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Grading The Bucks Off-Season Moves

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager Jon Horst is a former Executive Of The Year award winner and the roster. When considering the team he built just produced an NBA championship, you got to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. The move he pulled off less than a year ago to bring in Jrue Holiday, the signing of Bobby Portis and the mid season deal for P.J. Tucker proved to be key to the Bucks championship run.

Bucks 2021 NBA Draft Picks: C

The C is for Average as the Bucks didn’t do anything particularly special on Draft night, as  they traded down and made 2 second round picks.

The Big East Player Of The Year, the 6’11” big man from Seton Hall, Alexander “Sandro” Mamukelashvili is interesting to me at 54th overall. He has an ability to shot from the outside and there’s a toughness he plays with. This guy could end up being a backup to Lopez of a sold piece inside for the Bucks down the road.

With the last pick in the second round (60th Overall) the Bucks drafted Georgios Kalaitzakis from Greece. Many fans hoped the Bucks would Draft a different player from Greece in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s youngest brother Alex who went undrafted and was picked up by the Sacramento Kings to play on their summer league team. 

Bobby Portis Resigning: A+ 

I can still hear the fans chanting Bobby, Bobby, Bobby as Portis brings toughness, rebounding and a surprising ability to shot from the outside. To get Portis back on a team friendly deal at 2 years 9 mil was a steal!

Signing Semi Ojeleye: C

Ojeleye is a strong 6 foot 6 Power Forward who is 26 years old and played college ball at Kansas. The 37th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft played the last 4 seasons in Boston well averaging less than 15 MPG in that time span., averaging 3 and a half points and 2 rebounds in that time.

Loosing Bryn Forbes: C-

You never want to use a guy that can get hot and score like Bryn Forbes but the Bucks definitely made moves to counter his loss. Forbes honestly looked extremely unhappy on the sideline as he played little to no mins as the playoffs went deeper and deeper. Forbes went back to the Spurs the place the Bucks signed him away from and hopefully he can pickup where he left off.

Loosing P.J. Tucker: D

The D is for disappointment as P.J. Tucker was a big piece of our culture this championship season and he also helped the dogs on the team, be dogs! But the NBA is a business and the Miami Heat are going to pay Tucker 15 Million for 2 seasons and the Bucks letting him go helped maintain cap flexibility.

Signing Rodney Hood: C+

Hood was hurt last season but before that had a couple very strong seasons as he seemed to have really been developing as a player before the injury. Hopefully Hood is fully recovered and ready to get back to that form.

Bringing Back George Hill: B+ 

George Hill is a savvy veteran who can be counted on to be a leader, play good defense, make smart decisions with the ball and hit open shots. Getting Hill back was a very strong move as he fills our need for a backup point guard and he’s familiar with the team so he should fit back in just fine. 

Grayson Allen Trade: B+

Grayson Allen is the type of player you definitely HATE if he’s not on your team. His antics, hard fouls are what many would consider dirty plays. He kinda take’s my mind back to guys like Ron Artest. But he’s a tough defender, plays hard, hustles and can score including an above average outside shot. To get Allen from the Memphis Grizzlies for Sam Merrell and 2 Future Second Round picks was a good deal for the Bucks. The move ads depth on the wing and helps sure up the backcourt as Donte Divincenzo is expected to be out with the Ankle injury until the second half of the season.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo Resigning: B+

Anytime your able to make a move that the franchise player likes, you did a good thing. In this case Thanasis is the older brother of Giannis and is a big ball of energy. In the limited mins he get he’s all over the place, making winning plays. You can’t even see a player on the Bucks score a basket without noticing Thanasis pumping his fist, jumping up and down and cheering his teammates on. The Bucks were able to lock the Antetokounmpo Brother up on a 2 year deal to complete the offseason moves.

Overall Offseason Grade: B

The High move of the offseason was the return of Bobby Portis and the low move was the loss of P.J. Tucker. But overall the Bucks and Horst did a very good job of filling out the roster and they not have more depth on the wing than in a very long time. They stuck with the theme of defensive minded, tall and tough players and they should compliment the core and players already in place well.

