2024 NBA Season and Playoffs

[Who]

I don't think MIL would be any better with Jrue there instead of Lillard. They still wouldn't be a title contender. They need Khris Middleton to be an All-Star in the league again to be a title contender with Jrue and that isn't happening.

[Birdman]

Bucks& 76ers lost so more breathing room

[cman88]

celtics might put up 130-140 on milwaukee their defense is that bad.

they cannot stop guard play.

[Surferdad]

I don't think MIL would be any better with Jrue there instead of Lillard. They still wouldn't be a title contender. They need Khris Middleton to be an All-Star in the league again to be a title contender with Jrue and that isn't happening.

Right, and his defense is not what it used to be which makes the loss of Jrue even worse. The other big problem the Bucks have is expecting rookie HC Adrian Griffin to lead them to a championship. Bucks tried to do too much in one off-season.

[hpantazo]

I don't think MIL would be any better with Jrue there instead of Lillard. They still wouldn't be a title contender. They need Khris Middleton to be an All-Star in the league again to be a title contender with Jrue and that isn't happening.

Right, and his defense is not what it used to be which makes the loss of Jrue even worse. The other big problem the Bucks have is expecting rookie HC Adrian Griffin to lead them to a championship. Bucks tried to do too much in one off-season.

Agreed. Crowder may help a little when he returns though.

[cman88]

Middleton is likely never returning to his allstar form. He is what he is right now. A high end role player. He hasn’t been that guy in about 2-3 years.

He’s like what Gordon Hayward is now.

They traded defense for offense with the Jrue/dame swap. But they also replaced their coach and traded off all other defensive guys to get Dame.

As the schedule gets tougher they may drop more games. I mean they got over 40 the last 2 games from Gianni’s and barely squeaked by the horrible spurs and lost to the rockets.

Relying on crowder in 2023 to be a savior is funny

[Moranis]

Middleton is likely never returning to his allstar form. He is what he is right now. A high end role player. He hasn’t been that guy in about 2-3 years.

He’s like what Gordon Hayward is now.

They traded defense for offense with the Jrue/dame swap. But they also replaced their coach and traded off all other defensive guys to get Dame.

As the schedule gets tougher they may drop more games. I mean they got over 40 the last 2 games from Gianni’s and barely squeaked by the horrible spurs and lost to the rockets.

Relying on crowder in 2023 to be a savior is funny

The Bucks only traded Jrue and Allen for Dame (plus draft picks obviously).  Jrue is obviously a defensive guy, but Allen is not.  The collapse of Middleton is exactly what led to this move.  You could see in the Heat series, that unless Giannis was awesome, the Bucks had almost 0 offense.  I mean look at game 5, Giannis was targeted by the Heat and was awful in the 4th quarter going 1 of 9, but the rest of the team was just so bad offensively just 2 of 10, that the Bucks were shut down.  Game 4, Brook was pretty solid in the 4th, but no one else was.  The Bucks last year could be defended by simply doubling Giannis because no one else could beat them.  And it isn't like the defense was awesome as they gave up over 119 ppg to the Heat in the series.  So the Bucks looked at that and realized that if they were going to do anything, they had to get another offensive player to get Giannis help.  Now maybe Lillard is just too far past his prime to be that guy, but he really only needs to be that guy in the 4th quarter of playoff games, and I think he can still do that.

[footey]

Middleton is likely never returning to his allstar form. He is what he is right now. A high end role player. He hasn’t been that guy in about 2-3 years.

He’s like what Gordon Hayward is now.

They traded defense for offense with the Jrue/dame swap. But they also replaced their coach and traded off all other defensive guys to get Dame.

As the schedule gets tougher they may drop more games. I mean they got over 40 the last 2 games from Gianni’s and barely squeaked by the horrible spurs and lost to the rockets.

