FIRST TAKE | “Bucks on brink of collapse” – Stephen A. rips Bucks embarrassing loss to Grizzlies

FIRST TAKE | “Bucks on brink of collapse” – Stephen A. rips Bucks embarrassing loss to Grizzlies

Seven since Rivers took over for Griffin and gives them a 35-21 record heading into the allstar break here’s doc postgame I thought we were bad until we needed to be you know what I mean like we started out the game um I think um we gifted like five threes in a row where

We were standing there we just you know everybody in this league can play you got to respect everybody um the one kid made three in a row you know um and we did we didn’t even adjust guy drives uh we have to help leads to a three we come

Back in this uh on our Set uh two guys forget what we’re running uh then we missed a shot and then nobody gets back that’s how we start out the third quarter that tells you all you need to know about where our heads were um you

Know um we had some guys here we had some guys in Cabo we had some guys in Cabo uh the Bucks are now three and seven under Doc Rivers that’s the worst 10 game start of his coaching career Milwaukee was 32 and 14 before Rivers took over also just

Want to give you an update um speaking of someone inside Stephen A’s Camp he should be arriving shortly um I will start with you I will I will continue to keep you posted on such matters uh Tim how bad are things for Giannis and the bucks um definitely in a bad place right

Now I I think when I watch the Bucks what I’m seeing a couple of things I I think I’m seeing right now a loss of belief right just don’t have that Swagger that you would expect the team with jannis Sant TMO and Damen lard to have they there’s too many breakdowns

And and Doc alluded to some of the things that are based on maybe concentration or based on just competitive will I’m seeing some of that as well they’ve had defensive issues all year and I think we’re we really started to see early on the impact of not having

Jew holiday as your point of attack Defender and and the difference that makes with a guy like Damen Lillard who mainly is going to do his damage on the under end of the floor I don’t think people put maybe enough stock into that difference going into the season CU

Everybody had the Bucks in the top two in the East there’s not a person out there that didn’t have the Milwaukee Bucks in the top two with the same roster they have now so it’s not the talent we we look at the roster we say that is good enough to contend in the

Eastern Conference now maybe Boston’s the best team in the easn you come up short but where they have fallen to let I allow teams like Cleveland maybe to surpass them in people’s minds to allow the Knicks they’re fully at full strength to pass them now in in terms of

Belief of who could make a run in Eastern Conference that speaks a lot more than to their roster defensively the competitive will and the multiple effort plays are just not there right now look Doc Rivers I’m not laying this at at his feet at all he just got there

It’s hard Monica for a player to come in midseason to a new locker room and immediately have an impact it’s hard for a player it’s twice as hard for a head coach because everything’s been laid out since September how we’re doing things and now you come in and he doesn’t have

Great relationships with all these players I’m sure he knows some of these guys he doesn’t have deep trust built up yet he doesn’t even have a chance to schematically change much because you don’t practice a lot in the NBA so this is sort of an on the-fly thing for Doc

To have an impact it’s going to take a lot more time than this and right now he came into a situation that was a little bit demoralizing it’s gotten worse and sometimes that’s going to happen when you make a coaching change mid-season it gets worse before it gets better and let

Monica what doc can do to squeeze the rest of the juice out of this team because they’ve got to improve defensively and they’ve got to improve their Swagger and endgame execution that’s to me is their biggest issues right now I’m jumping the gun here a

Little bit Molly and legs but I know one of our questions today is who needs to come out of the All-Star break and hit a stride to me it’s the Milwaukee Bucks for all of the reasons that you just listed legs when you think of the expectations of this organization

Particularly the way that the postseason ended last year they are playing so far beneath the expectation it’s kind of confusing in many ways and I think leadership is hugely important Yannis I’m Tumo is someone that is respected in this league for his intensity his work ethic Dame Lillard same concept but I

Also legs I can’t help but to think the last time that it was successful ad Superstar player was when kawhai Leonard was able to do it with the Toronto Raptors and I think in the era of stars being able to move and rightfully so they have earned that we dismiss the

Little things that are hugely important to winning now your uh point of attack defense is not a little thing that’s a big thing particularly for a team that is hung its hat on the defensive end but I think this is taking longer than we anticipated for more than just the

Coaching reasons um we were all thrilled about the idea that the space and Pace that Giannis and Dame could could play Within that pick and roll whether you want Giannis in it or Lopez um Bobby poris continues to be someone that is productive Off the Bench for this team

But the little things like all of the little things have kind of culminated to a heads scratching start to the season to the first half of the season from the Milwaukee Bucks and so I really think that along the All-Star festivities I hope that the coaching staff has an

Opportunity to sit and narrow down how they want to proceed and that this team comes out with some rejuvenated energy because I’m with you legs it’s it’s just very very confusing yeah and Monica on that note I’m GNA bring in Brian wior Wendy before you jump in here Monica I