Hello everybody, welcome back to Bango’s Minute on BucksNation.com. Sit back relax, and enjoy. Today, in Bango’s Minute – Episode IV…

Fear the Deer

“Own the Future. Built to Stay. Light it up, light it up – as well as let it fly, let it fly. In recent years, Milwaukee’s invented many slogans and rallying cries to back the Bucks. But there’s one MVP – most valuable phrase – that, no matter what, rises above the rest: Fear the Deer,” said On Milwaukee author, Matt Muller. As the Milwaukee Bucks headed into the 2019 Playoffs, the words “Fear the Deer”, along with pictures of the players, were put up onto the glass that was looking out of the Buck’s new arena, Fiserv Forum. Fear the Deer is a calling sign for all Bucks fans. If you were to walk down the streets of Milwaukee, and say Fear the Deer, to them, they would know what you’re talking about. Fear the Deer stands for what the Bucks are all about, and what they mean to Milwaukee. However, for a while, I have wondered where this slogan came from, and more about it in general. Here is what I’ve learned.

Let me start with where the famous Bucks slogan originated. The answer to this question goes back around ten years, back to when Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut were leading the squad. Some say that the slogan originated as a hashtag on Twitter, when others say that it originated from a chant that was started by the Bucks fan section, the Clutch Crew. But the origin of Fear the Deer may have not been in Milwaukee, but rather, in… Bristol, Connecticut? If you don’t know where Bristol is, it is a smaller suburb of Connecticut’s capital, Hartford, with a population of 60,000. What is in Bristol that may have come up with the slogan, you may ask? The ESPN Worldwide Headquarters. Bill Simmons, who was writing an ESPN column at the time, was recapping a Bucks game against the Atlanta Hawks. Here are a few excerpts of what he said. “Salmons responds to the response with a fadeaway,” said Simmons. “He has 28 for the game and 21 for the half. Playoff basketball! Bucks by three. Crowd alive. Fear the deer. I’ll explain later.” He would later go on to mention Fear the Deer a few more times in this column, Monday Night Diary. “Ridnour grabs the rebound. FEAR THE DEER!” He would also go on to say at the end of his section on the Bucks game, “You’re damned right I fear the deer.” However, it’s what he said in the middle of all of this that points us in the direction we need to go to see where this slogan may have originated. Here is what he said. “Coming back from the commercial, we see Milwaukee fans holding ‘FEAR THE DEER’ signs. That started about a week ago when an ESPN announcer screamed it during a highlight. The rest was history. And you know what? I’m into it.” Who was that ESPN announcer? We found the final piece of the puzzle in an article published in late 2010, by Adam Fusfeld of Business Insider. Here is what he said. “While anchoring SportsCenter last year [end of 2010], ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt exclaimed ‘Fear the Deer’ over Milwakee Bucks’ highlights.” So now you know. It wasn’t the Bucks themselves that came up with a clever slogan, as they had done before and will have kept doing in the future, it was one of the main hosts of ESPN’s SportsCenter that came up with a Bucks catchphrase that is still being used with the team today! As the team has moved through the 2000’s, many different slogans have come and gone. Having tried “Work Hard, Play Hard” in 2009-10, “Our Team, Our Town” in 2004-05, “Ready to Rise” in 2008-09, and “Where Amazing Happens” in 2007-08. In the late 2000’s “Fear the Deer” (a slogan that the team didn’t even come up with) would become the most popular slogan for the team that would last for the entirety of the next decade. 

This lead the team to trademark the phrase, which has become a staple of the team’s marketing and culture. On October 3rd, 2015, the team announced their Fear the Deer Uniforms and Court, marking the first time in NBA history that a team had created an alternate court to go along with the alternate jerseys. Here is what the Bucks would say as they unveiled their jerseys during the Third-Annual Bucks Fan Fest. “The new Fear the Dear platform strips away the periphery of the Bucks brand, leaving the focus squarely on the team and setting a simple, aggressive tone. The new uniforms have been stripped of their base color and traditional front wordmark, leaving just the imposing new Bucks logo on a black backdrop.” That season, the team would only bring out the Fear the Deer jerseys and court four times. The Bucks Pro Shop would line their shelves with the new jerseys and team gear branded with the Fear the Deer slogan. Last season, as they began their first season at Fiserv.Forum, the team unveiled an updated Fear the Deer court, and going into this season, the team updated their Fear the Deer uniforms. These would feature stripes across the middle with the Bucks logo on top of the stripes, what the team would call the Cream City Rainbow. The jersey would keep the black backdrop, making the jerseys look more intimidating than ever. Here is what Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate, WISN, said as the team was heading into the 2019 playoffs. “As part of ‘Bucksifying’ Milwaukee, the Bucks are throwing a big party on the Fiserv Forum plaza Saturday and Sunday.” “We’re going to have Fear the Deer Fridays where we’re going to ask everyone to wear their favorite Bucks clothes to school or to work,” Milwaukee Bucks Senior Vice President Alex Lasry said. Lasry said at the heart of a successful playoff run will be the fans. And compared to prior experiences in the playoffs, 2019 was successful for the Bucks, making it within 2 games of the NBA Finals. 

