PG: Nets Edge Out Bucks in Game 2

[UnFadeable21]

- The Bucks are not contenders. I have been saying this all season long. The roster is not constructed to challenge for the championship and the coaching staff is absolutely incapable of handling a full postseason.

- Giannis: I do not know why he plays the way he does, but pretty much everyone knows that the Point Forward dream is basically over. He is not skilled enough but most importantly he can not read the basketball game at a high enough level to play the role of a playmaker in a championship winning team. Someone needs to persuade him to play more like an agile and skilled big, and less like an under-skilled but fast point guard who can not shoot at a distance. The Bucks apparently have no one to challenge Giannis to change (I believe because they chose to, see discussion about Bud later in the post).

- Jrue: He is a piece of the puzzle. Not skilled enough to the degree he can dominate an elite team. Skilled enough (in my opinion) to be a very good playmaker and guard the star of the other team. He is not a high volume scorer (do not ask him to be something he never was).

- Khris: Great scorer from distance (who insists on getting closer to the basket instead of playing at the 3 point line), who plays as if he is a very good playmaker. He is not a very good playmaker. He is an average at best playmaker who needs to find his rhythm (do not tell me about his assist numbers, I do not care). He is not as good a defender as many consider him to be . In fact I claim that he is possibly average (do not tell me about whatever defensive metric you decide to use, I do not care). He needs to change his playstyle dramatically to be a major part of a championship team. I have no confidence he will do so.

- DDV: People may start (once again) overvaluing DDV as a player for the Bucks, simply because he is not playing vs Brooklyn. You are absolutely wrong if you think DDV being available would have changed anything but mostly inconsequential minor details. He is not a starter for a championship team (at any position) and his game in offense is severely lacking. His value is mostly as a player who tries and he is very good at that. He does a lot of the little things very well and that is it.

- Brook: If having Brook in the lineup automatically means that you play this rigid drop defense, then automatically Brook can not play in a championship team. The current evolution of the game makes him usable in very specific ways. That is not easy to deal with in a championship team.

- Bud: In the NBA there are very few very good coaches. By very good, I mean at all aspects of coaching (mentality, long term strategy, in game tactics, preparation before the game, schemes). In my opinion, Bud is not one of them. For the past two years I am at a loss for words when people are asking: "Who are the Bucks going to replace Bud with?". Do you really think it is impossible to find someone to place 5 squares on the floor? Seriously now, there are great coaches available, but the NBA franchises (and many fans) are terrible at understanding 1) the value of a great coach and 2) the characteristics of a great coach. Also many NBA franchises are not willing to hire coaches that will challenge their star players, which is a recipe for mediocrity.

====================

Specific comments:

- The idea that someone (possibly even Giannis) came up with a routine that takes more than 5 seconds at the Free Throw line has me at a loss for words. He should take the free throw the moment the ball is in his hands. This is obvious, but apparently obvious concepts are difficult for this team. Which brings me to my next point.

- Why are obvious concepts so difficult for this team? From in game concepts/tactics, to not taking one-pass contested 3s, to running PnRs without Giannis as the ballhandler, to completing a trade or draft selections without (potentially) messing it up, etc (most of you probably know many more examples).

If you are looking for reasons why the Bucks are not contending for the championship, there are plenty of them. Most have to do with the fact that they seem unable to get out of their own way.

Solid breakdown

[rilamann]

Jrue Bledsoe Jrue's new nickname

It's weird how the mental stuff continues to be a problem to the point Holiday has turned into Bledsoe, it almost seems like it's a team thing more than an individual thing.

Reminds me so much of the Packers and how they would continue to choke in similar fashion year after year in the playoffs, despite roster turnover with the exception of Aaron Rodgers.

I wonder if in 10 years we'll be talking about how the mental issues for the Bucks in the playoffs continued year after year, despite roster turnover with the exception of Giannis.

There are so many commonalities between all of the major sports in the state and the eerie similarities in how they choke; it's almost like there's something in the air/collective psyche here.

Need to call an exorcist or something.

Eerie is right. The number of bad parallels you can draw between the Packers over the past 10 years and the Bucks over the past few years is actually creepy.

Both teams having guys who have won multiple league MVPs but can't get it done in the playoffs is another parallel.

Usually, MVP level players can get it done in the playoffs. Somehow in Wisconsin we ended up with 2 who can't.

Both teams having coaches (McCarthy) who don't make adjustments and don't exploite match-ups and stick with what is workng is another parallel.

Rodgers not attempting a throw to a prime Jordy Nelson who was being covered by a one armed Richard Sherman in the 4th quarter of the 2014 NFC Championship game. When all we needed was a couple first downs to advance to the Super Bowl. Giannis not attacking a washed up Blake Griffin in one of the biggest games of his career. I'll stop there, but there's so many. This is extra cruel for those of us who are also Packer fans...lol.

[th87]

Having one or two players playing bad in the series, is most likely the players fault.

Having the whole team playing bad in the series is the coach's fault.

Calm down everyone who sees Giannis as the escape goat.

So did he not play soft and stupid?

He did today. But he played well in the first game. Your point?

