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Bucks were busy overnight!

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Bucks GM Jon Horst

Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst held a pre-draft Zoom call with reporters on Monday to discuss the latest on the team as the NBA Draft approaches Wednesday night, the ability to make trades starting yester (Monday) and free agency opening Friday.  By the time the day finished, most of what Horst said became irrelevent.

Monday night, the Bucks pulled off a pair of big deals with New Orleans and Sacramento, hoping their all-in approach will convince star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign a Supermax deal with the team as early as Sunday.

The Bucks and Pelicans came up with a trade agreement with the Bucks getting all-star guard Jrue Holiday for Eric Bledsoe and George Hill as well as three first-round draft picks.  The deal also allows the Bucks to swap picks with the Bucks in two other drafts.  The deal is expected to leave the Bucks without their first round pick (24th overall) in Wednesday nights draft.

Following that deal, the Bucks sent Donte DiVincenzo, D.J. Wilson and Ersan Ilyasova to the Kings for Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin James.  DiVincenzo was the Bucks first round pick in 2018 while Wilson was taken in the first round in 2017.

The deals still leave the Bucks well over the salary cap with just seven players on their roster and little depth to speak of at the moment.  It’ll leave Horst trying to build the rest of his roster with minimum contracts. [Read more…]

Strong showing for Bucks on NBA’s All-Defensive Teams

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Giannis Antetokounmpo – File Photo (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

After winning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo headlined the league’s All Defensive First Team.

Antetokounmpo was joined on the first team by Lakers forward Anthony Davis, Utah center Rudy Gobert, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons and Boston’s Marcus Smart.

Bucks teammates Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe were both voted to the NBA’s All Defensive Second Team.  They were joined by LA Clippers teammates Kawhi Leonard and Patrick Beverley and Miami big man Bam Adebayo.

The Bucks became the first team to have three players named to the two All-Defensive teams  since Memphis teammates Tony Allen, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol did it in the 2012-13 season.

The only NBA individual award left to be handed out is the Most Valuable Player Award.  That honor is expected to go to Giannis Antetokounmpo for the second straight year.

Heat grab 2-0 series lead over Bucks

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A late rally by the Milwaukee Bucks made things interesting, but in the end, the Miami Heat prevailed 116-114 to take a 2-0 lead in their second round best-of-7 series inside the bubble in Orlando.

Khris Middleton drew a questionable foul call while shooting a three pointer with 4.3 seconds left and drained all three free throws to tie the game at 114.

After a timeout, the Heat advanced the ball to the front court and Jimmy Butler’s attempt at a game winning jumper was off the mark.  But instead of seeing the game head to overtime, the official called a foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo as he put his left hand on Butler after the ball was already in the air.  Butler went to the line and sank both free throws with no time left on the clock and the Heat pulled out the 2-point win. [Read more…]

Butler leads Miami past Bucks in series opener

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It took the Milwaukee Bucks five games to win their first NBA playoff series against the Orlando Magic and it will take at least that many to win a second round series against the Miami Heat.

Former Marquette standout Jimmy Butler poured in a playoff-career high 40 points to lead the Heat to a 114-105 win over the Bucks in their second round series opener in Orlando on Monday night.

While Butler was going off on the Bucks, the Heat were busy making life difficult for Giannis Antetokounmpo.  He finished with 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting but made just 4 of 12 free throw attempts.

Khris Middleton had 28 points and Brook Lopez added 24 on 8 of 10 shooting to lead the Bucks, who played without Eric Bledsoe (right [Read more…]

Quick turn-around for the Bucks, who face Miami Monday night

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Just two days after knocking the Orlando Magic out of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks turn right around to open the second round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat on Monday night (5:30 p.m.) inside the NBA’s Orlando bubble.

The Heat swept the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the playoffs and have had a week of rest since then.  The Bucks will have to overcome Miami’s advantage in prep time for the series opener.

The Bucks needed five games to dispatch the Magic after Orlando won the series opener.

