NBA Today | Bucks prove they’re championship caliber team after crushing OKC Thunder – Windhorst

NBA Today | Bucks prove they’re championship caliber team after crushing OKC Thunder – Windhorst

Catch you up we’re going to start in Miami hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers here so we’re going to pick this up under 10 seconds left in the first heat up 19 Brian wior uhoh here they come well what we have here Malika is a Sunday afternoon game in Miami in March

Let’s just say this has been seen before there’s a name for it it’s called The Miami flu yes this is the Miami flu or what my dad Mike Anders would call a good oldfashioned butt whooping because that is what the Miami heat handed out here the Cavaliers turn it over ahead to

Jimmy Butler throws it down Evan M came back for the Cavs in this game that’s the only thing I can say about it that’s the only good news 12184 your final score the win goes to Miami and how about the shorthanded 76ers against the Los Angeles Clippers

Here Tyrese Maxi really put this team on his back this was also an afternoon game but that’s not what explains it to me the Clippers are two and six in their last eight home games is as the Los Angeles flu there is but I don’t expect

The Clippers to be dealing with it and especially not after playing so poorly and this was a really nice win for the 76ers who are fighting for positioning out east and we get to see James Harden back in Philadelphia this week billy gets the win 121 107 and then the

Milwaukee Bucks they are hitting their stde at the right time and one in Dame time so first time Giannis Dame and Chris Middleton played together since February 3rd and boy big surprise they looked good Chris midleton elevates hits the three here and see who their opponent is top seated Thunder team Giannis

Sentac kmo throws it down nice little connection from Chris Middleton to Giannis this is what we’ve seen for years and years the championship DNA alive speak Milwaukee flu but this also was an afternoon game oh Milwaukee flu that would be a new one I do know this

That be the literal flu exactly the Bucks that’s what you get when you’re in the Pacific when you’re in the uh the Midwest the Bucs though they picked up another statement win over the thunder on Sunday they continue this upward Trend that we’ve seen it was their 25th

Game under dock Rivers Milwaukee really started to steady the ship after a slow start here the Bucks they’re looking good at the right time and ESPN analytics actually gives Milwaukee an 87% chance to end up as the two seed out west the Boston Celtics they have locked

Up that number one seed but Milwaukee does have a three-game cushion under three weeks left in the regular season here so Kendrick they’re healthy they look dangerous but just how dangerous can this Milwaukee team be dangerous enough to take the Celtics to a seven game series if they match up

And then may the chips fall where they may look I’m not going to sit up here and act like I’m not witnessing Bobby Porters come in Off the Bench and be a candidate for six man of the year and has had Monster game I’m also not about

To sit up here and act like I hav’t witnessed Damen Lillard look comfortable offensively under Doc Rivers and I’m also not about to sit up here and act like I haven’t witnessed Patrick bevle effect on this team with Doc Rivers in that locker room and the way that they

Attitude have shifted after the allstar break defensively I’m watching this team that locked in you see them communicating you see guys give a certain amount of effort that is needed for a championship caliber team like that this team is the real deal they’re finding their stride they seem like

They’re enjoying one another and most importantly Doc Rivers have the ears of that locker room well look injuries are part of the game so I’m not going to just say you know you can blame everything on injuries but when you evaluate a team like this you should evaluate them when they’re healthy and

They are in the last few games Chris Middleton has come back from that ankle injury he’s made a really big difference particularly as a distributor he’s averaging eight assists in these three games since he came back he had a triple double against the Thunder yesterday and it just takes the pressure off of

Giannis and Dame to do much so much creation also it allows them to blend their lineups a littleit better when they can use all three of them Middleton is not having a great year but he’s still such a major talent that you can’t just Overlook you adding them adding him

In in midm March it really changes their Dynamic this was the Milwaukee Bucks at their best good defensively great Rim protection switched really well they looked like a team that could go toeo Toe with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals if that all is

How it ends up uh being in terms of seating but on the flip side of things the Thunder were dominated inside yeah they just were this was sort of a question that we’d had about OKC they were held to a season low 32 paint points they were outrebounded by 20 I

