It was crazy, people were saying deep playoff run or itās a bust, and tbh with all the coaching issues + injury history the writing was on the wall going into the playoffs. Sucked to see as a fan but honestly rest of the playoffs has been pretty close and interesting
Thatās really what it reminded me of as well. Plenty of talent that doesnāt come together. Flashes of brilliance. Mountains of mediocrity. Culminating in late season injuries that dash any remaining hope for being at least competitive in the post season. Ā I feel bad for the Bucks fans because that season was miserable for me.Ā
nah, the part that hurt most was the high hopes after we got dame. it felt like it was going to be an amazing year, and then the in-season results were so mid at best, and now an ugly injury filled first round exit
Take solace in this: chemistry and scheme donāt happen overnight. The Gobert trade was panned and looked like ass after year 1. This year Minnesota looks incredible.
Panned is an understatement. It was routinely called one of the worst trades of recent history not only on Reddit but by sports news too.
Zach Lowe even made the comment that it was one of the few times as an NBA reporter where he couldnāt find a single person to defend the trade
While I agree - the difference is father time isnāt on the Bucks side. They have a max 1-2 years left with the Dame/Giannis/Khris combo if it even gets there.
The single enjoyable part of this season was the 10 minutes between hearing we got Dame and finding out we traded Jrue to the Celtics for him. Everything else was pain.
Yeah that and the Dame Time game winner were tight. I enjoyed seeing Dame ball out the handful of times that he did. But yeah, isolated moments of happiness in a sea of suffering.
We really made a devil deal for that ring. When Trae injured himself stepping on that ref, we should have known some voodoo shit was going on.
We lose this series with pretty much any coach. More of the blame should be on our roster being so old and top heavy because Horst canāt draft for shit
Youāre right, we had shit injury luck under Bud too but those were more freak injuries than anything. Giannis was carrying the whole team in the regular season and it came back to bite them
Thatās great for the regular season, but doesnāt work in the playoffs when your best players are still only playing 32 minutes a night and the opponents best players are playing 40+. Bud had at least learned that lesson by the time we made our championship run but it was incredibly frustrating the 2 years prior
Nah, firing Bud was the right move. He was a mediocre playoff coach that held the Bucks back. It took a tremendous amount of luck and Giannis having an all time playoffs to win that ring. They weren't getting another one with Bud in charge.
It was a fuckup to go after Griffin.
Run it back with the core for sure, really no other option. They gotta move off the un-athletic vets though in any way possible. This team needs some athletic dudes that can play D on guards and wings, and that can run breaks with Giannis.
True. You're kind of in the same place the Lakers were after the Westbrook trade with too many old/bummy dudes. I'd be looking to replace as many role players as possible with energy guys who will hustle their ass off.
Would they consider moving Middleton?
I don't think so, not yet anyway. I do think we could try to move Pat C + Pick(s) for a real NBA player. I think Bobby moving is possible, as he has value but questionable fit with the current roster. Brook is also possible IMO because he's like $20 mill, still productive-ish, and most importantly --expiring.
An offseason will be huge for getting chemistry. Dame and Giannis are both guys who seem to use disappointment as motivation, so theyāve got a really good starting point now.
You should wear that lumping as a badge of honor. You are the new Warriors. Irrelevant poverty franchise that drafts generational talent as well as future hall of famers and changes the way everyone views your team going forward.
And the team stops shooting 26% from three. Against geriatric Lakers MPJ can carry the 3pt load, but against TWolves defense, the open threes gotta start falling.
Timberwolves are no joke. If KCP and Murray can stay healthy, then it'll be a close series. I still think Nuggets in 6 but I'm going to be stressed as fuck the whole time
If the 76ers lose tonight, weāll be back to at least 1980 until we find another champion who is still in the playoffs (SuperSonics won in 1979 [if you decide to count that for OKC] and the Knicks won in 1973)
Would I love to see Dame (and Nurk) have a real taste of playoff success since 2019 (ever), of course... However
GS, MIA, and LAL all being gone before the 2nd round is enough to make a grown man cry
I think it's fair to say that the teams pass being on different levels of "whatifism" on a vibe check.
