Official Game Thread: Bucks "at" Hawks: the MLK Day Game!

[kg01]

14 minutes ago, aali34 said:

It was a quick back and forth but here you go.

They started talking about Deandre Hunter and Chuck said he needs to be the second best player on the team for us to succeed, now more-so since we kept him over Reddish.

Kenny mentioned how he was confused that the Hawks gave up on him.

Ernie points out that he requested to be traded.

Chuck says that they should have given him more minutes if they wanted to keep him.

Ernie says that he requested to be traded over the offseason.

Chuck says he's not good enough to request anything and that if Kenny wanted to move to TruTV they would just ignore him.

It was a pretty funny exchange.  And a true one.

[Spud2nique]

Just now, kg01 said:

It was a pretty funny exchange.  And a true one.

I gotta go back and watch it. Chuck man, I got 99 problems and 2 of them are Chuck’s (Barkley and Tex) 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

2 hours ago, Diesel said:

Ok... OK... OK..

Every Freaking Game, I hear nothing but Contempt and Criticism for Nate about how he coached and how his rotations sucked.

Tonight, yall got to give him his flowers for this win.   He could have screwed this up several ways.. but he didn't.   Stop trying to make a narrative that JC asked to stay out. 

Give Nate his credit. 

 

Nope.

 

[Diesel]

1 minute ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

Nope.

 

Do it for the vine!

[kg01]

2 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

You mean the sac Brad Pitt? 

Or just the sac jackarse.   Sacarse?  

[Spud2nique]

@Diesel your boy eating a dog ..

 

[Diesel]

4 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

@Diesel your boy eating a dog ..

 

He look like he's going to be "injured" until the playoffs. 

They dont call him Playoff P for nothing. 

[terrell]

19 minutes ago, Diesel said:

 

I don't doubt that they like him... BUT SGA???  Comeon man.  He's the best player since KD...  He's going nowhere.  I heard that there were three brinks trucks heading to OKC.... They had SGA's name on it and a key to the city.   And the deed to KD's restuarant.  And anything of Value that Westbrook had in OKC.

 

Not that he's a better player.. Theyre still in tank mode..And i heard they might be willing to get out of his salary for a kings ransom of picksand build around Giddey...... Not sure how true that is..

Edited January 18, 2022 by terrell

[Diesel]

Just now, terrell said:

Not that he's a better player.. Theyre still in tank mode..And i heard they might be willing to get out of his salary.. Not sure how true that is..

His salary shouldnt be a problem.  They are UNDER the cap and he's their PPP player.  As much as I like Giddey, SGA will always be the better player.   Because SGA is a PPP and they are the only team under the cap, SGA can't be traded to anyone. 

So the question becomes (for the future)...

Trade Dort or Trade Giddey.     Dort is coming to the end of his contract quicker.. Dort is what 6'4".. BUT Damn Dort be scoring.  That guy has something.  He can be a three point shooter when you need one.  He can score when you need him to.

I love the potential I see with Giddey. But Dort is a keeper too....  This is a Presti team.  So they will end up with too many good players and will start firesaling some of them.  I want Giddey next to Trae. 

[terrell]

The Hawks are also off the hook for being associated with some of the worst teams in NBA history. Time to reveal the teams who had longer home losing streaks than the Hawks.

 

1. 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks (13-69) lost 19 straight home games.

2. 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers (19-63) lost 18 straight home games.

3. 1989-90 Orlando Magic (18-64) lost 14 straight home games.

4. 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (7-59) lost 14 straight home games.

5. 2014-15/2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers (18-64)/(10-72) lost 12 straight home games carrying over across two seasons.

Edited January 18, 2022 by terrell

[Diesel]

You know what ELSE the Hawks did tonight????????

 

Milwaukee was 23-0 when leading going into the 4th quarter.  Guess what they are now?

 

23-1.

We are the 1!!!!!

[Diesel]

It felt like the Bucks wouldn't let us celebrate MLK Jr...

 

 

No Uni...  No Logo....  The Bucks wore green.   That's fne... We're still celebrating!!!

