Giannis’ Status Upgraded for the Bucks Most Important NBA Cup Game; Will the Streak Continue?

Giannis’ Status Upgraded for the Bucks Most Important NBA Cup Game; Will the Streak Continue?

An update to the injury reports for the Cup game in Miami. We give you the latest details coming up next on today’s Locked on Bucks. You are Locked on Bucks, your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in to Locked On Bucks. My name is Justin Garcia, joined as always by Camille Davis. We thank you for making this your first listen of the day and for making the Lockdown Podcast Network the number one sports podcast network out there. To all the everydayers and everybody that’s just checking out the show on a somewhat regular basis, we thank everybody for pushing the network to that number one spot. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. As right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Head to fanduel.com to get started. Camille, you um I like would we say you drew the short straw and unfortunately had to take take the reins on a fifth straight loss here. I told you before we started recording, you know, sorry, I just didn’t have it in me to subject myself to more discourse over the Bucks losing. So, didn’t have a chance to listen to it yet. I think I know what we’re in for here. And I look, there’s a couple updates that we’re going to get to on today’s show. I do want to touch on that, too. Of look, I I’m not going to say there aren’t some troubling things that have popped up here. I mean, I think first and foremost, the defense, right? like we the three of us all talked about it coming into the season that our expectations shifted to you know what I think this offense can end up being pretty good but what’s the baseline for the defense and it was good for five games I know it’s a small sample size I know it was early in the season outside of the Wizards four of those teams were very good that they played and their defense was good and everything just kind of fell off a cliff and it’s not just Kevin Porter Jr going down because how do to explain the other four games there in that fivegame stretch. It’s not Giannis going out uh because Giannis played in those games and it’s not like this defense just collapsed starting with the second half of the Cavs game. So like that is certainly something to circle and say this has to improve the rest of it. You know, you can call me an optimist, a shill for the team that I work for. Whatever it is, I’m just not there where the rest of a lot of Bucks fans are in terms of crashing out on this team because realistically, what did you expect when this team is built around one player and he’s not on the floor? Yeah, that’s what I said. I I’m not mad, especially like the offensive side of the ball for the Bucks where it’s like Giannis is so much of the engine there. I’m really not worried about that. And that was part of the conversation that Frank and myself had last night of like, are you more concerned about the offense or the defense? And we both said defense pretty pretty quickly, pretty soundly, um, because of the fact that these issues were starting to creep up when Giannis was still healthy and playing for this Milwaukee Bucks team. But no, like I didn’t think that this would be a team that would be good without Giannis necessarily because it’s a team that is created. It was put together to be maximized by Giannis and for Giannis to maximize them like it’s supposed to work in tandem together and without Giannis it’s going to be tough, right? And that would be with a healthy roster. But now you’re looking at a roster here where you have you don’t have Kevin Porter Jr. So on a team where you only had going into the season you thought three and a half ball handlers, playmakers, shot creators to initiate the offense with Giannis and Kevin Porter Jr. Cole Anthony and Ryan Rollins because even going into the season, we were looking at Ryan Rollins more of like a combo guard of like, hey, we know he’s more of a combo guard. Don’t really think he he’ll be initiating too often, especially hearing he’s sharing the court with Cole Anthony or at least that was the plan heading into the season. Things have changed and Rollins has really taken advantage of his opportunity and shown so much more to his game. So, it’s nice to have him and Coanthony as ball handlers while Giannis is out, but that’s really all that you have and that’s a problem. Yeah. I mean, it’s you need to get back to a spot where Cole Anthony is a luxury and not a necessity and that’s not going to happen until Kevin Porter Jr. comes back. I don’t think Ryan Rollins has been as impactful defensively for the last 10 or so games. And I think it’s easy to explain when you look at especially the last three and a half when you look at what he’s being asked to do, you know, when Giannis was on the floor in the minutes where Giannis is not out there. Um, but in the three and a half games since Giannis went down that he’s he’s it. He’s the guy. And if Cole Anthony doesn’t have it that day, other teams know like this is it. So, let’s just pressure Ryan Rollins and make the Bucks