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

[JordansBulls]

Too bad we don't have the Giannis stopper in Lonzo in this series.

[old skool]

How could the Bulls end that game without using their challenge, either on Giannis's potential 6th foul on the rebound that was called on Williams, or on Lopez's and1 that could have taken two points off the board?

I keep hearing fans questioning the lack of challenges late in this game, when the answers seem to be obvious.

The Giannis foul call against Williams came with 2:05 left in the game with the Bucks up by 3 points. Fans calling for a challenge imply that it wouldn't hurt anything if the challenge was unsuccessful. The replay that the Bulls coaches could see showed both players pushing against each other with neither player losing their position on the floor, and that when Antetokounmpo jumped to control the rebound, Williams ducked under and backed into Antetokounmpo, invaded his landing area and pushed him away from the basket. If the Bulls unsuccessfully challenged that call, they would have lost one of their two remaining timeouts in a close one possession game. The loss of a timeout in a close game when there was a likelihood that the challenge could be unsuccessful could be disastrous. Teams rely on timeouts in the last minute of a game to set up a play, or make a key substitution or advance the ball to the front court instead of using time to get the ball in position to get a good shot. Teams don't want to use a challenge and risk the loss of a time out if there is a reasonable possibility that the challenge will be unsuccessful.

The Lopez And-1 basket came with 1:24 left in the game and could not be challenged by the Bulls as the play occurred in the final 2-minutes.

[ellobo]

How could the Bulls end that game without using their challenge, either on Giannis's potential 6th foul on the rebound that was called on Williams, or on Lopez's and1 that could have taken two points off the board?

I keep hearing fans questioning the lack of challenges late in this game, when the answers seem to be obvious.

The Giannis foul call against Williams came with 2:05 left in the game with the Bucks up by 3 points. Fans calling for a challenge imply that it wouldn't hurt anything if the challenge was unsuccessful. The replay that the Bulls coaches could see showed both players pushing against each other with neither player losing their position on the floor, and that when Antetokounmpo jumped to control the rebound, Williams ducked under and backed into Antetokounmpo, invaded his landing area and pushed him away from the basket. If the Bulls unsuccessfully challenged that call, they would have lost one of their two remaining timeouts in a close one possession game. The loss of a timeout in a close game when there was a likelihood that the challenge could be unsuccessful could be disastrous. Teams rely on timeouts in the last minute of a game to set up a play, or make a key substitution or advance the ball to the front court instead of using time to get the ball in position to get a good shot. Teams don't want to use a challenge and risk the loss of a time out if there is a reasonable possibility that the challenge will be unsuccessful.

The Lopez And-1 basket came with 1:24 left in the game and could not be challenged by the Bulls as the play occurred in the final 2-minutes.

Not true. You can challenge a foul call at any time.

Last year, teams could not challenge out-of-bounds, goaltending, or basket interference in the last two minutes because those replays were triggered by game officials (but could still challenge foul calls).

This year, the coach's challenge pertains to the whole game because game officials can no longer initiate reviews of out-of-bounds, goaltending, or basket interference in the last two minutes.

Here is the relevant rule:

c. A team may utilize a Challenge to trigger instant replay review of only the following three events: (1) a called personal foul charged to its own team, (2) a called out-of-bounds violation, or (3) a called goaltending or basket interference violation; provided that, in the last two minutes of the fourth period and last two minutes of any overtime, a team is no longer able to utilize a Challenge to trigger instant replay review of a called out-of-bounds violation, or called goaltending or basket interference violation, as review of these events during these periods will be exclusively triggered by the on-court game officials.

NOTE: Notwithstanding the above, the Official NBA Playing Rules have been modified for the 2021-22 NBA season (on a one-year trial basis) to (i) eliminate referee-initiated instant replay review of out-of-bounds violations during the last two minutes of the fourth period and the last two minutes of any overtime period; and (ii) extend the Coach’s Challenge so teams may trigger replay review of out-of-bounds violations throughout the entire game. Accordingly, a Coach’s Challenge is the only mechanism to trigger replay review of out-of-bounds violations at any point during the game.

Now, the last two minute report did say that the foul on the Lopez play was a correct call. But that's a separate review process from an in-game challenge, and I still think it was close enough that it was worth challenging at the time. A chance to take two or possibly three points off the board in the last 90 seconds of a close game is the kind of situation you save your challenge for.

[CharityStripe34]

Let's see if either team can hit some outside shots tonight, lol.

[buckboy]

That game never felt in-doubt. Bulls just don’t scare you offensively.

A disingenuous take after nearly losing to a fish-out-of-water team. This is, of course, after the Bucks showed their true colors of cowardice by avoiding the Nets in the first round. The irony that they nearly choked to their hand picked opponent wasn’t lost, I promise you that.

There's a lot of dumb packed in here.

I never felt it was in doubt. Now, you may say I'm crazy for that, but it's true.

The 2nd and 3rd sentences are baseless nonsense of course.

[mj234eva]

Too bad we don't have the Giannis stopper in Lonzo in this series.

Read the comment before I saw the username, and knew who'd said this.

[jokeboy86]

I absolutely hate these alt Bucks unis. And once again can hear way too many Bulls fans

[GusFring]

It's over. Bulls winning a chip. Vuc finals mvp

[meekrab]

Please keep throwing the ball away, Milwaukee.

[Guy]

Statement game by Chicago? Up 9-0 in first couple minutes in dominating fashion.

[bearadonisdna]

Great start for the bulls .

[tundraknight]

Statement game by Chicago? Up 9-0 in first couple minutes in dominating fashion.

The Nets started 9-0 against the Celtics today.

All I’m saying is it might be too early to tell..

[life_saver]

Middleton is drunk

[skones]

I can't stress how much I hate Gus Johnson. He was one of our guys during the 15-16 campaign.

[vinnymate]

4 turnovers already from the Bucks....what exactly are they doing different from Game 1 again?

[CobraCommander]

Middleton is drunk

4/20 so not drunk butttt

[Shamrock]

Feel bad for any team that gives Lavine a max contract. Never been a fan

[CobraCommander]

And just like that bucks eraSe the 9-0

[The Vo Show]

Once Bobby Portis retires, he should run for mayor of Milwaukee. Is there a more beloved man in that city?

[CobraCommander]

Lady in bulls jersey cheering portis! Lol dude is infectious