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Money won’t be an object for the Bucks moving forward

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Giannis Antetokounmpo – File Photo / Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks co-owner and governor Marc Lasry, meeting with Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo last Friday, told the reigning NBA MVP that the franchise is willing to spend into the luxury tax to deliver him a championship supporting cast.

According to ESPN, the Bucks’ payroll will be close to the proposed $132.7 million luxury-tax threshold for 2020-21.

Lasry assured Antetokounmpo and his agent, Alex Saratsis, that they would make some personnel upgrades that could be available to the franchise in the offseason.  Antetokounmpo left for vacation but is expected to meet with Lasry upon his return.

Antetokounmpo will have to decide whether he will sign an extension with the Bucks or enter the 2020-21 season in the final year of his contract and eligible for free agency in 2021.

The Bucks will offer Antetokounmpo a supermax deal that will pay him somewhere just short of $250 million over five [Read more…]

Bucks season comes to an end in Orlando (AUDIO)

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Mike Budenholzer File Photo – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

With all-star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo watching from the bench, the Milwaukee Bucks season came to an end, falling to the Miami Heat 103-94 inside the bubble in Orlando.

The Bucks played some of their best defense of the season, forcing the Heat into 22 turnovers.  But they didn’t have enough offensively to win their second straight and force Miami into a game 6.  Instead, the Heat won the series four games to one and advance to the Eastern Conference finals against either Boston or Toronto.

The Bucks started strong, leading by as many as 13 points in the first quarter and led by nine at the break.  But the Heat outscored Milwaukee 33-18 in the second quarter.

The Bucks fought their way back once again in the third quarter, crawling to within one-point at 57-56 with 9 1/2 minutes left.  Then went 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal.

Khris Middleton, who led the Bucks with 23 points, hit just 3 of his 15 field goal attempts in the second half.  Donte DiVincenzo got the start for the Bucks with Antetokounmpo out of the lineup.  He scored 17 points and came through with another strong defensive showing. [Read more…]

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…]

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 stumble out of the gates, drop playoff opener (AUDIO)

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After finishing the NBA’s seeding games with a 3-5 record, the Milwaukee Bucks picked up where they left off, dropping their playoff opener to the shorthanded Orlando Magic 122-110 inside the Orlando bubble.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists and George Hill added 16 points off the bench, but the Magic turned 16 Bucks turnovers into 25 points.

Orlando’s Nikola Vocevic dominated with 35 points and 14 rebounds, hitting 15 of 24 from the field.  Terrance Ross added 18 points for the Magic.

Orlando packed the paint and invited the Bucks to beat them from distance.  Khris Middleton had just 14 points on 4 of 12 [Read more…]

Budenholzer named NBCA Co-Coach of the Year

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Mike Budenholzer – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer joins Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan as the 2020 recipients of the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award.

The award recognizes the dedication, commitment and hard work of NBA Head Coaches and is presented annually to a Head Coach who helps guide his players to a higher level of performance on the court and shows outstanding service and dedication to the community off the court.  It is the only award voted upon by the winners’ peers, the Head Coaches of all 30 NBA teams.  This year’s voting was based on games played from the start of the 2019-20 regular season through games played on March 11.

Budenholzer guided the Bucks to the best record in the NBA (53-12) for the second year in a row.  He becomes the first two-time winner of the Award.  The Bucks were the NBA’s highest scoring team, averaging 118.6 points a game, and outscored opponents by a league-high average of 11.2 ppg.  The 11.2 ppg differential is tied for the fifth largest margin in NBA history.

Defensively, Coach Budenholzer’s Bucks  held opponents to 107.4 ppg, fifth best in the league.  He won Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for December (13-2 record) and February (10-1 record).

Donovan led the Thunder to a 40-24 season, tied for fifth in the Western Conference.  From Thanksgiving through March 11, the Thunder went 34-13.  Donovan joins Rick Carlisle, Erik Spoelstra and Steve Kerr as the only active head coaches to guide their teams to the playoffs in each of their first five seasons.

 

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 close practice facility

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The Milwaukee Bucks shut down their practice facility on Sunday after receiving the results from coronavirus testing on Friday.  According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the team still plans to depart for training camp in Orlando on Thursday, but it isn’t expected to hold any more workouts before that time.

The Bucks haven’t released any details in terms of the closure or who among the team that might have tested positive for the virus.  Head coach Mike Budenholzer said last week that such information wouldn’t be made available to the media.

The Bucks still have more than three weeks before they resume their season against the Boston Celtics on July 31st, giving any members of the organization that may have tested positive, time to recover.

The Bucks had planned to have media availability on Monday, but that has since been canceled.

 

Budenholzer, Antetokounmpo honored by NBA

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Mike Budenholzer – File Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer has been named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for February.  It’s the second time Budenholzer has won Coach of the Month  honors this season and the fifth time as the head coach of the Bucks.

In February, Budenholzer led the Bucks to the best record in the NBA at 10-1, which was tied for the third-best month in Bucks history and improved the team’s league-best record this season to 51-8.  The Bucks outscored its opponents by an average of 15.2 points a game last month as it led the league in scoring (120.8 ppg) and gave up the fewest points on average (105.6 ppg).  Nine of the Bucks’ 10 wins in February came by double digits, including three by 20+ points and the largest win of the season on Feb. 28 when the Bucks defeated the Thunder by 47 points.

In his second season as head coach of the Bucks, Budenholzer has led Milwaukee to the top record in the NBA at 52-8.  The Bucks are outscoring their opponents by 12.7 points per game this season, currently [Read more…]

Budenholzer named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month

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Mike Budenholzer – File Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer has been named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for December.  It’s the third time Budenholzer has won Coach of the Month honors with the Bucks and the fifth time overall in his career.

In December, Budenholzer led the Bucks to the best record, most wins and fewest losses in the NBA at 13-2.  Last month, Milwaukee led the league in scoring (119.3 ppg), rebounding (52.2), field goal percentage (.491) and opponent field goal percentage (.400) and was tops in the NBA in net (16.2), offensive (115.5) and defensive (99.3) rating.  The Bucks outscored their opponents by an average of 16.5 points a game in December and won 11 of their 13 games by double digits, including seven by 20+ points.

In his second season as head coach of the Bucks, Budenholzer has let the team to the best start in franchise history and the best record in the NBA at 31-5.