PG Atlanta: Dame clips Hawks wings in 4th

[Neuromancer56]

Nehm asked Griff what they did defensively down the stretch to get stops and he replied, "Not sure exactly what we did but we did it great..."

Well, basically the players stop doing what AG has been asking and instead of overplaying for steals/jumping passing lanes they try their best to expend that usually wasted energy to instead stay in front of their man, challenge shots the best they can, and crash the D boards.

If they just stop overplaying for steals, jumping passing lanes, and focused on getting back and had no one crash, they likely wouldn’t find themselves in a dog fight late in the fourth every game.

Ok now that's just plain depressing. Can anyone confirm that's what's actually happening? Because if so, there needs to be another come to Jesus meeting for Griff by the players.

[JayMKE]

Bucks have too much talent on offense to look bad on that side coach or not, our random defense is another story

[Bucksmaniac]

Khris worries me more than he annoys me. Yes, Khris's lack of mobility these days is a major concern on defense. However, Khris has offense that translates very very well to the playoffs so it counterbalances things. Offensively, he's worth every penny. He's taking a back seat in shot attempts now with Dame here and the minutes restriction is a big nuisance but come playoff time it's going to be a luxury to be able to have him out there. You saw what he did in the Miami series without another creator on the court with him for the majority of it. Now he's going to have Giannis and Dame and all the space in the world to cook.

Beasley is almost entirely a catch and shoot specialist. He's shown some other wrinkles here and there like some driving ability, a floater, stop and pop mid range, etc.., but i dont envision his skillset consistently translating to success against tough playoff D like he's going to see against Boston, Philly, New York, and Cleveland. The offense isn't always going to be able to generate looks for him.

so that's my Ted Talk on why I dont mind Khris sucking on defense as much as Beasley.

I’d agree if he looked fit enough for 30 mins a game of high intensity playoff basketball; he doesn’t now and I don’t foresee that changing by April.

He just did that against the Heat last season…

Can he play well and be a difference maker playing 30+ mins a game? I doubt it, so for 30 million a year it’s best to move on. He couldn’t handle pressure even though his numbers weren’t awful, and you know you won’t be getting even replacement level defense from him.

[HKPackFan]

I backed off Beas a while ago. He does exactly what he's supposed to do. He doesn't hesitate and hits open shots. He rarely takes bad shots and rarely "needs to get his".

He's often going to be open with all the attention the stars get and he makes the most of it.

His D is still bad and not sure if he can be effective in the playoffs when even his shots will be contested. He may not be great in the second round when he is relentless attacked over and over again.

But he's good things in the regular season and I'll take it.

[midranger]

My advice to Griff

[greekbuck34]

Giannis went from Trae Young level of rim protection in the first 10 games(6 feet or lower DFG=62%) to top 5 in the league in the last 10 games(6 feet or lower DFG=40%).

[randy84]

I'd start Wes if we had him for sure.

I don't know. Wes' defense has kind of fallen off a cliff this year.

[paulpressey25]

Atlanta is a decent team. So the positive I takeaway is that the Bucks last five minute focus just stomped them. And that gravity starts with Dame.

This tournament couldn’t come at a better time of team development and Griff’s learning curve. We have a true playoff game tomorrow night. Let’s see how he handles it.

[Neuromancer56]

So I see we're going to oscillate between "We won, maybe we can out-clutch people on the way to the Finals despite Griffin" and "We lost, fire Griffin" this year

The fact that we might be able to out-clutch teams on the way to the finals and the need to fire Griff this year are not mutually exclusive. That being said I don't think we're going to lose enough games so that Griff will be fired. With Griff I think we have a 5% chance of winning a championship. With a competent coach I think that goes up to 30%.

[tedbrogen]

I’d agree if he looked fit enough for 30 mins a game of high intensity playoff basketball; he doesn’t now and I don’t foresee that changing by April.

He just did that against the Heat last season…

Can he play well and be a difference maker playing 30+ mins a game? I doubt it, so for 30 million a year it’s best to move on. He couldn’t handle pressure even though his numbers weren’t awful, and you know you won’t be getting even replacement level defense from him.

He just did that against the Heat last season…

[sidney lanier]

A nice win, and incremental improvement. Life is good. NBA media have already begun dismissing the Bucks as title contenders, as some here also mistakenly do, because of the defense (or lack thereof), but those of us who watch every game know that this is a slow train coming.

And of course everybody loves the Celtics. I in turn love hearing the Celtics' slobbering. It isn't quite as effusive this year as it was at this stage in the season last year, when the East Coasters kept using the phrase "historically great" to describe an offense characterized by ancient Al Horford hitting a smattering of threes. But the early December consensus, just like last year, is that the Celtics are a team apart.

This too shall pass. When summer comes, Brown and Tatum will once again be staring at an empty trophy case. The Bucks, on the other hand, might have to listen to the East Coasters complain that Giannis took the easy way to another championship by building a super team with Dame, and he promised he would never do that. Please God, make it so.

[Bucksmaniac]

He just did that against the Heat last season…

Can he play well and be a difference maker playing 30+ mins a game? I doubt it, so for 30 million a year it’s best to move on. He couldn’t handle pressure even though his numbers weren’t awful, and you know you won’t be getting even replacement level defense from him.

