This Beasley drop off needs to be studied. Idk how he can go from being #1 in 3's at one point during the regular season to whatever the hell he's devolved to now
Good news is game 3 is 17 days of rest which happens to be the nba average for return from a soleus strain. It’s the playoffs and it’s Wolverine giannis so I’m not guaranteeing anything but I feel optimistic
I’m sort of getting the idea that he’ll be coming back for game 4. Maybe one more game to see how things play out without him. Huge if, but if Indy regresses back to the mean next game and we steal one from them in Gainbridge, having a more fresh Giannis with a 2-1 lead with game 5 going back into Milwaukee would be a huge momentum changer
Yeah and then what if it’s like last year all over again. Last year we went to Miami for game 3 with the series tied 1-1, giannis misses the game, and Miami win game 3. Now giannis returns for game 4, and Miami wins again, now we down 3-1 in the series. For this series, GAME 3 is a MUST return for giannis
I would agree with you that he’d have to come back if we lost game 1 as well. I think doing so bought him a little more time and prevented from being rushed back
So many missed looks at the basket and so many easy ones at the basket given up. The 3 ball only killed us later in the game turner got hot. Have got to stop the pacers making fucking full court passes to a 4 on 2
Getting back on defense immediately is the key to having a really good chance at winning imo. They rely really heavily on saikam in the half court. Idk how sustainable that is
My dream plan for game 3:
1. Giannis comes back and guards Siakam
2. Dame keeps doing Dame things
3. AJax hopefully gets minutes as the only guy who can stay in front of these young Pacers
4. Jae keeps the bench seats nice and cozy
If he continues to play Crowder over him I think that’s enough reason to consider moving on from him after the season. Crowder just hurts the team every minute he’s on the floor.
I really think Doc needs to think about playing Brook/Bobby separately much like Bud did. One of them ends up guarding Siakam at some point and when the game goes up tempo, having both of them on the floor is disastrous. The team clearly needs Giannis.
Also, it would be nice for AJJ to get all of Crowders minutes strictly from an energy standpoint. Crowder is a zero at this point and is looking like just another veteran who flamed out here.
That would be 16 minutes of making Siakam work though. Game 1 and 2 game plan didn't slow him down so it would be worth a try instead of Crowder/Khris/Portis giving him an efficient 37 a game with little resistance.
Turner rarely plays in the post so a mismatch is not a concern. He's primarily a pick n pop player. Bobby/Brook being switched on Siakam is a bigger mismatch than anybody on Turner out at the perimter. Rebounding is a team game, everyone needs to be better on that front.
AJJ could probably get as many, if not more buckets for us with good energy and defense. Crowder looked dead, a random from the crowd could've bought us more points than he did.
Pros:
- 1st half Dame (again)
- Bobby’s energy
- Brook Lopez
- Pat and AJ green both looked a little better than expected, but I’d like to see more defensively
Cons:
- 2nd half Dame going 5 minutes at a time without touching the ball
- Bobby’s shooting
- Middleton’s shooting - It looked like they were being really physical with him and he needs to figure out how to deal with that
- Crowder and Beasley - I’d be fine with completely benching both of them next game
Running the weakside action when Dame was being doubled in the second was good in process, but on a night where Bobby was just putrid, and our wings gave us virtually nothing, it cost us big. In hindsight you would've much rather give Dame a shot at forcing the issue, but alas. With Giannis out, we need more from Middleton and he just couldn't/didn't give it to us tonight. Brooke was also good tonight, virtually no bad shots from him. On the defensive end, the scheme was the scheme, and the Pacers took what we gave them. Pat Bev felt like a non factor tonight but I suppose he played his role. On to the next.
Is it just me or is the defense they are allowed to play on Middleton insanely aggressive? It's like Middleton is playing a different game from everyone else through the refs eyes.
Probably because he gets space by backing people down. Rarely Middleton will try to dribble his way open. It’s mainly back then down and fadeaway midrange jumper towards the corner
We don't know if Dame went cold tbh. He took so few shots. The Pacers were intent on keeping the ball out of his hands and our plan was always to get to the weakside actions when they're doubling/blitzing Dame, but that didn't work out. Jae gave us nothing, Beasley couldn't be played, Bobby was putrid in the chances he got which left us with Khash taking toughly contested mid range shots. In hind sight you would've rather just let Dame keep shooting.
We also lost the points in the paint battle, that is too lopsided. We couldn't generate enough free-throws as a team to slow the game down either. Giannis obviously solves all those problems, but I would have liked to see perhaps going to Brooke in the post, that's an avenue we did not explore much if any at all.
Agreed, cold was the wrong word. I’m not feeling terrible about this game because like you said giannis really fixed so much of our problems the last 2 games
Yeah. Don’t know if Dame went cold as much as him just being old. He worked really hard the first half in both games, he looked like he was getting gassed as a result.
I felt like Dame looked tired at the end of the 2nd and never really looked fully charged up again. Giannis returning would help him energy wise for sure. Less load early.
Pacers played amazing and kicked our ass but I'm not going on this bipolar rollercoaster as a fan. We lost to the Nets by 39 and won a title.
But I'm not even saying that as copium, there is a lot to fix between now and Friday and I'd say that game is a must win for the series.
I'm not even sure of what to suggest other than our role players not being complete garbage on offense. And Giannis needs to come back but honestly, if he is still hurt, I'd rather lose this series than see him get hurt worse.
We'll see which team shows up, hope for much better play for everyone other than Lillard and Lopez.
They were doing it on made shots even.
We need to get back in transition and then if other players besides Lillard can score so we can set our defense after made shots, that'd be nice.