[Spud2nique]

Woof !!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CY2tCDxoY-q/?utm_medium=copy_link

[TheNorthCydeRises]

1 hour ago, JeffS17 said:

Sigh... since you brought up Mitchell Robinson as evidence, and I did not remember OO getting cooked by Robinson: https://www.nba.com/stats/events/?ContextMeasure=FGA&EndPeriod=0&EndRange=28800&GameID=0022100643&PlayerID=1629011&RangeType=0&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular Season&StartPeriod=0&StartRange=0&TeamID=1610612752&flag=3&sct=plot&section=game

Just click that and watch... 

• Made oop on Gorgui Deng
• The only shot he made "on Okongwu" because OO had to help on Randle because Hunter doesn't sell the offensive foul and gets bodied all the way to the paint
• Missed dunk on OO (possibly a block, cant tell)
• Heurter strips a shot
• Robinson outmuscles JC and Dieng for a putback dunk
• Okongwu gets screened off Mitchell and no one switches
• Dunks on JC

None of this is accurately described by the below quote.  The best you can really argue is he didn't communicate well on a switch or shouldn't have helped on Randle... I'm not arguing he doesn't make mistakes but I just thought that was too rich coming from someone who just told me I don't watch the games

Last thing, Robinson had 5 offensive boards and zero came with OO on the court.  It was Dieng he was sonning all night, not OO.

 

That a way to use those video clips!!

 

[aali34]

Trae noted that he and OO don't got enough chemistry on the lobs and that he's gonna work with him over the offseason. Really interesting.

[RedDawg#8]

2 minutes ago, aali34 said:

Trae noted that he and OO don't got enough chemistry on the lobs and that he's gonna work with him over the offseason. Really interesting.

OO has been rehabbing every offseason. So yes that makes sense.

[JTB]

I hope not to be viewed negatively but despite this very nice win I still saw plenty of the same issues in this game.

defense is all about great effort sometimes and lately the defense has been better due to more effort and energy. Communication still need to improve however as a team.

 

offensively still the same issue when Trae leaves the court but gallo saved us or kept us from drowning. Gallo performing like that isn’t going to happen every night ….Trae is still the only one who can consistently break down a defense to either score or create for others. Hunters handles are too shaky and he need to focus more on making his 1 move and go…he did great attacking tonight  but I’m not sure we can count on that every game.

 

im not trying to be negative it’s a great win but I still believe moves need to be made major or small 

[niremetal]

3 hours ago, JTB said:

I hope not to be viewed negatively but despite this very nice win I still saw plenty of the same issues in this game.

defense is all about great effort sometimes and lately the defense has been better due to more effort and energy. Communication still need to improve however as a team.

 

offensively still the same issue when Trae leaves the court but gallo saved us or kept us from drowning. Gallo performing like that isn’t going to happen every night ….Trae is still the only one who can consistently break down a defense to either score or create for others. Hunters handles are too shaky and he need to focus more on making his 1 move and go…he did great attacking tonight  but I’m not sure we can count on that every game.

 

im not trying to be negative it’s a great win but I still believe moves need to be made major or small 

The defensive communication issues are frankly to be expected considering how little time this crew has played together. Per Stathead, coming into tonight:

• Our starters (Trae/Huerter/Hunter/Collins/Okongwu) had been on the floor together for just 7.5 minutes...ever. That combination never saw the floor during the regular season last year, only played 0.7 minutes together in the playoffs, and they've only played 6.8 minutes together this season.
• The group that finished the game (swap out Collins for Gallo) had only had 8.1 minutes together (6.1 of them this season, 2 in the regular season last year).

I'm happy with the effort and the toughness they showed defensively tonight. If they can sustain that (a big, big if), I'm confident the communication will come.

Offensively...my only concern is the toll Trae's usage will take. I think a fully healthy Dre and Bogi, combined with a more aggressive Huerter, could actually be enough. But I'm still thinking a consolidation trade is coming. Gallo's stock is shooting way up, which both helps us on the court in the short term and makes him more enticing as a trade piece (especially in multi-team deals).

