PG Indy Game 2: Series Tied 1-1

[Brewhoopfan]

The Pacers have consistently created better shots. using much less effort.

Dame has been incredible, but he's working incredibly hard just to get the ball. It's no surprise he's slowing down in the 2nd half. Middleton has been really god especially given how hard he's had to work just to get off tough shots. Contrast that with how easy Siakam is getting the ball where he wants it.

Indy is putting the Bucks into a simple action (usually PnR or PnP), then just picking them apart once they scramble to recover. The Pacers didn't settle for jumpshots like game 1, and then the 3s started falling. Giannis isn't fixing this defense as there's just too many broken parts. But, I do think he can help the Bucks outscore the Pacers.

I mean, last night they absolutely did, but that certainly wasn't the case in Game 1. Siakam doing his best KD impression opens up everything for their offense. I mean, this is a guy who's a low-40's mid-range scorer and 27% 3PT shooter for his career in the playoffs, and he's on an incredible heater right now. The overall strategy of baiting him and Turner into launching threes is a sound one, but without Giannis to matchup against one of those two, you're left with Brook trying to cover too much ground while Bobby just gets erased from any play with a simple high screen. Said after last game that these non-Giannis games were still gonna come down to how the Bobby/Brook front court minutes hold up defensively, and nothing has changed my mind. Giannis coming back and putting him on Siakam changes everything.

I'm not sure "baiting" is the right word. Both of them are proven capable shooters. It just so happens to be the least worst option given the Bucks defensive capabilities. AKA: hope they miss which did happen for 1 game.

[BigO]

BP was right with his statement on front runners, but it really applies to posters in this thread. What an abomination. This thread has it all:

1) Bashing Giannis for being hurt. Bashing Crowder, PC, Dame, KM, et al

2) Bashing BP post after post. I knew that was coming. The guys who have been silent for the past few months have now been let out of their cages. BP was not good, but his 14 and 11 (and minus 5 when he was on the court) was hardly the biggest issue.


I predicted Bucks losing this series if one of the top 3 was out, because the bench stinks and with BP now starting, there is no bench.

It is not impossible for the Bucks to win, but they don't have enough healthy talent to win. Take out one the best players in the game and what did all of you expect? Get real.

You all act surprised and flail away at players and coaches alike, as if this is a surprise. It's not a surprise.

You have a starting shooting guard in PatBev that can't score if his life depended on it, but without him, they have a starting five with little defensive talent.

[Brewhoopfan]

Bobby hesitating on so many of his corner three looks has been really hard to watch. I get he needs to play with what he’s comfortable doing, but that’s the look the offense created even if it’s a small window.

Him hesitating and then trying to back down his guy from 20 feet completely resets the offense.

Siakam in particular is doing a great job of closing hard on Bobby and taking away those 3s he's usually able to walk into.

[Ron Swanson]

The Pacers have consistently created better shots. using much less effort.

Dame has been incredible, but he's working incredibly hard just to get the ball. It's no surprise he's slowing down in the 2nd half. Middleton has been really god especially given how hard he's had to work just to get off tough shots. Contrast that with how easy Siakam is getting the ball where he wants it.

Indy is putting the Bucks into a simple action (usually PnR or PnP), then just picking them apart once they scramble to recover. The Pacers didn't settle for jumpshots like game 1, and then the 3s started falling. Giannis isn't fixing this defense as there's just too many broken parts. But, I do think he can help the Bucks outscore the Pacers.

I mean, last night they absolutely did, but that certainly wasn't the case in Game 1. Siakam doing his best KD impression opens up everything for their offense. I mean, this is a guy who's a low-40's mid-range scorer and 27% 3PT shooter for his career in the playoffs, and he's on an incredible heater right now. The overall strategy of baiting him and Turner into launching threes is a sound one, but without Giannis to matchup against one of those two, you're left with Brook trying to cover too much ground while Bobby just gets erased from any play with a simple high screen. Said after last game that these non-Giannis games were still gonna come down to how the Bobby/Brook front court minutes hold up defensively, and nothing has changed my mind. Giannis coming back and putting him on Siakam changes everything.