Relying on crowder in 2023 to be a savior is funny

The Bucks only traded Jrue and Allen for Dame (plus draft picks obviously).  Jrue is obviously a defensive guy, but Allen is not.  The collapse of Middleton is exactly what led to this move.  You could see in the Heat series, that unless Giannis was awesome, the Bucks had almost 0 offense.  I mean look at game 5, Giannis was targeted by the Heat and was awful in the 4th quarter going 1 of 9, but the rest of the team was just so bad offensively just 2 of 10, that the Bucks were shut down.  Game 4, Brook was pretty solid in the 4th, but no one else was.  The Bucks last year could be defended by simply doubling Giannis because no one else could beat them.  And it isn't like the defense was awesome as they gave up over 119 ppg to the Heat in the series.  So the Bucks looked at that and realized that if they were going to do anything, they had to get another offensive player to get Giannis help.  Now maybe Lillard is just too far past his prime to be that guy, but he really only needs to be that guy in the 4th quarter of playoff games, and I think he can still do that.

You giving the Bucks' thinking too much credit.  What actually happened was that Giannis made clear in no uncertain terms that if the team chose to "run it back", he was unlikely to re-sign with them. So they did something dramatic, he re-signed, and they obviously have become worse as a result.

[cman88]

Middleton is likely never returning to his allstar form. He is what he is right now. A high end role player. He hasn’t been that guy in about 2-3 years.

He’s like what Gordon Hayward is now.

They traded defense for offense with the Jrue/dame swap. But they also replaced their coach and traded off all other defensive guys to get Dame.

As the schedule gets tougher they may drop more games. I mean they got over 40 the last 2 games from Gianni’s and barely squeaked by the horrible spurs and lost to the rockets.

Relying on crowder in 2023 to be a savior is funny

The Bucks only traded Jrue and Allen for Dame (plus draft picks obviously).  Jrue is obviously a defensive guy, but Allen is not.  The collapse of Middleton is exactly what led to this move.  You could see in the Heat series, that unless Giannis was awesome, the Bucks had almost 0 offense.  I mean look at game 5, Giannis was targeted by the Heat and was awful in the 4th quarter going 1 of 9, but the rest of the team was just so bad offensively just 2 of 10, that the Bucks were shut down.  Game 4, Brook was pretty solid in the 4th, but no one else was.  The Bucks last year could be defended by simply doubling Giannis because no one else could beat them.  And it isn't like the defense was awesome as they gave up over 119 ppg to the Heat in the series.  So the Bucks looked at that and realized that if they were going to do anything, they had to get another offensive player to get Giannis help.  Now maybe Lillard is just too far past his prime to be that guy, but he really only needs to be that guy in the 4th quarter of playoff games, and I think he can still do that.

You giving the Bucks' thinking too much credit.  What actually happened was that Giannis made clear in no uncertain terms that if the team chose to "run it back", he was unlikely to re-sign with them. So they did something dramatic, he re-signed, and they obviously have become worse as a result.

I think that was part of it. same with firing Bud. which made no sense to me.

but its not like Jrue was some slouch last year. averaged 19.3ppg on 47.9% and 38.4% from 3.

Dame is currently averaging 25.2ppg on 42.8% and 37.1%. so about 6 more points per game. on less efficiency. and i'd be curious to see the defensive stats on Jrue vs. Lillard.

as for Dame in the 4th quarter of playoff games. doesn't matter when you are down 16 because dame cant guard anyone and shoots 33% for 3 quarters.

[Moranis]

Middleton is likely never returning to his allstar form. He is what he is right now. A high end role player. He hasn’t been that guy in about 2-3 years.

He’s like what Gordon Hayward is now.

They traded defense for offense with the Jrue/dame swap. But they also replaced their coach and traded off all other defensive guys to get Dame.

As the schedule gets tougher they may drop more games. I mean they got over 40 the last 2 games from Gianni’s and barely squeaked by the horrible spurs and lost to the rockets.

Relying on crowder in 2023 to be a savior is funny

The Bucks only traded Jrue and Allen for Dame (plus draft picks obviously).  Jrue is obviously a defensive guy, but Allen is not.  The collapse of Middleton is exactly what led to this move.  You could see in the Heat series, that unless Giannis was awesome, the Bucks had almost 0 offense.  I mean look at game 5, Giannis was targeted by the Heat and was awful in the 4th quarter going 1 of 9, but the rest of the team was just so bad offensively just 2 of 10, that the Bucks were shut down.  Game 4, Brook was pretty solid in the 4th, but no one else was.  The Bucks last year could be defended by simply doubling Giannis because no one else could beat them.  And it isn't like the defense was awesome as they gave up over 119 ppg to the Heat in the series.  So the Bucks looked at that and realized that if they were going to do anything, they had to get another offensive player to get Giannis help.  Now maybe Lillard is just too far past his prime to be that guy, but he really only needs to be that guy in the 4th quarter of playoff games, and I think he can still do that.

