Boy, it’s a good thing that I’m not the type of person that lets the results of my favorite sports teams have an effect on my mood, otherwise I would have gone to bed pretty pissed off last night. I might have stayed up until 1am scrolling Twitter, maybe even creating burner accounts to vent about my darkest concerns for this team. It’s possible I would have called a national sports radio show and hung out on hold for 44 minutes just to say the Bucks should never have fired Bud. Whew! Bullet dodged! I’m glad I’m able to keep the truly important things in perspective.
Welp, we’ve got a series. I was hoping that Sunday’s effort was proof that there is, in fact, a playoff switch. And that a team LOADED with playoff veterans just lollygagged their way through the regular season and Sunday’s performance is what we could expect going forward for the Bucks’ playoff run.
Jon, you ignorant slut.
Tuesday was the perfect yang to Sunday’s ying. And actually, Games 1 and 2 are a great synopsis of the Bucks’ 2023-24 season. One night they look like a team that could compete for a title, two nights later they look like the oldest team in the league that might not get out of the first round and is staring down the barrel of a major overhaul this offseason.
And credit to the Pacers, the were clearly a young team that wasn’t ready for their first taste of the playoffs on Sunday. They adjusted, ramped up their intensity, and had their feet under them from opening tip last night. They ran the Bucks RAGGED all night long, just like we saw them do when they beat the Bucks 4 times in 5 games in the regular season. Siakim was a beast in Game 1, but luckily that was ALL the Pacers had going. Well he was a monster again in Game 2, except this time he had help, all five Pacers starters were in double figures. They course-corrected their 3-point shooting as well. As a team they shot 22% from distance on Sunday, yesterday they shot 45% (and 56% overall).
As far as the Bucks go:
- Dame was great again. He’s averaging 34.5 points per game in the first two games and shooting 47% from the field and 50% from distance. All of that despite being double and triple teamed all night. He’s been as advertised in the playoffs, but sadly hasn’t gotten a ton of help.
- Middleton was excellent on Sunday, but pretty ‘meh’ last night. I guess we should be happy he made it through the entire game given that it looked like he suffered another leg injury in the 1st quarter. He left the game, but was able to come back and play 36 minutes.
- Brook was knocking down shots early, then was quiet until the game was essentially decided in the 4th quarter. And unfortunately for him and the Bucks, he’s a defensive liability against this type of team. He’s not athletic enough to challenge shots, and not quick enough to get back in transition. Basically any time the Bucks miss a shot at the rim they’re playing 4 on 5 going the other way.
- Pat Bev doesn’t lack for energy or hustle, but if we’re relying on him to be a starting guard who plays 35 minutes and night, we’re in a tough spot. He’s SO good defensively, but with Giannis out, you can’t have a defense-only guard on the floor, you need someone who can score and space the floor as well.
- Bobby was awful last night. Again, we love Bobby, always have and always will. Just like Pat Bev, his will to win is second to none. Energy, hustle, intensity, can’t knock him for any of that. But his shot selection last night was putrid. He passed on open 3’s to take tough floaters in the lane, missed two dunks, just a disaster. Again, with Giannis out, Bobby needs to score 20+ AND be efficient while doing so.
- Malik Beasley was benched early and rightfully so. AJ Green got his minutes and should get them going forward.
- Jae Crowder looks WASHED. He was washed last year, I was willing to see how he would peform with a new coach this season, but he just looks like he can’t keep up. Plus he had three open looks in the 4th quarter last night when it was still a game and missed all three. Would love to see Andre Jackson Jr. get his minutes going forward.
So, now we head to Indiana for Game 3 on Friday afternoon*. The biggest adjustment I would make? Having a 6’11 forward with length who can defend Siakim and score 30 ppg while shooting 60% from the field. That would be ideal. But I’m not feeling too bullish on Giannis playing on Friday. I’ve always thought that they’re going to approach this just like they did when he hurt his back against the Heat in the first round last season: Wait until your back is kind of against the wall. Buy him as much time as you can. If you lose on Friday, the series isn’t over, but Sunday becomes a must-win. If that’s the scenario, I think he plays Sunday. If you can win without him on Friday, you probably don’t see Giannis until Game 5 back in Milwaukee. If the Bucks somehow win both games in Indiana (let me live), then he probably wouldn’t be out there until a (potential) Game 6.
Doc’s got to find a way to navigate Friday’s game and have it look more like Sunday’s. Given what we watched last night though, that’s hard to envision at the moment.
*4:30pm tip time on a Friday is WILD. Not saying I hate it, it gives you all night to celebrate or cope and still be in bed at a reasonable hour, but I’ve never heard of that kind of a tip time for an NBA playoff game on a weekday.
PS: I’m not saying this team has the horses to win a title, but keep in mind that during the 2020-21 run, they rarely won their first two games of a series. They went down 0-2 to the Nets and we all thought the season was over (especially after losing by 50 in Game 2), they gave up home court and were 1-1 with the Hawks in the ECF, and were down 0-2 to the Suns in the Finals.
Double PS: Brewer offense has been stuck in mud for a few games, but I thought Tobias Myers’ MLB debut was encouraging last night. He gave up a home run to Andrew McCutchen on the first pitch he threw (not great!) but was rock solid after that. He’s 25-years old, but in recent years has added a plus-slider and a cut fastball that the Brewers are excited about. That starting rotation is ailing right now, they could use a boost like that.
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