Shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks lose to the Phoenix Suns, 114-106

Shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks lose to the Phoenix Suns, 114-106

What it do welcome to another new episode of Locked on bucks on today’s show the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks lose 14 106 to the Phoenix Suns and with that L the Bucks finish up their five game Road Trip one and four should there be reason for concern we’ll answer that

Question plus break down the game and discuss more about Chris Middleton’s injury on today’s episode of lock on bucks you are locked on bucks your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day you are locked on bucks part of the locked on podcast Network your team

Every day I’m Camille Davis you can catch me weekly on the technical file podcast as well as find my work over at cheese head TV and pack a day podcast joining me is Justin Garcia of the Bucks radio network we appreciate you for tuning in and thank you for making

Locked on bucks your first list listen every day we are free and available wherever you get your podcast as well as on YouTube today’s episode was brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use the code locked on for $20 off your first

Purchase now Justin the Bucks lose 14106 to the Suns there was no Brook Lopez he missed the last three games for the Bucs out with personal reasons there was no Dame in this son’s loss he tweaked his ankle against Utah doc did mention the fact that if it was a playoff game Dame

Probably could have gone last night but given the fact that it’s only game 50 uh over an 82 game stretch not worth really pushing it at this part and then we lost Chris Middleton halfway through the first quarter went up for a three KD’s foot got underneath them flagrant one

Chris was out he tried to play through it for a bit but after that he came out the game and did not return and with those three out the Bucks were missing three of their top four scores overall I thought it was a good defensive effort from the Bucks just not enough

Offense it was a very good defensive effort um to hold the Suns to 48 points in the first half and I I I mentioned it too that the Suns had a I think it was like a 70.2 offensive rating in the half court in the first half so the Bucks

Defense was doing their job and I know some people push back of well part of that is the Suns offense that they were maybe not the greatest shot selection and and both these teams are missing some pretty good looks which is true um but I think the bigger thing as as we

Were discussing before we started taping Camille is this defensive unit just looks I guess for lack of a better word better like they’re more engaged and we’ve seen more crisp movements they seem to be more on a string that they they have an idea of what they want to

Do and I don’t think that’s coincidental because from day one one of the big things we heard from Doc Rivers uh we heard a lot but one of the big things was identity that you know I asked this team what is your identity and nobody could really give me an answer and I

Don’t know if we have it yet but we’re starting to move closer to it especially defensively that it’s it’s almost it’s almost funny that in many ways when you look at the numbers and I know this isn’t all Doc Rivers but a lot of the things that we heard from Adrian Griffin

That this defense wanted to do we’re seeing it now after the change they’re forcing more turnovers they’ve been a more high pressure system they’re trapping and blitzing more and that’s leading to Fast Break offense opportunities for them they’ve defended the fast break much much better and been better in transition they’re rebounding

Better as well so all of these things that we were kind of looking forward to as the season started we’re starting to see them now and I think that’s that’s quickly becoming part of this defensive identity now absolutely absolutely and you mentioned the fact that with this

Bucks team we have been seeing uh signs of imp Improvement and you mentioned how in the first half or or in this game here how that bucks defense was able to clamp up a little bit on the Phoenix Suns now the suns were one of nine from three going into halftime which is

Something that you’re not used to seeing but there was a lot of iso ball from the Phoenix Suns offense in that first half and it was very clear I believe they had three assists at the end of the first half so it was it was it was really fun

To watch uh just the one-on-one match ups as a Bucs Fan you know as a Phoenix Suns fan you were probably a little bit more frustrated with how the ball wasn’t moving too much uh the Suns end up finishing with 17 assist after having only three in the first half and you saw

In the second half with that Phoenix Suns offense that they pushed the pace a bit more they moved the ball around and the Bucs defense did keep them connected uh through the third quarter it was in that fourth quarter where things just got out of hand and the Bucks just did

Not have enough offense at that point and Doc Rivers mentioned that himself and he said after the game like you knew at some point you just felt like we wouldn’t have enough offense on the floor and that’s that’s probably what happened and again there was no Dame no

Brooke no Chris Chris started the game off pretty hot he was two or three from the field um looking pretty good and then he went out and at that point it was really Giannis and Malik Beasley holding down the lad for the Milwaukee Bucks which doesn’t feel like a real

