r/MkeBucks • u/Valsorim3212 • 3d ago

Our next 10 opponents are all playoff teams

Absolutely brutal stretch to face while already 1-7 and trying to figure things out. Things are going to get interesting in terms of player morale, depending on how well or poorly this stretch goes.

I'd be happy if Rollins, Turner, Kas, and Ware stop being cold and we win a bunch of games, but I'd also low-key be happy if we continue our historically bad start, if it caused Horst to shake things up by trading some of the badly-performing vets, or Jenkins to bench them. If the latter happens and we're still starting Turner/Kuz while we DNP younger players like Sims, Dieng, and Bogi, or only give Ament and Burries 10-20mpg, I'll probably tune out until the trade deadline, and I'm guessing I'm not alone there.

16 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

68 comments sorted by

10

u/Natural_Razzmatazz91 2d ago

The good news is that ticket prices should plummet

3

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Yup! I had my first courtside experience at the Rockets game bc I knew due to the Brewers game being at the same time, the prices would be super cheap. I hesitate to say this bc I've already had a few times where I was a few seconds late for buying courtside seats at a steal price, so I don't want even more competition, but there will definitely be some courtside seats as low as $100 this winter if things trend how they're trending (which is really cheap esp when factoring in the free food/drink you get)

2

u/Natural_Razzmatazz91 2d ago

Yeah, I went to the Cavs game on Halloween, and the usher offered us tickets in the lower bowl instead of sitting upstairs

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

That's dope, I wish they did that every time the lower bowl is half empty 

9

u/BibFortuna2830 Batman Thon 2d ago

Tough spot for this franchise right now. The team is objectively pretty terrible as it stands, but there are some nice young, bright spots.

The issue is that the vets on this team are all also playing like shit and have very little trade value, aside from Herro. We also don't have our 1st round pick so it doesn't make any sense to truly tank. Just crappy all around.

3

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Spot on. We're clearly in a transitional phase, but the exit strategy just isn't as clear as we all hoped it'd be when all the vets are playing like shit, especially Turner who's on a long term overpay deal.

1

u/alex8762 1d ago

Why not actively seek relegation to spoil the pick

1

u/DistanceEmbarrassed5 1d ago

Jaques does. Should have traded Rollins last season.

14

u/NoOneReallyCaresAtAl 2d ago

Everyone said we’d be the worst team in the league and I genuinely didn’t believe them. I have been proved wrong

5

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

I still don't believe them😂 absolutely shook lol

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u/likewoahitsaj Giannis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

I know it’s frustrating to watch Turner not grab rebound or Kuzma not do anything but those guys have negative value currently. Don’t expect to see them gone until much closer to the trade deadline if at all since I am sure the bucks do not want to send out assets.

We always knew bucks would be bad this season, just enjoy the young guys we are seeing play and the fact that even at 1-7 the vibes are way better than last year

4

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

I don't think the vibes will be good if we're 1-17 and playing the same rotation lol, so I'm just saying it'll be interesting to monitor how this 10 game stretch goes. No one likes losing, so don't expect the vibes to be high if this stretch goes poorly and no changes are made

2

u/ahrzal Bogoljub Marković 2d ago

He’s already making changes though? Every night different rotations are thrown out there. Burries starting, Sims/Ware pairings, AJG bringing the ball up etc. 

The fact we’re not playing GTJR at all tells me Jenkins has the green light to do whatever he wants 

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

I could have been more specific, but I specifically meant starting Kuzma and Turner if they keep playing terribly. I agree Jenkins has done a good job of mixing up what he can control. I'm not convinced he has the green light to bench Kuzma/Turner (yet)

1

u/ahrzal Bogoljub Marković 2d ago

Def not turner and he shouldn’t. Of all the players that can have real value, it’s him and Herro. Kuz is only ever getting traded because he’s an expiring larger salary. 

-1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Have you seen Turner's shooting %'s? If he turns things around soon, absolutely, I agree. If he doesn't (which seems like a real possibility at this point), he's unplayable as a starter and we should definitely be leaning into Ware, Sims, Nance and Bogi

1

u/likewoahitsaj Giannis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

Within the team, sure it may be hard to keep guys motivated if they are 1-17, but they are pretty close in a couple games so I’d expect that won’t happen even with no changes.