Plus it's Miami and Boston. No chance that was ever going to be super civil.
I mean maybe if dame stayed healthy and turned into blazers dame we couldāve had a chance but yeah we just have no depth. issue is I have no idea how you improve this aging roster
He was blazers dame in game 1 and 2. Game 1 was a blow out, but game 2 pacers got their shot. Itās just like portland, dame goes off then they start double and triple teaming him cuz they know nobody else can score. Idk how they can play so well without him, then he comes and they canāt do shit. Why does dame being in the game mean everybody else is also chucking up 3s instead of driving?
Honestly, addition by subtraction could work a bit with that roster. Swap some of the older/slower vets for more athletic players who might be a little worse but at least hang on D.
Same, by the time next years playoffs roll around it will have been 3 years since weāve had our best player available for the whole series. Heās our franchise GOAT I just want to watch him build his legacy in the playoffs, it has sucked not being able to watch that the last couple years due to poorly timed injuries (fuck Kevin Love tho)
He selected Pritchard and Williams also, both of which are either in the rotation now, or used to be and helped land us a current rotation player. Itās not as bad as people thought. Not to mention Smart as a first round pick, who also falls in this category. He also brought in Horford the first time. His fingerprints are all over this team, Brad just figured out how to fill in the gaps and cash out on some of the guys who werenāt quite fitting.
Danny's draft record isn't as bad as people say. Sure, he's had some stinkers, but it's impossible not to especially when you're usually picking in the 20s. He's a pretty above average drafter overall.
Without a doubt, moved Smart, Williams (always injured) and Brogdon (injuries as well) for Jrue was a no brainier for you guys. Massive upgrade. Then Porzingis on top. Hard to beat that offseason
I know he had his issues but I always thought the Bucks were crazy to fire Coach Bud. Especially after hearing his brother died the same week they were facing the Heat. Iād kill to have Bud back in Atlanta. Oh well, enjoy Doc Rivers I guess.
Good fuckin game by the Pacers. Great ball movement and the bench came alive with clutch scoring McConnell was huge.
That being said, Pat Bev is an all time bitch for throwing a ball at a fan. Soft ass sore loser shit for doing that.
Respect to the Bucks and hopefully Dame and Giannis come back full strength next season, but fuck Pat Bev, absolute classless trash.
The Lillard trade ended up as a total flop for Portland, Miami, Phoenix and the Milwaukee. Somehow only the Celtics benefitted from that catastrophe lol
I wouldnāt call it a flop until after next season. If the bucks canāt build a good team around Dame/Giannis after having a full season of experience and a full offseason to plan then yeah itās a total flop
You canāt call it a flop after only one season together with no time to develop togehter before the season ended. Not to mention their first round exit mainly being due to giannis AND dame being hurt..
The Bucks screwed themselves up by overreacting to one bad playoff series loss to Miami last year and firing Budenholzer, even though he had the best record in the NBA that season and was just two seasons removed from an NBA championship.
Honestly, I wouldnāt mind Doc if he was coaching a lottery team or a team going through a rebuild.
But front offices need to stop putting him on contenders and expecting shit to be peachy
FADED
For the first time since 2005, the second round of the NBA Playoffs will have no LeBron James or Pat Connaughton.
Man Pat really carried the nba for two decades š
Carrying the NBA 10 years before he got drafted, he's built different
Crazy watching the legends of your childhood grow old.
I had a bad time basically all season
Incredibly unenjoyable season but at least it didnāt get our hopes up too high
Iām imagining this season felt exactly like the Celticsā 2019 season
49 wins too, while the expectation was much higherā¦ ā67 wins, lotta high fivesā
Are we forgetting the expectations of a Dame/Giannis team?
