Bucks vs Celtics

[mufan2003]

Wow. Bucks were supposedly constructed, with all of their length, to be a great defensive team that is difficult to score on. Too many points given up to a team without Kyrie.

Hopefully a better 2nd half.

[mufan2003]

Even worse in the 2nd half. Parker and Snell continue to be non-factors. Bledsoe not much better, once again. Team defense has been disappointing. Making Terry Rozier and Marcus Morris look like All-Stars.

[MUfan12]

This team is such a disaster.

Better hope they nail this coaching hire, otherwise the clock on Giannis will move a lot faster.

[mufansince72]

There is something going on with Parker and the Bucks. His attitude or lack thereof is rubbing off on the other players. If I am the Bucks, I make him inactive next game and tell him to stay home. Good Riddance! You would think Free agent to be would be busting his ass to get paid. He is just costing himself millions every time he sees the floor, or is pictured on the bench.

[Goose85]

I was really hoping the Bucks would step it up a notch in this series and build some momentum for next year. Seems only Giannis and Middleton are playing that way.

Parker played less minutes than Muhammad, and doing nothing to show he is ready for the big time. Bledsoe is another that doesn't seem to get the difference between the playoffs and a Tuesday night in the regular season. An then couldn't remember the name of the guy he is playing against - wow.
Need Snell to hit the open shot, he scored 2 points.

Brogdon is just coming off an injury so anything from him is a bonus. I think Henson is doing what he can do, but I see him as a backup, not your 37 minute playoff starter.

Not sure what the Bucks need to do for next year, but this mix of players is not good. I'm not sure how much a NBA coach can do. I mean if having Parker on the bench a lot in game one didn't get his attention, not sure what will.

I'd say Giannis, Middleton and Brogdan, but Middleton may be the only guy with any trade value (I wouldn't want to part with the other two).

[mufansince72]

I was really hoping the Bucks would step it up a notch in this series and build some momentum for next year. Seems only Giannis and Middleton are playing that way.

Parker played less minutes than Muhammad, and doing nothing to show he is ready for the big time. Bledsoe is another that doesn't seem to get the difference between the playoffs and a Tuesday night in the regular season. An then couldn't remember the name of the guy he is playing against - wow.
Need Snell to hit the open shot, he scored 2 points.

Brogdon is just coming off an injury so anything from him is a bonus. I think Henson is doing what he can do, but I see him as a backup, not your 37 minute playoff starter.

Not sure what the Bucks need to do for next year, but this mix of players is not good. I'm not sure how much a NBA coach can do. I mean if having Parker on the bench a lot in game one didn't get his attention, not sure what will.

I'd say Giannis, Middleton and Brogdan, but Middleton may be the only guy with any trade value (I wouldn't want to part with the other two).

They are in a bad situation. I don't see who would want Snell, Delly, Henson, Maker, DJ Williams, etc. Even if you could trade a guy like Middleton or Bledsoe you wouldn't get much for them as they are free agents after next season. I'm thinking the decision not to match Jabari's contract has probably already been made for them, based on the first two playoff games.

[Goose85]

They are in a bad situation. I don't see who would want Snell, Delly, Henson, Maker, DJ Williams, etc. Even if you could trade a guy like Middleton or Bledsoe you wouldn't get much for them as they are free agents after next season. I'm thinking the decision not to match Jabari's contract has probably already been made for them, based on the first two playoff games.

Is a sign and trade possible with Parker? As weird as it may sound, he seems like he is almost pouting and not putting forward max effort on purpose.
Read one article that said he is really jealous of Giannis as that was supposed to be him, but if you don't care about your team or the franchise, play for your next payday.

I'm sure not for similar value, but it would be nice to get something for him.

I know others on our team may not have much value, but it would be nice to clear some money in hopes we can add someone to the roster.

Crazy how two games can really show some things. Not sure how much a new coach will make a difference, but I sure hope our next coach can do something with this group.