Sustainable way to create offense successfully campaign tooo don’t short change him that is very true we got to give campaign some love here because not only did he make some some key baskets here for the bucks but he was out here hustling on defense as well like you’re

Talking about an identity for this team forming campaign forcing a 8sec call on Devin Booker in the back court like didn’t have that on my bingo card at all well and you know that’s one of the other things too with this identity is Doc Rivers has brought up campaign a

Couple of times before in that part of his game specifically that they’re utilizing him kind of how we saw the Bucks use Javon Carter last year that they want him to be picking up guys the full length of the floor and and basically just being that pesky Defender

That makes life frustrating for players bringing the ball up the floor that it seems pretty clear that’s what they Envision the role is for campaign so that’s part of the identity too and and that’s as you mentioned that 8C call you know that was in that stretch where the

Defense was playing at their best and I I mentioned that that defensive rating or off offensive rating for the Suns but the league average is around a 100 I think in the half court and look I don’t care if it was shot selection it’s still the Phoenix Suns with Bradley Beal and

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant against a short-handed Bucks team where you’re basically going at it with Malik Beasley and campaign we need you guys to really lock down defensively here I don’t care if it was poor shot selection you still more than did your job and that to me

Was one of the more impressive parts of this was how this team looked in the first half because I’m sure there was frustration from Suns fans and it it felt like a lot of games we’ve seen this season when you think about both games against the Blazers and some other games

The Bucks have had against short-handed teams um so you can see how that’ll happen from time to time and maybe it’s easier to cope with that as a bucks fan when you see the Suns do it but it was still it was very promising to see that

And I know we’ll get to the record uh one in four is obviously not great and I think the the only real blemish you would point to I don’t even think it’s the fourth quarter against Utah because we’ve gone into that quite a bit there are reasons to back that up sure it’s

Not ideal to lose a game where you’re led by 12 going into the fourth but I I think you can kind of understand why the the only real blemish where you leave disappointed was that Blazers game other than that even though there were you know more losses a lot more than wins I

Still feel pretty good about what we saw in these five games I do too and we’re definitely going to dive deeper into into that but I want you mentioned the defense and the effort and I have to shout out Giannis as well because we mentioned who was not playing in this

Game with him to help carry the offensive load and Giannis saw Kevin Durant as a defensive match up where he had to check KD for long stretches of the game and I love seeing the Superstar matchups like that’s something that with bud you didn’t see as much where you’re

Just trying to be strategic because you don’t want to wear guys out on defense when they have to also score on offense but this game partly because there just weren’t many other options like I would imagine if Chris did not get injured throughout the game you would have saw

Him on KD a lot more frequently as well but it was Giannis really one of the only guys in the league that has enough length to stay with KD and it was just really fun watching that matchup I thought Giannis played really great defense on Kevin Durant I know KD got

That dunk in the the fourth quarter uh that everybody was going crazy over where jannis wasn’t really like in the front of him it was more like helps side defense trying to come in and make a play Kevin Durant got the best of him there but I was really impressed with

The effort that Giannis had defensively especially while having to carry the load offensively and he started the game off offensively slow 0 for five from the field started to kick it up went five of six right after that stretch and finish the game over F or 50% from the field

Just wanted to give Giannis some credit because it was fun watching him duel with Kevin Durant in this one yeah Clos the game what I think 13- 19 after that 0 for five start and that was a big part of it too as doc had had said after the

Game um when we lost Chris what six or seven minutes into this game yeah we knew it was going to be a pretty big challenge for us defensively not even factoring in the offense and where’s the supplemental scoring G to come from um but had said you know we knew it was

Pretty much Giannis and Jay were all we had to throw out there on the perimeter against Kevin Durant and specifically noting that matchup of KD versus Giannis and doc saying I went to it early because we didn’t want KD to get going and to get a size advantage and and even

Mentioned there’s what two guys in the league that doc thinks can stay with KD laterally and can still contest his shots Giannis and Victor wanyama no pressure Wy but that was that was the big part of it was you know uh we didn’t want him to get going early and I I knew

The intensity that Giannis would bring and we just kind of leaned into it and and I saw somebody else point this out too and it it is worth mulling over and debating of you know the way that this team did play this season because we don’t want to just pile on Mike buen