Uh...no he didn't.

[Unique]

Very simplistic analysis if we want to have a chance at this:

1. Giannis starts at 5 (Lopez subs in for him)
2. Bring in Forbes (Lopez can’t guard their shooters)
3. Ban Giannis from shooting threes
4. every possession must start with ball touching Giannis in post
5. Fire Bud before game 3.

[Unique]

And next season trade Khris for this guy

[th87]

It's weird how the mental stuff continues to be a problem to the point Holiday has turned into Bledsoe, it almost seems like it's a team thing more than an individual thing.

Reminds me so much of the Packers and how they would continue to choke in similar fashion year after year in the playoffs, despite roster turnover with the exception of Aaron Rodgers.

I wonder if in 10 years we'll be talking about how the mental issues for the Bucks in the playoffs continued year after year, despite roster turnover with the exception of Giannis.

There are so many commonalities between all of the major sports in the state and the eerie similarities in how they choke; it's almost like there's something in the air/collective psyche here.

Need to call an exorcist or something.

Eerie is right. The number of bad parallels you can draw between the Packers over the past 10 years and the Bucks over the past few years is actually creepy.

Both teams having guys who have won multiple league MVPs but can't get it done in the playoffs is another parallel.

Both teams having coaches (McCarthy) who don't make adjustments and don't exploite match-ups and stick with what is workng is another parallel.

Rodgers not attempting a throw to a prime Jordy Nelson who was being covered by a one armed Richard Sherman in the 4th quarter of the 2014 NFC Championship game. When all we needed was a couple first downs to advance to the Super Bowl. Giannis not attacking a washed up Blake Griffin in one of the biggest games of his career. I'll stop there, but there's so many. This is extra cruel for those of us who are also Packer fans...lol.

The Packers are in a league of their own when it comes to chokes.

But we also have Wisconsin down the stretch in the title game, the Brewers blowing the NLCS at home, Wade and Diener going ice cold against Kansas, Big Dog missing that bunny.

Thank goodness for Desean Jackson or we wouldn't have had anything.

[tonyreyes123]

Net's having die hard fans is funny to me, I went to their game 1 party outside the stadium in 2019 against the 76ers and it was just hipsters & lesbians who couldn't afford MSG

[Coach Carter]

With giannis, it's obvious he doesn't have bron's IQ to play Point Forward but you try telling a 2 time mvp that he should ditch a playing style that has brought him those two awards.

Truth be told though, the game in the regular season is just different to the playoffs; it's been our downfall. Giannis hasn't been able to adjust. I feel his confidence and enthusiasm diminishing with every playoff run.

[rilamann]

There are so many commonalities between all of the major sports in the state and the eerie similarities in how they choke; it's almost like there's something in the air/collective psyche here.

Need to call an exorcist or something.

Eerie is right. The number of bad parallels you can draw between the Packers over the past 10 years and the Bucks over the past few years is actually creepy.

Both teams having guys who have won multiple league MVPs but can't get it done in the playoffs is another parallel.

Both teams having coaches (McCarthy) who don't make adjustments and don't exploite match-ups and stick with what is workng is another parallel.

Rodgers not attempting a throw to a prime Jordy Nelson who was being covered by a one armed Richard Sherman in the 4th quarter of the 2014 NFC Championship game. When all we needed was a couple first downs to advance to the Super Bowl. Giannis not attacking a washed up Blake Griffin in one of the biggest games of his career. I'll stop there, but there's so many. This is extra cruel for those of us who are also Packer fans...lol.

The Packers are in a league of their own when it comes to chokes.

But we also have Wisconsin down the stretch in the title game, the Brewers blowing the NLCS at home, Wade and Diener going ice cold against Kansas, Big Dog missing that bunny.

Thank goodness for Desean Jackson or we wouldn't have had anything.

Luckily I am not a Brewers fans, but yeah, they blew it against the Dodgers. Crazy to think how much more success our teams could have had in the past 20 years if they just did what they were supposed to do in 1 game. Or simply just did what they normally did when it mattered most.

Even if you just look at the past 3 years.

2018: Brewers play in the World Series if they simply win game 7 at home.

2019: Bucks play in the NBA Finals if they simply don't blow a 2-0 series lead and proceed to lose 4 straight to the Raptors.

2020: Packers play in the Super Bowl if they simply just win at Lambeau vs old ass Tom Brady.

So close to a Wisconsin pro sports team hat trick.

[Plossum]

About the only solace I can find is OKC getting torched by 32 in game one vs OKC in 2016 and everyone writing them off before they came back to win the series.

I hope they’re all embarrassed about what happened tonight and come out in game three with a lot of intensity.

[RiotPunch]

About the only solace I can find is OKC getting torched by 32 in game one vs OKC in 2016

You are right, at least we didn't literally beat ourselves that badly.

[Prez]

No part of this team between Giannis, Khris, Bud, the role players, etc inspires confidence in terms of potentially winning a title. Like Mavs fans for example can at least find hope in the fact that Luka is an absolute killer playoff player and just 22 years old, and Carlisle is a really good coach. You just build around that. Giannis is the worst playoff superstar by a mile and he’s 8 seasons in, the rest of our roster isn’t nearly good enough, we have the worst playoff coach in the league, and we’re capped out with no draft assets. I’m not saying blow it up completely but it’s hard not to think about it.