As the Bucks head back from the All-Star Break, into the second half of the season, the team will need the fan’s support. I could say that this Bucks team has a great chance to reach 70 wins in the regular season, and make, or maybe even win, the NBA Finals. But as fans, we need to keep supporting our team as they push forward. As they make a name for Milwaukee, and the whole state of Wisconsin. We need to tell the world to Fear. the. Deer.

Thank you for reading this week’s Bango’s Minute, and remember, GO BUCKS!

Giannis wants to play with all his brothers! Milwaukee or L.A. it don’t matter to him! Does this mean its time for Bucks fans to panic?

Hello everybody, welcome to a special episode of Bango’s Minute on BucksNation.com. Today, we are going to look at the upcoming NBA All-Star Game in Chicago. This year, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton will be competing. Let’s get started! Here are the rosters:

TEAM GIANNIS

Starters:

G – Trae Young

G – Kemba Walker

F – Pascal Siakam

F – Giannis Antetokounmpo

F – Joel Embiid

Reserves:

Bam Adebayo

Brandon Ingram

Khris Middleton

Donovan Mitchell

Jimmy Butler

Rudy Gobert

Kyle Lowry

TEAM LEBRON

Starters:

G – Luka Doncic

G – James Harden

F – Lebron James

F – Kawhi Leonard

F – Anthony Davis

Reserves:

Chris Paul

Damian Lillard

Nikola Jokic

Ben Simmons

Domantas Sabonis

Jayson Tatup

Russell Westbrook

SKILLS CHALLENGE

Domantas Sabonis

Spencer Dinwiddie

Pascal Siakam

Bam Adebayo

Derrick Rose

Khris Middleton

Patrick Beverly

Jayson Tatum

THREE-POINT CONTEST

Trae Young

Devonte’ Graham

Joe Harris

Buddy Hield

Zach LaVine

Dimian Lillard

Duncan Robinson

Davis Bertans

SLAM DUNK CONTEST

Aaron Gordon

Pat Connaughton

Dwight Howard

Derrick Jones Jr.

HONORING KOBE – NEW GAME FORMAT

In honor of Kobe and Gigi Bryant, the NBA will be using a new format for this year’s all star game to represent the two beloved basketball players. Here is how the game will be played:

• The teams will compete to win the first three quarters, where in each the score will start at 0-0 and run 12 minutes long
• The game clock will be shut off at the start of the fourth quarter, and a target score will be set. This final score will be determined by taking the leading team’s total cumulative scores through three quarters and adding 24 points
• Once the target score is set, the teams will play an untimed fourth quarter and the first team to reach the target score will win the NBA All-Star Game
• The selected community organizations will be awarded $100,000 for a win in one of the first three quarters, and the team to reach the target score first will have $250,000 awarded to their community organization on their behalf of their team
• Team LeBron wearing No. 2 for Gianna and Team Giannis to wear No. 24 for Kobe

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE GAME

NBA All-Star 2020

Location: Chicago, IL

Dates:

All-Star Celebrity Game & NBA Rising Stars – Friday, Feb 14

Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest, & Dunk Contest – Saturday, Feb 15

NBA All-Star Game 2020 – Sunday, Feb 16

TV Network: TNT

Hello everybody. Welcome back to Bucksnation.com and another Bango’s Minute. Sit back, relax, and enjoy Bango’s Minute Episode III:

Built to Stay?

