season. Redick is one of the best in the business at the moment.

Watch on YouTube

One of the things I found interesting was Dame talking about how he decided to be much more aggressive a few months into the season because the team had so many injuries. In the first handful of games, he was "playing honest" and just taking what the defense gave him (though he still had two 40 point games in the first 5 games with that mindset). He ended up getting hurt in the 5th game and missed 4 games with a strained calf, then he missed 7 more games when he tweaked it again shortly after coming back.

Dame decided when he came back in early December that he needed to be very aggressive to try to help the team win because of all the injuries. He ended up averaging 33.6 with a TS% of .654 in the final 47 games that he played after making that switch in his mind. Crazy.

It is fascinating to hear him talk about how he attacks defenses. He also has a fantastic memory which is very impressive.

[M-C-G]

It is fascinating to hear him talk about how he attacks defenses. He also has a fantastic memory which is very impressive.

I've never really listened to any interviews with him prior to being the Bucks. This dude is one of the most thoughtful, bright guys that completely understands the game of basketball, like the polar opposite of guys like Monta Ellis. What an absolute pleasure and he is filling in some big shoes left by Jrue.

[skbucks1985]

That's why I'm not super worried about his defense. He's such a smart player and with him now not having to be a one-man top 10 offense to give the team a shot, I think his defense probably improves to somewhere in the neighborhood of average to a little above average.

[Ron Swanson]

I still don't understand how people can convince themselves that a Top-4 (Top-2 for most of the year) defense is gonna fall off hard just because Jrue is gone. Until we see Brook actually teetering on the cliff of being washed, this team still has the best defensive frontcourt since Duncan/Admiral, and historically that tends to cover up poor to mediocre perimeter defense.

[MVP2110]

I still don't understand how people can convince themselves that a Top-4 (Top-2 for most of the year) defense is gonna fall off hard just because Jrue is gone. Until we see Brook actually teetering on the cliff of being washed, this team still has the best defensive frontcourt since Duncan/Admiral, and historically that tends to cover up poor to mediocre perimeter defense.

While the defense won't be awful they lost several good defenders, mainly at the guard & wing spots. Jrue, Jevon, Wes all were plus defenders and we replaced them with Dame, Malik, & Cam Payne, all of whom have been negative defenders in their career. Id guess we'll end up in the 10-15 range by most metrics, maybe we can slide into the back end of the top 10, but I doubt we'll be top 3 again this year

[Ron Swanson]

I still don't understand how people can convince themselves that a Top-4 (Top-2 for most of the year) defense is gonna fall off hard just because Jrue is gone. Until we see Brook actually teetering on the cliff of being washed, this team still has the best defensive frontcourt since Duncan/Admiral, and historically that tends to cover up poor to mediocre perimeter defense.

While the defense won't be awful they lost several good defenders, mainly at the guard & wing spots. Jrue, Jevon, Wes all were plus defenders and we replaced them with Dame, Malik, & Cam Payne, all of whom have been negative defenders in their career. Id guess we'll end up in the 10-15 range by most metrics, maybe we can slide into the back end of the top 10, but I doubt we'll be top 3 again this year

That's not really the bar though. If we get the usual 60+ and 70+ game seasons from Giannis and Brook, and end up like, 14th in defense, then Adrian Griffin, as I'm told the kids say these days, "ain't it". Giannis/Brook is an automatic Top-10 defense regardless of who you put around them.

[MoreTrife]

It is fascinating to hear him talk about how he attacks defenses. He also has a fantastic memory which is very impressive.

All the greats seem to have this. Rodgers for sure had this. I hear Giannis flex his memory dissecting random plays. Elite athletes - fantastic genes, plus obsessive compulsive disorder, chip on the shoulder and fantastic recall.

[MVP2110]

I still don't understand how people can convince themselves that a Top-4 (Top-2 for most of the year) defense is gonna fall off hard just because Jrue is gone. Until we see Brook actually teetering on the cliff of being washed, this team still has the best defensive frontcourt since Duncan/Admiral, and historically that tends to cover up poor to mediocre perimeter defense.

While the defense won't be awful they lost several good defenders, mainly at the guard & wing spots. Jrue, Jevon, Wes all were plus defenders and we replaced them with Dame, Malik, & Cam Payne, all of whom have been negative defenders in their career. Id guess we'll end up in the 10-15 range by most metrics, maybe we can slide into the back end of the top 10, but I doubt we'll be top 3 again this year

That's not really the bar though. If we get the usual 60+ and 70+ game seasons from Giannis and Brook, and end up like, 14th in defense, then Adrian Griffin, as I'm told the kids say these days, "ain't it". Giannis/Brook is an automatic Top-10 defense regardless of who you put around them.

I guess then it depends on what your definition of fall off hard is? I don't think anyone is predicting us to be a bad defense but basically every NBA Champion has had a top 10 defense and I think there is a real chance we finish in that 11-15 range as opposed to being a top 10 defense.

[Daver]

While the defense won't be awful they lost several good defenders, mainly at the guard & wing spots. Jrue, Jevon, Wes all were plus defenders and we replaced them with Dame, Malik, & Cam Payne, all of whom have been negative defenders in their career. Id guess we'll end up in the 10-15 range by most metrics, maybe we can slide into the back end of the top 10, but I doubt we'll be top 3 again this year

That's not really the bar though. If we get the usual 60+ and 70+ game seasons from Giannis and Brook, and end up like, 14th in defense, then Adrian Griffin, as I'm told the kids say these days, "ain't it". Giannis/Brook is an automatic Top-10 defense regardless of who you put around them.

I guess then it depends on what your definition of fall off hard is? I don't think anyone is predicting us to be a bad defense but basically every NBA Champion has had a top 10 defense and I think there is a real chance we finish in that 11-15 range as opposed to being a top 10 defense.[/quote


Was denver a top 10 team in D i swear i read somewhere where they were like 13th am i wrong.Their D didnt seem all thst good last year

[Daver]

I still don't understand how people can convince themselves that a Top-4 (Top-2 for most of the year) defense is gonna fall off hard just because Jrue is gone. Until we see Brook actually teetering on the cliff of being washed, this team still has the best defensive frontcourt since Duncan/Admiral, and historically that tends to cover up poor to mediocre perimeter defense.

They were top 5 b4 jrue got there maybe jae csn replace wes or maybe marjon can.Dont know why they still cant be top 10

[MVP2110]

That's not really the bar though. If we get the usual 60+ and 70+ game seasons from Giannis and Brook, and end up like, 14th in defense, then Adrian Griffin, as I'm told the kids say these days, "ain't it". Giannis/Brook is an automatic Top-10 defense regardless of who you put around them.

I guess then it depends on what your definition of fall off hard is? I don't think anyone is predicting us to be a bad defense but basically every NBA Champion has had a top 10 defense and I think there is a real chance we finish in that 11-15 range as opposed to being a top 10 defense.[/quote


Was denver a top 10 team in D i swear i read somewhere where they were like 13th am i wrong.Their D didnt seem all thst good last year

You are correct in that Denver was not in the top 10 but they were the exception to the rule and not exactly a team build I'd try and emulate. They also were historically good offensively to help make up for their defense(which tbf we might also be able to be historically good offensively) before Denver the only team in recent memory to win a title and be outside the top 10 in defense was the 2018 Warriors who finished 11th.