[th87]

No part of this team between Giannis, Khris, Bud, the role players, etc inspires confidence in terms of potentially winning a title. Like Mavs fans for example can at least find hope in the fact that Luka is an absolute killer playoff player and just 22 years old, and Carlisle is a really good coach. You just build around that. Giannis is the worst playoff superstar by a mile and he’s 8 seasons in, the rest of our roster isn’t nearly good enough, we have the worst playoff coach in the league, and we’re capped out with no draft assets. I’m not saying blow it up completely but it’s hard not to think about it.

One more coach. And if no improvements then, have to think about a major overhaul.

Spitballing: Giannis for Lillard, picks; Middleton and those picks for PG. None of these dudes would re-sign, however, and Giannis is a local icon who stayed, so it'd be really cold to do that.

[RiotPunch]

No part of this team between Giannis, Khris, Bud, the role players, etc inspires confidence in terms of potentially winning a title. Like Mavs fans for example can at least find hope in the fact that Luka is an absolute killer playoff player and just 22 years old, and Carlisle is a really good coach. You just build around that. Giannis is the worst playoff superstar by a mile and he’s 8 seasons in, the rest of our roster isn’t nearly good enough, we have the worst playoff coach in the league, and we’re capped out with no draft assets. I’m not saying blow it up completely but it’s hard not to think about it.

It is just a matter of Giannis recalibrating what kind of superstar he thinks he is. The naivety of thinking he could be the initiating engine of a title winner is evident now. He is not that guy, and that is okay.

It is up to the FO an coaching staff to realize this (too late for this lot). Of course Giannis won't accept it on his own that he needs a big boy brain on the court with him to make things work. We missed the mark badly opting for Jrue over a wildly more affordable Paul and a similarly priced Harden. I love Jrue, but he is not the creator/organizer we needed.

Bud has also proven once again that he cannot do what is necessary when the chips are down. Stubborn. Enabling. Unimaginative. I think our decision-making brain trust needs to adapt quickly or be replaced.

[yannisk]

No part of this team between Giannis, Khris, Bud, the role players, etc inspires confidence in terms of potentially winning a title. Like Mavs fans for example can at least find hope in the fact that Luka is an absolute killer playoff player and just 22 years old, and Carlisle is a really good coach. You just build around that. Giannis is the worst playoff superstar by a mile and he’s 8 seasons in, the rest of our roster isn’t nearly good enough, we have the worst playoff coach in the league, and we’re capped out with no draft assets. I’m not saying blow it up completely but it’s hard not to think about it.

Yep, nothing to get comfort from. This team is not good enough, no obvious ways to improve, basically no assets, every failure destroys the fragile mentality of Giannis (and the rest).

At this point I would trade everybody just to not have to hear the same old stuff next year. But teams are companies they will milk this team even if they know it cannot go anywhere. They will change coach, we will hear that Giannis is working on new stuff, something like "we dogs" we will bring a couple of veterans on minimum salary that nobody else wants and we will say they are steals. Then we will meet a good team in the playoffs and shrink. Rinse and repeat

[RiotPunch]

You don't trade Giannis, you nimrods.

[Sigra]

This all start with Giannis. When your best player plays stupid, selfish and scared that destroy entire team chemistry. He is what he is. Regular season player who shrinks in playoffs because he has low BBIQ and because he is not natural baller. He plays basketball because he is freak and has incredible athletic abilities. Not because he loved it when he was kid or something. He doesn't feel basketball. He is athletic freak. That's all. And in playoffs he cant handle pressure so he is even worse. But he will make us good regular season team and we will win 1st rounds of playoffs. That is much more then what we had for decades.

And you cant trade him. I mean, you can find some good trade for him, but you just cant trade a guy who decided to resign with your small market team when he was 2 time MVP. You just cant do that. No meter how bad he is from now on. He was 2 time MVP who decided to be loyal to small market team. End of story.

But we will have to do something. Coach is sure to be fired here no matter was it his fault or not. You just have to fire coach here. You cant start new season with same coach. It is not an option in situation like this. Bud must be fired. Guilty or not.

Middleton also has to go. But I am not sure he will have positive trade value at this point. We don't have picks to attach to him ether so we will probably have to trade him for some other bad value player. Like Kristaps Porzingis or somebody like that.

Lopez is also big problem for our defense. Nets keep using him to score at will.

So in short my plan for offseason:
1. Fire Bud
2. Trade Middleton for Porzingis
3. Trade Lopez for 3 and D SF

Maybe we play ECF this time. Championship is not realistic with Giannis as our best player but maybe with some luck (injuries to opponents) we can win East some year.

[VooDoo7]

If Brooklyn were smart, they'd let us win a few games to extend the series and give Harden more time to heal for the ECF.

[steger_3434]

Not that it would have mattered one bit, but is there a reason giannis once again played less than durant and Irving? Buds pre determined substitution patterns are horrible


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[Plossum]