December 19th - New Orleans Pelicans @ Milwaukee Bucks - 15-16
Over our last 11 games we are L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W-L-W-L. So I guess we're due a win, if the pattern is going to prevail. When it breaks, I'd much rather it be in favour of consecutive wins, rather than losses.
Tonight we play the 20-9 Milwaukee Bucks. They are 2nd in the East, and have won 4 of their last 5. We won't have Niko, or Randle, and Clark is questionable. So we're at a significant disadvantage in injuries, even beyond having Payton out still. Bucks are only missing Brogdon and Ilyasova. They're great, and healthy. Let's get a closer look at them:
Offensive rating: 3rd
Defensive rating: 4th
Rebounds per game: 5th
Assists per game: 7th
Steals per game: 24th
Blocks per game: 9th
2pt percentage: 1st
3pt percentage: 14th
That is intimidating. I guess the only real consolation is that they aren't likely to force a ton of turnovers, and they aren't snipers. The bad news is that they're elite on both ends of the floor, and they have a healthy roster that plays hard, and a good coach.
Their number one guy is Giannis. Currently averaging 27/13/6, Giannis is basically putting up AD's statline (28/12.5/5), although with twice the turnovers, twice the fouls, half the blocks, and shooting an absolutely pathetic 12.5% from three despite taking just as many per game as AD does. He's playing well on defense as well, although an engaged AD (which we will have to see tonight if we want even the faintest glimmer of a chance) is still far superior. The fact is that AD is a better player than Giannis: the difference is that Giannis seems totally engaged every night, whereas AD is prone to inconsistent motivation. Guarding Giannis isn't straightforward, although it's clear that the best thing to do would be to encourage him to shoot from distance, as well as prey on his tendency to throw the ball away like it's his job.
After that, it's Khris Middleton. He's currently averaging around 18/5/4, shooting 41% from the floor and 40% from three. Again, he's playing well on defense, and essentially fills that Jrue role as secondary scorer and versatile defender, although he's not as good as Jrue. As with Giannis, it's hard to say exactly how to defend him well because he doesn't really have glaring holes in his game, so it's a case of just playing him well and really matching up man to man.
We are really up against it tonight. I don't think anyone expects us to win. They're a fantastic team, almost completely healthy, with a great coach, on a hot streak. We are a team with so much ability but we've failed to execute, and even if we were clicking well, half our roster is out on injury. Our bench is starting, in many ways. AD and Jrue are going to have to rack up 40+ minutes each to even get us in the ballpark, and that's assuming that we're in the game long enough for it to be worth playing them.
That said, crazier things have happened! Let's hope for the best, and #DoItBig.
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Originally Posted by AstroFire