Holzer and Adrien Griffin and man things are so much better now um but the way that they played earlier when you you saw guys playing further out on the perimeter and having to do some things outside of their comfort zone I do wonder and I I forget who it was that

Brought this up so my apologies if they’re listening but I do wonder if that’s benefited Yan when you look at the way he has taken on some of these challenges I mean we’ve all known about giannis’s ability as a help Defender but I think at times we could overinflate

His ability on the perimeter and look he shouldn’t be a lock down guy when he’s a seven-footer going against some of those guards and and smaller forwards it should be a bit of a challenge but I do really feel like he has gotten better at that part of his defense so far this

Season and you can’t help but wonder how much of it is is having to do that more frequently with the way that Adrien Griffin had them playing defense definitely something to consider with that because when you think of Giannis as an on ball Defender like we

Don’t normally see him matched up on a primary offensive weapon in part because he is a seven-footer but the other part of it is like I mentioned before like you’re trying to also keep him fresh for def or for offense and on top of that he’s one of the best help defenders in

The league so you want to uh of course lean in on what his strengths are so it’s something to keep an eye on with with uh Giannis because I think back to the championship season and that Series against Miami Heat where he was the primary defender on Jimmy Butler and you

Saw how he was able to affect Jimmy in that series and then last year against the Heat he was kind of frustrated that he didn’t get the call to be the defender against Jimmy Butler a little bit more frequently and even though he was hurt he had the back injury I don’t

Know if Giannis with that injury at that time would have been able to slow down Jimmy Michael Jordan Butler uh that we were in the playoffs last year but it is encouraging to see him this year gearing up for that he mentioned in the offseason that he was coming for it he

Wanted the challenge and he’s he’s getting it it’s being called for him to do it and he’s stepping up to it now still not great navigating screens but again he’s a seven-footer you don’t expect that from him so I really love the effort that he put in last night

Against Kevin Durant I’m looking forward to seeing how Doc continues to use him going forward but I do want to also talk about the latest injury news around Chris Middleton the bugs have had pretty good injury luck throughout the season so far Chris Middleton’s ankle that was

One I did not want to see with all of the injuries that he has been battling back from over the last few seasons so we’ll talk about the latest around Chris Middleton up next passion drive and patience what brings home the winning trophy is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay

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Trade deadline is fast approaching locked on fantasy basketball is going to be your place for live reaction Thursday starting at 12:00 p.m. Central Time make sure you subscribe to lockon fantasy basketball on YouTube today so you don’t miss Josh lyd breaking down every NBA trade with analysis and insight you can

Only get from locked on fantasy basketball part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and I would be remiss not to mention the fact that here on locked on bucks we will also be having our Thursday show live covering the trade deadline we’re expecting the

Bucks to make some move so me and Justin will be reacting uh to the moves the Bucs make if they make them as well as other moves in the NBA that’ll affect the Eastern Conference standings and just the hierarchy in the NBA here so make sure you guys also tune in to

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Live now Chris Middleton injured his ankle early in the first quarter like we mentioned tried to play through it looked the step slow just didn’t look right came out the game did not return after the game Doc Rivers did mention the fact that the x-rays were negative

So yay for that but it was also reported you know by Eric name at the athletic that Middleton did leave the game with a walking boot and crutches now the bugs have been relatively healthy this season but now with Chris I mean I guess you could also say Dame’s ankle although he

Might have been able to play last night if it was a playoff game it seems to me Justin like the allstar break can’t get here quickly enough so these guys can actually get some rest yeah they had been very fortunate with injuries this season when we’ve talked about and I I

Suppose we should find some wood to knock on we’ve talked about um giannis’s durability this season even Dame only four games that he’s missed um part of it is what we’ve seen across the league with um what his impacting now Joel embiid I don’t want to laugh at his

Injury but the way that the the Pacers have handled the Tyrese halberton situation as well where he’s playing what 15 minutes a game recently that they’re just playing him so he can still be eligible for those Awards um so part of it is that but the Bucs have been

Very durable and have been fortunate with injuries even with their role players when you think about guys that haven’t really missed time this season and now it seems to have all crept up in a span of a couple of days with Dame tweaking that ankle issue and Brook

