PG: Nets Edge Out Bucks in Game 2

[FrieAaron]

i was against paul and harden and now i horribly regret we didnt swing for one of them. they are both alphas. we need an alpha and beggars cant be choosy in this situation, and i really dont think it matters who it is. honestly somebody whose a bit of a dick if you do dumb **** might be the type of guy giannis needs

And I think this is still the argument for a player like Butler over Middleton. We want as much shooting as possible around Giannis, of course, but personality wise I think it's a much better fit.

[th87]

(1)Giannis can play off the ball and still be the best player on the court. (2)I think years of "if Giannis could develop an outside shot..." have gotten into his head at this point.

1. Easily.
2. Sure looks like it.
Footnote: Yipping his FT's with Drake heckling him is starting to look like a career-defining moment for him with respect to his place among the game's superstars, at least up until this point.

As if I couldn't hate him more for 9 years being a manufactured fake, soft rapper shoved down our throats...then he's partly responsible for my team not having a title. Incredible.

[Antinomy]

Funny thing is, I don’t remember being worried about Giannis at the line until the Toronto series.

He’s been completely dreadful since then. Shades of Nick Anderson.

[MiltownHawkeye]

Funny thing is, I don’t remember being worried about Giannis at the line until the Toronto series.

He’s been completely dreadful since then. Shades of Nick Anderson.

Yeah I remember the occasional "man imagine if Giannis could shoot over 80% from the line" comment but in general everyone was fine with his free-throws shooting. If only we knew.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

i was against paul and harden and now i horribly regret we didnt swing for one of them. they are both alphas. we need an alpha and beggars cant be choosy in this situation, and i really dont think it matters who it is. honestly somebody whose a bit of a dick if you do dumb **** might be the type of guy giannis needs

And I think this is still the argument for a player like Butler over Middleton. We want as much shooting as possible around Giannis, of course, but personality wise I think it's a much better fit.

agreed. and this isnt just on giannis. i think some tension in the lockerroom might actually benefit this group. clearly movie nights arent getting them over the hump

[SupremeHustle]

Funny thing is, I don’t remember being worried about Giannis at the line until the Toronto series.

He’s been completely dreadful since then. Shades of Nick Anderson.

Yeah I remember the occasional "man imagine if Giannis could shoot over 80% from the line" comment but in general everyone was fine with his free-throws shooting. If only we knew.

Just want to throw in that I was saying he was a bad free throw shooter even when he was shooting them OK. Check the tape. I got mocked for it a lil bit.

[BigO]

Anyone even suggesting a Giannis trade is out of their mind. He's literally the only reason another superstar would entertain coming to Milwaukee.

I thought everyone here was going out of their mind, but at least there's a couple of us left. This Board, after the last two games, is like most boards that are completely reactive. If a player has a few good games, he's great and if not, he's got to go. Now it's Giannis's fault.

There is only one consistent variable and that is that Bud can only go so far. It's not that Bucks players are inherently soft. It's that they are coached to be soft. I've laid out in different posts 7 or 8 ways they are coached to be passive. Here's a reminder of just a few:

1) 26th most passive defense in the NBA-that's mainly do to the drop defense, but not solely.

2) Playing the top players preseason minutes during the playoffs.

3) Throwing players out of the gym because he didn't want them to overdo it.

4) Almost never shows/hedges on ballscreens

5) Despite having overwhelming height and skill inside, downplays postups and feeding the post on offense against teams like the Nets

6) Emphasizes not fouling to an extreme

Game 2 in Miami, at least on defense, is the prototype of what an aggressive Bucks defense can do. Players doubled the screens on many occasions, picked up the guards full court for much of the game.

And what happened?

They blew out the Heat. In the first game, which exemplified Bud's passive approach, the Heat shot only 19 free throws in a game that went into overtime. In the second games more aggressive approach, the Bucks sent the Heat to the line 35 times (almost double) and yet the game wasn't even close.

Bud coaches based on ideology, not on what is in front of him on the court. His ideology is based on passivity:

1) Don't foul
2) Play passive defense with no ball pressure ever
3) Hoist up threes.

Giannis needs to be the lynchpin of this team and will be. As brain dead as the owners were in hiring Kidd, they know getting rid of Giannis is beyond insane. They need a strong coach who will demand excellence and smarts from every player. Giannis wants to be coached and wants to win. Bud can't do that unless he changes and he's got a few games left to decide whether ideology is more important than facts.

[BucksFanSD]

A new coach and a possibility of Nwora in the starting line up next year makes me hopeful.

For Giannis, he needs to use regular season games to get better at starting better from the tip. He needs to be challenged on his approach to the game. His approach was better as a rookie, surprisingly. If you lag in regular season games, you may lag worse in the playoffs.

Nwora is to Middleton what Mike Redd was to Ray Allen.

Nwora won't ever be a starter unless he makes galactic leaps on defense

Right now he's Jabari level bad.

He's below average, but I wouldn't put Nwora at Jabari's level. Or Forbes for that matter (granted Forbes got somewhat better in that dept. as the year went on). If you tell Nwora he could start if he held his own on defense, I think he would pass the test. Also, I think he gets better overall in year 2 in all areas. Certainly a guy you don't want wasting himself on the bench during the regular season in his Year 2 and I bet another coach will take advantage of him better than Bud would.

[mke_design]

There is a real question that Giannis is possibly Dwight Howard from a “all athletics - no substance” perspective and that does give me pause. But saying he should be traded is asinine.

[TD75]

Yeah the Bucks should trade Giannis and keep everyone else. I am sure they will do better.

There is valid criticism and there are some ridiculous hot takes and player comparisons (akin to the hilarious takes that took place a few months ago when people were losing their minds waiting for Giannis to sign the extension).

[Sigra]

I'm sure some of you remember this. 2017, Elimination game, 7 sec left, down 3, we need a 3 duh, giannis drives to the rim for a 2, raptors more than happy with his decision as they defend khris n terry who was catching fire towards the end. I think that's snell on the corner 3 left open and giannis doesn't see him.

Watch on YouTube

Giannis always had a low bball IQ. The fact that he has achieved what he has achieved is a testament to his work ethic and freakish nature. We just didn't do a good enough job building around him. This team needed/needs players with smarts more than anything.

Coach Bud also made perfect system for Giannis to win those 2 MVPs. I talked about that before so will not again. And him having those 2 MVP awards hurt us now honestly. He is at all headlines "Giannis vs Durant" and he feels like he has to be that. Against this Nets team he has to be in paint and paint only. I would bench him if he shoot outside of paint. Hell, I would bench him if he dribble outside of paint (except in transition offcourse).

But guys, we are not trading him (sorry GHOSTofSIKMA) and he is our franchise player no matter what. Maybe he improves, maybe he accept what he is eventually. Who knows. And again, those Nets are best team this year. They will win championship (if no more injuries). This is not the end of world. This is still 4th best season in last 35 years.