PG Sixers: Trust the Process ends the streak

[Milbucks96]

One interesting thing to note is how Harden specifically targeted Khris the entire 4th instead of Grayson, who was right there for the taking.

I still believe in Khris, but this was not the game.

Yea that was eye opening, Khris’s defense has stayed solid even as his effort has become inconsistent over the last couple regular season. When he would lock in, he was still a solid on ball wing defender. But he was trying pretty hard out there and he looked bad, that’s worrying. I believe in Khris the player and his skills, I don’t believe in his knee anymore.

We can all stop excusing Khis's D now... he lost it after the hammy and the Brook Defense was always to help him. Where's the limerick dude? Make one about Harden embarrassing him.. fool rhymes with a lot of things

Naw he’s still been a solid defender since the hamstring injury, just not consistent during the regular season but has been solid in the playoffs unless matched up with elite wings of course. He’s definitely never been this bad, and it’s sad because he was trying last night.

[BigO]

Another thing I noticed in the fourth is the guy guarding Niang when he went on his hot streak was sagging off him way too much. The bad old habit of over-helping. They have to remember to trust the 2 lead defenders in the high-screen and stay disciplined. Each one of the Big Three allowed costly threes to Niang for that same reason.

I actually think that was a good smack in the face for the team that they can't just relax and think after a big run the other team's going to lay down. Especially a very good team with star players. Let's see how they respond.

Niang was playing pretty bad leading up to the Bucks game, so I don't blame bud for sagging off him. Bud finally changed the scheme to keep someone on Niang, and wasn't a problem after that.

Niang going hot was instrumental in them erasing the 18pt lead starting the fourth. For all the consternation about Gianni's mental mistakes, if he doesn't score 14 straight points we would've been down way earlier. I agree that it was the defensive brainfarts all around that, to me, looked worse. Guys can miss shots but this team's bread and butter is incredibly stout defense leading to efficient offense. Once the Sixers got back into the game the pace on offense slowed to a crawl.

I was already over the loss not long after, because I know Bud will replay the fourth quarter in film session and show the guys their mental lapses late in the game. Especially the way the ball stopped moving around.

1) The offense wasn't the problem in the fourth quarter

2) Does any lapse ever fall on the coach? Did you like how they forced Harden to his left in the fourth quarter? Do you think that was the right scheme?

[BigO]

They all were playing Harden on his right shoulder. To me it seemed like an intentional team defense strategy. They were funneling him left.

Giannis actually said this in the post game interview

Right you make him/push him to actually go Left -- veer around you--- but not straight by in a straight line like that

Why would you push him left? That's what he does best.

Do you remember when Bledsoe would refuse to stay in front of Harden and instead played him to his left side, forcing Harden to go right? Do you remember that he was successful doing it?

I really want to know why Bud wanted him to go left and why, after it was unsuccessful, he continued to do it. Was 48 points not a hint that maybe forcing him left wasn't working?

[JBucks]

Does anyone remember — I think Bucks were up four or six midway through fourth — Giannis took some ridiculous turn around fadeaway from FT extended. I was so pissed.

YES. I mean how was that necessary. Or even useful. Or even a bright idea at that stage of the game.

Right.. we have do many better offensive options now. Take away the fades unless someone is having a "can't miss" day .. then let them try what they want.. these 4th quarter heat checks though are F-ing dumb. Khris's end of game 3 ended us.. like what hot shooting were we feeding off of in order to think an off balance 3 for Khris was an option there? Weren't we down only 2 also?

They were down four at that point, but yeah, Khris ain’t that guy yet this season.

[yannisk]

The offense was not the issue in the fourth quarter, we scored 31 points. But they scored 48 !!!

[FrieAaron]

Obviously giving up 48 is the problem. But I'm also not convinced it's completely unrelated from having our rhythm completely broken after three quarters of controlling the game.

