Game 67: Sixers at Bucks - 3/14/24 - 7:00 - BSWI

[MickeyDavis]

Khris is out almost 2 months.... ankle sprain my ass

5 weeks but definitely longer than most of us thought.

[Ron Swanson]

I mean, it was reported that he was in a walking boot leaving the arena after the Suns game. That instantly told me that expecting him back in 2-3 weeks was a pipe dream. The "he's progressing" memes are fun and all but I'm just over the outrage and hand-wringing over what was, you know, a legit injury. He's back when he's back.

[JayMKE]

Sucks he's not out there and maybe he could play hurt in the playoffs but it's not an inordinate amount of time to be out with a bad ankle sprain

[fansinceforever]

Really, guys? Nothing matters until the playoffs? The ups, the downs, the inconsistent effort and lack of organization on offense means absolutely nothing until we tip off in April, huh?

[Ron Swanson]

Really, guys? Nothing matters until the playoffs? The ups, the downs, the inconsistent effort and lack of organization on offense means absolutely nothing until we tip off in April, huh?

Yes and no. The effort? Yes, it means absolutely nothing. Or do people still really expect a team with this many veterans to try-hard for the entirety of an 82-game marathon? The schematic stuff, chemistry level in the Dame/Giannis two-man game, and still not identifying a really good small-ball lineup we can go to, matters.

[pifhluk23]

Really, guys? Nothing matters until the playoffs? The ups, the downs, the inconsistent effort and lack of organization on offense means absolutely nothing until we tip off in April, huh?

If this were a young team or we still had Griffin it would matter a lot more. As is I'm looking for last 5-10 games effort and the games against the Celtics. Winning a championship in any sport for the top teams is just about peaking at the right time.

[MickeyDavis]

6 game winning streak and completely crap the bed against an average Warriors team. Lose to an average Lakers team without LeBron. Completely crap the bed against the Kings. And now we're looking for "energy and effort" down the stretch? I'm dubious.

On the other hand we're 42-24 and the 3 seed. Our championship season we were 42-24 and ended up the 3 seed. Last year we were 48-18, ended up the 1 seed and got bounced in round 1.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Deleted. Go bucks

[rilamann]

Really, guys? Nothing matters until the playoffs? The ups, the downs, the inconsistent effort and lack of organization on offense means absolutely nothing until we tip off in April, huh?

If the Celtics were losing by 35 and getting embarrassed by mediocre teams like the Warriors and Kings and losing to the Lebron-less Lakers all on the same road trip a month before the playoffs.

These same people saying the Bucks will be fine or that nothing matter until the playoffs, would be shouting from the rooftops that the Celtics are frauds.

It's actually hard for me to understand how seasoned NBA fans who have watched this Bucks team over the past 6 months, honestly think there is some sort of switch they are going to flip in the playoffs. Or that they will just show up in the playoffs and everything is going to be fine.

It's one thing to say that a veteran team isn't going to go all-out for 82 games.

It's another thing to be getting absolutely humiliated by a team like the Kings a month before the playoffs.

This team looked like they had a ton of issues to work on and improve upon back in early November.

It's now mid-March and they still look like they have a ton of issues to work on and improve upon. They have made zero progress in almost 6 months.

[emunney]

6 game winning streak and completely crap the bed against an average Warriors team. Lose to an average Lakers team without LeBron. Completely crap the bed against the Kings. And now we're looking for "energy and effort" down the stretch? I'm dubious.

On the other hand we're 42-24 and the 3 seed. Our championship season we were 42-24 and ended up the 3 seed. Last year we were 48-18, ended up the 1 seed and got bounced in round 1.

People forget how hopeless we looked at times *in the playoffs* the year we won it. It's just how the league is now. Regular season at this point is just about sorting out the obviously bad teams. There's not *zero* correlation between regular season and postseason success, but teams are bunched enough that everybody's within reach of each other. Who's going to execute consistently, who's going to be healthy, who's going to make shots? These are the big determinants and we know nothing about how they'll play out in any given series.

[fansinceforever]

Really, guys? Nothing matters until the playoffs? The ups, the downs, the inconsistent effort and lack of organization on offense means absolutely nothing until we tip off in April, huh?

Yes and no. The effort? Yes, it means absolutely nothing. Or do people still really expect a team with this many veterans to try-hard for the entirety of an 82-game marathon? The schematic stuff, chemistry level in the Dame/Giannis two-man game, and still not identifying a really good small-ball lineup we can go to, matters.