Missed shots!????? Did you watch the game? Every half decent made basket we got nearly ended with an easy layup for the pacers using about 5 seconds worth of clock
Just having Giannis back means Siakam is going to be worn out as fuck trying to guard him. Today he guarded Portis which means he was fresh all game long cuz Bobby wasn't doing shit on offense.
I mean, 2021 Giannis plays 40+ minutes in game 1 of the finals coming off a hyperextended knee. But even if he can't yet, 30-35 minutes of Giannis is enough to be a godsend for us.
Ik he can but that’s also a much much different situation. Giannis is explosive and something involving his leg muscles specifically lower leg makes me think he will be limited with how explosive he is coming back. I’m not giannis and I don’t know and I really hope I’m wrong but hey just my 2 cents
Brook has had an awesome run in Milwaukee given how many felt he was cooked when we added him, but he was in the same draft class as OJ Mayo and Roy Hibbert, guys who feel like they’ve been out of the NBA for a lifetime, he really should be a guy who comes off the bench at this juncture.
Hear hear. Good take.
Agreed on role players not being ass. I want to see us keep moving the ball when shots aren't falling. Way too much of our offense was a guy dribbling around then standing there only to get swarmed.
It felt like we stopped hustling for loose balls in the second half.
Need to stop letting bad offensive possessions turn into bad defensive possessions. Shake it off and get back to defend.
Jae Crowder... Please just get him off of the court.
Man the sad part is we need Jae to play well so damn bad. Brook is not really playable and Bobby was having an off game. With Giannis hurt we needed any kinda size off the bench and he just isn’t it.
>But I'm not even saying that as copium, there is a lot to fix between now and Friday and I'd say that game is a must win for the series.
>I'm not even sure of what to suggest other than our role players not being complete garbage on offense. And Giannis needs to come back but honestly, if he is still hurt, I'd rather lose this series than see him get hurt worse.
The window is open now, the time is now. Middleton isn't getting any younger, he's frequently more injury prone, and he's healthy now and absolutely critical to this team's playoff success. No guarantee how healthy he'll be next year or the seasons after.
The Celtics are getting better and better, especially Taytum. They've added Jrue to the mix coming off an all star season last year, White and Brown are in their prime, Porzingis is healthy. They'll be better next season, that roster improves every season.
The Sixers are hurt again and don't have a #3 guy. They'll probably make a few trades this off season to get better. Pacers are too inexperienced. Randall is injured in New York. Butler is injured in Miami.
The window is open. Waste it and that window will shut on you.
Agreed 1,000%. With the way Middleton and Lopez have aged this year almost makes me feel like it's this year or maybe not any other year in the near future.
Just concerned that the coach is Doc Rivers. Not exactly known for adjustments.
That said throwing in Giannis alone without any adjustments is already large improvement on defense, especially in the paint. That will force Pacers to gamble more on 3s, and game will come down to coin flip for them, while Bucks have reliable way to score in the paint (Giannis).
Dame balled, Brook balled, most others were sleeping as if they want to lose the series.
Not like I know a lot about basketball, but I don't think double teaming a pass-first guard is the best idea, especially when said guard averages the highest ast per game in the league. Leaving guys wide open with Hali on the court was a huge mistake. Let Hali make some stepback 3s and prove himself before we jump the gun.
Turns out we can't count on the Pacers to miss all their wide open looks every game. Looks like we'll need Giannis back to pull this series off because we have no answer for Siakam otherwise. Love the guy, but Bobby was atrocious tonight. And the only time I ever want to see Jae on the court for us again is if he's in the same time as Thanasis.
Bobby wasn't the sole reason we lost , but he had some unfortunately timed blunders. When you're starting in place of The Freak, you gotta give us more than 15 on 5/15 shooting.
And even when he finally had a nice spurt in the 3rd quarter, he immediately squandered it by deciding he needing to be shooting at the frequency of Giannis.
Being at the game, that one score game no pass iso backdown brick was such a deflating moment for the crowd. First time of the night where we all stood up during live action, the comeback was one, and then he just chucked and bam back down 8 two possessions later. Just killer.
1. Bucks in six, always.
2. Jae Crowder should be dropped off at the airport and sent to Cancun.
3. If Bobby is playing like ass, we need someone else to guard people and take fouls. They might be an offensive black hole, but at least they might know it.
4. Brook is stronger than them, literally bully them.
5. Dame is the truth. Giannis is the best player on earth. Khris is him. Pat is once again a playoff riser.
(Bucks in) 6. Fuck Tony Brothers, Jae Crowder, and nembhard
Team needed a historic game to beat Miami last year without Giannis. Needed another historic game from dame to beat them without Giannis. Not going to win many games without Giannis without having a historic game.
If Giannis isn't back for game 3 we are in trouble. Also don't know how people are blaming Doc, these 2 games we have replaced an MVP/DPOY level player with washed Jae Crowder (or would they rather we play Gallo?). Our problems are defense and paint points which is exactly what we get when we swap Giannis for Jae.
I love him... But I think he NEEDED to be given a chance. I'm afraid that he's not really prepared for the only minutes he's going to get right now... More minutes and attention in the regular season and I honestly think he could be getting all of crowders minutes
Lots to point to but I hated that hero iso Bobby took when we were down one with all the momentum. Five or six point swing and we never really recovered. Gotta play smarter.
Yes, and Brook isn't likely to keep his 3 barrage going. Dont know how you can play Brook when the Pacers have the Bucks at a colossel mismatch when Brook is on the floor.
Could we try match up zone so Brook stays down low and can't get exposed so severely?