Just want to know did you get your egg white omelet today with the veggies did did that already happen or should we be expecting a little ring ring first of all I got so many TXS Molly way to play that off on TV um actually was huge so

There’s half of it in my fridge still I’ll probably finish it today okay that’s good I already had my omelette in case you’re wanting Wendy but I asked for the potatoes well done crispy and they’re like boiled potatoes I don’t you got to have you got to have your

Potatoes like borderline burnt I’m with you I’m like I don’t know how to I don’t know how to communicate that better but uh best in New York we got to work on that Wendy how we feeling how we doing tell me this how bad are things right

Now for the bucks that’s where we are guys this was an absolutely wretched loss okay the Memphis Grizzlies started started two guys on 10day contracts one guy who’d been with them for about 48 hours and one of the reasons they started was because a guy that they

Signed to a two-way contract a few weeks ago Scotti Pippen Jr was injured and they beat the bucks so before we go anywhere doc let these guys off light by saying half of them were in Cabo because I think that was an ey raising quote Doc

Is not afraid to talk about his players and tell the truth sometimes they got off light compared to the performance that they put on to that okay so now that I’ve said that I want to say it would be very easy to write the bucks

Off and it would be very easy to say that this isn’t working that this is a disaster Etc I would encourage you not to quite do that yet um there are some indications that the Bucks have made some progress and I know that is a tough sell at this moment especially if you’re

A bucks fan and especially if you had huge expectations for them this year after the Dame trade which you should their defense has it’s in these last 10 games with Doc it has definitely gotten better and I’m not I am not putting last night’s effort up there

But there are some improvements in there their their numbers have gotten better in this stretch they’ve been the number 12 defense that’s not exciting but they were in the bottom like seven or eight when he got there unfortunately their offensive output has absolutely crater and one of the big things when you look

At this team Beyond just the embarrassment of this last game before the All-Star break Dame Lillard has been really not playing well offensively for about a month now you look at his stats he’s had a couple of very hot shooting nights he had a game last week where he

Was 9- 10 but you take a look at it he was 7 to 21 last night his shooting percentages guys have plummeted his his two-man game and expected chemistry with Giannis is really not there right now and since doc got there their offense which kept them in most games because

Even on the night when they weren’t defending anybody they could score well their offense has been absolutely in the in sand since doc got there so all I’m going to say is this I am going to believe in Doc Rivers I am going to believe that the defense is actually

Working a little bit and I’m going to believe in Dame Lillard getting back to who Dame Lillard is they Chris Milton is a problem his injuries are a problem they’ve got other issues but I would just say it doesn’t look great for the Bucs right now but don’t give up on them

They are still a dangerous team there is still a dangerous team in there and I think that they could still do something Monica before you jump in um just connecting with stepen A’s sources again inside his Camp he he he is in the building he will be here shortly Stephen

In the building we’re just getting him all set up so I’m sure he’ll have plenty to say when when he gets here Monica uh what do you have to say based on what Wendy just told us about the situation I think Wendy’s right I’m not prepared to give up I’m not saying give

Up I am saying that this is taking longer than anticipated and you know Wendy for all of the challenges of last night’s game and legs I think that final possession was sort of an eerie sum of all the things in the first half that they would have a turnover and not get a

Quality look at the basket in order to try to tie that ball game up I believe yeah and send it into overtime um I don’t think I think Giannis and Dame are the type of guys that have earned our respect just like we have the conversation in the Western Conference

Do you completely close the door on some of those stars and no so I’m not I’m not completely giving up but there are some serious questions I mean particularly when you look at a team like the Knicks who now have much more depth if they get

Healthy of course and they can play on both side of the basketball with their second unit we mostly in this conversation y’all are talking a lot about their starting unit we haven’t even gotten into what they’re doing from their supporting staff on the bench yeah

Look I I think the the way the Bucks have played and the vulnerability that they have shown combined with Joel embiid’s injury has all of a sudden created this opportunity right at the top of the East and that’s why Cleveland and the Knicks now are so much more

Interested and and the Knicks with the additions that they made so this is going to be a Sprint here at the top of the East but the only thing I’ll say about the the Dame Giannis thing maybe we didn’t put enough stock into think about how different this must feel for

Damen Lillard offensively and that doesn’t that’s not something that just takes 10 15 20 games or half a season that maybe that takes a whole season before he finally just playing instinctively being himself because he’s always been that on every team he’s played on his entire life it’s the first

Time he went to a team where he wasn’t considered the best player that’s an adjustment period and you can even see last night like end of game stuff they’re still not there so I agree with you Wendy they’re better defensively that’s a good sign now they’ve got to

Get their offense better and more importantly get the belief there and the trust built up amongst each other and with their new head coach built up among and each other and with your new each other and with your new what down oh tell up C some against against every spe the on oh

FIRST TAKE | “Bucks on brink of collapse” – Stephen A. rips Bucks embarrassing loss to Grizzlies