use 7 seconds to cross half court. they’re 17 seconds into their offense into the clock before they get into their offense and then we can really do some things defensively against them with just one initiator in the half court. So, I think all that is is why we’ve seen fewer and fewer impactful defensive plays as we were seeing earlier in the season and I expect those to continue to go up once Giannis and Kevin Porter Jr. returns. It’s funny too like I candidly what Ryan Rollins is doing I don’t know if I’d say expected but like a lot of that is what I foresaw from Kevin Porter Jr. these these heights. Yeah. I I I believed that he’s the second most talented player and I I still think he’s the second most talented guy on the team and that he was going to be extremely important to this team that like 20 point games every now and then and sometimes just taking over when Giannis wasn’t on the floor. I thought that’s what you’re going to get from KPJ and like you may still get some fraction of that when he returns. That’s going to be the interesting thing is like how how does his role change and like how do you slot him next to Ryan? Um do we see a different starting lineup again where it’s like another okay let’s go back to a small iteration but it’s those two guys and AJ. So those are all questions to be answered. It’s, you know, that’s to me one of the not troubling things, but why I believe like, okay, we know what this offense can be because what Ryan is doing offensively is what I largely expected to get from Kevin Porter Jr. this season. It’s the defense is is the biggest thing and they’re still very good in zone and Doc has said like, well, early early in the season they weren’t doing quite as much of it because um you know, our best zone defenses are with Gary Trent Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. on the floor and we don’t have KPJ and then because of some of the other issues that we’ve seen bubble up, they just kind of had to lean into it out of necessity. So, I’m going to be be very interested to see how that progresses go forward. But, I mean, it sounds like we’re both aligned. Like, again, it’s it’s not to say like everything is fine. uh as soon as Giannis is back full speed ahead and this team is going to win seven games and just propel themselves to like the four or three seed, there are definitely some warning signs that are out there and some causes for concern. But like just the level of full-on panic that I’ve seen here in the last, you know, not even after the loss to uh the Blazers, but this this whole stretch here, the the panic that I’ve seen is is what’s really made me kind of reassess of like I don’t know, like am I missing something when you don’t have him on the floor? And and also realistically, what were your expectations for this team this year? That’s the other big thing that I I keep coming back to. And I think all of that is fair because we’re like you said, we’re in alignment on that. Like this team without Giannis, I thought they’d be bad. I will say that they have looked worse at stretches than I expected. They’ve looked worse than I thought it would be without. Yeah. Even without Giannis and even without Kevin Porter Jr. I was like, man, like this is looking really, really, really tough for these groupings out here. Uh more so than what I expected. But again, like Doc kept saying he thinks there’s going to be a silver lining, which is why I wanted to end yesterday’s show with Frank of like have what are the silver linings that we’ve been able to find while Giannis has been out. Um, and I was like Ryan Rollins is the first one you point to, of course, of like just additional opportunity even though he didn’t have a great game uh against uh the Trailblazers last night. I think it’s a valuable experience of of being the the main guy and getting pressure full court. Like I kind of laughed in postgame when someone asked Ryan like you know you were playing against Portland and you saw Dame there and he dealt with that a lot last year like have you picked it and he was like you know what I’m going actually go back and watch the film how Dame was trying to beat that last year to see what we can do about it. So I love that he’s been put in the position but uh the the part again that troubles me more is on the defensive side of the ball because even with Giannis out it’s the point of attack defense has been poor. It has been poor for this team. Um, and the the fouling is is is becoming a it’s already been a problem, but it’s it’s exasperated when you don’t have the one guy on your team who can actually get to the free throw line himself to try to counter what’s going on on the other side with all of the excessive following. So, that defense part for me is still like when Giannis and Kevin Porter Jr. comes back, I think that there are still things that are going to have to be figured out on how this team plays. Um, pretty bad start to the show by us so far because we teased the status change to the injury report. Haven’t even gotten to it yet. It’s instead just been a performance review that we’ve dug into here for the Bucks through these uh 18 games. You mentioned a couple things I do want to continue the discussion on, but we will get to the bigger news of the day and the change to the injury report. We’ll do so next on Locked on Bucks. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or you want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, head to fanduel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Nobody likes paying rent, but if you must, you might as well get something for it. That’s where Built comes in. 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We’ll see if we get to them because I think we’ve we’ve talked about it at nauseium so far. The big news is, and I don’t know how big it is, but the change to the injury report is Giannis has been upgraded to questionable for the game against the Miami Heat later on tonight. And I’m just going to say I don’t expect him to play. Um, unless something has happened in the last, as we sit here and record this, 24 hours basically since we heard from Doc Rivers prior to the Blazers game. I don’t think he’s playing. I think it’s a positive sign that he’s trending towards it and and Doc seemed to leave the door open for maybe we’ll see him andor KPJ on Friday against the Knicks. I don’t have the quote in front of me, but basically he said yesterday Giannis was going to make the trip and he did not expect him to play in Miami. Probably gonna miss the game in New York. Same for KPJ. but closed it with something like h who knows maybe things will change though because he’s very they are very very close now we’ve heard other players being very close before in this organization it seems to have a very fluid meaning so uh I wouldn’t put too much hope into that based on what he told us yesterday in that at what uh 5:15 when Doc met with the media prior to the Blazers game doubtful was the words and and maybe even stronger than that that he used in terms of would he play against the Miami Heat. So, I think he’s still going to miss the game, but it’s just a okay, maybe this means there’s a a pretty decent chance he can play on Friday. The unfortunate thing before you share your thoughts, Camille, is this game tomorrow is more important than the Knicks game, which we’ll get into in a second here in terms of the NBA Cup. Yeah. And that could be why we know Giannis is like a super super healer, so to speak. Um, well, I was wondering, frankly, if Darin Ham was just going to suit up to say, “Look, somebody’s got to keep this streak alive, so I got you.” Shoot, who knows at this point, but we know he’s he’s a quick healer, but when dealing with something like a soft tissue issue with a groin injury, that’s one of those ones where I’m like, “Hey, like just no need to rush back from this. You don’t want to mess up anything uh further.” It’s not like a a sprained wrist or something like that. You’re dealing with tissue, so you need to be a little bit more careful. But I I was wondering when I saw the questionable upgrade of like is it is it because it’s a cup game? And it’s like, hey, this is a very very important one based on where we are in the standings right now. Want to give it a go? because the broadcast also mentioned during the Blazers game that Giannis and KPJ were warming up ahead of the game and then the doc comments about him being close and as you mentioned we know what pretty close can mean for the Bucks. I was thinking based on Doc saying like not Miami and probably not New York either. I was like okay probably then maybe not the Nets game because it’s going to have a backtoback on Saturday right after the Knicks game but maybe the following game is when they come back. But if Giannis does play in Miami, um, one, I I will again just just shocked um just how quickly he’s coming back from that. And I’ll have a little bit of worry in my heart of just like listening. Hope I hope everything is I hope everything is Can’t even put it out there. U that that’s just how I’ll be feeling because it’s like I did not expect it this this quickly. Like need them though. I was frankly stunned when we got a one to two week timeline for it because I I set myself up and and was bracing for the this is we’ll reevaluate him in three to four weeks um and potentially stretching even longer. Now, you mentioned how he has this history of quick healing. Soft tissue is is certainly something different and there was just a story out there. I think the Athletic was doing it too, looking at all of the soft tissue injuries that have started to pop up pop up more and more in the NBA. Everybody has a theory on why it’s happening. I mean, I think the easy things to point to, which are valid, is the schedule and how much the game has changed because like even if you’re a big, and this is where we’re seeing it too with Giannis and WBY and some other guys, you have to cover so much ground. It’s not just running to the free throw line and back and uh that’s basically all you have to worry about. You’re covering the whole length of the floor. So, yeah, there’s there’s a lot. Um I was wondering too, and unfortunately Pat Marita has passed. It was 20 years ago that we lost Mr. Miyagi, but his passing was 