[-Jragon-]

Bled didnt let him go free... his D was to stay ATTACHED to his right arm so he couldn't finish well or pull up

[PG Graveyard]

Is last night the first time in the history of the nba that a team forced a left handed player left? Bold move Cotton. Can’t believe that was our plan

[blazza18]

The offense was not the issue in the fourth quarter, we scored 31 points. But they scored 48 !!!

The 31 includes a couple of empty free throws and a three when the result was basically finalised. The offense wasn’t as bad as the defence but the Giannis of it all made it an issue.

[JBucks]

Somebody help me understand what is going through Giannis’ mind in the third quarter. Allen is currently hotter than a blowtorch. Sixers had just ended an 8-0 run by Bucks.

Giannis:

Read on Twitter

Like, you can’t be this dumb. I can’t stand when he does sh*t like this.

[rilamann]

He's pretty stubborn and as some of the board have said before he's not exactly the smartest player. Put those two things together and you're going to see a lot of stupid **** no matter how good the player is outside of that. You would think he'd grow and learn from that but that isn't really who Giannis is. He wants to run through a brick wall no matter how hard it is.

It's probably both things. Boston and Philly do have the size to make Giannis have to work a bit harder than he does against most teams. But Giannis also appears to feel the pressure of playing those teams from a mental standpoint and gets kind of mind ****.

For example a guy like Grant Williams should have zero chance at defending Giannis. Grant Williams' only chance to stop Giannis is to stand in the paint and then just hope and pray that Giannis keeps trying to barrel into him. It's incredibly frustrating to then watch Giannis proceed to continually barrel into him.

Seems like it's a mental thing and Giannis presses when we play those 2 teams. Like if Grant Williams wasn't wearing a Celtics jersey Giannis would probably make a fool out of out of him.

Just using Grant Williams as one example but it is concerning that Giannis goes brain dead when we play these 2 teams.

A smart timeout to calm him down would do wonders. It's very evident when he's starting to get reckless.

It's unfortunate he can still be baited into bad decisions. Like if Embiid scores over him, he's *definitely* aggressively going after him on the next play. Embiid can then flop and get the ball back.

What makes it so concerning is that Giannis only reverts to this stuff when we play the Sixers and Celtics. It's almost getting to the point where Boston/Philly Giannis is becoming a thing.

And it's not even just the tunnel vision where he continually barrels into people, but it's also the dumb (non charging) turnovers and the dumb fouls. Like that foul on the McDaniels missed 3 with just over a minute to go and the Bucks up 120-116. That was an absolute killer. Or Giannis just watching the ball and not boxing out McDaniels and letting him have the put-back dunk which allowed the Sixers to cut it to 123-121 late in the game. I would be surprised if Marjon did stuff like that as a rookie. It's like Giannis sees a Celtics or Sixer jersey and forgets how to play basketball.

Not blaming the loss solely on Giannis, but it's pretty concerning.

This game was also yet another reminder than Bud seems fine most of the time. But when the Bucks are playing a high intensity game against a good team and Bud actually has to do some real coaching, he gets exposed.

The Bucks had a 14 point lead going into the 4th quarter and scored 31pts in the 4th quarter and still lost, that's insane.

[blazza18]

Somebody help me understand what is going through Giannis’ mind in the third quarter. Allen is currently hotter than a blowtorch. Sixers had just ended an 8-0 run by Bucks.

Giannis:

Read on Twitter

Like, you can’t be this dumb. I can’t stand when he does sh*t like this.

This was right after an Embiid three. Was Giannis trying to prove a point. Very selfish.

[FrieAaron]

And before anyone gets offended, we ALL know that Giannis is the best two way player in the league when it's all said and done, and with every player you take the good and the bad. The good news is when he has games like this he usually corrects it quickly. It's just bizarre that it's a recurring pattern.

[Pachinko_]

Everyone on his team should be open to criticism — no exceptions.

"Criticism"? Please. You guys are really rich with this word, as if it somehow sanitises everything.
Lets call it what it is, calling someone a moron is not criticism, it's a vent. Calling the best player in the world a moron is a fart.
If that type of "criticism" is somehow a God given right here, then I also reserve the right to call a fart a fart. Fair?

