PG Nets Game 3 - Survive and Alive

[MiltownHawkeye]

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Niche twitter handle is an understatement.

The Bucks offense is making me feel like I took too small of a slice

[emunney]

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Niche twitter handle is an understatement.

The Bucks offense is making me feel like I took too small of a slice

Now my stomach is absolutely ****

[DanoMac]

Also, for everyone blindly saying that Giannis is "the dumbest player in the NBA", I promise you, the dumbest player in the NBA doesn't win back to back MVPs.

Javale McGee is still in the league, you know.

[coolhandluke121]

Good **** lord does this board need game 4 to be a 18+ 3pt explosion cause damn if all of you aren't just rainbows and sunshine.

I get not feeling great despite a win like that but Jesus **** Christ people.

No they haven't played well this series.

No they didn't play well yesterday despite the win

Yes they are one home game away from pulling even in the series despite the first two statements

When I have to read posts saying how "Giannis isn't a superstar player and just not on the level of Kyrie" and no one jumps on that there's an issue

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The Giannis takes the last 24 hours have been maybe the worst I've ever seen this board

I had to literally close out of my browser last night when I saw someone say "this is gonna be the same old **** for the next 5 years. Trade Giannis and just tank". Like, there's so many demons in the head of anyone who makes a statement even close to that

Demons? Shove it, seriously. The only reason I want the Bucks to win is because I love basketball and think it's a beautiful game, so if Giannis is going to crap all over that, what's the point? Saying I should be happy because we won and he put up numbers is every bit as stupid as saying everyone with money should be happy, and that goes for as long as he keeps playing like this, which appears to be his thing. There's more to life than that. He's been doing this for years and it's unwatchable. What's the point of wanting a valuable player on the Bucks if you hate watching him play, seriously? That is not a rhetorical question, so please enlighten me with an answer.

Plenty of other people are tired of watching him too. Do they all have demons too? What a trash take. People have a right to their own taste in sport, and the fact that so many people are sick of Giannis is a testament to how many people here have good taste in basketball. You may not be one of them, but that's your prerogative.

[BucksFanSD]

To me the keys to winning this series:

1. Giannis needs to not attempt another 3. His primary role on offense should be on ball screener and forcing the Nets to make decisions in the PnR. The isolation stuff is not going to work as Brooklyn continues to pinch their wall tighter and tighter together.

2. Jrue has to be much more assertive and just plain better. He's at .395/.308/.333 splits and 13 ppg in 38 mpg. We didn't trade the draft capital we did for that production in a big series. Kyrie has fought hard on D, but they need to run Jrue in the post a ton and make Brooklyn double. Get Holiday some easy points early and hopefully build some confidence.

3. Run length at/double/trap Durant as much as possible. I just don't think the Nets role players have enough in them without Harden on the court. It it looks like Harris or Griffin are on one from 3 you may need to adjust, but gotta get the ball out of KD's hands. Given how bad the bench has been, I'm fine rolling with 7 minutes or so of TA's spaziness on him as well (can't believe I just said that).

4. Ball movement has to be a ton better. That's on the entire team.

5. Few more minutes for Portis and Giannis at small ball 5 when Nets try and exploit Lopez in PnR? I'm mixed on that one because overall Brook has been awesome on D.

Exactly my thoughts. I'm just hoping the coaching staff agrees and makes it a point. If Giannis does go isolation, make it on occasion, and focus on more assists and less shots.

[DanoMac]

What's the point of wanting a valuable player on the Bucks if you hate watching him play, seriously? That is not a rhetorical question, so please enlighten me with an answer.

Plenty of other people are tired of watching him too. Do they all have demons too? What a trash take.

The only trash take here is saying to trade our 26 year old, future HOFer, top 20 all time player, before he even hits his prime, because YOU hate watching him play.

Yes, anyone that wants to trade Giannis right now, and go back to tanking, has demons in their head. And I hope you exercise them.

We were gifted a superstar. We were gifted said superstar signing the supermax and keeping us relevant for another 5 years.

And you did all of this after a WIN! Impressive, man.

[DanoMac]

Do the people advocating for trading Giannis automatically assume we're gonna tank and get a sure-fire superstar? I'm just confused. We're literally title contenders right now.

If you're a fan of the Bucks, don't you want to win? To win in the NBA, you need a superstar. We have that. In small-market Milwaukee. And you want to get rid of that, for what? To HOPE we draft a superstar? Good luck. And the chances of that superstar being as loyal as the one we currently have? Good luck.

Literally some of the stupidest stuff I've ever read.

[WeekapaugGroove]

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[jschligs]

Good **** lord does this board need game 4 to be a 18+ 3pt explosion cause damn if all of you aren't just rainbows and sunshine.

I get not feeling great despite a win like that but Jesus **** Christ people.

No they haven't played well this series.