Trust me when I say I promise y'all this the only game they win.
NBATV curse. I despise that network and Gus Johnson commentating. Dude is overrated and the quality is ass.
Still stings being the only home team to lose so far... **The team let Dame down** and we could've bought Giannis some extra rest time. Jae and Malik imo are not playoff calibre rotation players. We also really needed more from BP tonight, all we needed was one shot to fall during our run and it would've been an entirely different ball game.
Fuck Nehmbard, fuck Nesmith, fuck Tony Brothers. Pacers a sneaky dirty team who always push and shove you after the team scores. It's on us to play better. Also don’t forget the team was also 1-1 vs the Hawks in the ECF who are a similar team.
The team had every opportunity to respond after the Nembhard technical and instead folded like a paper bag in the wind. Further proof the Bucks are full of mentally weak, poser tough guys - and the Pacers know it. The scrub trying (and failing) to rip the ball out of McConnell’s hand at the end was the icing on top.
throw up the bat signal for giannis, this defense is bombed out and depleted without him
no more jae crowder minutes. ever
waste of a dame game. waste of a brook game. waste of home court, and pretty much all of the worst expectations of playing the pacers in the playoffs with a geriatric roster that can't last at a track meet for 48 minutes
Jackson shoulda gotten more minutes under doc in the reg season. He's very "rookie" but you can see his potential. I'm not convinced he's going to be the solution anymore. But he could have been.
I don't know how you guys are saying lopez looked great. He played well in the first quarter and then was just a straight up defensive liability for the rest of the game.
We’ve seen two extremes so far. Next games will be somewhere in between. Tonight we should have let Brook shoot more and let dame be dame in the fourth. The guys are gonna be out for blood Friday.
Think what an even taller, faster, stronger PF would have done to the Bucks in this game.
If Giannis had played against a defense like the Bucks tonight....50+ points
Jae and Beasley have been such a let down.
Those guys contribute 50% better play we might have won that game. It's so frustrating how poorly they're playing.
i still trust in playoff dame and giannis coming back. but doc gotta do his fucking job with his defensive schemes man. so many wide open 3s, its infuriating.
Number one adjustment that we need to make: don’t miss shots. As obvious as that sounds, Pacers turn misses into instant fast break offense. If it turns into a wide open 3, they’ve got the guys to get hot and knock it down. We need high % shots or just to get hot ourselves. Control the rebounds and don’t let them get into fastbreak where they obviously have the advantage. I don’t know the best way to gum a team up and turn things into a halfcourt battle, but that’s how we win. Oh, and getting our guy back who’s a crazy athletic defender and like 80% in the paint would also help the cause.
It bothers me that Doc won't play young guys. Pat Bev and Crowder combined for 49 minutes and 7 points. You can't tell me Beasley, Beauchamp or Andre Jackson couldn't have added a spark off the bench.
Beasly has been givin gup nearly 2 ppp on defense and is shooting 31% from 3 since March 1st and 32% from 3 post ASB.
His post ASB shooting % is 14% lower than pre. He ruined his shot. Dumbest decision to ever compete in it and likely cost himself millions.
That was the Pacers that won 4 out of 5 regular season games. They have absolutely zero respect for the Bucks. Not sure the Bucks are going to make it past them. If they don't, I predict Horst is going to be fired or leave on his own.
Hes cooked unless he has a nice look catch and shoot Every time he faces up and runs the point its anxiety inducing. He was constantly getting caught looking on d.
Add to that it appeared he once again fucked up his knee full of hamburger tissue on a non contact non intense play. Theres about a zero percent chance he plays in all the remaining games. Even if theres just 3 more.
It’s just one loss. Indiana did play amazing, but we move on. We just have to address a few flaws and be more ready overall, the win is still very much in reach. Bucks in 6!
I honestly think we are gonna win next game without Giannis. And then he comes back game 4 and we close it out in 5. Dame and Brook were great. Everyone else needs to bring it.
Pacers have a great squad especially when they're hitting shots. I was never worried about Dame and only worried about our other guys hitting timely shots. Let's bounce back in game 3. Bucks in 6
https://preview.redd.it/ezmp8mk9hcwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba3c663a060f81c9340fbd316d70dbd1d4660227
I really don’t know your purpose either Jae
Am I wild for thinking maybe we start Green over Beverly?
Beverly is nice for defense but we have no offensive output from him. At least when Dame sits we have a point guard on the floor with Khris. Dairy Bird can handle the rock ok for when Dame gets picked up full court.
Game 2, what an unbelievable battle that was. The battle of game 2.
#[What an unbelievable](https://www.reddit.com/r/MkeBucks/s/RBptR8xQU2).
I mean, it was so much and so frustrating and so vicious and [horrible](https://www.reddit.com/r/MkeBucks/s/Sob8e0jRPS) and so un-beautiful in so many different ways. It, it represented such a 0-percent portion of the Bucks’ success in this series so far.
**[Game 2, wow](https://www.reddit.com/r/StartTheBus/s/wQX120lFVX).**
I tuned into game 2, Bucks/Pacers, to look and to watch. And, uh [the series prediction of Charles Barkley](https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2024/04/21/charles-barkley-blasts-bucks-picks-pacers-to-win-nba-playoff-series/73407030007/), who’s no longer in favor. Did you ever notice that? No longer in favor.
“Never fight uphill, me Bucks. Never fight uphill!” They were fighting uphill. He said “wow, that was a big mistake.” [The Bucks lost without General Giannis](https://x.com/eric_nehm/status/1782878933362352333). And, uh, they were fighting.
“Never fight uphill, me Bucks!”
