Official Game Thread: Bucks at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! Unless HOME is The Farm. And, unless you’re ME!”

 

The players just needed to hear a refreshing voice, we were all told. A hopelessly hoarse one, to be more precise.

Seeming at times to lose their way, it “became clear,” as the Journal-Sentinel epitaphed, “the team needed a different voice in the front of the room to help not only clear that path but straighten it out.”

With that, faster than you could say, “Assistant Coach Terry Stotts”, out went A.J. Griffin’s pops Adrian. Conveniently available for the Milwaukee Bucks was the esteemed Doc Rivers, ostensibly the first-year coach’s advisor, the Marquette legend who could never sit in a TV analyst’s chair for long, not even at The 4-Letter Network.

At the time of Griffin’s upheaval, the Bucks were a winning yet imperfect bunch. They were struggling defensively with Damian Lillard having replaced Jrue Holiday, but in good shape at 30 wins and 13 losses.

Milwaukee made some measurable strides on the defensive end (112.0 post-Break D-Rating, 115.9 pre-Break). Yet as both Griffin and the voice he was hired to replace, Mike Budenholzer (NBA-best 58-24 last season, before the top-seeded Bucks’ first-round exit via Gentleman’s Sweep vs. Erik Spoelstra; take notes, Joe Mazzulla), watch from afar, Rivers’ record in this new tenure stands at 14 wins and, yes, 13 losses.

Maybe it should’ve just been Joe Prunty this whole time? Or, as @KB21 noted, wasn’t another notable ex-Hawks assistant, Charles Lee, sitting right there, the whole time, before he was left with little choice but to bail for Boston as Mazzulla’s top lieutenant?

Regrettably, I must report that, on this evening, we will not get to see Assist #29 to have The Trae Young depose the attending Rivers as the Hawks’ all-time assist king. Still, Atlanta can do their part to make Coach Griffin’s resume shine ever brighter on LinkedIn tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, BS Wisconsin, NBATV), by handing Doc Loss #14.

Milwaukee (46-27) had been doing just swell at home, 6-0 since the All-Star Break, until Austin Reaves took it upon himself to take people’s minds off that Jalen Johnson hurdle. Reaves’ triple-double negated Giannis Antetokounmpo’s and helped the Lakers overcome a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit for the double-OT win at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday.

Where the miscommunication screams loudest has been during road games. Losses of 90-125 at Golden State, 94-129 at Sacramento, 100-107 while in New Orleans during Dejounte Maundy Thursday. Even with the ghost of Khris Middleton (probable, sprained ankle), a team with a perennial MVP in Giannis (probable, hammy tendinopathy), five-out snipers Brook Lopez and ATLiens Malik Beasley and Jae Crowder (plus a dash of Danilo Gallinari, in a pinch), and Mr. Big Time Dame Time himself (out today, personal reasons), should not be straphangers on the Struggle Bus so frequently.

Whenever the Bucks do manage to put up some decent offensive tallies, Lillard gets trumped by opposing guards, be it D’Angelo Russell’s season-high of 44 points in Los Angeles, or Payton Pritchard going off before halftime to make Milwaukee’s double-digit comeback in Boston (sans Giannis) too little, too late.

After tearing a wrist ligament in warmups prior to the Pelicans game, Trade Deadline pickup Pat Beverley (probable, because Pat Bev) can only slap the floor but so much to help Lillard’s Bucks slow opponents down. And a squad that features Giannis does itself no favors by hacking (19.6 personals/game) as much as their opponents do (19.5).

With this month drawing to a close, the Bucks’ 119.7 March D-Rating of 119.7 in road games (28^th in NBA) is ahead of only Alex Caruso’s Chicago Bulls and the white flag-waving Utah Jazz. That course Rivers was tasked to chart has become about as straight as Pascual Perez’s I-285 (welcome back, Bravos, btw).

Schedule help is coming, as Milwaukee bides time until Tuesday’s game in D.C., followed shortly by home dates with the Grizzlies and Raptors. At four games ahead of current 5-seed Orlando, first-round homecourt ought to be attainable, crucial for a team with road woes making amends for last season’s abrupt conclusion. But first-round homecourt was far from the top aim for this crew, certainly not in the moments after the Lillard trade dropped back in October. And with just nine games remaining, Coach Doc needs the upward trend to start as soon as possible.

Even with MarJon Beauchamp (probable, back spasms) and Beverley splitting time while spelling Lillard, perhaps the Bucks can coordinate well enough to overwhelm the still-shorthanded Hawks, sustaining enough of a lead that we’re left to enjoy Trent Forrest playing out the fourth-quarter string for Atlanta. The Bucks had better figure it out. If Dame didn’t realize that the clutch moments of games are becoming DJM Time, he may want to ask Holiday about it.

Coach Quin Snyder has been doing his part, lately, to ensure nobody gets wistful over Prunty’s brief times holding the clipboard in Atlanta. With Dejounte Murray going Southbrook on the Celtics (44 points with the aid of a franchise-high 44 FGAs, plus 7 D-Rebs and 7 assists) in Thursday’s 123-122 thriller, the Hawks (34-39) lead the Eastern Conference with nine wins in games ending with a 3-point margin or less (9-4, same as Cleveland). Only another Play-In prospect, the Lakers (10-4, not even including their 4-point 2OT win @ MIL) have more.