20 years ago to the day yesterday. So, I was wondering if maybe we channeled some of Mr. Miyagi working on Daniel Son to fix Giannis’s um issue that he’s working with here. And that’s how he got ready just as he prepared Daniel Son for the All Valley tournament. Um such a quick heal there. But yeah, it it’s got to be one of those things of like, okay, I man, I hope he’s 110% if this is the case and and coming out here because I think we’re all going to just watch of like what’s the minutes limit that he’s going to be on? Does he have the same burst? Do I need to be nervous watching any contact that he takes here with this adductor strain? And this game, you know, we mentioned it. This is the more important one because um I think the Bucks are are unfortunately in the spot now. Unfortunate is probably the wrong way to term it here, but I I think they’re in a weird spot where they are the only team in their group for the NBA Cup that is unbeaten. And I don’t know that you would say they’re in the best spot of anyone out there. I mean, obviously not having Giannis, we think, is a big big part of that, but you’re 2 and 0. The Heat are two and one. The Knicks are one and one. So, this is Miami’s final game. Yep. And this is what makes it to me the mustwin game. if you’re going to split these games, I still struggle to see a scenario where the Bucks win their group. So, it it really feels like you got to win both of these games, but this one especially, I think if you lose this to Miami, I do think it’s over. Um, so we’ll get into why and take a look at those standings and where we’re at in point differential and everything you need to know in regards to the NBA Cup and whether or not the Bucks can keep this streak going coming up next on Locked on Bucks. 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See Mint Mobile for details. All right, so the Bucks, as we noted, are two and 0. The Heat are two-1. Knicks are one-one. Bulls and Hornets each have two losses. Um, we have not seen a team win or advance the knockout rounds, I should say, with two losses in the previous two years of the Cup. So, with that in mind, um, the Pacers, the Wizards, the Nets, the Celtics, the Sixers, the Bulls, and the Hornets are all out of this. I think it’s pretty safe to assume Raptors are the only team that’s advanced so far. And um they were in I I suppose I would say one of the more difficult um groups. Theirs is interesting because it’s very topheavy. Yeah. But but Toronto started by beating the Cavs and the Hawks. So their final two games were the Pacers and the Wizards. And I think their three wins are the Cavs, Hawks, and Wizards. So they just have the Pacers left. They’ve already clinched that group and they’re plus 53 in point differential with a bad team remaining. So they are very likely going to be the number one seed in this. And then you look at some things like okay point differential for your tie breakers and wild cards. Like let’s say you suffer a loss, you go one and one could you get in as the wild card? Hawks are plus 33 in point differential. Pistons are plus 27. Magic are plus 20. Those two teams still play each other the same night that the Bucks play the New York Knicks, but both of those teams are in a better spot than you. And then in your group, the Bucks and the Heat are the only two teams with a positive point differential. But Miami is plus 46 in their three games so far. And that was uh what the Horn No, the Bulls game, wasn’t it? Where they just dred them and ran up that point total. They beat the Hornets by a wide margin as well. And again, Bucks beat the Hornets by 13, but because it was in overtime, it counts for zero. You just get the win. So, that kind of puts you behind the eightball as well. And and why I say I don’t see a scenario where the Bucks unfortunately would advance if they don’t go 2-0 here is let’s say you lose tomorrow to Miami. You’re two- one. Miami finishes at 3-1. If you beat the Knicks, Knicks are going to have two losses. So then it comes down to the Bucks and Heat are tied. The Heat beat you. So you’re out in that scenario in terms of winning your group. And you’re probably if you lose to Miami, you’re probably not going to have nowhere near enough in point differential to get that wild card. If you beat Miami and Miami goes to two and two, but then you lose to the Knicks, same thing that the Knicks potentially uh would finish this thing at uh 3-1 and they have the head-to-head over you. So, New York still has I believe it’s Charlotte, I believe, and that is tomorrow night that they are playing. So, I mean, look, if Charlotte can do you a solid and beat the Knicks and you can win tomorrow, then it sets up a very, very interesting scenario where I mean, you could either advance as the three and one team or you could be in a much better spot for the wild card as well. But it’s going to take a lot of help from the outside where this isn’t last year. When you approach your last game or so and said, you know, they’re still in a pretty good spot because of their point differential. That’s gone. I I just I don’t see the Bucks catching the Cavs here who are