Heading into the 2018-19 season, we had no clue that the Milwaukee Bucks would perform at the level that they did. We figured that we could realistically, at best, reach the 4 or 5 seed. The only glimmer of hope that we may do better came from the team’s new center, Brook Lopez. Here’s what he said about the Bucks as training camps were just around the corner. “Absolutely, we feel like that. We definitely think the East is wide open. It’s going to be such a fun, exciting time in the East and it’s going to be super competitive. There are a lot of teams that can do [big] things, from Toronto to Boston to Philly – you just go down the list and it’s clear that the East is as exciting as it’s been in a long time. I think we’re very confident that we can, no question, win the East.” Would that be true? Only time could tell. This might not have even been a case of Brook Lopez being sure the Bucks would perform, but a case of Brook being overconfident and too optimistic. Stick with me. The reason I say that is because John Wall said almost the exact same thing about the Washington Wizards, a team that finished with a record of 32-50, and an 11th place finish in the Eastern Conference. But the hype train kept growing, with Fiserv.Forum opening, and the “Built to Stay” campaign growing. Eventually, the Bucks had a very successful season. A lot of this success came from their depth and their stars showing up and performing, day in and day out. Heading into this season, I wondered if we would be performing at the level that we did last season. After the season is around half way over, I can say with utmost confidence that we have overperformed last season, at least up to this point. I did ask myself a question recently, though. Will we be able to keep this up in the upcoming seasons? Today on Bango’s Minute, are the Milwaukee Bucks “Built to Stay”?

To do this, I want to start off by looking at the “Stages of Team Building,” a theory made by Dr. Bruce Tuckman in a 1965 article of his. The first stage, is forming. The Bucks have obviously formed a great team. Sure, comparing themselves to a team that had around the same number of wins in a season, the 1997-98 Bulls (62-20) had much more talent on the surface, with Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan. The Bucks best three, consists of Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, and Giannis. The team also has great depth, making a huge advantage when the starters are on the bench. However, looking into the latter stages, I feel like this team was really “formed” a few years ago, around the time when Giannis won the MIP. Eric Bledsoe was just an “addition” to the team. Next, we get to norming. I feel that the bucks are lucky that they had a bad supporting cast when Giannis was young. Back then, he was prepared to stay with us since we drafted him, and we were really all he knew. Now, he is smarter as a businessman, and would consider jumping ship if we weren’t good enough. I say this, because we would have had a lot more issues in the “storming” phase if we were more put together. We would have had more arguments, and things may have fell apart quickly, especially with Jason Kidd as the predominant leader in the locker room. Next, we get to performing. With this stage, I would go as far as to say that the Milwaukee Bucks hit it at just the perfect time. If we would have begun performing just a year earlier, chemistry may have been a bigger problem, considering that Eric Bledsoe had just been traded onto the team, and that things weren’t going great with Jabari Parker. If we would have started performing later, like this season, then Khris Middleton may have left, and I could confidently say that if this happened, then Giannis wouldn’t have been in Milwaukee much longer. Here, a question comes up. How long can we perform at this level? Well, personally, I would say it depends on how we perform this season. That may not seem like much, but it leads to something bigger. Here, is where I address the elephant in the room. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s impending free agency. Now, Giannis can earn much more money if he stays with the Bucks, rather than signing with another team. Giannis has been on record saying that there is something a little more important than this to him. There was a report that Giannis stated that his decision would heavily depend on how the Bucks perform this season. He would later deny that, saying “We have a goal, which is to play ’til the end, and I’m not going to talk about my free agency at all this season, I’m not going to distract my teammates. The attention isn’t going to be on me, it’s going to be on this team and what we’ve got to do to win.” If Giannis stays, who knows how long the Bucks will be able to stay on top. If he goes, the team will head back into the frustrating stage of rebuilding. That would take us to the last stage of team building, adjourning.

But let’s face it, no Bucks players, staff, or fans are focusing on the end. They are focusing on the now. This brings up another question. How long will the now last? How many more years will the team perform at the highest level. How many more shots at the championship will we have. How long until this era ends. Well, there isn’t a way to know the answer to any of these questions. But, we can look at some factors that will contribute to this, to try and get a good idea of what the answer may be. “Is it their star power?” asks Tom Oats, writer for the Wisconsin State Journal. “Their bench? Their defense? Their resiliency? Their consistency? No, it’s their chemistry,” he says. “I think the chemistry that this group has has been cooking in the oven really since the summer [2018],” said coach, MikeBudenholzer, citing the players’ penchant for getting together for non-mandatory workouts and open gyms throughout the offseason. “All of that was happening before there was a single win. And you could see it and feel it at that time, in that phase. To be honest with you, the day I got here, (I saw that) this is a group that likes each other, that gets along. I think there’s a respect for each other, an understanding of each other that’s in a really good place.” The players know that they have their own agenda, and that other players have their own agendas, too. Still, the team manages to stick together, recognizing that they need to perform as a team for every player to do what they want to do. But chemistry, is just one part of the puzzle. Another part, is confidence. “We stay humble, hungry, and we keep trying to play good basketball,” says Giannis. “I don’t think there’s a team in this league we cannot beat.” The thing is, it’s not just him saying that. Other players and teams in the league agree with him. That confidence from the team, and the recognition from other teams, is great motivation that is helping push the team forward. Finally, I want to touch on what last week’s Bango’s Minute (which you can find on BucksNation.com) was based on. How Giannis, and the team, are revolutionizing the game. Here is what Nicolas Batum (Forward, Charlotte Hornets) said on Giannis, prior to the NBA Paris Game. “For his height, he is a unique player. What he is achieving is unbelievable. He has revolutionized the game a bit in his own way. He is efficient on the court, he is a pure basketball player.” Not only us Bucks fans recognize this. Other players do, too.