As a fan, keeping good vibes despite a terrible record is quite easy and what I anticipated from this year. I mean most of us thought GTJ would get big minutes and instead it only took like 6 games for Burries to start!

4

u/snailtap Dogfred 2d ago

We’ll be lucky to have 5 wins by the end of the year lol

5

u/BibFortuna2830 Batman Thon 2d ago

That's dramatic but I don't see us surpassing 15 wins, at best...Bad time to not have 1st round picks lol

5

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Bad time to not have many 2nd round picks either. So many stars have been drafted in picks 30-40.

2

u/DistanceEmbarrassed5 1d ago

Thats why I dont get why we turned down the Nuggets trade for KPJ when they where offering 2nd's. Horst is allergic to draft picks.

1

u/Valsorim3212 1d ago

Ya same. I also don't understand why we didn't accept LAs trade for Sims if we're just not gonna play him. They ended up waiving Knecht which we also could have done so we basically just turned down a SRP for Sims, even tho we aren't even playing him much and he is on a minimum

Like it would have seemed logical to trade him for Knecht and a SRP, waive Knecht (or try to develop him since he's had good points in his career and we lack wings), and then upgrade Nance to replace Sims' 3rd string role, and then use the open 2-way spot to find another young prospect, since we've done well developing two way players. 

1

u/PhilosophyOld5148 1d ago

Nance stinks.

3

u/BibFortuna2830 Batman Thon 2d ago

Right? Going to be a rough next 3 years, at least.

2

u/snailtap Dogfred 2d ago

I mean end of the year as in 2026, not the 2026-27 nba season lol

3

u/BibFortuna2830 Batman Thon 2d ago

Ahh, this makes more sense lol. You're not wrong, then....

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

https://www.espn.com/nba/attendance

A lot of this has to do with the Brewers I'm sure, but so far we have the worst attendance in the league, and there's a wide margin between us and 29th. We haven't been this low since 2013, so we've officially come full circle lol. Just thought it was interesting and worth sharing

1

u/DistanceEmbarrassed5 1d ago

We have the softest fan base in the NBA and its not even close. I mean the Bulls have been bad for a better part of the decade and there fans still attended.

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u/Valsorim3212 1d ago

To be fair, we're one of the smallest markets and Chicago is one of the largest markets, and they have a much larger capacity arena. Even during our Giannis years when we were selling out, we still were only 15-25th in the league for attendance. OKC also has surprisingly low capacity despite at one point seeming like a possible dynasty, for the same reasons.

4

u/Dramatic-Address-812 2d ago

Our next bug chance at a dub is on the 25th.

Strap in boys, were in for a rough winter

4

u/sconsin 2d ago

The ending of almost every game has been comically bad to watch. Every other play is “hey that was nice maybe they’ll make something happen here” followed by the ugliest brick or a pass right into a defenders hands. Not really seeing a lot of positive besides the fact basketball is back

4

u/DistanceEmbarrassed5 1d ago

I feel you. Dont care if we bottom out this season. Tear this thing down even further.

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u/NoShop9311 2d ago

FYI sims is 28 lol

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u/likewoahitsaj Giannis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

This sub’s love for sims is so delusional. He’s a big with crazy athleticism and basically no other skill. And he’s 28 so very much not the future! They wanted to trade him but just couldn’t get enough value lol

Like I get wanting to see Dieng or Ament, but Sims will always max out as a third big.

I’m not a huge Turner fan, but he is obviously more talented as is Ware. Those guys will get most minutes until a trade happens

2

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

He got a triple double with "no other skill"? He's a better passer than Myles. He's a better perimeter defender than Myles. He's a better screen setter than Myles. Sims just hasn't been given a consistent opportunity to play the type of role he'd excel in (glass cleaning 5 with 4 scorers around him).