No they didn't play well yesterday despite the win

Yes they are one home game away from pulling even in the series despite the first two statements

When I have to read posts saying how "Giannis isn't a superstar player and just not on the level of Kyrie" and no one jumps on that there's an issue

Sent from my SM-G975U using RealGM mobile app

The Giannis takes the last 24 hours have been maybe the worst I've ever seen this board

I had to literally close out of my browser last night when I saw someone say "this is gonna be the same old **** for the next 5 years. Trade Giannis and just tank". Like, there's so many demons in the head of anyone who makes a statement even close to that

Demons? Shove it, seriously. The only reason I want the Bucks to win is because I love basketball and think it's a beautiful game, so if Giannis is going to crap all over that, what's the point? Saying I should be happy because we won and he put up numbers is every bit as stupid as saying everyone with money should be happy, and that goes for as long as he keeps playing like this, which appears to be his thing. There's more to life than that. He's been doing this for years and it's unwatchable. What's the point of wanting a valuable player on the Bucks if you hate watching him play, seriously? That is not a rhetorical question, so please enlighten me with an answer.

Plenty of other people are tired of watching him too. Do they all have demons too? What a trash take. People have a right to their own taste in sport, and the fact that so many people are sick of Giannis is a testament to how many people here have good taste in basketball. You may not be one of them, but that's your prerogative.

I think demons was a bit of an overstatement. But if you don't enjoy watching Giannis play you can certainly find another team to watch/cheer for.

I, for one, have loved watching him play even with his flaws. I sat there and watched virtually garbage basketball for years before he came to MKE. I know how fortunate we are to watch him play (IMO) and while I hate watching him make his stupid ass mistakes every playoffs, I'm happy knowing that we're actually in the playoffs and maybe, just maybe, have a chance to win it all. Where for 2 decades we didn't have dick for a chance

[DanoMac]

People have a right to their own taste in sport, and the fact that so many people are sick of Giannis is a testament to how many people here have good taste in basketball. You may not be one of them, but that's your prerogative.

Last reply to you.

My taste is winning. I like winning. I'm 31 years old, and haven't experienced much, barely any, winning in my lifetime.

We are winning now. So, it's as simple as that. Giannis could shoot backwards shots from half court if it means getting Wins.

[Prokorov]

I'm sure Nash is also telling KD and Kyrie to "run that floater play for Bruce Brown" over and over (*sarcasm*). This is why this idea that the coach is holding the players' hands and drawing up every play for them is so weird. Nash isn't telling these guys to feed Bruce Brown the ball in the same way that Bud isn't telling Giannis to jack up an early shot-clock 3-pointer every time down the floor. Any half way decent coach has to empower their players and trust them to make the right play within the flow of the game.

Nash is an awful in game coach... and while he did not draw up a floater for Brown, he basically coached it to where that was the most likely outcome.

-You put Brown out on the floor
-You have Brown in the action by setting a screen for the ball handler

With how KD/Kyrie shot late, it was a certainty the bucks where not going to switch, they were going to double and dare the nets to give it to brown on the roll for a floater.

If you dont want bruce brown shooting a floater then either:

a) dont have him on the floor
b) dont have him screen for the ball handler who is highly likely doubled on the pick

On the Brown missed layup... again, its after a timeout. Why is Nash not making an offense for defense substitution? Stick Shamet in the Corner and create space. The play Broke down... ok nothing you can do about that... but once it does, how about you call a timeout and run a new inboud play instead of whiching go down in flames?

Bruce Brown did EXACTLY what he should on both possesions:

1st one he catches in the paint with under 10 seconds on the shot clock, takes his most common/succesful shot in his repertoire. to beat the dead horse, if you dont want him taking that shot, he shouldnt be on the floor. thats his shot.

2nd one, play breaks down, he gathers with 8 seconds on the clock, harris/kd/blake are stationary with defenders on them. Jrue/Lopez are attached to kyrie. wide open lne in front of him. his choice are to attack or throw a contested pocket pass to kyrie...

He shouldnt have been on the floor.

[coolhandluke121]

Do the people advocating for trading Giannis automatically assume we're gonna tank and get a sure-fire superstar? I'm just confused. We're literally title contenders right now.

If you're a fan of the Bucks, don't you want to win? To win in the NBA, you need a superstar. We have that. In small-market Milwaukee. And you want to get rid of that, for what? To HOPE we draft a superstar? Good luck. And the chances of that superstar being as loyal as the one we currently have? Good luck.

Literally some of the stupidest stuff I've ever read.

Or just trade him for someone who won't poop his pants in a way that becomes an embarrassment not just to the Bucks, but the entire NBA community at large, even if it's not someone as "valuable" as Giannis. It's disgraceful that every announcer has to bite their tongue 20 times a game and not say Giannis is a **** moron, but you can tell they all want to, as do even the least insightful members of the TNT team and anyone else with a big enough stage to comment nationally.