#But [it *hopefully *wasn’t too late](https://x.com/eric_nehm/status/1782907440721187086).
I feel like at this point serious consideration needs to be given on benching Jae. At least Pat C somewhat showed up after Doc gave him so many minutes in regular season. Not Jae though and you cannot expect him to suddenly do now. Why not try one youngster - cannot be much worse right?
One of the BEST things about Giannis if and when he returns is that he will force Siakum to play defense. Tonight Brook and Bobby didn't make him break a sweat.
AJ Green needs to be our starter. There’s no way around it. He is by far our best perimeter defender, he can shoot and score from the midrange, and he makes incredibly level-headed plays: something vital for such a bone-headed team.
I hope the Bucks are able to win the next game without Giannis. I don’t want him returning early and further injuring himself. This is a series I expect the Bucks to be able to win without him, but Siakam looks like prime Shaq right now.
Good shots by Khris! If you watched the game you saw we had shots that wernt fallin that looked good. Call it cope whatever idgaf ball just wasent bouncing our way. We’ll be back. I love bucks basketball!!!
We need to be up in their bodies physically. Harrassing them. You cant get into them when they driving they going to call that. Watch how they guard Dame.
He got a lot of early calls while driving, but he is wearing down from being forced to work so hard. They are getting into him full court.
Giannis better be ready for game 3 #🙏
Bobby and Beas really letting us down in this one tbh
And Crowder.
One of the worst Crowder games I've seen. He was worthless on both ends kept missing 3s then letting hisan run past on defense
What does Crowder even do?
Miss 3s and get cooked on defense, apparently.
bobby had the damn yips tonight
The man can't finish a dunk when there's any slight contact. I feel like he's missed so many of those all year.
This Beasley drop off needs to be studied. Idk how he can go from being #1 in 3's at one point during the regular season to whatever the hell he's devolved to now
His confidence seemed to drop after the ASB
Same thing happened with the Lakers. He ended up benched in the playoffs
He's an even worse defensive player than the guys who play
Our age and weak bench are becoming more apparent.
Beas played 10 minutes... probably needs to play more if anything
Good news is game 3 is 17 days of rest which happens to be the nba average for return from a soleus strain. It’s the playoffs and it’s Wolverine giannis so I’m not guaranteeing anything but I feel optimistic
Would be curious about a source on this but f it, #bucksin6
I concur. Solid player. He could make a difference.
I’m sort of getting the idea that he’ll be coming back for game 4. Maybe one more game to see how things play out without him. Huge if, but if Indy regresses back to the mean next game and we steal one from them in Gainbridge, having a more fresh Giannis with a 2-1 lead with game 5 going back into Milwaukee would be a huge momentum changer
Yeah and then what if it’s like last year all over again. Last year we went to Miami for game 3 with the series tied 1-1, giannis misses the game, and Miami win game 3. Now giannis returns for game 4, and Miami wins again, now we down 3-1 in the series. For this series, GAME 3 is a MUST return for giannis
Agreed but I'd rather not risk a KD situation. Needs to be 95%+ good to go.
I would agree with you that he’d have to come back if we lost game 1 as well. I think doing so bought him a little more time and prevented from being rushed back
Nope
So many missed looks at the basket and so many easy ones at the basket given up. The 3 ball only killed us later in the game turner got hot. Have got to stop the pacers making fucking full court passes to a 4 on 2
Getting back on defense immediately is the key to having a really good chance at winning imo. They rely really heavily on saikam in the half court. Idk how sustainable that is
My dream plan for game 3: 1. Giannis comes back and guards Siakam 2. Dame keeps doing Dame things 3. AJax hopefully gets minutes as the only guy who can stay in front of these young Pacers 4. Jae keeps the bench seats nice and cozy
All signs would say Doc is not going to play Ajax outside of garbage time. But like the dream plan.
If he continues to play Crowder over him I think that’s enough reason to consider moving on from him after the season. Crowder just hurts the team every minute he’s on the floor.
he needs to convince doc that he's ajax the greater and not ajax the lesser
I really think Doc needs to think about playing Brook/Bobby separately much like Bud did. One of them ends up guarding Siakam at some point and when the game goes up tempo, having both of them on the floor is disastrous. The team clearly needs Giannis. Also, it would be nice for AJJ to get all of Crowders minutes strictly from an energy standpoint. Crowder is a zero at this point and is looking like just another veteran who flamed out here.
it is SOOOOOOOOO much easier not to play both when Giannis is healthy can't blame Doc for that at all IMO
Agreed it's much easier with Giannis. Would have been nice to develop AJJ throughout the year, he seems to be a perfect player to throw at Siakam.
Throw AJJ on siakam for more than 12 minutes and AJJ sadly fouls out
That would be 16 minutes of making Siakam work though. Game 1 and 2 game plan didn't slow him down so it would be worth a try instead of Crowder/Khris/Portis giving him an efficient 37 a game with little resistance.
I ain’t saying it’s not worth a try But the only real solution is Giannis
The one thing all Bucks fans can agree on lol. Hoping he's ready for game 3.
That might be a better option than letting Siakam play like he's at shootaround.
If they’re separate you’re just allowing more offensive rebounds and a mismatch for Turner
Turner rarely plays in the post so a mismatch is not a concern. He's primarily a pick n pop player. Bobby/Brook being switched on Siakam is a bigger mismatch than anybody on Turner out at the perimter. Rebounding is a team game, everyone needs to be better on that front.
Without Giannis, Siakam will just cook anyone on this roster so I would rather concede that and have a little more size out there.