“It is a very quick turn, but if you’ve been in the league a long time it’s probably happened to a team you’ve been a part of,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.  “I think one of our hopes is just to keep them as clean and free as they can be and go out and play and not over-complicate it, which coaches tend to do.”

No team defends the paint better than the Bucks do, but the test for Milwaukee will be to continue to defend the lane and get out to contest the three-point line.  Miami ranked second in the NBA in three-point percentage (37.9%) this season and hit just over 39% from distance in their four-game sweep of the Pacers.

Miami’s top shooter from the perimeter is second-year guard Duncan Robinson, who hit 44.6% from distance this season.

The Bucks could be without their starting point guard, Eric Bledsoe as well.  Bledsoe is listed as questionable with a right hamstring strain.

 

Bucks beat Magic, grab 2-1 series lead

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After dropping their series opener, the Milwaukee Bucks have won two straight, including Saturday’s 121-107 win over the Orlando Magic.  The Bucks now lead the best-of-seven series two games to one with game four set for noon on Monday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo hit all eight of his field goal attempts in the first half and finished with 35 points on 12 of 14 shooting.  Giannis added 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Khris Middleton, who had struggled in the first two games of the series, had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the victory.  Brook Lopez added 16 points and Eric Bledsoe had 14.

Just as important, the Bucks defensively held Orlando star Nikola Vucevic to 20 points on 8 of 19 shooting from the field. [Read more…]

Bucks fall to Rockets in the bubble

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Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 36 points and added 18 rebounds and eight assists but it wasn’t enough as the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Houston Rockets 120-116 in Orlando on Sunday night.

Khris Middleton added 27 points and 12 rebounds and Brook Lopez had 23 points for the Bucks, who fell to 54-13 overall.

Russell Westbrook scored 31 points as Houston used a late 9-0 run to get back into the game.  The Rockets tied the NBA record for most three-point attempts with 61.  They made 21 of them.  They also forced 22 Milwaukee turnovers.

The Bucks out-rebounded the Rockets 65-36. [Read more…]

Bledsoe still back home after testing positive for COVID-19

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Eric Bledsoe: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earlier this week, Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said the Bucks entire 35-person traveling party still wasn’t with the team.  One key element to the Bucks lineup that still hasn’t arrived in Orlando is point guard Eric Bledsoe.

Bledsoe has tested positive for COVID-19, but he said he’s asymptomatic, feeling fine and looking forward to joining his teammates once he meets all of the NBA’s protocols.

The Bucks went through some individual drills during practice on Thursday and will be back on the practice court inside the bubble in Orlando today.

The Bucks will begin playing exhibition games next week against the San Antonio Spurts.  They’ll resume the NBA season on July 31st against the Boston Celtics.

 

Bucks fall to Suns, first back-to-back losses this season

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Playing without forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Phoenix Suns 140-131 on Sunday night in Phoenix.  Khris Middleton scored 39 points and Eric Bledsoe added 28, but the Bucks dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 36 points, 28 of those in the first half.  Ricky Rubio added 25 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in the victory for Phoenix.

The Bucks trailed 77-59 at halftime, but they rallied in the second half to make a game of it.  They climbed to within six-points at 134-128 before the Suns hit six-straight free throws to close out the victory.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, after undergoing an MRI on his knee, was diagnosed with a sprained knee in the Lakers game on Friday night.  He didn’t play Sunday in Phoenix and won’t play Monday night in Denver either.

The Bucks will return home to host Boston on Wednesday and his status for the game will be updated then.

The Bucks fell to 53-11 with the loss.

Bucks bounce back with win over Pacers

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The Milwaukee Bucks led a 22-point first half lead slip away, but they still managed to pull away for a 119-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night.

The Bucks went cold in the second quarter, missing 10 straight three-pointers and led by just two-points at the midway point.  But things returned to form in the second half for the Bucks, who won their 53rd game (53-9) of the season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 29 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Donte DiVincenzo tied his career high with 19 points and Eric Bledsoe added 16 points.

The Bucks head west for the next three games, starting with a matchup against Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.