You giving the Bucks' thinking too much credit.  What actually happened was that Giannis made clear in no uncertain terms that if the team chose to "run it back", he was unlikely to re-sign with them. So they did something dramatic, he re-signed, and they obviously have become worse as a result.

I think that was part of it. same with firing Bud. which made no sense to me.

but its not like Jrue was some slouch last year. averaged 19.3ppg on 47.9% and 38.4% from 3.

Dame is currently averaging 25.2ppg on 42.8% and 37.1%. so about 6 more points per game. on less efficiency. and i'd be curious to see the defensive stats on Jrue vs. Lillard.

as for Dame in the 4th quarter of playoff games. doesn't matter when you are down 16 because dame cant guard anyone and shoots 33% for 3 quarters.

Holiday is a 3rd option type scorer though.  He can score within an offense, but he can't create or be a driver.  Middleton was that guy butnisnt any longer and their offense collapsed as a result.  Too easy to stop Giannis when no one else can beat you.  They had to upgrade the 2nd scorer to have a chance and since the defense had already stumbled some, they just went all in.

[Goldstar88]

Middleton is likely never returning to his allstar form. He is what he is right now. A high end role player. He hasn’t been that guy in about 2-3 years.

He’s like what Gordon Hayward is now.

They traded defense for offense with the Jrue/dame swap. But they also replaced their coach and traded off all other defensive guys to get Dame.

As the schedule gets tougher they may drop more games. I mean they got over 40 the last 2 games from Gianni’s and barely squeaked by the horrible spurs and lost to the rockets.

Relying on crowder in 2023 to be a savior is funny

The Bucks only traded Jrue and Allen for Dame (plus draft picks obviously).  Jrue is obviously a defensive guy, but Allen is not.  The collapse of Middleton is exactly what led to this move.  You could see in the Heat series, that unless Giannis was awesome, the Bucks had almost 0 offense.  I mean look at game 5, Giannis was targeted by the Heat and was awful in the 4th quarter going 1 of 9, but the rest of the team was just so bad offensively just 2 of 10, that the Bucks were shut down.  Game 4, Brook was pretty solid in the 4th, but no one else was.  The Bucks last year could be defended by simply doubling Giannis because no one else could beat them.  And it isn't like the defense was awesome as they gave up over 119 ppg to the Heat in the series.  So the Bucks looked at that and realized that if they were going to do anything, they had to get another offensive player to get Giannis help.  Now maybe Lillard is just too far past his prime to be that guy, but he really only needs to be that guy in the 4th quarter of playoff games, and I think he can still do that.

You giving the Bucks' thinking too much credit.  What actually happened was that Giannis made clear in no uncertain terms that if the team chose to "run it back", he was unlikely to re-sign with them. So they did something dramatic, he re-signed, and they obviously have become worse as a result.

I think that was part of it. same with firing Bud. which made no sense to me.

but its not like Jrue was some slouch last year. averaged 19.3ppg on 47.9% and 38.4% from 3.

Dame is currently averaging 25.2ppg on 42.8% and 37.1%. so about 6 more points per game. on less efficiency. and i'd be curious to see the defensive stats on Jrue vs. Lillard.

as for Dame in the 4th quarter of playoff games. doesn't matter when you are down 16 because dame cant guard anyone and shoots 33% for 3 quarters.

Holiday is a 3rd option type scorer though.  He can score within an offense, but he can't create or be a driver.  Middleton was that guy butnisnt any longer and their offense collapsed as a result.  Too easy to stop Giannis when no one else can beat you.  They had to upgrade the 2nd scorer to have a chance and since the defense had already stumbled some, they just went all in.

Holiday is certainly capable of creating his own offense. Jrue chooses to defer to Tatum, JB, and KP. As he should. Saying that he can’t drive/create is just untrue.

[Moranis]

Middleton is likely never returning to his allstar form. He is what he is right now. A high end role player. He hasn’t been that guy in about 2-3 years.

He’s like what Gordon Hayward is now.

They traded defense for offense with the Jrue/dame swap. But they also replaced their coach and traded off all other defensive guys to get Dame.