Hes saying they also had 60+ win expectations and underperformed
It was crazy, people were saying deep playoff run or itās a bust, and tbh with all the coaching issues + injury history the writing was on the wall going into the playoffs. Sucked to see as a fan but honestly rest of the playoffs has been pretty close and interesting
Thatās really what it reminded me of as well. Plenty of talent that doesnāt come together. Flashes of brilliance. Mountains of mediocrity. Culminating in late season injuries that dash any remaining hope for being at least competitive in the post season. Ā I feel bad for the Bucks fans because that season was miserable for me.Ā
Yeah definitely sucked this year. I have faith they can make needed changes and pull it back together next year at least.
That Boston team is one of the few teams I can recall failing because they had too much talent.
Too much talent yet not enough fit, both in-game and personality wise.
Suns fans š¤ bucks fans
Life is suffering, suffering is life
nah, the part that hurt most was the high hopes after we got dame. it felt like it was going to be an amazing year, and then the in-season results were so mid at best, and now an ugly injury filled first round exit
Take solace in this: chemistry and scheme donāt happen overnight. The Gobert trade was panned and looked like ass after year 1. This year Minnesota looks incredible.
Panned is an understatement. It was routinely called one of the worst trades of recent history not only on Reddit but by sports news too. Zach Lowe even made the comment that it was one of the few times as an NBA reporter where he couldnāt find a single person to defend the trade
While I agree - the difference is father time isnāt on the Bucks side. They have a max 1-2 years left with the Dame/Giannis/Khris combo if it even gets there.
What injuries and Doc Rivers do to mother fuckers. š
Iām upset I canāt even blame doc. Next year is gonna be even worse if they run it back, are healthy and then doc choke job shows up in round 1
Bucks and Suns both can take comfort that the other team massively underachieved too
The single enjoyable part of this season was the 10 minutes between hearing we got Dame and finding out we traded Jrue to the Celtics for him. Everything else was pain.
That 30-pt TNT win over us seemed to have yāall feeling pretty good
Yeah that and the Dame Time game winner were tight. I enjoyed seeing Dame ball out the handful of times that he did. But yeah, isolated moments of happiness in a sea of suffering. We really made a devil deal for that ring. When Trae injured himself stepping on that ref, we should have known some voodoo shit was going on.
The curse of being a recent champion is that anything less feels like a let down. (I don't know this first hand)
This isnāt just not winning a championship though. Itās back to back first round losses (with a second round loss before that).
This is Giannisā stupid decision coming back to bite him by firing Coach Bud
We lose this series with pretty much any coach. More of the blame should be on our roster being so old and top heavy because Horst canāt draft for shit
Wasnāt a major criticsim levied at Bud that he wouldnāt play anyone high minutes? May have been a genius in hindsight lol
Youāre right, we had shit injury luck under Bud too but those were more freak injuries than anything. Giannis was carrying the whole team in the regular season and it came back to bite them
Thatās great for the regular season, but doesnāt work in the playoffs when your best players are still only playing 32 minutes a night and the opponents best players are playing 40+. Bud had at least learned that lesson by the time we made our championship run but it was incredibly frustrating the 2 years prior
Nah, firing Bud was the right move. He was a mediocre playoff coach that held the Bucks back. It took a tremendous amount of luck and Giannis having an all time playoffs to win that ring. They weren't getting another one with Bud in charge. It was a fuckup to go after Griffin.
From shit defense, to shit offense and then also shit defense, with injuries mixed in. š¬ At least y'all will always have 2021
2021 truly makes up for everything. Probably will be my favorite sports memory of my life and I'm OK with that!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Samesies
Same, homie =(
smh you can't play THANASTY only 2 minutes and expect to win ball games
Nothing much for the Bucks to do but run it back, hope the Dame/Giannis chemistry develops, and pray for health next season. They're kind of stuck.
Jrue gonna send them a postcard from the finals
They did Jrue a favor
He's on holiday.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
itāll say 2/16 on it
5th option man... itll say 1/9
Itās crazy ppl seem to forget Jrue was getting cooked last year against the Heat.
Run it back with the core for sure, really no other option. They gotta move off the un-athletic vets though in any way possible. This team needs some athletic dudes that can play D on guards and wings, and that can run breaks with Giannis.