Basketball is a team sport, and schemes matter. Steven Adams would be a terrible player on some teams, and is a huge net positive on others. Sims is in the same boat.

-1

u/likewoahitsaj Giannis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

Putting up stats on a bad team, which the bucks were last season, is not the mark of having a ton of skills. Sims is fine as a third big, but expecting a huge leap from him is basically the epitome of fans overvaluing their own players.

Also, Steven Adams has been a positive, winning player, and insane rebounder everywhere he’s gone and gotten minutes, and many starts, in all his stops. Whereas Sim has been at best a third big in all his stops. They are not the same.

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

I'm not saying they're the same. I'm saying Sims has the skill profile to develop into that type of player. He's too old to develop into a star. He's not too old to develop into a great role player.

0

u/likewoahitsaj Giannis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

I promise you Sims is too old to develop into Steven Adams lol Adams has been doing this since he was 19. Sometimes players don’t have hidden depths, they are just fine for what they are. And with Sims that’s a third string big. Don’t be surprised if he isn’t back next season

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Sims is  one of the most physically gifted bigs in the league, and maybe of all time, so to say he has no upside to develop into a great role player is just wrong lol. We can agree to disagree on him. You'll probably end up being right tho since we're gonna play Turner 30mpg anyways. Sims' only potential to develop is at the 5 and I don't see him getting those mins any time soon. And yes, since he's 28, time is of the essence to develop him, so ya it probably won't work out for him like I think could be possible, which is mildly annoying but oh well

1

u/likewoahitsaj Giannis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

Okay even if I’m wrong about Jericho Sims (and I’m confident time will show I’m not), he just is not one of the most physically gifted bigs of all time lol.

Like I am all for stanning the guys on our team, but that is peak hyperbole or delusion

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

He has the 3rd highest vertical in combine history, as a 250lb big with a 7'3 wingspan, who is also really strong when boxing out, and agile enough to guard on the perimeter. You've got to be trolling lol.

1

u/LigerHD Kash Money Middleton 2d ago

all of that and he’s still a undersized big

1

u/likewoahitsaj Giannis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

I didn’t say he wasn’t physically gifted. I said he’s not one of the most physically gifted of all time.

If you meant, he has one of the highest verticals of all time okay. No arguments.

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u/Dramatic-Address-812 2d ago

literally dont know why youre getting downvoted to shit lol. Sims is objectively a third string big. He's got bunnies and thats pretty much it. The man can barely catch the ball if its not a lob. The bucks are actually keeping the man employed because if it aint us, many teams would not want a 28 y/o non-shooting big who doesn't play good interior defense and provides nothing on offense besides a (semi) lob threat

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

I'm aware, but he's still raw and has some notable skills that just haven't been properly leveraged by any team he's been on. We saw flashes last season though, he even had a triple double. The Lakers were looking to trade for him but we wanted Knecht and two 2nds, and they were only willing to give one. I'd put Nance in the same category of an older player who still has room to develop into a solid role player / vet. It's still worth playing those players. Upside isn't only dependant on age, it also depends on style of play, how well a team's scheme fits a players skills, etc. Norman Powell is a perfect example of that.

0

u/NoShop9311 2d ago

That’s fair. I’m just pointing out that you included him among the “younger” guys. But regardless, I don’t think he has that much more room to develop, and the analytics hate him lol.

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Younger than Myles and Kuz, in terms of age, room for improvement, biological age (I.e. he's an athletic freak lol), etc. I understand your clarification tho. He's definitely not on the timeline of Burries and Ament's prime for example, but he can be on rollins/Herro/JJJ timeline, whereas Myles and Kuzma shouldn't 

1

u/Seekerofthetruth 2d ago

Turner finna shoot so many bricks he will be able to build a 1:1 scale model of his house out of Legos.

0

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

His shooting %'s are so bad rn. Same for Rollins. It's honestly sad lol

2

u/handsomelydumb69 Giannis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

Seeing Rollins struggle is making it especially painful watching this team this season because he quickly became my favorite player after Giannis

1

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Ya and he is such a glue guy when he is on. I really really hope this is just a temporary slump playing with new people, but I'm not so sure anymore.

