Eastern Conference | Round 1 | (3) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (6) Chicago Bulls (Bucks WIN 4-1)

[life_saver]

So far, it's not the defense that's letting down Bulls..it's their offense which has been garbage

[DonaldSanders]

The refs are a joke so far

All playoffs man.

That foul call on Portis was garbage, let 'em play in the post. And then Giannis with the flop gets a whistle for FT's with .1 on the clock, just Come On Man!

[life_saver]

Feel like Bucks 3 point shooting % always plummets in playoffs

[whatisacenter]

13-39 including 3-16 from 3 and only down by 8?

yeah, the Bulls have to feel pretty good about the score all things considered but I don't see the Bucks losing this game.

[Tracymcgoaty]

I just gotta say one thing. If the Giannis meditation before taking a ft is allowed then so should Westbrooks ritual.

[The High Cyde]

Third foul with 0.1 left called on a questionable push on LaVine where Giannis falls to the floor. Oof.

The ref in good conscience has to let that go, terrible call.

[mediocrityrules]

Bucks up with 2 of the big 3 not firing a shot at all. If they pick up in the second half this is a blowout.

Lavine and Demar possibly on tired legs in the second half as well, having already logged over 21 minutes.

[mattg]

Y’all are too harsh on Lavine and DeMar, this a championship team they’re facing, led by a monster that’s tiers ahead of them.

I agree but neither guy is a #1 on a championship team unless the team is really deep, like say Phoenix... though I'm not really confident Phoenix will win.

Honestly, if we're being optimistic then maybe Lavine and Derozan are #3 guys on a championship team with other superstars IF they buy into a role that doesn't include them taking awful shots...which is sorta tough considering bad shot selection is literally their MO.

[LikeMike23]

Giannis gotta flop to win... SMH

[G R E Y]

I mean Lavine and Derozan are these dudes their whole careers not just vs Milwaukee lol. There's a reason Chicago legit went like 2-20 vs top 4 of each conference this year.

Sure, but the Bulls were dealing with injuries and then the chemistry issues because of it. And they’re still not 100% as they’re missing Lonzo.

Lavine has never been to the playoffs due to crappy teams, some his fault and some not, and DeRozan ran into a top 3 player all time in his conference. He still did the most he could, obviously it wasn’t enough, but he’s matured and has a more complete game now.

No one is expecting the Bucks to lose in round one, so the piling on the Bulls and their two stars is weird.

I mean Derozan got labeled an MVP candidate this year for a while because he scored a bunch while they beat up on bums. Just saying. Khris Middleton has been a substantially better player than Derozan for basically their entire careers and yet Derozan gets his flowers despite playing a style of basketball that is 30 years out of date and ineffective. Middleton only gets talked about when someone is trying to put down how good Giannis is.

As far as Bulls injuries, sure they are missing Lonzo, but their roster sucks even with him. They need to play Caruso/Ball together and they need to play Lavine and Derozan. You can't effectively play those 4 together vs decent teams, the lineup doesn't fit for ****. It's a similar issue the Heat have IMO, where the teams can't play their best players together because the fit is so bad. These issues appear nonexistant vs 90% of the league, but are glaringly obvious in the playoffs vs more legit teams.

With respect to DD / Khris comparison, it's really not. DD has best defenders on him and players play off him; Khris has best defenders on Giannis and plays off him. Different roles.

[Castle Black]

LaVine is going to get Maxed out by Chicago this off-season and it’s going to be a severe overpay.

But they have no choice. They can’t afford to let him walk.

[ATTL]

Dumb foul

[bearadonisdna]

The problem with Demar was never the regular season

Derozan averages 21.9 ppg in the playoffs .
He is on pace for that today , he isn’t a no show.
His teams were never the favorite so why throw him all the blame?

The issue with Derozan is he would typically shoot bad from the field in the playoffs. He's 4/12 so far. 12 points on 12 shots, meh.

His team is the underdog , this isnt kind of I told you so series everybody was expecting .