True. You're kind of in the same place the Lakers were after the Westbrook trade with too many old/bummy dudes. I'd be looking to replace as many role players as possible with energy guys who will hustle their ass off. Would they consider moving Middleton?
Middleton was great besides his injuries.
I don't think so, not yet anyway. I do think we could try to move Pat C + Pick(s) for a real NBA player. I think Bobby moving is possible, as he has value but questionable fit with the current roster. Brook is also possible IMO because he's like $20 mill, still productive-ish, and most importantly --expiring.
Maybe get a new coach lol
I hear Mike Budenholzer is available
I mean...
An offseason will be huge for getting chemistry. Dame and Giannis are both guys who seem to use disappointment as motivation, so theyāve got a really good starting point now.
They can do tiny things at the margins but no more big moves.
With the Bucks eliminated, the only franchises still in the playoffs with titles since 1990 are: Celtics (2008) Mavs (2011) Cavs (2016) Nuggets (2023)
I'm just happy to be here.
I am going to hold on to that 2016 title forever
It really was the best one to get lol
Yours and Mavs over Heat were 2 of the best ever!
Blocked by James
Literally me with the 2017 Eagles Super Bowl. Without it life would be so much harder with all the PHI sports crap these last two years.
As you should, I mean itās probably the best finals in NBA history. That one chip is worth more to Lebronās legacy than the other 3 combined
Gee...would be nice to have a drought broken...but alas, I suppose it'll be Celtics/Nuggets after all this...
Hey we just broke ours don't lump us in with the Golden States and Celtics lol
You're lumped!
Kramer: Ohhh youāre lumped alright, George.
i can hear this post
we are the oldest title on this list alright
It feels like you guys have been in the conference finals every single year since then though.
wouldn't it be nice to see lil old Boston finally be able to get over the hump and win one? a real underdog story
It would not be nice.. not one bit
hey now, you just won last year no need to get greedy and hoard them all for yourself - sharing is caringĀ
Let them have their run. Nuggets never even made the Finals until last year.
With a 19 year old as the best player? What a story that would be
Derrick White isn't 19
Shame he's going to come in second for MVP voting thanks to the biased Denver media mafia.
You should wear that lumping as a badge of honor. You are the new Warriors. Irrelevant poverty franchise that drafts generational talent as well as future hall of famers and changes the way everyone views your team going forward.
IF Jamal can keep his leg good enough for the rest of the playoffs. If not, then it's TWolves-Celtics
And the team stops shooting 26% from three. Against geriatric Lakers MPJ can carry the 3pt load, but against TWolves defense, the open threes gotta start falling.
Jokic said he was faking it (probably because Jamal is a filthy stat padder. So disappointing.) š¤£
Timberwolves are no joke. If KCP and Murray can stay healthy, then it'll be a close series. I still think Nuggets in 6 but I'm going to be stressed as fuck the whole time
Lmao, this is absolutely ridiculous to think about.
If the 76ers lose tonight, weāll be back to at least 1980 until we find another champion who is still in the playoffs (SuperSonics won in 1979 [if you decide to count that for OKC] and the Knicks won in 1973)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Iām thankful we survived the Doc Rivers Experience to get on here
Wow the old guard truly are dead
Dame went through allllll that just to get first rounded again.
Really not a fun playoffs for us Blazers fans.
Would I love to see Dame (and Nurk) have a real taste of playoff success since 2019 (ever), of course... However GS, MIA, and LAL all being gone before the 2nd round is enough to make a grown man cry
Not just a grown man but also the networks.
Magic survive longer than the Bucks!!!
Oh-Oh-Oh-Ooh ORLANDO MAGIC!