I'd agree with this provided the lapses in effort we continue to see aren't just an aging team's current abilities.

[emunney]

Really, guys? Nothing matters until the playoffs? The ups, the downs, the inconsistent effort and lack of organization on offense means absolutely nothing until we tip off in April, huh?

If the Celtics were losing by 35 and getting embarrassed by mediocre teams like the Warriors and Kings and losing to the Lebron-less Lakers all on the same road trip a month before the playoffs.

These same people saying the Bucks will be fine or that nothing matter until the playoffs, would be shouting from the rooftops that the Celtics are frauds.

It's actually hard for me to understand how seasoned NBA fans who have watched this Bucks team over the past 6 months, honestly think there is some sort of switch they are going to flip in the playoffs. Or that they will just show up in the playoffs and everything is going to be fine.

It's one thing to say that a veteran team isn't going to go all-out for 82 games.

It's another thing to be getting absolutely humiliated by a team like the Kings a month before the playoffs.

This team looked like they had a ton of issues to work on and improve upon back in early November.

It's now mid-March and they still look like they have a ton of issues to work on and improve upon. They have made zero progress in almost 6 months.

I am not saying everything is going to be fine. I'm saying *this* is unimportant. It's also unimportant for the Celtics. The players all know this. Nuggets lost 5 of 6 at the end of March last year. Heat barely made the playoffs. It doesn't matter.

[Ron Swanson]

We heard this same **** last season (hOW CaN wE loSE 2 tHe CELticS bY 40 so cloSE to THe pLAyoFFs?!?) and it meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. The Celtics did their annual choke in the playoffs anyways and we lost because our superstar got hurt in Game 1 while an 8-seed with a negative point differential went on to the Finals. Some of you guys need to give this crap a rest.

[rilamann]

Really, guys? Nothing matters until the playoffs? The ups, the downs, the inconsistent effort and lack of organization on offense means absolutely nothing until we tip off in April, huh?

If the Celtics were losing by 35 and getting embarrassed by mediocre teams like the Warriors and Kings and losing to the Lebron-less Lakers all on the same road trip a month before the playoffs.

These same people saying the Bucks will be fine or that nothing matter until the playoffs, would be shouting from the rooftops that the Celtics are frauds.

It's actually hard for me to understand how seasoned NBA fans who have watched this Bucks team over the past 6 months, honestly think there is some sort of switch they are going to flip in the playoffs. Or that they will just show up in the playoffs and everything is going to be fine.

It's one thing to say that a veteran team isn't going to go all-out for 82 games.

It's another thing to be getting absolutely humiliated by a team like the Kings a month before the playoffs.

This team looked like they had a ton of issues to work on and improve upon back in early November.

It's now mid-March and they still look like they have a ton of issues to work on and improve upon. They have made zero progress in almost 6 months.

I am not saying everything is going to be fine. I'm saying *this* is unimportant. It's also unimportant for the Celtics. The players all know this.

I don't put 100% of my stock in the regular season, but this Bucks team hasn't made any progress or any real improvements over the course of the season.

That's what scares me.

Remember when the Bucks looked like they had a lot of things to figure out and Giannis joked about how we have 69 games left to figure it out.

Now the Bucks have 16 games left and they still look like they have just as many things to figure out now as they did back then.

Even if the Bucks currently looked a bit shaky, but we could point back to early November and say We're still not quite there, but we look a lot better than we did in November. I would be with you here.

We are a month away from the playoffs now and we're still giving up 120+ and getting blown out by mediocre teams like the Warriors, then following it up a few days later by giving up 120+ and getting blown out by equally mediocre teams like the Kings. With a loss to the LeBron-less Lakers (who are mediocre even when Lebron plays) while giving up 120+ sandwiched in between.

Hell, even if the Bucks had still lost the games to the Warriors and Kings, but they were at least competitive games, I would still be with you here. I am willing to give the Bucks a ton of wiggle room here, but they have none.

On paper, this Bucks team should be a massive threat to Boston. But they're not and they're not going to be. This Bucks team has a ton of problems and issues on the court, and probably safe to assume off the court as well. Issues that have no chance of being resolved in time to make a long playoff run.