Murray has had ample time to sort through his role when outcomes hang in the balance for the Hawks. His 40 appearances in “clutch” games this season, as defined by NBA stats, are behind only Pascal Siakam, and the latter needed to play for two teams in order to reach 41.

Dejounte is 18-22 in those scenarios (still better than Siakam’s 14-27), having shot just 38.7 percent from the field and 65.4 from the freebie line. It is his expanding awareness to pick spots he can exploit, his ability to quarterback the team defensive effort, and most essentially, the synergy he creates with the eventually returning Young going forward, that will determine how Atlanta’s Best Backcourt closes the chapter on this once-hapless season. In the meantime, thanks to Dejounte’s heroics this week, the Celtics have suddenly become huge fans of more celebrated clutch heroes DeMar DeRozan and Coby White, as the Play-In tourney nears.

As for Milwaukee, they need the switch turned on, fast, and not just on their garrulous head coach’s postgame-presser microphone. Even fellow Chicagoan Chance the Rapper is eager to find out: is this The Voice?

Can Glenn Rivers, in 2024, or ever again, be the head coach on a modern-era NBA championship team? I don’t know the answer to that. For perspective, maybe somebody should go ask Ben Simmons.

 

Happy Easter. Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Giannis, Pat Bev, Middleton and Beauchamp remain among the Probables for the Bucks as of the 3:30 PM Boo-Boo Report. Dame is the sole non-G-Leaguer who is decidedly Out.

America's Dairyland native Jalen Johnson remains Questionable with his sprained ankle, the sole Hawk on the report whose status remains up in the proverbial air.

Doc (1,111 wins) has managed during this half-tenure with the Bucks to pass Larry Brown (1,098 wins) for 8th all-time on the NBA coaching wins list. If he's running the show here or somewhere else next season, next on the list is the Zen Master, Phil Jackson (1,155 wins).

Free throws remain another matter entirely, but Giannis is on pace to become the first NBA'er to shoot above a 60 percent clip while averaging 30+ PPG. This despite hitting just 28.8 percent on threes.

Also per Bucks' GameNotes, Dame would likely have moved into top-50 all-time among NBA dime-droppers today. He moved past Iverson for 52nd place on Thursday, and is four assists behind #51 MJ and six behind #50 Chauncey. Both he (210) and Malik Beasley (208) are chasing after Ray Allen's franchise mark from way back in 2001-02 for most made 3FGs.

Milwaukee's last win over the Hawks, 132-121 back in early December, gave them back the all-time head-to-head edge, at 118-117. Trae and Dejounte combined for 62 points, followed by Saddiq Bey's 17. But Trae went cold in the fourth quarter, giving room for current 76er Cameron Payne, Beasley and Lillard to help the Bucks pull away.

Thursday's win over Boston, as per Hawks' GameNotes, was Atlanta's 20th versus at-or-above-.500 teams. In the Eastern Conference, only Boston (31), Milwaukee, Indiana (25 each), and Cleveland (20) have as many or more.

 

~lw3

[Nash]

Let's beat these gooms too lol. Let's shake the east and laugh to those that are saying Boston was tanking against Hawks as they secured #1 seed already. (Tanking my as* by playing Tatum 45 minutes and other injury prone starters around 40 minutes)

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[thecampster]

WTF? Vit is guarding Lopez?

[Peoriabird]

Small ball ain't going to win this game Snyder!

[JayBirdHawk]

Vit's got all the moves!

 

 

[terrell]

11 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Vit's got all the moves!

 

 

So when do we cut Forrest and sign Vit for the rest of the season?

[terrell]

Gdammit Capela.. Geez

[Nash]

Bruno has a life time opportunity to show up and the scrub just ain't it. Bogi has 3x more rebounds than him ffs. Missed 2 layups, turned the ball over and 2 committed 2 fouls. Zero points jc

[REHawksFan]

2 minutes ago, Nash said:

Bruno has a life time opportunity to show up and the scrub just ain't it. Bogi has 3x more rebounds than him ffs. Missed 2 layups, turned the ball over and 2 committed 2 fouls. Zero points jc

Not exactly a good matchup for bigs. 

[hawkman]

It doesn't look like the Hawks are running much of an offense. 

[terrell]

Pat Bev flopping.. smh

[REHawksFan]

Thus offense is.....something. 

No flow. No rhythm.  Lots of shots though. LOL

[hawkman]

1 minute ago, REHawksFan said:

Thus offense is.....something. 

No flow. No rhythm.  Lots of chucking though. LOL

Fixed.

[Jody23]

This is the reward for beating the Celtics twice.  These refs are on a mission to give the Hawks an L.

[REHawksFan]

Hawks with 5 ast on 15 made baskets.

Bucks with 15 ast on 20 made baskets.

Smh

[hawkman]

If the Hawks can settle down on offense they can erase this lead in the second half. The shot selection in the first half left a lot to be desired.

[JayBirdHawk]

Not enough ball movement. Too much 1 on 1.

[REHawksFan]

Down 14 but feels like more.  Shots not falling, likely due to tired legs. Understandable.

Real issue is shots they are taking are terrible. A lot of dribbling. Not a lot of passing. Everything is self creation. Only 6 ast. 

Even the D is pretty lazy.