Lopez not an injuries as Doc Rivers did confirm it was for the birth of his child so congratulations to he and his um but now the Chris Middleton thing and even Camille I’m sure you felt the same way but when we saw Giannis get that dunk or that layup and he came up

Grabbing his back he just immediately thought all right just do what the Celtics did just hit a ja play all the bench and just play for this home stand but of course because he’s yanis he’s back up after the timeout and back there’re on the floor so they’ve been

Very fortunate with their injuries and and and you know it’s very rare to have that carry throughout a season none of us know the extent of what this is going to be for Chris Middleton I think it would be safe to approach things and say good chance we don’t see Chris play

Before the All-Star break if you’re leaving on on crutches and a walking boot um I’m not going to rush to conclusions that oh no that’s a five to six week injury or something along those lines but that part is timing up nicely here where you got two more backto backs

Before the All-Star break with five games left which again is is crazy the stretch that they’re in but then you do get that week off and you have a challenging schedule in the second half but it does lighten up a little bit with some more rest days and use that to your

Advantage as as we had mentioned some of the areas that are looking better defensively has it come at the expense of the offense sure but this is also what Bucks fans were clamoring for for most of this season and look as as Doc Rivers said you know you mentioned the

Comments about Pat hon which I found to be very very interesting we both did of um you know he he basically and this is two games in a row I think we’ve heard this kind of wondered should I play Andre Jackson a little bit more that that was seemingly the seemingly the

Next man up in the rotation and ultimately didn’t as as doc said because you know I’m trying to get Pat’s confidence back I don’t know if he’s lost it per se but I’m just trying to get him back to where he was and help build those minutes up and I think that

Kind of ties into this week right that you know Pat hasn’t had the best shooting season um and it really kind of started with that injury last year that it was kind of a struggle to get back to that form but you know doc has talked about this week

He was asked about it before the game too but he he has talked about this uh even before he he took this job as the coach of the Bucks about what trade deadline week is like like and as docet said when he was a member of the media he hates it

Because it’s it’s a lot for the coach you know we often times think about John horse in the front office and what that means of man they’re working the phones and what deals can they be um sniffing out here and trying to find but as doc

Has said you know I’m the one that takes the bullets with this that I’m the one that has to go out there and be the front-facing manager for the team essentially because you have guys that as much as they can say they tune all of

It out I’m sure you do to an extent but you can’t tune all of it out you know you can’t escape everything especially in the day and age of social media that Pat Conan has heard chatter and has heard Bucks fans saying man would it be

Great if we could move Pat for this Bobby poris has heard the same young guys have heard the same and that’s doc Rivers’s job to make sure hey guys don’t worry about that here’s how we’re GNA use you you’re still part of a team and it’s talked about the challenges he’s

Had in the past with a couple of players that that knew look look my name has been brought up I’ve heard it and trying to get them reconnected and back on the same page and as he’s he said some blunt conversations he’s had with players in

The past of look we’re not trading you because there’s just not that interest Around The League versus you know look we’re not trading you because we think you’re a big part but either way that’s on dock and I think this is part of that too of look you can’t worry about what

You’re hearing you’re a part of this team as of right now I want you to be a part of this team and I need you to get back to this level so the short term I’m going to try to get you there and I think guys like Pat like Bobby to a

Lesser extent I know we haven’t seen him as much but even guys like Andre Jackson Jr that’s the big challenge for Doc Rivers I would say this week but it basically ends today and now tomorrow is the best day of the year for these guys where you know okay I’m still here yeah

You finally get some clarity like there’s no more rumors there’s no more wondering about what can happen what might not happen come 2 p.m. well let’s say like 2 05 210 in case some trades come in late central time you will know what team you were going to be on for

The remainder of the season and that does bring some some levity I think to the situation I love that you brought up how Doc mentioned his reaction to it excuse me because I thought it was really interesting when he mentioned the fact like you know as a coach it’s on me

To kind of keep a gauge and an eye on how guys are feeling like guys might tell you I’m good I’m good I’m good he say it’s the same thing as if you’re in a huddle and you ask a guy hey which way do you want to run this play and doc

Said that guys will say I can either way it goes and he’s like you know you can only go left or you know you can only go right but here you’re saying whichever ways is fine with you but I know the truth of of what your skill set allows