Any number of guys who are considered not nearly worth as much as Giannis would make them a more serious contender, and after that you can start tanking. His value as a trade asset is far more likely to make the Bucks a contender than his value as a playoff contributor. Could have said the same garbage about how OKC should never trade Westbrook in his prime, but imagine if they had had the sense to do it instead of falling for trash cliches about superstars. It comes down to BBIQ of the player and organization, neither of which gives me much hope.

[Fotis St]

I can't remember if it was on Game 1 or 2, but the commentators of the live broadcast showed a stat that we shot the ball within the 12-13 of our offense. He analysed it as this is our game plan to create more possessions while keeping the pace of the game high. I believe we are actually doing it whole seasons, this is why we finished as the 2nd best offense in Points Per Game BUT .... this is a good strategy against a team with less talent in order to have more chances to show your talent. If this was what we were doing, and forcing early bad shots and 3s instructed by Bud is stupid. I mean even if you choose to do so , just use X&Os to help create better shots. Going iso on every possession or pulling up a 3 with zero passes or after one pass is not a good strat and it is not good basketball, it will lead to Ls for sure.

[BigO]

To me the keys to winning this series:

1. Giannis needs to not attempt another 3. His primary role on offense should be on ball screener and forcing the Nets to make decisions in the PnR. The isolation stuff is not going to work as Brooklyn continues to pinch their wall tighter and tighter together.

2. Jrue has to be much more assertive and just plain better. He's at .395/.308/.333 splits and 13 ppg in 38 mpg. We didn't trade the draft capital we did for that production in a big series. Kyrie has fought hard on D, but they need to run Jrue in the post a ton and make Brooklyn double. Get Holiday some easy points early and hopefully build some confidence.

3. Run length at/double/trap Durant as much as possible. I just don't think the Nets role players have enough in them without Harden on the court. It it looks like Harris or Griffin are on one from 3 you may need to adjust, but gotta get the ball out of KD's hands. Given how bad the bench has been, I'm fine rolling with 7 minutes or so of TA's spaziness on him as well (can't believe I just said that).

4. Ball movement has to be a ton better. That's on the entire team.

5. Few more minutes for Portis and Giannis at small ball 5 when Nets try and exploit Lopez in PnR? I'm mixed on that one because overall Brook has been awesome on D.

Exactly my thoughts. I'm just hoping the coaching staff agrees and makes it a point. If Giannis does go isolation, make it on occasion, and focus on more assists and less shots.

All good points and every one of them is up to the coach to make sure it happens. My concern is that Bud doesn't seem to have an alternative when the Nets switch on everything. None of his pick and roll sets work well against a switching defense unless you know how to take advantage of the mismatches.

When Bud doubled Durant yesterday it worked. The Nets are susceptible to turning the ball over a lot, especially Durant. Pressure the ball as much as you can. The problem is you don't want to lose track of Harris, so I would not leave him open.

In terms of the floaters, with Bud's drop defense, those are the shots he wants the Nets to take. The problem is that players are getting better and better at it.

[coolhandluke121]

I think demons was a bit of an overstatement. But if you don't enjoy watching Giannis play you can certainly find another team to watch/cheer for.

I, for one, have loved watching him play even with his flaws. I sat there and watched virtually garbage basketball for years before he came to MKE. I know how fortunate we are to watch him play (IMO) and while I hate watching him make his stupid ass mistakes every playoffs, I'm happy knowing that we're actually in the playoffs and maybe, just maybe, have a chance to win it all. Where for 2 decades we didn't have dick for a chance

He might still be considered a top-3 asset in the game, and yet he's nowhere near that in terms of helping his team win in the playoffs. THAT'S why there are legitimate arguments for trading him.

[xTitan]

People have a right to their own taste in sport, and the fact that so many people are sick of Giannis is a testament to how many people here have good taste in basketball. You may not be one of them, but that's your prerogative.

Last reply to you.

My taste is winning. I like winning. I'm 31 years old, and haven't experienced much, barely any, winning in my lifetime.

We are winning now. So, it's as simple as that. Giannis could shoot backwards shots from half court if it means getting Wins.

Maybe he should try that, couldn’t be much worse.

[MickeyDavis]

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[theFireBlanket]

They're talking about KD's guard on the GB. Think we're all used to things being weird right now, that it's glossed over.

But maybe some consequences come the Nets or KD's way as a result of the episode? At least the league should be having discussions. *Unless I missed it.

[PintSizedBox10]

They're talking about KD's guard on the GB. Think we're all used to things being weird right now, that it's glossed over.

But maybe some consequences come the Nets or KD's way as a result of the episode? At least the league should be having discussions. *Unless I missed it.

KD should be start the next game with a tech. What a ridiculous situation

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[paulpressey25]

You don’t trade Giannis. That’s nonsense talk. He and four mid level guys get you 50 wins.

But, you may need to talk with him over the next 1-12 months about possible rebuild type trades with Middleton and Jrue.