PG Nets Game 3 - Survive and Alive

[Milbucks96]

It’s not like Bud hasn’t ran picks for Giannis as the handler, roller, put him in the post, Elbow, played him at the 5, switch defense, drop coverage, off ball, on ball. Bud has put him in every position possible just this postseason and he can’t get outta his own way. You got players actively freezing him out just so he won’t do dumb things and he still finds a way. That’s not how coaching works, you don’t baby sit players on the court and smack their hand every time they make a bad decision. Especially an 8 year vet that’s been in this situation 5 years in a row. Giannis has multiple years on me and I find it crazy how people try to act like he’s a kid who can’t make good decisions on his own and say he shouldn’t have to, then point at the coach to defer blame. No Giannis doesn’t deserve blame for losing to the nets but he deserves plenty blame for playing bad for 4 straight playoff series while the team has done everything he’s asked for and more. He asked for a team that can compete for a championship and can’t even back up his end of the bargain, can’t even bring his regular season. How can you look at those shooting splits and blame it on coaching.

[coolhandluke121]

I think I specifically said I'd rather tank than watch Giannis do this for 5 more years

I understand you 100%. For me the worst thing is 13 seconds free throws. I honestly didnt count before but now I do and it is always 13 seconds at least. Very hard to support player who intentionaly break rules so clearly that entire world laugh at us. 10 second rule is there for reason. refs help us each time they dont call it. basicly all points that he score from FT should be taken from us. I feel dirty because they are not.

and he miss most of them anyway.

Yeah, it's just unwatchable. Again my question is, what's the point of having such a valuable player on the team if you can't stand watching him? Isn't enjoying it the point? I'm not saying I actually want to tank; I'm just saying I'm not even sure that would be worse to watch than this. It's embarrassing.

I literally twitch in my seat when I see Giannis considering a walk-up 3 with the defense playing 10 feet off of him and 18+ seconds left on the shot clock. I can't even tell you what I'm seeing that tells me he's thinking of shooting a stupid-ass 3, but there's some sort of body language that I just notice unconsciously. And I am not exaggerating or saying this for effect; I literally twitched involuntarily in my seat multiple times in game 3, even on the few occasions he restrained himself. I'm not saying I'm traumatized as a human being from watching his basketball decision-making, but the basketball spectator in me definitely is. Maybe that will help explain why a lifelong Bucks fan could be ready to trade Giannis? I'm not even close to the only one who has said he's unwatchable and they enjoy watching the team more without him, so it's not like it's some contrarian opinion. One could argue that they won't trade him anyway so why talk about it, but everyone is allowed to express their personal tastes even if it won't happen anytime soon.

[coolhandluke121]

It’s not like Bud hasn’t ran picks for Giannis as the handler, roller, put him in the post, Elbow, played him at the 5, switch defense, drop coverage, off ball, on ball. Bud has put him in every position possible just this postseason and he can’t get outta his own way. You got players actively freezing him out just so he won’t do dumb things and he still finds a way. That’s not how coaching works, you don’t baby sit players on the court and smack their hand every time they make a bad decision. Especially an 8 year vet that’s been in this situation 5 years in a row. Giannis has multiple years on me and I find it crazy how people try to act like he’s a kid who can’t make good decisions on his own and say he shouldn’t have to, then point at the coach to defer blame. No Giannis doesn’t deserve blame for losing to the nets but he deserves plenty blame for playing bad for 4 straight playoff series while the team has done everything he’s asked for and more. He asked for a team that can compete for a championship and can’t even back up his end of the bargain, can’t even bring his regular season. How can you look at those shooting splits and blame it on coaching.

Gem of a post.

[RiotPunch]

Y'all are giving Bud way too much credit. He reverted back to old habits right along with Giannis and Khris. He has *tried* different things, and some have even been successful (ie 1st quarter ball movement last game) but we did not stick with it.

Now, I did hear there was a heated exchange between Bud/Giannis at one point in that game. If that was Bud telling Giannis to cut the sh*t and execute the gameplan, then Giannis has either tuned him out or is so dumb he cannot help himself. But who knows what that was about. Bud saying after games that he encourages the 3's though, wants Giannis to expand his game, that type of stuff makes me think Bud had a huge hand in developing this monster. If you have a backbone, you bench a bad shooting player after maybe early SC three point attempt #5 or so.

Also, Jrue and the supporting cast has not given Giannis much *support* lately, regardless of how asstastic he has looked. Wouldn't call that a team that's done everything he's asked for and more.

[Sigra]

Yeah, it's just unwatchable. Again my question is, what's the point of having such a valuable player on the team if you can't stand watching him? Isn't enjoying it the point?

Exactly. Tomorow is game 4 of 2nd round. We have a chance to be 2-2. The game is early so I will be able to watch live. I should be excited and jump around house counting hours and minutes untill game.

But insteed I feel like I have dentist tomorow

[yannisk]

You got players actively freezing him out just so he won’t do dumb things and he still finds a way.