AJJ could probably get as many, if not more buckets for us with good energy and defense. Crowder looked dead, a random from the crowd could've bought us more points than he did.
Agreed. It's impossible to be worse than what Crowder has been. AJJ actually crashes the glass too. Energy is contagious.
Pros: - 1st half Dame (again) - Bobby’s energy - Brook Lopez - Pat and AJ green both looked a little better than expected, but I’d like to see more defensively Cons: - 2nd half Dame going 5 minutes at a time without touching the ball - Bobby’s shooting - Middleton’s shooting - It looked like they were being really physical with him and he needs to figure out how to deal with that - Crowder and Beasley - I’d be fine with completely benching both of them next game
Running the weakside action when Dame was being doubled in the second was good in process, but on a night where Bobby was just putrid, and our wings gave us virtually nothing, it cost us big. In hindsight you would've much rather give Dame a shot at forcing the issue, but alas. With Giannis out, we need more from Middleton and he just couldn't/didn't give it to us tonight. Brooke was also good tonight, virtually no bad shots from him. On the defensive end, the scheme was the scheme, and the Pacers took what we gave them. Pat Bev felt like a non factor tonight but I suppose he played his role. On to the next.
Middleton was flustered as hell with the physicality
He was getting hacked too honestly but yes.
They moved dame off ball to give him rest. He played the entire nearly the whole 1st and 2nd quarters.
wish we used Kmidd in pnr action…he has to fight for his life to get a shot off with all these iso possessions
Is it just me or is the defense they are allowed to play on Middleton insanely aggressive? It's like Middleton is playing a different game from everyone else through the refs eyes.
Probably because he gets space by backing people down. Rarely Middleton will try to dribble his way open. It’s mainly back then down and fadeaway midrange jumper towards the corner
Now imagine if we have giannis to rely when dame goes cold in the second half. I feel very very good still
We don't know if Dame went cold tbh. He took so few shots. The Pacers were intent on keeping the ball out of his hands and our plan was always to get to the weakside actions when they're doubling/blitzing Dame, but that didn't work out. Jae gave us nothing, Beasley couldn't be played, Bobby was putrid in the chances he got which left us with Khash taking toughly contested mid range shots. In hind sight you would've rather just let Dame keep shooting. We also lost the points in the paint battle, that is too lopsided. We couldn't generate enough free-throws as a team to slow the game down either. Giannis obviously solves all those problems, but I would have liked to see perhaps going to Brooke in the post, that's an avenue we did not explore much if any at all.
Agreed, cold was the wrong word. I’m not feeling terrible about this game because like you said giannis really fixed so much of our problems the last 2 games
Yeah. Don’t know if Dame went cold as much as him just being old. He worked really hard the first half in both games, he looked like he was getting gassed as a result.
They need Giannis to take the pressure off Dame. When Giannis is out there good luck doubling Dame all game long.
Yeah cold was the wrong word. Agreed
I felt like Dame looked tired at the end of the 2nd and never really looked fully charged up again. Giannis returning would help him energy wise for sure. Less load early.
Idk if I’d call brook a pro. Sure he scored points, but he game up twice as many points in the paint lol
Crowder -21 in 15 minutes is fucking disgusting. Give his minutes to Green
*and Ajax
To be fair, all of the rotation players were a negative, and Pat Bev and Dame were - 27 and - 24, respectively.
Pat Bevs and Dames came from that final run where everything fell apart. Crowders happened in the first half… He was -17 in 10 minutes at halftime
sheesh
I’m fucking tired of people acting like Green gone solve our problems
Pacers played amazing and kicked our ass but I'm not going on this bipolar rollercoaster as a fan. We lost to the Nets by 39 and won a title. But I'm not even saying that as copium, there is a lot to fix between now and Friday and I'd say that game is a must win for the series. I'm not even sure of what to suggest other than our role players not being complete garbage on offense. And Giannis needs to come back but honestly, if he is still hurt, I'd rather lose this series than see him get hurt worse. We'll see which team shows up, hope for much better play for everyone other than Lillard and Lopez.
can't let them turn every one of our missed shots into transition O
They were doing it on made shots even. We need to get back in transition and then if other players besides Lillard can score so we can set our defense after made shots, that'd be nice.
Missed shots!????? Did you watch the game? Every half decent made basket we got nearly ended with an easy layup for the pacers using about 5 seconds worth of clock
Just having Giannis back means Siakam is going to be worn out as fuck trying to guard him. Today he guarded Portis which means he was fresh all game long cuz Bobby wasn't doing shit on offense.
We all talk about giannis coming back like he can play 40 minutes a game off the jump
I mean, 2021 Giannis plays 40+ minutes in game 1 of the finals coming off a hyperextended knee. But even if he can't yet, 30-35 minutes of Giannis is enough to be a godsend for us.
Ik he can but that’s also a much much different situation. Giannis is explosive and something involving his leg muscles specifically lower leg makes me think he will be limited with how explosive he is coming back. I’m not giannis and I don’t know and I really hope I’m wrong but hey just my 2 cents
25 minutes is better than no minutes.
Sorry but lopez played well in the first quarter but other than that looked like he was wearing concrete bricks for shoes when playing defense
When has he not been wearing concrete shoes? Bro couldn’t beat a snail in a race he trips over his own feet
Brook missed 2 chip shots in the 1st half when we had momentum, then let Turner beat him down court for easy buckets.
I love brook and his ability to hit threes but my god we need a younger more athletic center that has some agility ffs
Brook has had an awesome run in Milwaukee given how many felt he was cooked when we added him, but he was in the same draft class as OJ Mayo and Roy Hibbert, guys who feel like they’ve been out of the NBA for a lifetime, he really should be a guy who comes off the bench at this juncture.