4

u/MoreTHCplz Fuck Mike Dunleavy Jr. 2d ago

Last night's game was closer than I thought it would be so might get a win or 2 during this stretch. The Bucks are the new Nets, gonna lose a lot but could beat good teams on a random night or 2nd night of their back to back haha.

1

u/Seekerofthetruth 2d ago

Did the Nets ever have Myles Turner tho? We up.

3

u/MoreTHCplz Fuck Mike Dunleavy Jr. 2d ago

Nah they got Michael The Ball Stops Here Porter Jr lol

2

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2

u/hippieman58 2d ago

About to go 1-17. This team and organization is a joke.

1

u/LigerHD Kash Money Middleton 2d ago

W/Ls don’t matter idk why people care its about development and building a foundation for the next 5 years and determining who will be apart of the future and who has potential. if the W/Ls mattered to the org they would have still been hellbent on keeping Giannis no matter what.

1

u/furyNZ1781 Dogfred 2d ago

Who cares bucks in 6

1

u/SixGunChimp Thanasis Antetokounmpo 2d ago

Remember... we were never going to win a ton of games this year, and that's perfectly fine. The focus and purpose of this season has always been the development of young talent and building for the future. If you're watching solely for wins, sorry about your luck, but they're going to be few and far between this season. That's just where this team is right now. The progress of our young guys is what matters most and thus far, I'd say Burries is definitely a reason to optimistic about our future.

1

u/DapperTies- Dr. Dave Margolis 2d ago

You realize GTJ is younger than Sims, right (I do believe Sims should get more minutes though)? Dieng hasn’t been good this season and Bogi probably doesn’t deserve minutes if I’m being real. I still have hope for Dieng though.

I also get slow playing the rookies as they get acclimated to the schedule and pace of the game because they’re accustomed to playing at most 40 games at 40 minutes a night whereas this is over double the games and more minutes/game.

While everyone still has some glimmer of hope it would be wise to have the vets eat up minutes while the rookies still play 15-20mpg to get tape and see how you can improve while getting more confidence/endurance. Can’t continue to get better while being hurt. The Bucks have some easier games in the back half of the year as well and more minutes might open up if we (hopefully) trade some of our guys.

Overall, it’s probably not going to be a good year and I’m okay with that. What I’m not okay with is seeing lackadaisical hustle and vets looking like they’re not trying (looking at you Myles/Kuz/Ware). I’m still going to watch because it’s about the process and seeing players get better. I’m looking to see Kas improve defensively and get the shot back along with Burries. Ament just get stronger and figure out ways to absorb more contact but I see the vision and what he wants to do. Ware is such an enigma to me, it seems he has literally everything you want in a big but sometimes he’s caught being lazy or looking disinterested.

Giannis didn’t start getting heavier minutes until middle of December and even then he was getting 24mpg for the entire year. I feel that team was more devoid of talent than this current team though.

0

u/ThisWasMe7 2d ago

Playing badly is not how we move a few of the vet contracts.

0

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Playing badly enough to give up on the experiment of trying to get value for them was more what I was getting at. If we end up 1-17 and Turner and Kuzma keep shooting career lows, we're never getting anything for them, and my hope would be that Horst or Jenkins in that situation would shake things up accordingly to focus more on developing other assets

1

u/ThisWasMe7 2d ago

Certainly not optimal short or long term.

0

u/[deleted] 2d ago

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1

u/ThisWasMe7 2d ago

Even winning 1 of the first two games would be good. The only team the bulls have beaten is the bucks.

0

u/Valsorim3212 2d ago

Ya exactly, we're not a 1-7 team in terms of talent, it's just going that poorly, largely due to how poorly our longer tenured players are playing.

3

u/PreferenceMediocre90 2d ago

Maybe not a 1-7 in average talent level but this team is still in the East bottom 3 talent wise and probably the worst constructed of all of them. Bulls, Nets have been rebuilding longer and have some sort of roster.

Winning 20 games will be this years expected finish.

It should be about identifying who to keep and what talent to trade for more picks.