I suppose you mean Jrue, I would better understand his frustration if he was not shooting 39 % FG 31 % 3p and 33 % FT for a whopping 13 ppg while getting torched on defense

the team has not played well as a whole, they don't defend well, they are the worst 3p shooting team remaining by a wide margin even the effort is not there.

I understand it is more infuriating watching Giannis missing a 3p shot that he should not be taking than watching Forbes missing a 3p shot he should be taking, I too got mad watching him take 8 3pointers. Still this wild criticism started from game 1 where Giannis was probably the best player on the game (both teams included). So I get the impression for some people he will receive all the accusations if we lose irrespective of how he plays. They just need a scapegoat.

It is quite simplistic really, let's accuse one player for everything. It does not matter if the highest paid player shoots 36% or the player that was brought as a savior shoots 39% everything is the fault of the guy that has 28 ppg on 54% fg and in the last few years has made this team relevant. He created expectations, there is less disappointment as the 8th seed, that's what we are used to. He is not as good as we would want him to be, let's trade him for Paul George plus fillers for example. Paul George will be easily the best player on the team, former mvp candidate, with a more conventional skillset that will not violate our basketball aesthetics.

[coolhandluke121]

You got players actively freezing him out just so he won’t do dumb things and he still finds a way.

I suppose you mean Jrue, I would better understand his frustration if he was not shooting 39 % FG 31 % 3p and 33 % FT for a whopping 13 ppg while getting torched on defense

the team has not played well as a whole, they don't defend well, they are the worst 3p shooting team remaining by a wide margin even the effort is not there.

I understand it is more infuriating watching Giannis missing a 3p shot that he should not be taking than watching Forbes missing a 3p shot he should be taking, I too got mad watching him take 8 3pointers. Still this wild criticism started from game 1 where Giannis was probably the best player on the game (both teams included). So I get the impression for some people he will receive all the accusations if we lose irrespective of how he plays. They just need a scapegoat.

It is quite simplistic really, let's accuse one player for everything. It does not matter if the highest paid player shoots 36% or the player that was brought as a savior shoots 39% everything is the fault of the guy that has 28 ppg on 54% fg and in the last few years has made this team relevant. He created expectations, there is less disappointment as the 8th seed, that's what we are used to. He is not as good as we would want him to be, let's trade him for Paul George plus fillers for example. Paul George will be easily the best player on the team, former mvp candidate, with a more conventional skillset that will not violate our basketball aesthetics.

No, it's really not. You and the others constantly trying to characterize our stance are clearly just ignoring the issue of opportunity cost, whether intentionally or not. The fact that you characterize it as "wanting to trade him for Paul George and filler" shows that you aren't really even trying to understand the opposing viewpoint.

There is plenty of other criticism to go around, but it's tougher to get mad at players in a shooting slump. That said, I've given Jrue PLENTY of grief about his careless handling and passing. Called him out on it at least a dozen times in the playoffs, especially this series. So it's not just scapegoating.

Giannis didn't even play very well in game 1. It was a pretty lucky shooting day for him. There were people complaining about him already because it was clear that his approach would not lead to sustained success in the series. Everyone was complaining about Jrue and Khris after game 1, but I just said that if everyone's shooting regresses to the mean and they otherwise approach the game the same way they did in game 1, then Jrue and Khris would play well for most of the series while Giannis would be a disaster. Unfortunately, the only regression to the mean has been Giannis, and he's actually regressed way below even his own mean for good measure - but that happens when you're making such terrible decisions all the time. His stagnant offense has also contributed to the team-wide shooting woes IMO.

[Milbucks96]

Also, Jrue and the supporting cast has not given Giannis much *support* lately, regardless of how asstastic he has looked. Wouldn't call that a team that's done everything he's asked for and more.

I have said Jrue has been trash this series and have shot bad the whole playoffs and is a tick better than Bledsoe at best. Just pointing out Giannis asked for them to make moves to prove they’re serious and they did that. Whether those moves work out remains to be seen. But Jrue was way better than Giannis against Miami anyway and when he doesn’t shoot great he still impacts the offense. Khris was better than Giannis too. And him and Khris just saved Giannis ass last game and Khris carried the entire offense down the stretch because you can’t give the ball to the 2 time mvp/DPoy because he can only dunk or lay it up.

Not to mention that the bucks are donating millions and a roster spot to his role player in a Greek league brother. The bucks have done plenty and Giannis can’t give them a superstar worthy playoff run. Not a championship, not even a trip to the ecf. The man can’t even give you over 25 points consistently against good comp. the man can’t hit over 60 percent of his free throws, can’t shoot over 30 percent from the three. Khris, Jrue, Brook, Bud, Horst might not be a good enough supporting cast for a ring but damn can we get 30 ppg on average efficiency for 50 million? And has Bud reverted or Giannis? They played good against Miami while Giannis told shaq it was hard to play like he did. The ball sure zipped around when Giannis was off the floor last game, he was attacking the paint until he got put on his ass once or twice and missed fits then all of sudden it got real stagnant.