Basically how he perform all these years, but now without Giannis and Jrue make his flaw more obvious
And he a grand total of 1 rebound in 29 minutes.
Hear hear. Good take. Agreed on role players not being ass. I want to see us keep moving the ball when shots aren't falling. Way too much of our offense was a guy dribbling around then standing there only to get swarmed. It felt like we stopped hustling for loose balls in the second half. Need to stop letting bad offensive possessions turn into bad defensive possessions. Shake it off and get back to defend. Jae Crowder... Please just get him off of the court.
Man the sad part is we need Jae to play well so damn bad. Brook is not really playable and Bobby was having an off game. With Giannis hurt we needed any kinda size off the bench and he just isn’t it.
>But I'm not even saying that as copium, there is a lot to fix between now and Friday and I'd say that game is a must win for the series. >I'm not even sure of what to suggest other than our role players not being complete garbage on offense. And Giannis needs to come back but honestly, if he is still hurt, I'd rather lose this series than see him get hurt worse. The window is open now, the time is now. Middleton isn't getting any younger, he's frequently more injury prone, and he's healthy now and absolutely critical to this team's playoff success. No guarantee how healthy he'll be next year or the seasons after. The Celtics are getting better and better, especially Taytum. They've added Jrue to the mix coming off an all star season last year, White and Brown are in their prime, Porzingis is healthy. They'll be better next season, that roster improves every season. The Sixers are hurt again and don't have a #3 guy. They'll probably make a few trades this off season to get better. Pacers are too inexperienced. Randall is injured in New York. Butler is injured in Miami. The window is open. Waste it and that window will shut on you.
Agreed 1,000%. With the way Middleton and Lopez have aged this year almost makes me feel like it's this year or maybe not any other year in the near future.
Siakam b2b career games not happening again Wait: y’all can @ me if it happens again but it ain’t Bucks in 5
unless giannis comes back, he’ll just keep shooting over the tiny defenders and continuing his legacy run. we make it look like it’s 2019 pascal.
We said the same about Butler
He’s getting mismatches in the paint, which is why he keeps draining those ‘contested’ jumpers. Having Giannis back will solve that issue.
If Giannis isn’t back I would expect more of these types of games from him.
Why not. People said the same shit about jimmy last year. Pascal is plenty comfortable fucking us in the playoffs. He already has
Just concerned that the coach is Doc Rivers. Not exactly known for adjustments. That said throwing in Giannis alone without any adjustments is already large improvement on defense, especially in the paint. That will force Pacers to gamble more on 3s, and game will come down to coin flip for them, while Bucks have reliable way to score in the paint (Giannis).
well...we all kinda knew this was going to be a series
Dame balled, Brook balled, most others were sleeping as if they want to lose the series. Not like I know a lot about basketball, but I don't think double teaming a pass-first guard is the best idea, especially when said guard averages the highest ast per game in the league. Leaving guys wide open with Hali on the court was a huge mistake. Let Hali make some stepback 3s and prove himself before we jump the gun.
This was the biggest puzzle to me. Doubling the guards up top wasn’t working. Gotta switch off of that.
indy crowd is going to be hostile af. Hopefully our guys can get over their road game woes
Turns out we can't count on the Pacers to miss all their wide open looks every game. Looks like we'll need Giannis back to pull this series off because we have no answer for Siakam otherwise. Love the guy, but Bobby was atrocious tonight. And the only time I ever want to see Jae on the court for us again is if he's in the same time as Thanasis.
Bobby wasn't the sole reason we lost , but he had some unfortunately timed blunders. When you're starting in place of The Freak, you gotta give us more than 15 on 5/15 shooting.
And even when he finally had a nice spurt in the 3rd quarter, he immediately squandered it by deciding he needing to be shooting at the frequency of Giannis.
Being at the game, that one score game no pass iso backdown brick was such a deflating moment for the crowd. First time of the night where we all stood up during live action, the comeback was one, and then he just chucked and bam back down 8 two possessions later. Just killer.
We simply NEED Giannis to guard Siakam
1. Bucks in six, always. 2. Jae Crowder should be dropped off at the airport and sent to Cancun. 3. If Bobby is playing like ass, we need someone else to guard people and take fouls. They might be an offensive black hole, but at least they might know it. 4. Brook is stronger than them, literally bully them. 5. Dame is the truth. Giannis is the best player on earth. Khris is him. Pat is once again a playoff riser. (Bucks in) 6. Fuck Tony Brothers, Jae Crowder, and nembhard
We really just laid down and died at the end huh
Khris and Bobby need to step up. Dame did all he could already. The team can’t win with both of them scoring only 14/15
Won a game without Giannis that was the goal. Felt like we could’ve had this one but whatever Bucks in 6.
Literally just let Siakam have whatever the hell he wanted, damn that was frustrating. Giannis save us 🙏🏼
Team needed a historic game to beat Miami last year without Giannis. Needed another historic game from dame to beat them without Giannis. Not going to win many games without Giannis without having a historic game.
If Giannis isn't back for game 3 we are in trouble. Also don't know how people are blaming Doc, these 2 games we have replaced an MVP/DPOY level player with washed Jae Crowder (or would they rather we play Gallo?). Our problems are defense and paint points which is exactly what we get when we swap Giannis for Jae.
Fuck Jae. Giannis better have his laces tied
Ajax needs to be given a chance.