He can play great but his team loses and it’s still a failure . The bulls team since the Allstar break has underperformed and there’s lots of reasons and derozan is the least reason they have been struggling .

Bulls had an ok half . Down 8 .

[Tracymcgoaty]

LaVine is going to get Maxed out by Chicago this off-season and it’s going to be a severe overpay.

But they have no choice. They can’t afford to let him walk.

I never understood that. Why cant they afford to let him walk? If they know they cant win a chip with Lavine as the guy then why give him the max?

Will that Bulls team even get better in the off season?

[mattg]

Sure, but the Bulls were dealing with injuries and then the chemistry issues because of it. And they’re still not 100% as they’re missing Lonzo.

Lavine has never been to the playoffs due to crappy teams, some his fault and some not, and DeRozan ran into a top 3 player all time in his conference. He still did the most he could, obviously it wasn’t enough, but he’s matured and has a more complete game now.

No one is expecting the Bucks to lose in round one, so the piling on the Bulls and their two stars is weird.

I mean Derozan got labeled an MVP candidate this year for a while because he scored a bunch while they beat up on bums. Just saying. Khris Middleton has been a substantially better player than Derozan for basically their entire careers and yet Derozan gets his flowers despite playing a style of basketball that is 30 years out of date and ineffective. Middleton only gets talked about when someone is trying to put down how good Giannis is.

As far as Bulls injuries, sure they are missing Lonzo, but their roster sucks even with him. They need to play Caruso/Ball together and they need to play Lavine and Derozan. You can't effectively play those 4 together vs decent teams, the lineup doesn't fit for ****. It's a similar issue the Heat have IMO, where the teams can't play their best players together because the fit is so bad. These issues appear nonexistant vs 90% of the league, but are glaringly obvious in the playoffs vs more legit teams.

With respect to DD / Khris comparison, it's really not. DD has best defenders on him and players play off him; Khris has best defenders on Giannis and plays off him. Different roles.

Uhh, the defenders that guard Khris and Giannis are almost entirely different positions 99% of the time.

Also lets be real, DD does the same thing no matter who is guarding him, rhythm dribbles into a pull up from mid range. Whether it's a scrub defender or all defensive guy, Derozan is making the read every time, pull up from mid.

[G R E Y]

Third foul with 0.1 left called on a questionable push on LaVine where Giannis falls to the floor. Oof.

The ref in good conscience has to let that go, terrible call.

Yeah they've been calling the play-ins and playoffs tightly for the most part. What you want is consistency for both teams ie/ push offs in Cs vs. Nets, physicality of one team versus another.

In this case, I'm not convinced that LaVine can just make Giannis fall but momentum and positioning affect it as well.

There's precise calling and too letter of the law calling. Or missing it completely:

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[vinnymate]

Bucks look like last years version.

Giannis dominant but cant hit his fts.

Jrue and Khris shooting 25% from the field again.

Bucks players shooting less than 30% from 3.

[Ballerhogger]

Going as planned

[Vampirate]

Derozan averages 21.9 ppg in the playoffs .
He is on pace for that today , he isn’t a no show.
His teams were never the favorite so why throw him all the blame?

The issue with Derozan is he would typically shoot bad from the field in the playoffs. He's 4/12 so far. 12 points on 12 shots, meh.

His team is the underdog , this isnt kind of I told you so series everybody was expecting .

He can play great but his team loses and it’s still a failure . The bulls team since the Allstar break has underperformed and there’s lots of reasons and derozan is the least reason they have been struggling .

Bulls had an ok half . Down 8 .

Yes, all that is true, but Derozan's playoff efficiency issues are still there. Point blank, if the Bulls hope to win this game, he has to prove himself and go off.

[Ballerhogger]

LaVine is going to get Maxed out by Chicago this off-season and it’s going to be a severe overpay.

But they have no choice. They can’t afford to let him walk.

I never understood that. Why cant they afford to let him walk? If they know they cant win a chip with Lavine as the guy then why give him the max?

Will that Bulls team even get better in the off season?

The won’t be playoff team anymore .. That’s going the wrong direction . Trading for vuveic was bad idea …