And yea it’s easy to say bench him but try benching a player who got his brother a job he is super unqualified for, try benching a player who pressured the bucks to trade away the whole future to help him before he signed.

[RiotPunch]

try benching a player who got his brother a job he is super unqualified for, try benching a player who pressured the bucks to trade away the whole future to help him before he signed.

[Milbucks96]

Spoiler:

You got players actively freezing him out just so he won’t do dumb things and he still finds a way.

I suppose you mean Jrue, I would better understand his frustration if he was not shooting 39 % FG 31 % 3p and 33 % FT for a whopping 13 ppg while getting torched on defense

the team has not played well as a whole, they don't defend well, they are the worst 3p shooting team remaining by a wide margin even the effort is not there.

I understand it is more infuriating watching Giannis missing a 3p shot that he should not be taking than watching Forbes missing a 3p shot he should be taking, I too got mad watching him take 8 3pointers. Still this wild criticism started from game 1 where Giannis was probably the best player on the game (both teams included). So I get the impression for some people he will receive all the accusations if we lose irrespective of how he plays. They just need a scapegoat.

It is quite simplistic really, let's accuse one player for everything. It does not matter if the highest paid player shoots 36% or the player that was brought as a savior shoots 39% everything is the fault of the guy that has 28 ppg on 54% fg and in the last few years has made this team relevant. He created expectations, there is less disappointment as the 8th seed, that's what we are used to. He is not as good as we would want him to be, let's trade him for Paul George plus fillers for example. Paul George will be easily the best player on the team, former mvp candidate, with a more conventional skillset that will not violate our basketball aesthetics.

Giannis didn’t play well game one, 10 of his 35 came when the game was outta reach and it was him who was at the 5 when the nets blitzed the paint for layups and offensive rebounds. I wasn’t talking about Jrue freezing him but Khris when he was trying to save the season on offense because 50 million dollar man can’t do it. Yes Giannis just signed for the biggest contract ever and even it hasn’t kicked it this year, it’s going to very soon with no improvement from Giannis at all. And like I said in my earlier post, maybe this team isn’t good enough but that shouldn’t stop Giannis from having a good series himself. You’re saying 28/12/3 on 54/19/32 isn’t bad? Against a team that’s starting Blake griffin at the 5? He also has more turnovers than assists in the series. Im not looking for a scapegoat, but Khris and Jrue don’t have a brother on the team, they’re not telling the organization to make more moves, they didn’t throw the crown on their head in the middle of a game. When you’re the superstar and you don’t ever show up for good comp, you get a lot of blame, especially when you talk the talk and try to call the shots. I just want Giannis to play good, that’s it. Not win the chip, not beat the nets, just play a good series against a good team for once and back up all that talk.

[yannisk]

I wasn’t talking about Jrue freezing him but Khris when he was trying to save the season on offense because 50 million dollar man can’t do it. Yes Giannis just signed for the biggest contract ever and even it hasn’t kicked it this year, it’s going to very soon with no improvement from Giannis at all. And like I said in my earlier post, maybe this team isn’t good enough but that shouldn’t stop Giannis from having a good series himself. You’re saying 28/12/3 on 54/19/32 isn’t bad? Against a team that’s starting Blake griffin at the 5? He also has more turnovers than assists in the series.

I am saying when all the team plays bad don't put all the blame on one player. I thought you meant Jrue, so you meant Khris let's look at him then, 36.8% FG 31.3% 3p more turnovers than assists. Let him look in the mirror, play better and then start freezing people out. Do you want me to check any other player?

28/12/3 on 54/19/32 is bad for our expectations because we consider Giannis an mvp level player. If we had a regular all star and he was having these numbers we would be content. So maybe we should stop demanding Giannis to be Lebron, he is not that good. He should also realize he is not that good and change his approach to the game. On the other hand if he had realized he is not good enough to carry the Bucks he would have bolted this summer to become Pippen to a better player. If Giannis is deluded it has served the Bucks well, they can trade him now for a hefty price to the rest of the teams in the league, thank god the other organizations don't have as good scouting as our resident posters and he still has some trade value.

[Baddy Chuck]

28/12/3 on 54/19/32 is bad for our expectations because we consider Giannis an mvp level player. If we had a regular all star and he was having these numbers we would be content. So maybe we should stop demanding Giannis to be Lebron, he is not that good.

Nah, you shouldn't even really be content with those numbers even on a "all-starz" type guy with the way Giannis played TBH. At times during these games he's playing with the lowest IQ, most selfish play even Monta Ellis dreams about. It's about how he's playing and not the results. He's talented enough to get any numbers he wants by bashing his head at it and unfortunately he's been putting on that helmet and running head first. Personally I still have faith that it's salvageable to whatever extent even as soon as today but there needs work to be done, I think it's pretty unfair to call him a lost cause.

[Diggr14]

We will be hard pressed to win a championship if Giannis continues to play low IQ basketball. Part of me doesnt want to believe he is a low IQ player, he just wants to be something he isnt too much and is too stubborn and maybe too selfish to realize what he is.