I love him... But I think he NEEDED to be given a chance. I'm afraid that he's not really prepared for the only minutes he's going to get right now... More minutes and attention in the regular season and I honestly think he could be getting all of crowders minutes
Doc seems to favor AJ over ajax but I feel he's the spark needed for hustle over shots. We have shot takers. Get hustle out there
Ajax ain't looking to shoot the ball. He's there to rebound and be aggressive. Give him 36 mins and play 4 shooters. Let's go
Bucks in 6 for a reason
Lots to point to but I hated that hero iso Bobby took when we were down one with all the momentum. Five or six point swing and we never really recovered. Gotta play smarter.
If we can get Giannis back just for guarding Siakam and fighting for the rebound is already a great improvement for the team
[удалено]
Yes, and Brook isn't likely to keep his 3 barrage going. Dont know how you can play Brook when the Pacers have the Bucks at a colossel mismatch when Brook is on the floor. Could we try match up zone so Brook stays down low and can't get exposed so severely?
Trust me when I say I promise y'all this the only game they win. NBATV curse. I despise that network and Gus Johnson commentating. Dude is overrated and the quality is ass. Still stings being the only home team to lose so far... **The team let Dame down** and we could've bought Giannis some extra rest time. Jae and Malik imo are not playoff calibre rotation players. We also really needed more from BP tonight, all we needed was one shot to fall during our run and it would've been an entirely different ball game. Fuck Nehmbard, fuck Nesmith, fuck Tony Brothers. Pacers a sneaky dirty team who always push and shove you after the team scores. It's on us to play better. Also don’t forget the team was also 1-1 vs the Hawks in the ECF who are a similar team.
We also lost to Vucevic that one time.
Finally someone who's with me on Gus Johnson. No hate against the man, he seems lovely but good grief I don't understand the love.
The team had every opportunity to respond after the Nembhard technical and instead folded like a paper bag in the wind. Further proof the Bucks are full of mentally weak, poser tough guys - and the Pacers know it. The scrub trying (and failing) to rip the ball out of McConnell’s hand at the end was the icing on top.
THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE. It’s the playoffs, not every series is a sweep. This is a veteran team, I’m sure they are not worried so neither should we
They stole one on the road, so they have the advantage now that's why they are not worried.
throw up the bat signal for giannis, this defense is bombed out and depleted without him no more jae crowder minutes. ever waste of a dame game. waste of a brook game. waste of home court, and pretty much all of the worst expectations of playing the pacers in the playoffs with a geriatric roster that can't last at a track meet for 48 minutes
They just need to play green and Jackson for energy.
Jackson shoulda gotten more minutes under doc in the reg season. He's very "rookie" but you can see his potential. I'm not convinced he's going to be the solution anymore. But he could have been.
Green doesn’t look good. Isn’t hitting open looks and fouling too much. I want to like him out there but just can’t.
Don't count on it.
Pascal is a massive problem right now. He’s averaging like 36 points on 65% shooting, those are prime giannis numbers.
There's room for only one Giannis on the court, and that's ours. Once he gets on the floor, Siakam is gonna be on locks.
My heart breaks for our hero
I don't know how you guys are saying lopez looked great. He played well in the first quarter and then was just a straight up defensive liability for the rest of the game.
We’ve seen two extremes so far. Next games will be somewhere in between. Tonight we should have let Brook shoot more and let dame be dame in the fourth. The guys are gonna be out for blood Friday.
Alright we need our Siakam stopper back
We need a strong and agile power forward to guard Siakam, I think I have someone in mind but I'm not sure.
Think what an even taller, faster, stronger PF would have done to the Bucks in this game. If Giannis had played against a defense like the Bucks tonight....50+ points
Thanasis?
Bucks in 4 just doesn’t feel right, that’s all.
We demand a Belt2A$$ game on Friday.
Jae and Beasley have been such a let down. Those guys contribute 50% better play we might have won that game. It's so frustrating how poorly they're playing.
Giannis, get your ass on the court.
Brook Lopez 1 rebound
i still trust in playoff dame and giannis coming back. but doc gotta do his fucking job with his defensive schemes man. so many wide open 3s, its infuriating.
Man I don't know how long Dame can sustain this type of shooting, bucks gotta take advantage off his best nights.
It’s so hard to go to sleep after a loss like that lol
Number one adjustment that we need to make: don’t miss shots. As obvious as that sounds, Pacers turn misses into instant fast break offense. If it turns into a wide open 3, they’ve got the guys to get hot and knock it down. We need high % shots or just to get hot ourselves. Control the rebounds and don’t let them get into fastbreak where they obviously have the advantage. I don’t know the best way to gum a team up and turn things into a halfcourt battle, but that’s how we win. Oh, and getting our guy back who’s a crazy athletic defender and like 80% in the paint would also help the cause.
It bothers me that Doc won't play young guys. Pat Bev and Crowder combined for 49 minutes and 7 points. You can't tell me Beasley, Beauchamp or Andre Jackson couldn't have added a spark off the bench.
Beasly has been givin gup nearly 2 ppp on defense and is shooting 31% from 3 since March 1st and 32% from 3 post ASB. His post ASB shooting % is 14% lower than pre. He ruined his shot. Dumbest decision to ever compete in it and likely cost himself millions.
Pacers have won 6 consecutive quarters of the series in Milwaukee. Not going to get any easier unless giannis comes back and is effective.
Team is just old and slow, simple as that
That was the Pacers that won 4 out of 5 regular season games. They have absolutely zero respect for the Bucks. Not sure the Bucks are going to make it past them. If they don't, I predict Horst is going to be fired or leave on his own.