That said, trading away Reddish for a first (and a player who is never going to see the floor here) also means there is no roster glut at the moment. The consolidation trade could be coming in the offseason.

Edited January 18, 2022 by niremetal

[Diesel]

6 hours ago, aali34 said:

Trae noted that he and OO don't got enough chemistry on the lobs and that he's gonna work with him over the offseason. Really interesting.

Suggests that Trae knows that OO is the future. 

[Diesel]

5 hours ago, JTB said:

I hope not to be viewed negatively but despite this very nice win I still saw plenty of the same issues in this game.

defense is all about great effort sometimes and lately the defense has been better due to more effort and energy. Communication still need to improve however as a team.

 

offensively still the same issue when Trae leaves the court but gallo saved us or kept us from drowning. Gallo performing like that isn’t going to happen every night ….Trae is still the only one who can consistently break down a defense to either score or create for others. Hunters handles are too shaky and he need to focus more on making his 1 move and go…he did great attacking tonight  but I’m not sure we can count on that every game.

 

im not trying to be negative it’s a great win but I still believe moves need to be made major or small 

I'm not disagreeing with your assessment.  However..

Over the last few games, our second team has shown life.  That's life without Trae on the floor.   Gallo, Lou, Delon have all stepped up and not been a team that keeps us from losing leads but frankly they have been guys that have played us back into games. 

My questions over the past few games have been... What's wrong with the starters?  The answer... consistency and Trae. 

So first point:

1.  I don't think our bench is that far off.  When Trae goes to the bench, we have guys who can get in there and play.

I agree with you that Gallo wont give you that every night.   But Hell, I will take what Gallo can give until he stops giving it.  He's had a strong last 4 games.   I dont know if it's because he knows he's on the blocks and he wants to stay or if he's finally healthy.  But he's playing defense.  He's moving well.  He's shooting well.. he's what any team would want in a BU player. 

However, it's not just him.  Delon and Lou are developing a chemistry.  Delon is what we want him to be.. but he just doesn't play that way with Trae on the court.  It's an interesting dynamic.  I think overall, he falls back into the 2 guard role with Trae or Lou and he's very shot picky.   There's more to watch. 

2.  The Starters haven't had consistency. 

Somebody put up a fun fact that all of our top 7 players have yet to play in one game together.   We're just getting Hunter back acclimated to playing.  He's just 4 games in.  He hadn't had run with the starters.   Capela is now gone and OO hasn't had run with the starters.   Kev had to step in for Bogi.  Our team has dealt with Changing personnel all season.  It's not a great excuse seeing that there were some games that we should have won but... it's the facts.  It's hard to play with new guys.   Not the guys that you went through camp with.  Not the guys who you've developed chemistry with... but New Guys.

3.  Trae.

Trae is still learning the game.  Trae is about to be a 2 time allstar but there's still so much of the game for him to learn.   Over the past 4 games, in the first three of those, Trae's late game play was trash.   When the personnel was changing, I really believe that Trae develops trust issues.   You saw it against the Knicks.. we were coming back and then Dre missed the 3 pters.. by a lot.  This was a time when Trae had passed out of a double team and found the open man across the court.   You could see it on his demeanor... Damn, I can't trust.

Even last night.  While we were losing, Trae was somewhat disconnected from the game.   He was out there but it was like watching somebody moping.  He was just going through the motions... UNTIL maybe the late 3rd.  Our team started really pushing.  Every time we had pushed, Milwaukee answered. But their answers were more desperation than domination. It was a feel that we could take that game.  Reggie Miller noted it.  And Trae finally woke up.  Not wake up as in play hero ball but woke up and started leading. His passing to OO and Dre and even Kev down the stretch was more impactful and important than any of the hero ball he may have done all season.   He was leading as a facilitator.  Yeah.. he still took one of those hero shots..and he hit it and I hated it.. but he did so many other things that were right that I let it slide. 

Trae has to see that he does have strength in his team and that he's just as powerful being that facilitator guy as he is being the 40 point guy.   You know his idol Steve Nash never averaged over 20 ppg.  But he found a way to make everybody around him better.   That's the next thing I hope Trae learns from Nash.