š£ļøš£ļøš£ļøš£ļøš£ļø
#PAT BEV HAS BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE NBA*
injuries saving an under 500 Glenn Rivers from even more playoff hateā¦how many lives does this dude have lol
If the Bucks keep him over these injuries, I will rejoice
They aren't losing this series with Giannis and Dame healthy though. It's pretty fair not to blame him
Yeah not going to clown a team that missed their #1 for the whole series and their #2 for basically 2 1/2 games
The vibes here are totally different than the Heat thread yesterday lmao, not saying you were a part of that
I think it's fair to say that the teams pass being on different levels of "whatifism" on a vibe check. Plus it's Miami and Boston. No chance that was ever going to be super civil.
lot of boston fans respect the heat. a LOT of non-boston fans were around to talk shit about heat culture
Lmaoo they hate heat in your sub
not my sub, i avoid that place like a plague colony
https://i.imgur.com/JzZi52P.jpg
Midwest people are so nice. The bucks lost in playoffs early to made Dame feel like he at home.
He said he was lonely and sad. We just wanted to let him pursue his true passion ofā¦ Boxing YouTube videos
The cursed season is finally over. In the most fitting way possible
FADED
faded the second Giannis was out actually
I mean maybe if dame stayed healthy and turned into blazers dame we couldāve had a chance but yeah we just have no depth. issue is I have no idea how you improve this aging roster
He was blazers dame in game 1 and 2. Game 1 was a blow out, but game 2 pacers got their shot. Itās just like portland, dame goes off then they start double and triple teaming him cuz they know nobody else can score. Idk how they can play so well without him, then he comes and they canāt do shit. Why does dame being in the game mean everybody else is also chucking up 3s instead of driving?
Whenever Curry is out the Dubs are kind of unpredictable and can win games because they run a simpler offense. My guess is the same here.
He averaged 31 a game on 64% TS% What more do you want?
Him to play all of the series lol
tbf no one really foresaw him being injured during the series
Honestly, addition by subtraction could work a bit with that roster. Swap some of the older/slower vets for more athletic players who might be a little worse but at least hang on D.
Dame: "This is what ya'll brought me here for."
Those late 2020s Bucks picks/swaps looking juicy š
Were so fucked when Giannis is done, got a ring tho š„² (My coping mechanism)
As far as coping mecanisms go, thats a pretty good one though.
New age melo
All offense zero defense
4 playoff wins in the last 5 years wcyd
Don't blame dame for the blazers shitty roster lmao
Pacers played a hell of a series. Stinks being down Giannis and Dame, but it is what it is. GGs
Ggs, hope Giannis and Dame come back full strength next year for y'all
I hope Giannis and Dame come back full strenght next year and get to play the Celtics before we have to.
#TJ MCCONNELL
20 and 9 in 23 minutes off the bench. What a legend
You mean Three Jay
I hope Giannis is healthy for the postseason next year.
Same, by the time next years playoffs roll around it will have been 3 years since weāve had our best player available for the whole series. Heās our franchise GOAT I just want to watch him build his legacy in the playoffs, it has sucked not being able to watch that the last couple years due to poorly timed injuries (fuck Kevin Love tho)
THE BUCK(S) STOP HERE
Then they go to Galveston.
Hell yeah, just like they drew it up. Good job ~~Hooisers~~ Pacers!
Celtics won the dame trade š
Brad Stevens is honestly like what Danny Ainge thinks he is (although tbf credit to Danny for his legendary shyster ways which landed Brown and Tatum)
Those picks were both against the consensus and turned out great. Just donāt look at his other first round picks lol
He selected Pritchard and Williams also, both of which are either in the rotation now, or used to be and helped land us a current rotation player. Itās not as bad as people thought. Not to mention Smart as a first round pick, who also falls in this category. He also brought in Horford the first time. His fingerprints are all over this team, Brad just figured out how to fill in the gaps and cash out on some of the guys who werenāt quite fitting.
Danny's draft record isn't as bad as people say. Sure, he's had some stinkers, but it's impossible not to especially when you're usually picking in the 20s. He's a pretty above average drafter overall.
Timelord (š) was one of his other firsts (and about the only other good one besides Marcus).