I'm not sure "baiting" is the right word. Both of them are proven capable shooters. It just so happens to be the least worst option given the Bucks defensive capabilities. AKA: hope they miss which did happen for 1 game.

We're talking about career 27% and 32% postseason 3PT shooters. If you aren't fine conceding those lightly contested looks, then what are you advocating they do defensively? "Just contest everything"? Easier said than done.

[RogerMurdock]

So try Thanasis and try Livingstone.

I like Thanasis - he seems like a great dude and I'm happy he is on the Bucks.

But he's the worst player in the league and it's probably not even close.

[BUCKnation]

My hopes haven't been super high for this series, but I just can't get too upset without Giannis. Imagine taking away Siakam from this Pacers team. They might lose game 1 by 40 and we probably take game 2 in easy fashion.

If anything we have a clearer picture of guys who should probably go asap. Crowder has been a negative. Beasley was good in game 1, but bad in this one and got pulled immediately. Pat, I thought, was actually really good. Seemed to be the only one outside of Dame who could drive and create even a little bit.

Dame has been amazing and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.

[BUCKnation]

The Pacers have consistently created better shots. using much less effort.

Dame has been incredible, but he's working incredibly hard just to get the ball. It's no surprise he's slowing down in the 2nd half. Middleton has been really god especially given how hard he's had to work just to get off tough shots. Contrast that with how easy Siakam is getting the ball where he wants it.

Indy is putting the Bucks into a simple action (usually PnR or PnP), then just picking them apart once they scramble to recover. The Pacers didn't settle for jumpshots like game 1, and then the 3s started falling. Giannis isn't fixing this defense as there's just too many broken parts. But, I do think he can help the Bucks outscore the Pacers.

I mean, last night they absolutely did, but that certainly wasn't the case in Game 1. Siakam doing his best KD impression opens up everything for their offense. I mean, this is a guy who's a low-40's mid-range scorer and 27% 3PT shooter for his career in the playoffs, and he's on an incredible heater right now. The overall strategy of baiting him and Turner into launching threes is a sound one, but without Giannis to matchup against one of those two, you're left with Brook trying to cover too much ground while Bobby just gets erased from any play with a simple high screen. Said after last game that these non-Giannis games were still gonna come down to how the Bobby/Brook front court minutes hold up defensively, and nothing has changed my mind. Giannis coming back and putting him on Siakam changes everything.

I don't know how exactly to stop this, but they frequently got crazy mismatches too. Why is Dame ending up on Siakam in the post for example?

[old skool]

The Bucks have a top heavy roster, with three max contracts in Middleton, Lillard and Antetokounmpo. Adding Lillard for Holiday and Allen was a bet on all of the big 3 being healthy and a bench that would be vulnerable during the regular season, but needed less in the playoffs when starter's minutes are extended, there are no games missed for rest, and longer TV timeouts provide recuperation in game.

Did anyone here think that the Bucks would be a top team without Antetokounmpo?

[GoldenAntlers]

Some of you need to take a step back from basketball for a couple days if you're clamoring for Jackson, Marjon, and Livingston to get any sort of meaningful minutes right now.

EDIT: I can KIND OF buy MAYBE getting AJJ in there for a few minutes and hope you get one of those high energy, disruptive stretches from him, but it's a massive risk because if you don't get that, you get garbage, zero value on either end of the floor.

It's not a clamor, it's a realization that we are most likely screwed without Giannis, so let's at least try not being old, since being old will destroy us.

[theFireBlanket]

So try Thanasis and try Livingstone.

I like Thanasis - he seems like a great dude and I'm happy he is on the Bucks.

But he's the worst player in the league and it's probably not even close.