And it’s the same thing with the trade deadline where it’s like you can keep saying you’re good but I have to make sure that those words are actually true because that could just be a projection of you you know saying everything’s going to be all right not worrying about

It not thinking about it but it can affect your game somehow some way some shape some form and with Pat conon it’s been a interesting season for Pat right he’s shooting 38% from three second highest of his bucks career so far from three uh but it just it just has felt

Inconsistent for him throughout this season and when I saw that going into the Phoenix game there was going to be no Dame there was no Brooke I assume that campaign was going to be starting at point guard so when I got heard the news that it was going to be point guard

PC I said’ that’s an interesting decision and Pat conington himself mentioned the fact that he hasn’t really run point guard since high school so I was curious I had to look up when did Pat conon graduate high school and I was like 2011 so it’s been some years since

Pat conington Uh has been tached with being the point guard and I say that somewhat factiously because of course when you have viannis on the court when you have Chris on the court those are two guys who are also going to initiate the offense there so it’s not going to

Be all on pack but once Chris went out then the equation changed a little bit where it was Giannis bringing the ball up we did see more campaign minutes but the the point about dock around trying to build up Pat’s confidence the timing of that is really interesting heard on

The broadcast yesterday as well that Pat and Doc went on a golfing outing as well recently while they were in Phoenix so it does seem like Doc is really pouring in time U and effort in two pack conon and it’s just so interesting given the fact that Pat con’s name is probably the

Name that you’re hearing the most in trade rumors for the Milwaukee Bucks of how they can upgrade this roster Pat hon and I mean Bobby Portis maybe more just because of I I think the value that that Bobby brings not to say that Pat is not a valuable player but

There’s there’s more with Bobby’s offensive production but those are are two big names that you’re going to continue to hear and you know the other interesting thing that that struck me and I I should say continue to hear for all of what 24 hours basically um but

You know when when doc was talking about what it’s like this week for him and and how much he hates it as a coach trade deadline week um he did talk about the front office and you know we’ve heard him talk about his relationship with John hor a couple of times already but

Again use the word and and it’s it’s funny the more you listen to Doc Rivers number one the cander that you get there and I think the transparency and the honesty things like Pat conon I wanted to work on his confidence and yeah Andre Jackson Jr would have been next man up

Or maybe I should have played some more of these guys but here’s what I’m thinking that it’s been a breath of fresh air compared to some of the messaging that this team has gotten for the last five plus years and how buttoned up it’s been in the past um but

He’s talked about his relationship with the front office and I think when you listen to Doc Rivers at times you can pick up on some subtle shots and sometimes not so subtle shots that he’s taking at some previous stops and and I do Wonder uh if this was directed at his

Former boss in Philadelphia but when he he talked about his relationship with John hor and said you know it’s been nice working with him it has been refreshing and in breath of fresh air that relationship that we have and and that you know this office this front

Office the organization they give you a lot of information to dissect and and hate the deadline because you’re always nervous as a player and he joked he wasn’t so much as a player but as a coach you’re nervous for these guys too because you know what we just went

Through of I don’t know if I’d say messes but what you’re gonna have to deal with and putting everybody’s mind at ease and just trying to forge ahead here but mentioning of you know they give you a lot of information to dissect if I’m going to read between the lines I

Take that as you know the front office is pretty candid with me of FYI here’s some of the things that we’re discussing maybe not down to the detail but it could involve player XY or Z so just start to think about how you would you know shape some rotations or things you

Would do among that nature and part of that too is the trust in Doc Rivers to to say we’re going to tell you this and we know it’s not going to be given to the players of hey man did you know they’re talking about trading you but

That is a pretty big burden for Doc Rivers to kind of hold that and and figure out how do I continue to maximize these guys how do I build on that confidence and how do I have them on the same page so it’s you know it’s been everything I think we’ve all imagined

And hoped for listening to Doc Rivers speak before and after games absolutely and the Doc Rivers era has gotten off to a one and4 start as we’ve mentioned the Bucks are three and five since the coaching switch and now the Bucks are tied for third in the East with the

Knicks after having a firm hold on that two- seed for a good stretch of this season my question to Justin because at this point me and Justin have been doing lock on together for a while trust you Justin I need you to check me if I need