[MU/Panther]

Bucks might need to re-think for the #future is now saying.

[Goose85]

Bucks might need to re-think for the #future is now saying.

Funny, we really should have won game 1, and then this game two loss would have been frustrating, but we would be in real good shape having stole a game on the road.

[mufan2003]

This team is such a disaster.

Better hope they nail this coaching hire, otherwise the clock on Giannis will move a lot faster.

Hope it goes better than the GM process. Not giving Hammond a new contract (which I favored), disagreeing on the individual (Justin Zanik) who was brought in to be the successor, only to end up hiring a long-time assistant (Jon Horst) to John Hammond. I hope the owners can stay out of it, let Jon Horst and Milt Newton make the selection.

Add Mike Budenholzer to the list of rumored coaches. Doc Rivers as well. Jeff Van Gundy, Kevin McHale, David Fizdale, Monty Williams. Have to wonder if any college coaches will be pursued.

http://hoopshype.com/storyline/mike-budenholzer-to-bucks/

[MU/Panther]

Funny, we really should have won game 1, and then this game two loss would have been frustrating, but we would be in real good shape having stole a game on the road. I don't think the Bucks should have won game 1. Turnovers and 2nd chance points killed the Bucks. They were down by 10 points with 5 minutes left. The Bucks had a great chance to steal that game. Lucky, crazy shot to force overtime.

[mufan2003]

Bucks might need to re-think for the #future is now saying.

No kidding. When does "owning the present" arrive?

[MU/Panther]

Game 2 watch party Tuesday night paid off for the Bucks season ticket office. Held at the downtown practice facility, the event ended with 60 new full season ticket packages sold, said Barry Baum, Bucks senior vice president for communications. "That's a huge number for one night," Baum said.

[Goose85]

Game 2 watch party Tuesday night paid off for the Bucks season ticket office. Held at the downtown practice facility, the event ended with 60 new full season ticket packages sold, said Barry Baum, Bucks senior vice president for communications. "That's a huge number for one night," Baum said.

I don't think there is any question the city and fans are ready to support the team. Bucks fans have had a long time waiting for something good to happen, and we now have it with Giannis. This is a once in a generation chance for a team like the Bucks. Need the owners to make the right decision. If the Bucks start winning playoff games / series you will see full houses in the new arena.

In response to MU/Panther, we did have a lead and chances to seal that game 1 win. I guess should have won may have been too strong, but we were in position to win and didn't close it out. Had we won that, who knows.

[Goose85]

Hope it goes better than the GM process. Not giving Hammond a new contract (which I favored), disagreeing on the individual (Justin Zanik) who was brought in to be the successor, only to end up hiring a long-time assistant (Jon Horst) to John Hammond. I hope the owners can stay out of it, let Jon Horst and Milt Newton make the selection.

Add Mike Budenholzer to the list of rumored coaches. Doc Rivers as well. Jeff Van Gundy, Kevin McHale, David Fizdale, Monty Williams. Have to wonder if any college coaches will be pursued.

http://hoopshype.com/storyline/mike-budenholzer-to-bucks/

I'd like to see a guy like Doc Rivers get a shot (just don't bring your kid, talent or not I think it became a headache / distraction in LA). The Clippers did pretty well this year without CP and Griffin. Coaching Giannis will be a drawing card, so we should have no problem getting a capable coach. As MUFan indicated, the Bucks owners need to get out of the way as the GM process was not handled well from the outside looking in.

[MU/Panther]

Bucks are a 6.5 points favorite on Friday night.

[mufansince72]

Is a sign and trade possible with Parker? As weird as it may sound, he seems like he is almost pouting and not putting forward max effort on purpose.
Read one article that said he is really jealous of Giannis as that was supposed to be him, but if you don't care about your team or the franchise, play for your next payday.

I'm sure not for similar value, but it would be nice to get something for him.

I know others on our team may not have much value, but it would be nice to clear some money in hopes we can add someone to the roster.