Yet Bud managed to get him meaningful positive minutes in wins vs. Brooklyn in 2021. Producing that kind outcome is about who he's on the court with & when.

[j_hilge444]

The Pacers have consistently created better shots. using much less effort.

Dame has been incredible, but he's working incredibly hard just to get the ball. It's no surprise he's slowing down in the 2nd half. Middleton has been really god especially given how hard he's had to work just to get off tough shots. Contrast that with how easy Siakam is getting the ball where he wants it.

Indy is putting the Bucks into a simple action (usually PnR or PnP), then just picking them apart once they scramble to recover. The Pacers didn't settle for jumpshots like game 1, and then the 3s started falling. Giannis isn't fixing this defense as there's just too many broken parts. But, I do think he can help the Bucks outscore the Pacers.

I mean, last night they absolutely did, but that certainly wasn't the case in Game 1. Siakam doing his best KD impression opens up everything for their offense. I mean, this is a guy who's a low-40's mid-range scorer and 27% 3PT shooter for his career in the playoffs, and he's on an incredible heater right now. The overall strategy of baiting him and Turner into launching threes is a sound one, but without Giannis to matchup against one of those two, you're left with Brook trying to cover too much ground while Bobby just gets erased from any play with a simple high screen. Said after last game that these non-Giannis games were still gonna come down to how the Bobby/Brook front court minutes hold up defensively, and nothing has changed my mind. Giannis coming back and putting him on Siakam changes everything.

I don't know how exactly to stop this, but they frequently got crazy mismatches too. Why is Dame ending up on Siakam in the post for example?

Dude the amount of times Dame was trying to guard Siakam was insane. Just fixing that (please) will go a long way.

[j_hilge444]

The Bucks have a top heavy roster, with three max contracts in Middleton, Lillard and Antetokounmpo. Adding Lillard for Holiday and Allen was a bet on all of the big 3 being healthy and a bench that would be vulnerable during the regular season, but needed less in the playoffs when starter's minutes are extended, there are no games missed for rest, and longer TV timeouts provide recuperation in game.

Did anyone here think that the Bucks would be a top team without Antetokounmpo?

The Bucks 2024 Roster: Constructed with Playoff TV Timeouts In Mind

[Brewhoopfan]

I mean, last night they absolutely did, but that certainly wasn't the case in Game 1. Siakam doing his best KD impression opens up everything for their offense. I mean, this is a guy who's a low-40's mid-range scorer and 27% 3PT shooter for his career in the playoffs, and he's on an incredible heater right now. The overall strategy of baiting him and Turner into launching threes is a sound one, but without Giannis to matchup against one of those two, you're left with Brook trying to cover too much ground while Bobby just gets erased from any play with a simple high screen. Said after last game that these non-Giannis games were still gonna come down to how the Bobby/Brook front court minutes hold up defensively, and nothing has changed my mind. Giannis coming back and putting him on Siakam changes everything.

I'm not sure "baiting" is the right word. Both of them are proven capable shooters. It just so happens to be the least worst option given the Bucks defensive capabilities. AKA: hope they miss which did happen for 1 game.

We're talking about career 27% and 32% postseason 3PT shooters. If you aren't fine conceding those lightly contested looks, then what are you advocating they do defensively? "Just contest everything"? Easier said than done.

I fully agree those 2 are who you want shooting, but right now they're combining for 43% over the 1st two games and the playoffs are about adjustments. I'd feel a lot better about it if those two were getting great looks by design. The Pacers are getting great looks everywhere. The Pacers are creating 4v3s and 3v2s nearly every time down the court. Some of this is by design (Buck's strategy), but much of it is also just plain miscommunication on switches or premature rotations (usually Khris). The backside rotations to recover are just laughably bad. It's as if they're just making it up every time down the court, or simply not bothering to rotate (Dame, Bobby, Beas, Crowder).

My adjustment? Execute something resembling a team defense. It's been a problem all year even with Giannis. Never thought I'd miss watching Brook in the drop all game, but here we are.