BUCKS IN SIX!
sadly we will have to settle with bucks in 5
Khris has to be better with no Giannis. Need more than 15 points
Hes cooked unless he has a nice look catch and shoot Every time he faces up and runs the point its anxiety inducing. He was constantly getting caught looking on d. Add to that it appeared he once again fucked up his knee full of hamburger tissue on a non contact non intense play. Theres about a zero percent chance he plays in all the remaining games. Even if theres just 3 more.
It’s just one loss. Indiana did play amazing, but we move on. We just have to address a few flaws and be more ready overall, the win is still very much in reach. Bucks in 6!
I honestly think we are gonna win next game without Giannis. And then he comes back game 4 and we close it out in 5. Dame and Brook were great. Everyone else needs to bring it.
I like your optimism
Pacers have a great squad especially when they're hitting shots. I was never worried about Dame and only worried about our other guys hitting timely shots. Let's bounce back in game 3. Bucks in 6
With the performance in this game, a potential 1:3 is anticipated… Defense like G1 is the key but they need dame to initiate it from offense
https://preview.redd.it/ezmp8mk9hcwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba3c663a060f81c9340fbd316d70dbd1d4660227 I really don’t know your purpose either Jae
We gotta get back on D. Too many over the top passes leading to easy buckets. Inexcusable
Lurker but why is Beverly getting so many minutes?!
Double on Dame, no Giannis as an alternate for bringing the ball up. Pat Bev is a solid option to get the ball up and run point.
Am I wild for thinking maybe we start Green over Beverly? Beverly is nice for defense but we have no offensive output from him. At least when Dame sits we have a point guard on the floor with Khris. Dairy Bird can handle the rock ok for when Dame gets picked up full court.
Only chance for a copium hit now is boston losing game 2. But who am i kidding they gonna win by 30 plus
I actually like siakam. Can’t stand Hali, nesmith and nembhard
Someone tell me what is the point of Jae Crowder
Why was Pat Bev running the offense in the second half with Dame on the floor? If Dame needed a breather sub him out
Game 2, what an unbelievable battle that was. The battle of game 2. #[What an unbelievable](https://www.reddit.com/r/MkeBucks/s/RBptR8xQU2). I mean, it was so much and so frustrating and so vicious and [horrible](https://www.reddit.com/r/MkeBucks/s/Sob8e0jRPS) and so un-beautiful in so many different ways. It, it represented such a 0-percent portion of the Bucks’ success in this series so far. **[Game 2, wow](https://www.reddit.com/r/StartTheBus/s/wQX120lFVX).** I tuned into game 2, Bucks/Pacers, to look and to watch. And, uh [the series prediction of Charles Barkley](https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2024/04/21/charles-barkley-blasts-bucks-picks-pacers-to-win-nba-playoff-series/73407030007/), who’s no longer in favor. Did you ever notice that? No longer in favor. “Never fight uphill, me Bucks. Never fight uphill!” They were fighting uphill. He said “wow, that was a big mistake.” [The Bucks lost without General Giannis](https://x.com/eric_nehm/status/1782878933362352333). And, uh, they were fighting. “Never fight uphill, me Bucks!” #But [it *hopefully *wasn’t too late](https://x.com/eric_nehm/status/1782907440721187086).
That was…WOW! I don’t know whether to laugh, or…I think I’ve been trumped or something
I feel like at this point serious consideration needs to be given on benching Jae. At least Pat C somewhat showed up after Doc gave him so many minutes in regular season. Not Jae though and you cannot expect him to suddenly do now. Why not try one youngster - cannot be much worse right?
Literally no reason for Jae to ever see the court again
You know what type of game it is when the best defense you've seen played on Siakam was by Chris Livingston
One of the BEST things about Giannis if and when he returns is that he will force Siakum to play defense. Tonight Brook and Bobby didn't make him break a sweat.
Now everyone can stop acting like this was an easy sweep
AJ Green needs to be our starter. There’s no way around it. He is by far our best perimeter defender, he can shoot and score from the midrange, and he makes incredibly level-headed plays: something vital for such a bone-headed team.
This is why we can’t get too high or low. Playoffs.
I hope the Bucks are able to win the next game without Giannis. I don’t want him returning early and further injuring himself. This is a series I expect the Bucks to be able to win without him, but Siakam looks like prime Shaq right now.
Giannis needs to come back soon or this series might be lost. This team desperately needs someone to be able to guard Siakam.
We got a millions ways to get it On to the next one
If we get g-swept we need to blow it up and move on from khris/lopez
That first giannis poster is going to hit like crack
Good shots by Khris! If you watched the game you saw we had shots that wernt fallin that looked good. Call it cope whatever idgaf ball just wasent bouncing our way. We’ll be back. I love bucks basketball!!!
I can’t think of one meaningful play Jae Crowder has made all season lol
Giannis please take my calf for game 3 🙏
https://preview.redd.it/7yiiiiangcwc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8624ecc07be0a649bdaa63445670d69e4d5e6459 "Giannis Antetokounmpo, please save us"
Demoralizing loss considering how well we played first game. Double triple team on Dame really fucked us
Beas is not an nba player rn
damn doc had me thinking we had mastered the pacers fast movement. Should’ve known haha
Most points given up by any team in the playoffs so far. No adjustment from 2nd half game 1
We require 6 matches.
If Bucks lose next game the team probablt takes the risks and have Giannis play in game 4.
We need to be up in their bodies physically. Harrassing them. You cant get into them when they driving they going to call that. Watch how they guard Dame. He got a lot of early calls while driving, but he is wearing down from being forced to work so hard. They are getting into him full court.
Game 4 is to late
At least Celtics are frauds just like us