Know that can be a little scary when Giannis is on the other side but Brian not all teams are as physical as the Bucks I get that this didn’t go on when Kendrick Perkins was patrolling the paint the Oklahoma City Thunder it did not but did this shine a light on on

Maybe OKC’s biggest red flag here yeah so this is their biggest weakness some people would say youth is their biggest weakness but youth doesn’t mean that you can’t succeed it just means you’re not proven yet they don’t have an interior presence they at the trade deadline

Malika they elected not to go out and get rebounding help now maybe that’s because they didn’t find the deal that they liked what they did at the deadline they picked up a pick swap from Dallas that could be very fruitful down the line they picked up Gordon Hayward who is actually not

Making much of an impact he’s only playing 17 minutes and averaging about Five Points he hasn’t been doing much they may be able to trade him later for a piece I’m not saying their deadline failed but it didn’t deliver the rebounding help that they could have

Used in this push towards the end of the season and that was very much on display on Sunday I’m with you on that Wendy when you think about Chad we know Chad is an awesome Talent defensively he’s going to protect the basket one of the best in

The NBA but when you think about what you need to get out of the Western Conference when you might have to battle Anthony Davis or Damonte sabonis or yic or whatever call Anthony towns if he comes back like you need that interior presence in the Western Conference and

They don’t have that and guess what if they happen to get knocked out in the first round it wouldn’t be that big of a deal they put the world on notice this is a team that is built for the future and right now they just going through they’re going to go through their

Growing pains in the postseason and I trust Sam pry out of a lot of GMS that he will F that void for us getting them an interior presence to play a long set home GD by the way the Thunder is still contending for that top seed in the

Western Conference but do you know who holds it now oh yes it would be the defending Champion Denver Nuggets and we have talked about this all season long is not what the rest of the the Western Conference wants to see but as the regular season winds down we do have the

Lakers here in the first quarter early Pascal cakam woo throws it down look this was one of those games was an absolute track meet and some of those old dudes who’ve been having tickets at the at the Laker games for decades they were having great memories of better

Days Austin Reeves a little no look Kendrick Perkins out to the corner oh me I love Austin Reeves when he’s the playmaker you see that down Austin Reeves say LCA could do it damn it I can do it going ahead to the third quarter here Anthony Davis says yeah we

Saw you earlier Pascal this is a rematch of the n Season turn final Anthony Davis that you want to see Anthony Davis had a great game here LeBron James drives finishes strong at the cup James had 26 points the Lakers they lead big at this point and then Anthony

Davis just putting an exclamation mark really on this one this is an important win cuz they go on the road now so that was they had to get this one in the fourth quarter here a minute left to play after entering the quarter up 17 the Lakers lead by six Davis does what

He’d been doing all game Davis 36 point 16 rebounds the Lakers up but then Tyrese Alberton nails that three-pointers the pace should only TR by four here why not let’s try it again ding got that one to go too the Pacers they only Trail by three with 20 seconds

To go four point game tyres halberton that’s the man you want to get the ball just couldn’t quite get it to fall look at that final score 150 145 my goodness so with the win on Sunday the Lakers they are a season best seven games over

500 and if you feel like yeah you know what it’s been a little while since the Lakers have been there well that that’s because it has been a little while this is the furthest over 500 they’ve been since May 16th of 2021 when they finished the 2021 season 12 games over

We’re going to get into the Lakers a little bit later on our show still to come on NBA Today Giannis and the Bucks they struck the thunder in the second half last night how dangerous are they now that they are back healthy H and Brian he tells us why Zion Williamson’s

Stellar nothing starts the day like a shot of v i will process you into medicine they must see I only want the best legendary I will process you into medicine victory Joe fore for so Bo fore speee speech [Applause] you Spee fore Fore speee speeech Speeech for Speee Spe oh my god there no First Blood an ally has been defeated an enemy has been defeated you your team has destroyed a tower you have defeated an enemy for foreing through an ally has been defeated you have been defeated you have defeated an enemy Moreing victory for to

NBA Today | Bucks prove they’re championship caliber team after crushing OKC Thunder – Brian Windhorst