He just did that against the Heat last season…

How did he impact winning? Team had one win in the Playoffs, his shooting was solid but not crazy good, his playmaking was meh (1.7 assist to turnover ratio was worse than most guards on the team) and his defense was sub par. Brook almost outplayed him in the Playoffs yet a lot of chirping how he signed a pretty stout contract that’s still a bit lower than Middleton’s.

[tedbrogen]

Like this is beyond ridiculous level of offense. Nobody is even close to our scoring and efficiency.

We were averaging 111-112 OFFRTG in the Bud era in the 4th quarter on 57-58 TS%(This season its 66%) and now this in just 20 games of Dame and Giannis.

I know some of it is having your best five offensive players out there, but why can’t they also do that at the start of each half with those same five?

[tedbrogen]

Can he play well and be a difference maker playing 30+ mins a game? I doubt it, so for 30 million a year it’s best to move on. He couldn’t handle pressure even though his numbers weren’t awful, and you know you won’t be getting even replacement level defense from him.

He just did that against the Heat last season…

How did he impact winning? Team had one win in the Playoffs, his shooting was solid but not crazy good, his playmaking was meh (1.7 assist to turnover ratio was worse than most guards on the team) and his defense was sub par. Brook almost outplayed him in the Playoffs yet a lot of chirping how he signed a pretty stout contract that’s still a bit lower than Middleton’s.

How about 41% from three on six and a half attempts per game? I’m not sure why his D against the Heat matters when he wasn’t the guy getting epically torched by Butler, but again, you be you…

[tedbrogen]

Nehm asked Griff what they did defensively down the stretch to get stops and he replied, "Not sure exactly what we did but we did it great..."

Well, basically the players stop doing what AG has been asking and instead of overplaying for steals/jumping passing lanes they try their best to expend that usually wasted energy to instead stay in front of their man, challenge shots the best they can, and crash the D boards.

If they just stop overplaying for steals, jumping passing lanes, and focused on getting back and had no one crash, they likely wouldn’t find themselves in a dog fight late in the fourth every game.

Ok now that's just plain depressing. Can anyone confirm that's what's actually happening? Because if so, there needs to be another come to Jesus meeting for Griff by the players.

It seems so based on his quote and what I’m seeing defensively at the end of games. I’m not a scout or a coach and not in the huddle so take everything with a grain of salt, but I have been going back and rewatching the last five minutes of each game and specifically checking defensive coverages. I’m seeing they are simply focusing the energy on physical D, protecting the rim, and getting the boards. No more jumping passing lanes or picking up dribbles at half court and trying to pick their pocket. Very little jumping passing lanes.

[ReginaldDwight]

Im not worried about this team at all outside of midds health in the playoffs. If we are healthy we will be there at the end of the season. Also helps ive been casually watching until the 4th, just like the team i suppose.

[MissKhriddleton]

Like this is beyond ridiculous level of offense. Nobody is even close to our scoring and efficiency.

We were averaging 111-112 OFFRTG in the Bud era in the 4th quarter on 57-58 TS%(This season its 66%) and now this in just 20 games of Dame and Giannis.

I know some of it is having your best five offensive players out there, but why can’t they also do that at the start of each half with those same five?

Right, like why can’t we just build the whole airplane out of the same material as the black box?

[MissKhriddleton]

Well, basically the players stop doing what AG has been asking and instead of overplaying for steals/jumping passing lanes they try their best to expend that usually wasted energy to instead stay in front of their man, challenge shots the best they can, and crash the D boards.

If they just stop overplaying for steals, jumping passing lanes, and focused on getting back and had no one crash, they likely wouldn’t find themselves in a dog fight late in the fourth every game.

Ok now that's just plain depressing. Can anyone confirm that's what's actually happening? Because if so, there needs to be another come to Jesus meeting for Griff by the players.

It seems so based on his quote and what I’m seeing defensively at the end of games. I’m not a scout or a coach and not in the huddle so take everything with a grain of salt, but I have been going back and rewatching the last five minutes of each game and specifically checking defensive coverages. I’m seeing they are simply focusing the energy on physical D, protecting the rim, and getting the boards. No more jumping passing lanes or picking up dribbles at half court and trying to pick their pocket. Very little jumping passing lanes.

What does the best version of AG’s defense even look like? Is it just an 80’s basketball movie montage of non-stop steals leading to uncontested off the backboard all oop layups in transition and the opposing coach looking flabbergasted?

[tedbrogen]

Ok now that's just plain depressing. Can anyone confirm that's what's actually happening? Because if so, there needs to be another come to Jesus meeting for Griff by the players.

It seems so based on his quote and what I’m seeing defensively at the end of games. I’m not a scout or a coach and not in the huddle so take everything with a grain of salt, but I have been going back and rewatching the last five minutes of each game and specifically checking defensive coverages. I’m seeing they are simply focusing the energy on physical D, protecting the rim, and getting the boards. No more jumping passing lanes or picking up dribbles at half court and trying to pick their pocket. Very little jumping passing lanes.

What does the best version of AG’s defense even look like? Is it just an 80’s basketball movie montage of non-stop steals leading to uncontested off the backboard all oop layups in transition and the opposing coach looking flabbergasted?

Basically yeah, it would look like Michael J Fox in full Teen Wolf mode. Only problem is the Bucks have zero werewolves on their team.

[Matches Malone]

I noticed Charles Gardner was back last night asking questions during pressers. Always nice to hear him and it sure beats listening to Jim O stumble through his questions lol.