To be checked and I want to know should there be some concern around these bucks we’re going to discuss that up next sometimes I have a bad habit of waiting until the last minute to make decisions I can procrastinate I will be completely honest with y’all about that I can

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K d o n for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest prices guaranteed all right Justin it’s time for some for some real talk here so check me if I’m crazy but as we’ve mentioned the bugs have finished their West Coast trip one and four and with

This loss against the Phoenix Suns wraps that all up am I crazy for not feeling panicked about this team going forward like I understand the record has not been great but to me the process has looked better and something that seems to be more sustainable uh to get the

Results that you want than what we were seeing going forward so am I tripping for not being panicked about this team going forward I’m seeing all the things on Twitter and all around the media like I saw a stat Muse tweeted out the fact that you know the Bucks had a 60 was

Their win percentage under win percentage with Griff and it’s 20% with Doc and how the Pistons and the Wizards are the only teams with a lower win percentage than what doc has right now and the Celtics are the only team with a higher win percentage than what Griffin

Had and you got other accounts putting out somewhat false narratives about the fact that the Bucks have blown a lead in every L that they’ve had so far they mentioned that against the Jazz the bus had a 19point lead they blew that had a 13-point lead against Denver blew that

Had a seven-point lead against Phoenix didn’t they held on to that that account also did mention the fact that the Bucks had a 15-point lead against Dallas but they didn’t lose that game so I don’t know why they put that one there it’s just propaganda at this point or that

Dallas blew a 25o lead I mean need happen you know like I would assume every loss for the most part has a blown lead at some point there are very few to wire victories it’s a game of runs that’s what happened so just do you think I’m crazy for not being panicked

About this team as it currently stands no I mean panick I’m definitely not panicked um I think we’re aligned here in that I wouldn’t even say worried but you’re just cognizant of okay I like what I’m seeing and and not to to borrow the phrase but I do trust the process

That we’re seeing the results have have not been ideal so far um but the process of how they’re getting there is what leaves you optimistic that I like how how this team has looked defensive ly the numbers back it up as well that you know the Bucks it’s only eight games but

The thing that I point to is number one it it matches the eye test and secondly in these eight games they have five of those eight games played against teams that are in the top 10 in offensive rating during this stretch that we’re looking at so it’s not as though the

Bucks are yeah they did this like the conversations that we’re having in December when yeah the Bucks are doing this but they haven’t really played anybody that hasn’t been the case during this stretch they’ve gone from 21st to 10th defensively in the pre versus post coaching change their turnovers as we

Mentioned and Frank mentioned this a couple of days ago too have gone from 30th to 12th in percentage of opponent possessions that result in a turnover rebounding rate defensive glass has gone up from 18th to seventh and those were the big ones as as you came in of if you

Can clean this up and transition you can clean clean up transition you can do a better job rebounding I think they’ll be headed in the right spot the other really sizable jump is the percentage of plays that opponents run in transition has gone from 30th to seventh in the

League Against The Bu so they’ve cleaned up their transition teams are still scoring I think at a higher rate in transition but they’re not getting as many opportunities which is much much better um they’re rebounding the ball and again when you think about some of the issues they had with points in the

Paint that number has come down where it’s a couple of games in a row that it’s been around 48 or 50 um that was popping up because opponents were crashing the glass they were beating you on the boards they were getting those Second Chance points they were getting

Points around the rim and in the paint and that was just leading to more efficient offense your offense was putting the defense in a bad spot too with that transition game they’ve cleaned that up so all of these numbers do look better and people point to well

The offense hasn’t and it hasn’t right the offense has been around 20th in this eighth game stretch they’ve played a couple of games against good defenses it hasn’t been the same level as their defense against good offenses but as we mentioned again you know no Brook Lopez

For three of those games no Brook Lopez damer Chris for one of those games and you know I know this might be nitpicking but the road trip especially we look at the overall number and say man the offense wasn’t good and overall was it no but it was basically

One quarter against the Jazz where they were not good and again that was the fourth quarter on night two of a backto back with an altitude change it was the first quarter in Dallas where they were not good it was the fourth quarter in Denver where they were not good it was

Especially the fourth quarter against Portland so it’s not as though they’ve had these Duds where you’ve started to see a little bit of a foundation being built here and and that’s the encouraging part is I I legitimately did not know what to expect prior to the coaching change you like the record but

