Bucks/Pacers Lead-up - Dame Cleared for Practice

[Bucksmaniac]

I'm happy for Dame, he's been through too much the last few years.

I'm also happy for some of my favorite Bucks posters here that have become overly dark and cynical this season. They were so pessimistic about the Dame issue that they repeatedly tried to convince me that his career was over and he'd need to retire, even though he didn't have a pulmonary embolism.

I hope this good news snaps them out of their doldrums.

Those posters are one step ahead of you and complaining that Dame will take KPJ’s minutes.

He better not take KPJs minutes

He’ll take some of KPJ’s added minutes now that he likely gets 30 per game in the playoffs.

[Dick Tate]

If Porter needs more minutes, there’s plenty to take from Kuzma and Prince.

[KidA24]

If Doc Rivers can push all the right buttons to win the Bucks a title I'll eat RS's lasagna

[FlagsFlyForever]

We have all the makings of blowing 3-1 lead against Cleveland.

[humanrefutation]

I believe we can beat Indiana. It's just a matter of those top 3 seeds. I think we can beat Boston. But we'd really have to lift our play and have Cleveland/Knicks crumble for us to have a chance to beat either of those teams.

Anyway, that's a problem for the next series. One series at a time. Unfortunately, I'll have to miss the first few games of this series as I'm traveling abroad. I won't be back before Game 6, if necessary. Hopefully, it won't be necessary because we've closed them out in 5.

[aboveAverage]

Now that we are mainly healthy, I’m getting optimistic for these playoffs. My main concern is Giannis coming out too aggressive and getting injured like he did vs Miami in game 1 a few years ago.

I hope he learned from that experience and ramps up the intensity gradually over the series. And he needs to be smart about what kind of risks he takes. No need to drive into the wall and try to dunk it over three guys in the first quarter of game 1. We can lose a few games and still win the series as long as Giannis stays healthy.

[slos]

A good thing about Dame being out and KPJ stepping up is that Doc probably won’t play Lillard 40ish minutes in the playoffs. Say whatever you want about Dame, but he is a clutch player. Having him fresh in the closing lineup will be gold.

[ShootingtheJ]

A good thing about Dame being out and KPJ stepping up is that Doc probably won’t play Lillard 40ish minutes in the playoffs. Say whatever you want about Dame, but he is a clutch player. Having him fresh in the closing lineup will be gold.

Our closing lineup with Dame had been amongst the worst in the league.

[Bucksmaniac]

A good thing about Dame being out and KPJ stepping up is that Doc probably won’t play Lillard 40ish minutes in the playoffs. Say whatever you want about Dame, but he is a clutch player. Having him fresh in the closing lineup will be gold.

Our closing lineup with Dame had been amongst the worst in the league.

It’s just hard to see how having Dame, KPJ and Giannis could fail in crunch time. At worst maybe it’s mediocre but that’s better than it had been before KPJ came on board.

[ShootingtheJ]

A good thing about Dame being out and KPJ stepping up is that Doc probably won’t play Lillard 40ish minutes in the playoffs. Say whatever you want about Dame, but he is a clutch player. Having him fresh in the closing lineup will be gold.

Our closing lineup with Dame had been amongst the worst in the league.

It’s just hard to see how having Dame, KPJ and Giannis could fail in crunch time. At worst maybe it’s mediocre but that’s better than it had been before KPJ came on board.

The closing lineup has been really good lately, since the change to the Giannis offense. I don't want to mess with that.

[CharityStripe34]

In no universe is having Dame off the floor in crunch time an option. He should be used more like a Reggie Miller type, though, to prevent teams from trapping him 35 feet away from the cup. Run him off of weak side screens, etc.

[neiLz]

love seeing the headline on ESPN:

Hahn: Bucks should consider moving on from Giannis if they lose to Pacers
Alan Hahn and Danny Green discuss the implications for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks if they lose in the first round to the Pacers.

[jschligs]

In no universe is having Dame off the floor in crunch time an option. He should be used more like a Reggie Miller type, though, to prevent teams from trapping him 35 feet away from the cup. Run him off of weak side screens, etc.

In crunch time I'd like to see KPJ being the primary ball handler. He just has a way of finding Giannis. I've seen more lobs to Giannis from him in his short time than anyone else ever ha

KPJs clutch defense leads to a lot of easy buckets too.

[CharityStripe34]

I wouldn't object to KPJ being on the floor. Nothing wrong with having three guys who can play-make being on the court with two other shooters.

[Ron Swanson]

Benching Dame in the closing lineup if he's healthy is of course a laughable suggestion. The only thing holding the clutch offense back this year is Doc. No one's telling him he can't play a Dame/KPJ backcourt together.

[PG Graveyard]

Lots of optimism here. Me too. A game 1 loss will bring the board back down to normal. But seriously, one series at a time and you never know.

I still hate out starting lineup.

[ShootingtheJ]

Lots of optimism here. Me too. A game 1 loss will bring the board back down to normal. But seriously, one series at a time and you never know.

I still hate out starting lineup.

I do too, but that lineup has a 130 offensive rating, which is bonkers good.

[emunney]

We have all the makings of blowing 3-1 lead against Cleveland.

I still think Cleveland is the worst matchup for us in the league, and I would be thrilled to take 3 games off them, but this would be a great capstone to Doc's legacy.

[ShootingtheJ]

Benching Dame in the closing lineup if he's healthy is of course a laughable suggestion. The only thing holding the clutch offense back this year is Doc. No one's telling him he can't play a Dame/KPJ backcourt together.

So Doc must have had a sudden epiphany, as our clutch and 4th quarter offense has flipped from amongst the leagues worst most of the season to an absolute juggernaut recently.

[paulpressey25]

Think Dame coming off the bench in a 25mpg role will be fantastic.