[rilamann]

If Bud had done a better job preparing the Bucks down the stretch of the regular season for the playoffs. They might have had still had a chance vs the Heat. Plus, it's not like Giannis missed the entire series.

Bucks blew double digit leads in the 4th quarter in both games 4 & 5 with Giannis on the court.

And the Heat were already bitch slapping the Bucks by double figures in game 1 before Giannis even got hurt.

Bud not ramping the team up down the stretch for the playoffs (like I had been warning) was a huge factor in losing to Miami that no one wants to admit.

Bud was setting the Bucks up for disaster in the playoffs with the way he approached the regular season.

Exactly a year ago, I must have said about 50 times that you can't play guys 25/30 minutes a night. Then suddenly in the playoffs be like Now go out there and give us 40+ minutes of high intensity playoff basketball. The game of basketball doesn't work that way.

It's funny, I was listening to Marques Johnson's new podcast last week and Marques literally said that exact same thing that I had been saying last season.

Some people on this message board don't agree with me.

But apparently an insanely knowledgeable basketball guy who was an actual 5X NBA all star does.

[sidney lanier]

If the Celtics were losing by 35 and getting embarrassed by mediocre teams like the Warriors and Kings and losing to the Lebron-less Lakers all on the same road trip a month before the playoffs.

These same people saying the Bucks will be fine or that nothing matter until the playoffs, would be shouting from the rooftops that the Celtics are frauds.

The Celtics can roll into the playoffs with the best record in the league and blowing everybody out, and I would still shout from the rooftops that they are frauds. Too much wing redundancy and a history of playoff failure.

Some things do matter before the playoffs, but making two dozen threes against bad teams does not. As for the Bucks, what matters now is not now; it's whether now is trending to something better. Even with some embarrassing missteps, I think it is.

[chonestown]

ive been saying this for a wile

[rilamann]

If the Celtics were losing by 35 and getting embarrassed by mediocre teams like the Warriors and Kings and losing to the Lebron-less Lakers all on the same road trip a month before the playoffs.

These same people saying the Bucks will be fine or that nothing matter until the playoffs, would be shouting from the rooftops that the Celtics are frauds.

The Celtics can roll into the playoffs with the best record in the league and blowing everybody out, and I would still shout from the rooftops that they are frauds. Too much wing redundancy and a history of playoff failure.

Some things do matter before the playoffs, but making two dozen threes against bad teams does not. As for the Bucks, what matters now is not now; it's whether now is trending to something better. Even with some embarrassing missteps, I think it is.

The Bucks losing by 35 to both the Warriors and Kings and losing to the LeBron-less Lakers while giving up 125, 123 & 129 points is trending in the right direction? All in a 6 day period and 1 month before the playoffs?

Some of you guys are optimists until the very end, I'll give you that...lol.

As for the Celtics, even if we agree that they are frauds despite their 51-14 record. There is a 100% chance that the Bucks aren't going to be the ones exposing them.

I think the Celtics win the east on cruise control, then lose to the Nuggets in the Finals. I don't think the Celtics are frauds, but there is always at least 1 team that is better than them. I think it happens again this season and this time it is Denver.

[CharityStripe34]

I think the only consistent thing we can point to is inconsistency. Not surprising given the coaching carousel. Inconsistency can be a fickle, nagging ex-wife that could haunt this team in the playoffs.

The Freak Time two-man game has looked better, generally, which is a positive.

The two major questions, for me, are if the Bucks can find a versatile "Freak @ C" lineup for the playoffs when teams inevitably go small. And if the Bucks can hit a Top 10 two-way ceiling that they've yet to be able to all season with some consistency. If neither of those things materialize they have almost no chance of getting to the Finals, IMO.

As for tonight's game, you just have to hope that jet-lag, sloppy play and the brick-sies don't carry over from the WC trip. Need this to be a "get right" game.

[Dick Tate]

We heard this same **** last season (hOW CaN wE loSE 2 tHe CELticS bY 40 so cloSE to THe pLAyoFFs?!?) and it meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. The Celtics did their annual choke in the playoffs anyways and we lost because our superstar got hurt in Game 1 while an 8-seed with a negative point differential went on to the Finals. Some of you guys need to give this crap a rest.

Some guys thrive on this crap. The one who loves to puff out his chest and write volumes about "frauds" and laugh at anyone who holds out hope for postseason success is especially annoying.