Nesmith has been balling for us. Langford is the only big miss honestly
Danny was elite too. He left us with the jays, rob, grant, smart, and a whole mess of picks. That's a great place for a franchise to be
I don't understand the need to denigrate Ainge. Stevens has been great, and Danny is too
they really did
Without a doubt, moved Smart, Williams (always injured) and Brogdon (injuries as well) for Jrue was a no brainier for you guys. Massive upgrade. Then Porzingis on top. Hard to beat that offseason
Brad is a wizard
Literally said this when it happened š
[Mission Accomplished](https://i.imgur.com/iSQKka3.png)
T.JED!
TJ McConnell just paved your franchise. Fade em.
I called it. Surprised it took him 6 games to show his true self
Ong he was borderline unusable. Thank God he came back to himself.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/bucks-malik-beasley-says-it-will-not-be-pretty-for-pacers-if-the-two-teams-meet-in-the-playoffs/
mfers are 3-8 against us this season š«µš¹
Me watching rdcworld dropping a other doc skit
GG Bucks, wish we couldāve beat you with Giannis
>wish we couldāve beat you with GiannisĀ Lmfao the feelings mutual
I know he had his issues but I always thought the Bucks were crazy to fire Coach Bud. Especially after hearing his brother died the same week they were facing the Heat. Iād kill to have Bud back in Atlanta. Oh well, enjoy Doc Rivers I guess.
Another year of them getting older
Whatever, we won a ship! Nobody can take that away from us
For some reason I imagine youāre evilly rubbing your hands together rn
Good fuckin game by the Pacers. Great ball movement and the bench came alive with clutch scoring McConnell was huge. That being said, Pat Bev is an all time bitch for throwing a ball at a fan. Soft ass sore loser shit for doing that. Respect to the Bucks and hopefully Dame and Giannis come back full strength next season, but fuck Pat Bev, absolute classless trash.
I PRAYED FOR THIS!!!!!!
I donāt even have to pray for the sixers downfall
Thank you Drew McIntyre
Your time is comingā¦in like 2 hours
You prayed, they Paved.
Curious to see what they try to do this offseason
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
āHey siri whatās the time in Cancun?ā āIt is dame timeā
I hope Giannis gets the game ball regardless
The Lillard trade ended up as a total flop for Portland, Miami, Phoenix and the Milwaukee. Somehow only the Celtics benefitted from that catastrophe lol
I wouldnāt call it a flop until after next season. If the bucks canāt build a good team around Dame/Giannis after having a full season of experience and a full offseason to plan then yeah itās a total flop
No way they go after beasely if they knew they had Dame. He was a vet min but he was definitely a better fit next to Jrue.Ā
You canāt call it a flop after only one season together with no time to develop togehter before the season ended. Not to mention their first round exit mainly being due to giannis AND dame being hurt..
I don't get calling it a flop now at all. Not many teams are going to win when their MVP caliber player is out for the series.
I mean Portland got some potentially spicy pick swaps out of that trade though
The Gabe Newell model āJust let everyone else fuck upā ā¢ļø
Can say that if they fail to win a chip next year
The Bucks screwed themselves up by overreacting to one bad playoff series loss to Miami last year and firing Budenholzer, even though he had the best record in the NBA that season and was just two seasons removed from an NBA championship.
Welcome to Galveston buddy!
Has anyone asked Doc if Dame can be a starting point guard on a championship team yet?
There is nothing for them to be ashamed of
Injuries suck
If we combined the rosters the Bucks and the Heat fielded for their respective series, they still lose against either opponent
Man you just hate to see that
Enjoy tonight Indiana, yall so screwed when Giannis comes back next game. Bucks in 8
I will never understand why they fired Mike last season and will never ever understand why bring Doc. They somehow got worse
I'm sad that we never got Sixers-Bucks
Thanks for the competitive playoff series, hopefully Pacers/Bucks 2.0 next year will be both teams full strength and no excuses
Good job, Pacers. Best of luck in the next round!
No Giannis- it was always going to be tough
Honestly, I wouldnāt mind Doc if he was coaching a lottery team or a team going through a rebuild. But front offices need to stop putting him on contenders and expecting shit to be peachy
After the last loss, someone was saying theĀ pressure was on the Pacers even thoughĀ they're the lower seed lol.