Crazy how two games can really show some things. Not sure how much a new coach will make a difference, but I sure hope our next coach can do something with this group.

Sign and trade may be a possibility if any offer they end up matching is reasonable. My guess is the only way this happens is if there is a team out there that really wants Parker, but does not have the cap room to sign him without shedding some players. In this scenario, maybe his agent can work out some kind of sign and trade. Otherwise, why would anyone trade for him when they can sign him off the street?

There also are not that many teams with a lot of cap space this year. Here is a listing of teams with space and the amount.
Atlanta 27.7M
Sac 24.5 M
Chicago 41.5
Indiana 8.1
Phoenix 13.2
Dallas 23.8
Orlando 15
Brooklyn 16.6
Philly 30.9
Utah 11.6
SA 671K
LAL 61.8 M
NO 689K
Houston 21.9

I see very few teams on that list that I think would want to use a significant chunk of their space on Jabari. It only takes one team though. Houston will need their space to re-sign CP3 and Capella. They will probably have to lose a guy or two to make that work. Lakers hope to keep their space to sign 2 Max FA's. Wouldn't want to waste any of that on Parker. Utah will need their space to re-sign Favors if they want to keep him. Philly doesn't need Parker and will want to keep money to start working on extensions with younger players. They also have free agents to be in J.J.Reddick, Belinelli, Amir Johnson and Illyasova. If they decide they want to re-sign some of those guys, that will eat into space. Brooklyn has the room, but would they want to invest that in Parker?, Orlando probably needs their space for Aaron Gordon. Dallas is interesting - they have the space, but I'm sure they are looking for a more significant piece. Phoenix could offer 13 M, and would probably be a good place for him since they tend to not play defense and rely on high volume scoring. I don't think Phoenix would want him as they have a boatload of those kind of guys already. Bucks would probably match that offer so here is a sign and trade possibility. Chicago obviously has the room, and it is his home town. I don't think he fits their plans though. I think they want to remain flexible in the hope they can sign some more impactful players. That brings us to Atlanta and Saxramento. Two bad teams that have lots of cap space. Sacremento is probably the most interesting because I don't think marquee free agents want to go there, just like Milwaukee. Both Atlanta and Sacramento in my opinion are teams that want to remain flexible and accumulate draft picks. These are dumping grounds for teams that have players on expiring contracts they want to get rid of, in exchange for draft picks. I.E. Take bad player X and bad contract of my hand and we sweeten the pot with a future draft pick. Bottom line is I don't think there will be a huge market for Jabari Parker. Woeful was quoted the other day as saying before the playoffs he had heard there were a couple of teams that would pay him around $20M. I don't believe that as he has always been a shill for the Parkers.

This is not a huge desirable free agent crop this year. Cousins is probably the big name. Interesting that Aaron Gordon and Jabari Parker are restricted free agents in the same year. Of the two, I would think Gordon would draw more interest from other teams. Julius Randle is also RFA and is a better player than Jabari Parker. There are some high paid veterans out there with expiring big deals, these guys will most likely have to take a significant pay cut with their new or existing teams. Guys like Brook Lopez - 21.5M, Kentavious Caldwell Pope 17.7M, J.J. Redick 23M, Will Barton and Clint Capela are two guys who are going to get big deals, which will eat into someones cap space. Bottom line is a see a very slim market for Jabari Parker. That could change if he shows up and balls out during the remainder of the playoffs, but I doubt it. Just my two cents on what is going on in the league.

Almost forgot, Lebron has an opt out. What is he going to do? If he has had enough in Cleveland, what will that do to the market? My guess is the Lakers try to get Lebron and Paul George, which will eat up most of their space

[mufan2003]

Bucks are a 6.5 points favorite on Friday night.

Interesting line. While Bledsoe, Parker and Snell certainly have their issues, they aren't as bad as they showed in the first 2 games. I am interested to see how this team (those 3) responds. Maybe more of the same, but players' reputations are on the line. Teams pay attention to how individuals perform in the playoffs.