plus 33 right now. Cleveland is probably going to be your wildcard team unless um Orlando, you know, just does something big against the Pistons. So yeah, I I I think it’s you got to win outs to advance, otherwise the streak of advancing to the knockout rounds comes to an end. Yeah, I think you laid out the case for group play beautifully and if the Bucks do drop tomorrow’s game, then you really start paying attention to what the last games are for Friday because yeah, Black Friday is shaping up just to be an NBA cup day. There’s so many games on Friday. Black Friday’s a day per like especially with Amazon like they are going through I think they have the Skins game for all the golf fans. They have the Black Friday Bears Eagles game and then they’re going directly into NBA after that. Like there is so much going on on Black Friday outside of all the shopping which Black Friday shopping isn’t even as good as it used to be. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about. the the wild card of the NBA uh cup and like then you’re watching you’re watching like the Hawks, you’re watching Orlando uh to see what they do because in group B as you mentioned like if you have two losses already you’re pro you’re probably out. So in group B it is the Pistons, the Magic, the Nets, the Celtics, and the Sixers. Brooklyn, Boston and Philly have all lost two games already. You have Detroit and Orlando that are 2 and 0. And then those two teams, as you mentioned, they play on Friday against one another. Uh Detroit has a plus 27 point differential. Orlando has a plus 20 right now. And then you take a look at group A and it’s like, okay, well then your comp there could possibly be Cleveland or Atlanta for a wild card. Atlanta’s point differential is only plus eight right now. And they still have Washington and Cleveland to play. Meanwhile, Cleveland’s point differential is plus 33. So there there would be some a little hope, a glimmer of hope for the Bucks if they do drop this game against the Heat. But it’s going to require, as you mentioned, help elsewhere. But I think there still could be a door open for them if they if they find a way uh to to not get the game in Miami tomorrow. Yeah, I mean Atlanta Cleveland play each other yet. So that’s the interesting one that’s remaining because Cleveland is plus 33. Um that’s their only game left. So, if Atlanta wins that game, Cleveland has two losses and Cleveland is um out of the mix in all likelihood. Atlanta has the Wizards, I believe, tomorrow and then Cleveland on Friday. So, they have potential to finish three and one and really do you a solid there because they’re only plus eight in point differential. So you I think number one if you’re not going to win out you have to win the game tomorrow against the Miami Heat. Otherwise basically every other scenario sees you and the Heat finishing 3-1 and Miami winning by way of tie headtohead there. Um, I think the next step is you need Atlanta to beat Cleveland, to take Cleveland out of the mix with their plus 33 point differential. And right now your point differential is higher than Atlanta. I think you also need the Pistons to beat the Magic and to do so convincingly. Yeah. To to drop that. And the big thing for the Bucks is, you know, if you’re not going to win both these games and we just get into the Okay, now we got to hope for some help here. um you basically have to lose by two points, you know, like you have no margin. It’s it’s kind of like what we’ve talked about watching the team on the court. The margin for error just isn’t there. Like you you can’t lose by 15 points, by 12 points, any of that. That’s going to take you out of the mix. Even if you go one and one and I’ll say one thing, Chris, someone might be listening and be like, who cares about the cup? Like if a team is out, who cares? But one thing I do know, we care. It’s you’re the reigning champions. I’m a fan of the NBA Cup. But what I like about it in addition to all the pageantry and the courts and all of the stuff and and the the tournament and the stakes feeling high is that these games are still a regular season game. So like teams ain’t going out here of like, okay, we have no chance in the cup now. So we’re not going to play hard in this game because overall it’s a regular season game. It’s going to affect the standings. So, like there is still a level of all right, we got to go out here and try to put our best foot forward regardless of where else we’re at. So, another reason why I love the NBA Cup because even these teams that we were just talking about that are 0 and2 right now in their group play, Philly, uh, Charlotte, Washington, Indiana, they’re not going to get into these last, you know, two games or one game depending on where they’re at and just be like, “We’re going to mail it in.” Like, they’re going to still play. So there there’s going to be some hope. It’s just who you going to put your hope in for those games. Look, and there’s more hope if Giannis is on the court tomorrow, today, whenever this is that you’re listening to this. So it is worth noting. Hey, that’s interesting because when I first saw the text come