[CharityStripe34]

My guess is they're going to try and hope for a split in Indy this way Gianni will be ready to go in Game 5? If that reporting is indeed based in some truth that he hasn't even been running or cutting, then there's no point in even trying. Just shut him down and let him get ready for next season.

[JimmyTheKid]

I'm not sure "baiting" is the right word. Both of them are proven capable shooters. It just so happens to be the least worst option given the Bucks defensive capabilities. AKA: hope they miss which did happen for 1 game.

We're talking about career 27% and 32% postseason 3PT shooters. If you aren't fine conceding those lightly contested looks, then what are you advocating they do defensively? "Just contest everything"? Easier said than done.

I fully agree those 2 are who you want shooting, but right now they're combining for 43% over the 1st two games and the playoffs are about adjustments. I'd feel a lot better about it if those two were getting great looks by design. The Pacers are getting great looks everywhere. The Pacers are creating 4v3s and 3v2s nearly every time down the court. Some of this is by design (Buck's strategy), but much of it is also just plain miscommunication on switches or premature rotations (usually Khris). The backside rotations to recover are just laughably bad. It's as if they're just making it up every time down the court, or simply not bothering to rotate (Dame, Bobby, Beas, Crowder).

My adjustment? Execute something resembling a team defense. It's been a problem all year even with Giannis. Never thought I'd miss watching Brook in the drop all game, but here we are.

The defense has improved under Doc. Just common sense stuff like generally keeping Brook close to the basket and not having Bobby aggressively trap in the backcourt. But its mostly a personnel issue. A combination of body, athleticism, defensive IQ, and age issues.

Khris is basically held together by duct tape. Brook is a massive 36-year old human coming off a back surgery. Bobby is one of the least athletic bigs in the league. Jae might not be an NBA player at this point. Malik gets lost easily. PatCon is essentially a 4 trapped in a 2's body. Dame has never been a great defender.

We didn't even entertain the idea of consistently mixing in AJJ to combat a number of these shortcomings. Over the course of three coaches. The only man who can potentially save us wasn't load managed at the end of the season for whatever the reason. Seemingly our sole option now is a bucket race to 130 but Doc refuses go away from his vet non-contributors. And I don't see any way, outside of Indiana going ice cold again, to string together enough stops to make it a slugfest. Ugh.

[Matches Malone]

Read on Twitter

[Ryan5UW]

Point and yell at each other all you want about who should be picking up Haliburton, but at some point it should click in Middleton's head that he's the closer guy and either he picks up the ball or the Pacers get a wide open 3.

[yannisk]

It does not seem that Giannis is coming back anytime soon. Giannis has played the most games and most minutes per game since 2017/2018, we should have protected him when it was known he was suffering from tendinopathy, instead we were trying to win some games that we were not even certain that would make our postseason path easier. Who knows maybe he would have got injured anyway but we look quite stupid how we handled his situation

[rilamann]

Point and yell at each other all you want about who should be picking up Haliburton, but at some point it should click in Middleton's head that he's the closer guy and either he picks up the ball or the Pacers get a wide open 3.

One of the reasons main reasons I gave the Bucks pretty much no chance in this series with or without Giannis is the fact that they still look completely lost and clueless defensively.

They still look like a bunch of dudes in the 1st week of training camp who have never played with one another.

But it's April.

[SupremeHustle]

The Bucks have a top heavy roster, with three max contracts in Middleton, Lillard and Antetokounmpo. Adding Lillard for Holiday and Allen was a bet on all of the big 3 being healthy and a bench that would be vulnerable during the regular season, but needed less in the playoffs when starter's minutes are extended, there are no games missed for rest, and longer TV timeouts provide recuperation in game.

Did anyone here think that the Bucks would be a top team without Antetokounmpo?

The Bucks 2024 Roster: Constructed with Playoff TV Timeouts In Mind

Hilarious.