[mufan2003]

Still talking about Jabari's minutes:

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987028381198843905

https://twitter.com/321cuekevin/status/987027473102704642

https://twitter.com/WISN_Watson/status/987027982958125056

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987033516213927937

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987053351895478272

[Goose85]

Still talking about Jabari's minutes:

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987028381198843905

https://twitter.com/321cuekevin/status/987027473102704642

https://twitter.com/WISN_Watson/status/987027982958125056

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987033516213927937

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987053351895478272

We all know Parker has waited two years, but that doesn't mean he deserves to be out there. Play D, rebound, hustle back down the court, play with some sense of urgency, help your team win, etc. Do those things and then maybe you will deserve to be out there.

I did like Giannis comments, basically it doesn't matter, winning in the playoffs is what matters.

[mufansince72]

Still talking about Jabari's minutes:

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987028381198843905

https://twitter.com/321cuekevin/status/987027473102704642

https://twitter.com/WISN_Watson/status/987027982958125056

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987033516213927937

https://twitter.com/Matt_Velazquez/status/987053351895478272

Wow, just Wow, is all I can say. Just a terrible attitude. He keeps costing himself dollars every time he opens up his whiny pie hole. Who is his agent? That dude should be the one frustrated.

[mufan2003]

Maybe the Bucks need Jerry Maguire to speak with Parker. :D

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z3Vsj5R4lSE" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ASVUj89hyg0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[mufansince72]

Maybe the Bucks need Jerry Maguire to speak with Parker. :D

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z3Vsj5R4lSE" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ASVUj89hyg0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Love that!

[mufansince72]

Henson is out tonight. That should give Parker some minutes. Lets hope he does something with them other than complain.

[mufansince72]

That first half the Bucks played tonight was one of the best I have seen by any team in a long time. Thon Maker out of nowhere. Jabari showed up and played with intensity. Basically everyone had a great game. Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick were sitting front row with Edens. They announced that he bought into the team and is now an owner.

[mufan2003]

They played great defense. Thon was great, I wrote him off. The entire team was dialed in.

[mufan2003]

That first half the Bucks played tonight was one of the best I have seen by any team in a long time. Thon Maker out of nowhere. Jabari showed up and played with intensity. Basically everyone had a great game. Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick were sitting front row with Edens. They announced that he bought into the team and is now an owner.


Good to hear!

[mufan2003]

A great win in game 4 that could have been a terrible loss. Up 20 in the 3rd quarter. Brogdon with a big 3 followed by Giannis' tip in. Bucks with 14 blocks after having 13 in game 3.

The defense in games 3 and 4 is probably what most envisioned this team being capable of. Still giving up too many offensive rebounds (16). Road team yet to win a game in the series.

[MU/Panther]

I bought my ticket for game 6!

[CaribouJim]

A great win in game 4 that could have been a terrible loss. Up 20 in the 3rd quarter. Brogdon with a big 3 followed by Giannis' tip in. Bucks with 14 blocks after having 13 in game 3.

The defense in games 3 and 4 is probably what most envisioned this team being capable of. Still giving up too many offensive rebounds (16). Road team yet to win a game in the series.

BC was rocking too - fun, but nerve wracking, game to watch.

[Goose85]

BC was rocking too - fun, but nerve wracking, game to watch.

And your Spurs won too Caribou.

3 of the 4 playoff series in the East are 2-2, with Washington and Cleveland winning yesterday.

[CaribouJim]

And your Spurs won too Caribou.

3 of the 4 playoff series in the East are 2-2, with Washington and Cleveland winning yesterday.

It was rocking in San Antonio as well - Manu jumped on the way back machine in their win as did Wade in their loss. Who knows, might be their last big games in their careers - pretty much a given that Manu is done this year and DWade is not a given to come back so I'm going to be sure to watch tomorrow's games.