through from the team, here’s the injury report. I saw a deta and then I had to do like a double take because I was just looking at at the preview window on your phone where you get the eye message come through like wait to that was a kmpo and kept scrolling and scrolling and like oh Giannis is questionable. Okay, maybe this is interesting. So if he plays all right, let’s see if we can push this to 11 and0 in the cup and and where it goes from there. Because you know what you notice too is to round out this entire discussion. All the pieces just fit when Giannis is in there like he’s the northstar for this team. The the good Cuz games, not a coincidence, they have come with Giannis available and on the floor. Ryan Rollins has been much more impactful defensively and is much better as your secondary offensive player. You’re seeing more and more threes, like the volume of threes and open looks for guys. So, everything has fit uh better. I don’t know if I’d say everything’s fit perfectly, but everything’s fit better with Giannis on the floor. And Miami is rolling. I mean, that’s the other thing. the the top of the standings in the East. It is what uh 26game win streak combined between the top three seeds. I think 13 from the Pistons, eight from the Raptors, and now five from Miami. So, they’re rolling. Um you’re going to be tested, but look, when whenever you got Giannis on the floor, I like my chances in games I think that we’ve seen so far this season. So, we’ll see if that carries over into this game later on tonight in Miami and certainly keep an eye on the injury report throughout the day. I don’t anticipate it to change at all. I think Giannis is going to remain listed as questionable leading up to the game and then we’ll know around 5:00 when Doc Rivers addresses the media here in Miami with the status of Giannis. The last thing I’ll I’ll mention here, I know I know we’re going to what would you say half the audience is I don’t care about the NBA Cup. Who cares? So for the other half of you, we we see you and hear you and this is for you. You know the most interesting group to me, Camille? What? Uh group C in the West. Let me take a look. West, but don’t look just yet because my hands up. the the team that is set up to win that is the Portland Trailblazers. Um they got one game left. They’re two and one. That game is against the Spurs. And I believe Spurs are still playing without WBY. Yep. Um but it’s interesting because the Blazers at two-1, their two wins were against the Nuggets and the Warriors. They won those games by a combined total of six points. Their one loss was to the Houston Rockets by 24 points. So they could win this thing and finish with a negative point differential. That would be Do you know off the top of your head has that? I don’t think that has happened. I don’t think so. Yeah, I don’t history. I don’t believe so. I mean, we’re only what this is the third year of it. This is the third iteration of it. I mean, I suppose we could quickly pull it up and see like what was the cup standings? Um, yeah. I don’t no that has never happened that we’ve had a team with a negative point differential win their group in the NBA Cup. Um and and that’s just the closest we came was I think a team a couple of teams finished plus eight but unless they beat San Antonio by 17 uh no 19 they’re going to finish with a negative point differential and uh and likely win their group in the NBA Cup. that Portland team too. Um, we talked about it coming into this stretch and said, “I think Philly’s get a bowl. I think Portland’s getable.” And you certainly would look at Brooklyn and even Washington and say like, “These are teetering on non-negotiables that you’re going to have to win these.” You drop those two that, you know, the Philly game was definitely getable. Yep. Portland, I’ll say this. Um, I think it’s easy to look at them, and this isn’t to make an excuse for how the Bucks looked. They were flat. But it’s easy to look at and say, “Well, six guys out of the lineup.” Uh, you need to win that game. Sure. But Portland has also done this to a couple other teams, even in this stretch with guys out. And the big difference is just what we talked about at the top of the show. Yeah. Drew Holiday is out and um Shaden Sharp is out, right? Scoot Henderson is out. The Blazers offense at this point is initiated and goes through Denny Optia and you’ve seen I’m not saying he’s you know upper echelon but Jeremy Grant had the ability to do that as well that they are still in a better spot than the Bucks in terms of offensive creators and initiators even with those guys out. So yeah, I still think it’s a game you needed to win and you should have won, but I don’t think it’s the absolute disaster that it was made out to be. No, I think people are just tired of losing, you know, and rightfully so. Yeah. As losses stack up, the frustration levels get higher. So, I definitely understand it. Um, and again, that was a disappointing game where it’s just like, man, I knew it would be tough, but I didn’t expect it to be this tough without Giannis. So, I I get it. I get it. And on top of that, like the Blazers