I think you still had some uneasiness when you looked at the elite teams in the league and a lot of that is gone where you feel like well what I’m seeing at least I feel like we’re better positioned against those teams with some of these things the team is has

Implemented and is doing now than they were in the past the one thing that gives you hesitation is you know as we pointed out you’re not even through the toughest part of your schedule yet you just went through a five-game road trip against good teams and I know the

Blazers by record are not a good team but they’ve been playing much better of late um now you have two backto backs one of them has the Hornets so you’re gon to Circle that and say okay we got to win this game one of them is against

One of the four teams tied for the lead in the Western Conference in the Timberwolves and the second half of the the second backtack is against another one of those co-leaders in the nuggets the Miami Heat who have been playing somewhat better of late although the

Record still doesn’t show it um and I’ve always given you problems and then you go into Memphis against who knows who’s going to Bea for the Grizzlies yeah going into that that that All-Star break so I think you have to circle the Hornets and Grizzlies games and say look

I don’t want to look past our opponent but we got to get these two games we got to get at least one of the other three games among those back-to-backs and have a three and two home stand going into it because as much as we like what we’re

Seeing you like a lot more of what you’re with the Cavs and the Knicks and we’ve mentioned this a couple of times their schedules are much easier than the bucks so even though it’s trending in the right direction in terms of the process you still don’t want to be in a

Spot where you have the most difficult schedule in the league and now all of a sudden you got a lot of ground to make up you’re already two games back at the Cavs in the Lost column and and you don’t want to have to play catchup with three teams in your conference against

That schedule yeah absolutely and the Cavs have been hot so of the Knicks they’re nine and won over their last 10 games so you have to you know keep an eye on what your opponents are doing but also try to take care of business at home and after the Suns game Giannis

Mentioned the fact like this was one of the toughest Road Trips of my career and I think about all that goes into that Not only was it a good level of competition here for this Bucks team to go against but again new coach you’re having longer shoot arounds you’re

Playing longer minutes you’re expected to have a different level of defensive intensity on the court as well and he mentioned jannis said we have to get in better shape as well so there’s also a conditioning aspect to it with this team that they’re going to have to continue

To grow through that they’re learning on the fly a bit here and to some that might sound like excuses for this team but I’m looking at the process and how things have been lining up and I feel a lot more confident um about how this team has been now the offense something

To keep an eye on I’m sure nobody was thinking like hey the offense is gonna you know drop from being fourth down to 20th or whatever it has been now depending on where you look for this team’s offense but given the Firepower that this team has with Giannis with

Dame with Chris when Brooke when they’re fully healthy that’s not as big of a concern for me at the moment I feel like this team still has levels to unlock with their offense and I have uh a lot more confidence in them being able to figure that out now that I’m seeing

Defensively that they have been able to write the ship a bit in some of the areas that they had struggled with earlier on in the season so and again this team might look different come this time you know not this time tomorrow because the deadline will still be going

On but come Thursday 2 pm things might look a little bit different for this team as well so something to keep an eye on but at this moment I wouldn’t say I’m concerned about the Bucks I do think that Portland loss was Pro was a bad

Loss of the the four that they had on this road trip but that’s the only one from this road trip where I’m like that’s a bad loss the other ones I’m I I can’t get too upset about them and the effort that was put forth in the games

Especially with who the bugs had available so to some it might sound like excuses but to me it’s just keep an eye on what happened um and I’ll continue to keep an eye out on what happens with this team because as they’re approaching Allstar break five games to go four of

Those games are back-to-back situations it’s going to be quite a finish as we get to the allstar break so let’s wrap up there Justin that’ll do it for today’s episode of lockdown bucks as a reminder come join us tomorrow live when we cover uh the NBA trade deadline and

Cover moves that the Bucs might make uh come tomorrow as well as what’s going on in the rest of the league so make sure you guys come back for that and uh for Justin and myself we’ll catch you guys later

Down three starters, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Phoenix Suns 114-106. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks, racking up 34 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists while Malik Beasley had 22 points.

The Bucks wrap up this five-game road trip with a 1-4 record — is there major cause for concern about this team’s performance?

Camille and Justin answer that question, plus break down the game and discuss the latest news around Khris Middleton’s injury.

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