[mufan2003]

BC was rocking too - fun, but nerve wracking, game to watch.

When Boston took a 1-point lead in the 4th, I honestly thought the Bucks had blown the game. I guess with the 3-point shot, large leads can dissipate quickly. I should have had more confidence in them.

[Goose85]

For as bad as we shot last night, I am surprised we were in the game.

Need to hit those shots and have Giannis have a big night on Thursday.

[mufansince72]

For as bad as we shot last night, I am surprised we were in the game.

Need to hit those shots and have Giannis have a big night on Thursday.

How does Giannis only have 10 FG attempts in that game?

[MU/Panther]

Glad that Philly beat Miami. Meaning game 6 in Milwaukee is not an 8:30PM game. :eek:

[mufan2003]

Nice win! Despite the odds, #BucksIn7 :cool:

[mufan2003]

http://www.vegasinsider.com/nba/story.cfm/story/855408

Home team has won 80% of game 7's played in NBA history.

[Goose85]

Nice win! Despite the odds, #BucksIn7 :cool:

That was a great game. It has been awhile since the Bucks have really been a good team pushing a series win, so it has been awhile since I've watched every game of a NBA series.

When you play a team for the 6th time, nothing is new, every player and their tendencies are well understood. I'm sure players are getting sick of battling against the same guys ever night, so that leads to a ton more "chippieness". Makes the individual battles as interesting as the overall game.

I'm really hoping for a great game 7, and I hope Bledsoe, Maker and Snell have good games. If you expect Giannis and Middleton to be constants, those are the guys that need to have big games. I would think we will see some pushing and shoving and maybe a T or two, with hopefully Giannis leading the Bucks to the next series and a game 7 road win.

[mufan2003]

That was a great game. It has been awhile since the Bucks have really been a good team pushing a series win, so it has been awhile since I've watched every game of a NBA series.

When you play a team for the 6th time, nothing is new, every player and their tendencies are well understood. I'm sure players are getting sick of battling against the same guys ever night, so that leads to a ton more "chippieness". Makes the individual battles as interesting as the overall game.

I'm really hoping for a great game 7, and I hope Bledsoe, Maker and Snell have good games. If you expect Giannis and Middleton to be constants, those are the guys that need to have big games. I would think we will see some pushing and shoving and maybe a T or two, with hopefully Giannis leading the Bucks to the next series and a game 7 road win.

From my perspective, 5 things the Bucks need to win game 7:

(1) Add Parker and Brogdon to Bledsoe, Maker and Snell. It can't just be Giannis and Middleton. Parker was nonexistent in games 1 and 2, but was solid in game 5 with 17 points and 8 boards. Snell has shot 0-9 from beyond the arc at TD Garden in this series. Snell shot 40% from 3 during the regular season, only 25% in this series. He plays good defense, but need him to knock down a couple open looks.

(2) Defending the 3. Watching this series, Boston is most comfortable hunting the 3-point shot. Rozier, Tatum, Brown and Morris. They like to utilize the step-back, 3-point shot. Run them off the 3-point line. They are not as good off the dribble, and don't see the floor (teammates) well when they drive the ball. The Bucks have been able to block shots (with their length) or cause a turnover when Boston is forced to drive it. Boston has shot 39% from beyond the arc at TD Garden, 32% at the BC.

(3) Rebounding. Boston was getting too many offensive rebounds earlier in the series. Milwaukee has improved as the series has progressed. Need to stay strong on the defensive glass.

(4) Bledsoe needs to keep his cool. He has made some bad decisions at TD Garden. Forcing things and getting distracted with his one-on-one matchup against Rozier.

(5) Giannis' aggressiveness. He only took 10 shots in game 5. Can't do that again. Giannis was great in the 4th quarter of game 6. When it gets to the middle of the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter, he needs to be the initiator playing out of the post or wide post. The Bucks did this well in Milwaukee.