were on the second night of a backto-back. They had just That was the toughest part. Yeah. By the Thunder themselves on Sunday before they came to Milwaukee on Monday. So, it’s like just expected a little bit more uh from this Bucks team. And I know they do win themselves. So, like they just kind of dust that off. You start winning again, things feel a little bit different. Um because the margin was what it was, they did rest their regulars, their starters for a decent amount. like I don’t think anybody in their starting line have played more than 25 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but nonetheless, you still had a rest advantage and that that’s those are the types of things you’re going to need to take advantage of. Uh I won’t name who it was, but I was talking with somebody after the game yesterday and they had mentioned like, man, when was the last time this team lost five in a row? Like I can’t even remember that. And I just, well, now you’re doing it too, Camille. Cuz I just like I without pause just looked at them dead in the eyes and said, “Do you not remember 12 months ago this team started two and eight? They won their first game and then lost either five or six in a row.” Yeah. The funny thing is like I mentioned that after the loss to gosh, it’s been so many Justin stacking up I can’t even get all the losses together. Uh the one before Portland. So was that the Sixers game? I think it was. Oh, Pistons. Yeah. Dropped to 89. So the funny thing is the Bucks were 89 last season too at this point after after s or felt different. It felt way different. Felt way felt way different. So start four and one this season and now you’re eight and 10 and it’s like ah that’s tough. What I will say because I know we’re getting late here. What I’m looking forward to doing on lockdown bucks as November closes is kind of looking back at the month of November because this whole month so far uh has not been the best for the Bucks. So kind of just identifying trends from the month and things that you would say that it hasn’t been the best. Okay. Hasn’t been the best. No, not the best. Um I was just having this discussion with somebody about a week ago and said like yeah it was uh t it was the Tuesday when the announcement came on Giannis’s update that I was texting with this person and said like man that Warriors game was like two and a half weeks ago. It feels like a lifetime ago already. Yeah. Yeah. because that was when I was I was out of office uh for for the Warriors game and I was so excited uh seeing that they were able to win which gave me a little hope of like hey they can weather the stretch too without Giannis and again it it has not it’s been worse than expected. Uh all right well leave your thoughts on what we had to say on today’s show. I would imagine there’s going to be a decent amount of push back that this is even worse than you projected and imagined. I’m guessing that’s going to be the consensus feeling out there in the comments, but by all means, let us know if you disagree with anything said here. Your thoughts on these two games in the NBA Cup? I I mean, I suppose we’ll ask for it, too. Like, do you care about the NBA Cup? I I understand it’s different with Giannis’ health being more important, but remove that from the equation. And how do you feel about the cup and the Bucks potentially defending that as well? We’ll have the recap of hopefully the end to this losing streak and the third game in the NBA Cup group play for the Bucks coming your way um either late Wednesday night or early what Thanksgiving morning. So TBD on when we’re going to record that one, but we will definitely get a recap of that game coming your way. And I think we’re tentatively planning on having a show on uh Friday, the day after Thanksgiving as well, but we’ll just see. If there’s no updates or anything that changes, then we may um indulge and take a day off ourselves. But that’ll do it for today’s show for Camille. I’m Justin. We’ll talk with you guys once again tomorrow on Locked on Bucks.

Milwaukee Bucks face a critical turning point as injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Porter Jr. threaten their NBA Cup ambitions and expose major defensive issues. Can the Bucks survive this challenging stretch and keep their postseason hopes alive? Justin Garcia and Camille Davis break down the latest injury updates, struggles with ball handling depth, and how the team’s defensive breakdowns emerged even before Giannis was sidelined.

Key discussions cover Ryan Rollins’ silver lining performances, the Bucks’ shrinking margin for error, and why upcoming Cup games against the Miami Heat and New York Knicks are now must-win scenarios. With Miami and New York surging, playoff positioning and in-season tournament advancement hang in the balance. Will Coach Doc Rivers find a lineup solution in time, and could Giannis’ miraculous recovery tip the scales? Don’t miss this strategic look at the Bucks’ most pivotal week yet.

0:00 — Injury Report Updates
2:53 — Bucks’ Defense Concerns
14:12 — Giannis’ Return & NBA Cup Implications

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