As the schedule gets tougher they may drop more games. I mean they got over 40 the last 2 games from Gianni’s and barely squeaked by the horrible spurs and lost to the rockets.

Relying on crowder in 2023 to be a savior is funny

The Bucks only traded Jrue and Allen for Dame (plus draft picks obviously).  Jrue is obviously a defensive guy, but Allen is not.  The collapse of Middleton is exactly what led to this move.  You could see in the Heat series, that unless Giannis was awesome, the Bucks had almost 0 offense.  I mean look at game 5, Giannis was targeted by the Heat and was awful in the 4th quarter going 1 of 9, but the rest of the team was just so bad offensively just 2 of 10, that the Bucks were shut down.  Game 4, Brook was pretty solid in the 4th, but no one else was.  The Bucks last year could be defended by simply doubling Giannis because no one else could beat them.  And it isn't like the defense was awesome as they gave up over 119 ppg to the Heat in the series.  So the Bucks looked at that and realized that if they were going to do anything, they had to get another offensive player to get Giannis help.  Now maybe Lillard is just too far past his prime to be that guy, but he really only needs to be that guy in the 4th quarter of playoff games, and I think he can still do that.

You giving the Bucks' thinking too much credit.  What actually happened was that Giannis made clear in no uncertain terms that if the team chose to "run it back", he was unlikely to re-sign with them. So they did something dramatic, he re-signed, and they obviously have become worse as a result.

I think that was part of it. same with firing Bud. which made no sense to me.

but its not like Jrue was some slouch last year. averaged 19.3ppg on 47.9% and 38.4% from 3.

Dame is currently averaging 25.2ppg on 42.8% and 37.1%. so about 6 more points per game. on less efficiency. and i'd be curious to see the defensive stats on Jrue vs. Lillard.

as for Dame in the 4th quarter of playoff games. doesn't matter when you are down 16 because dame cant guard anyone and shoots 33% for 3 quarters.

Holiday is a 3rd option type scorer though.  He can score within an offense, but he can't create or be a driver.  Middleton was that guy butnisnt any longer and their offense collapsed as a result.  Too easy to stop Giannis when no one else can beat you.  They had to upgrade the 2nd scorer to have a chance and since the defense had already stumbled some, they just went all in.

Holiday is certainly capable of creating his own offense. Jrue chooses to defer to Tatum, JB, and KP. As he should. Saying that he can’t drive/create is just untrue.

he is a 3rd option he isn't the focus of an offense type scorer. He isn't a driver of an offense.

[Moranis]

In other words, if Jrue is your 1st or 2nd best offensive option, your offense isn't good enough and is too easy to stop.

[Phantom255x]

Idk if people saw the Bucks players mobbing Holiday in the locker room and greeting him when the C's played the Bucks earlier this season, but when Giannis and Holiday met up it looked real tense. Maybe part of it was Giannis not wanting to make it awk that he basically got Holiday traded away for Lillard, but some have also said that those two didn't really get along after 2021.

But yeah, to me the Lillard move was more a PR stunt to try and keep Giannis in Milwaukee. If this keeps up there is no way Giannis is staying there beyond his current deal. They had to do something.

Moranis has made some good points but at the end of the day, Holiday was still one of their better defenders and they didn't improve on that end whatsoever. Lillard to me ends up being a lateral move because while he can score, the Bucks also can't stop anyone. Lillard almost has to score a ton because the Bucks give up too much. The Bucks lost a game last night against the Rockets with Giannis putting up 48/17. I guess Lillard can help in the 4th quarter of playoff games but that's assuming the game isn't out of reach already. MIL isn't built to outscore elite teams at all

Middleton has regressed overall which has caused problems, but I also think people underrate some of the other bench pieces they've lost in recent years. Allen, Ingles, Tucker, Hill, Matthews etc. Outside of Portis can anyone name me without looking up who the rest of their bench is? I don't think their bench is that good anymore either.

[SparzWizard]

Starting to hate Giannis as a person nevermind as a player. Guy has been becoming cocky and a diva. So much for him saying he wants to stay with the same team after winning in 2021. Now he's basically threatening the franchise to make a trade to help him or he leaving. He dissing Holiday and him acting childish with the game ball against the Pacers. Just no respect for him anymore.