Now you gonna tell me heat of the moment, it's just words etc, yeah sure, I get it. But when you see it happening consistently by multiple people at the slightest slip up, even at the best of times, even in the best of years, then I have to wonder if people actually mean what they're saying, and maybe I have a completely different idea of what fandom is supposed to be, and honestly WTF am I doing in this place.

[TroyD92]

Everyone on his team should be open to criticism — no exceptions.

"Criticism"? Please. You guys are really rich with this word, as if it somehow sanitises everything.
Lets call it what it is, calling someone a moron is not criticism, it's a vent. Calling the best player in the world a moron is a fart.
If that type of "criticism" is somehow a God given right here, then I also reserve the right to call a fart a fart. Fair?

Now you gonna tell me heat of the moment, it's just words etc, yeah sure, I get it. But when you see it happening consistently by multiple people at the slightest slip up, even at the best of times, even in the best of years, then I have to wonder if people actually mean what they're saying, and maybe I have a completely different idea of what fandom is supposed to be, and honestly WTF am I doing in this place.

I’m confused what the issue for you is? Not everyone is so eloquent with their criticisms. If they wrote a paragraph explanation everytime instead of just saying idiot or stupid would that absolve them in your eyes? Every player ever has played like an idiot on more than one occasion. Giannis is prone to it, Jrue is prone to it, Khris is prone to it, literally everyone. If that **** triggers you so much just block the people who do it. Not every fan is full of positivity for a wide variety of reasons and if you can’t handle that then as I said block them

[Pachinko_]

I've said what I had to say, I can't explain it any better. And this thread is not about me.

[AussieBuck]

Everyone on his team should be open to criticism — no exceptions.

"Criticism"? Please. You guys are really rich with this word, as if it somehow sanitises everything.
Lets call it what it is, calling someone a moron is not criticism, it's a vent. Calling the best player in the world a moron is a fart.
If that type of "criticism" is somehow a God given right here, then I also reserve the right to call a fart a fart. Fair?

Now you gonna tell me heat of the moment, it's just words etc, yeah sure, I get it. But when you see it happening consistently by multiple people at the slightest slip up, even at the best of times, even in the best of years, then I have to wonder if people actually mean what they're saying, and maybe I have a completely different idea of what fandom is supposed to be, and honestly WTF am I doing in this place.

I think the best background to this is that hometown fans have had best player in the world type guy on their "football" team twice and both times the guy has been a giant idiot. They're a traumatized bunch.

[TroyD92]

Everyone on his team should be open to criticism — no exceptions.

"Criticism"? Please. You guys are really rich with this word, as if it somehow sanitises everything.
Lets call it what it is, calling someone a moron is not criticism, it's a vent. Calling the best player in the world a moron is a fart.
If that type of "criticism" is somehow a God given right here, then I also reserve the right to call a fart a fart. Fair?

Now you gonna tell me heat of the moment, it's just words etc, yeah sure, I get it. But when you see it happening consistently by multiple people at the slightest slip up, even at the best of times, even in the best of years, then I have to wonder if people actually mean what they're saying, and maybe I have a completely different idea of what fandom is supposed to be, and honestly WTF am I doing in this place.

I think the best background to this is that hometown fans have had best player in the world type guy on their "football" team twice and both times the guy has been a giant idiot. They're a traumatized bunch.

We are also Bucks fans and have been through as much trauma as any fanbase in sports.

[MickeyDavis]

Keep posts on topic and not about each other. Thx

[AussieBuck]

And then it ended when we won. Maybe you dudes haven't heard that saying about expectation. I'm **** good post 2021. It's all washed away. Nothing but gravy from here, I got the one title I wanted for my lifetime. Basketball is fun now.

My lifelong football team also won from being a basketcase in the same year. Sports are great and relatively stress free now.

Unlike my dude Pachinko tho, I find it funny that the fanbase reverts to Kohl era miserable/furious all the time at the drop of a hat.