The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the most impressive teams in the league. They are performing at a high level, and impressing people all around the league with how they do it. Hopefully, the Bucks can stay at the top of the league for a long, long time.

Thank You for reading this week’s edition of Bango’s Minute, and GO BUCKS!

Hello everybody, welcome back to Bango’s Minute. Thank you for all of the support on last week’s article. After publishing I thought about what I could write about for this week. As I was thinking about what I could write, I saw a highlight video of the Bucks vs. Lakers game from a few weeks ago, so I watched it to see if I noticed anything that would make a good writing topic. Then, it hit me. That was the game that Giannis hit FIVE threes. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s Bango’s Minute.

New Year, New Threats

“He was basically a back-cut huy… now, with the ball in his hands, he’s dangerous. We have to load up to him, put three or four guys in the paint, and try to force somebody else to beat us,” said Glenn Robinsion on Giannis Antetokounmpo, before the Bucks faced the Warriors a couple weeks ago. What he’s saying, isn’t new.Throughout his whole career, Giannis has been a force to be reckoned with in the paint. He uses his strength and skill to find the basket to his advantage. According to NBA.com. 63% of Giannis’ shots come from within ten feet from the basket. His height and strength pose a huge disadvantage for other Power Forwards, and even centers, that get matched up against him. Believe it or not, one thing that makes Giannis’ paint play easier (and more effective) is our focus on the 3-point shot. When Mike Budenholzer came in, one of his big focuses was passing until you could find that perfect, wide-open, three point shot. The Bucks listened. Comparing the 2017-18 season to the 2018-19 season, the Bucks went from attempting 2,024 three pointers, to 3,134 threes. If you don’t feel like doing mental math, that’s an improvement of 1,110 threes. Shocking to some fans that have been around for the long haul, Our three point completion percentage stayed almost the same. This new found success, was worth much more than it was on the surface. With defences having to key in on shooters around the perimeter, that took some of the double-teams off of Giannis, giving him a much easier change at bunnies in the paint. This new scheme worked great, as the Bucks drastically improved their record, and the outlook of their franchise. This season, things have gotten even better.

As you remember from Bango’s Minute: The Big Ragu and Wing Depth, I mentioned how deep the Bucks were at the wing spots. However, that doesn’t mean that the Bucks aren’t deep at the 4 or the 5 either. With other skilled players like the Lopez brothers, Ersan Illyasova, and even D.J. Wilson, the Bucks have been playing just fine with Giannis on the bench. Here’s a stat from ESPN. Out of (what ESPN considers to be) the top 5 contenders, the Lakers, Rockets, Clippers, Sixers, and Bucks, the bucks have the best net rating with Giannis on the bench. The Lakers without LeBron, and the Rockets without James Harden even have negative net ratings. So, sure, the Bucks can perform in the paint without Giannis. Looking at the depth chart, you can see that, even though the Bucks have more all around skill at the guard positions, the just don’t have as many bodies. So… why not just put Giannis at the 2 or 3 for a few minutes in a game where we need him there? This may not sound like the best idea, but it does sound a lot better when you look at how much Giannis has improved at shooting the three. Last season, in 72 games played, Giannis Antetokounmpo made 52 3-point shots. Through the first 35 games of this season, he has already made 59 threes, out of 181 attempted. For the modern NBA superstar, 32% behind the 3-point arch isn’t necessarily great. For Giannis, however, it is huge. Giannis did start out his career by making 41 threes his first season. He followed up that season with 7 three pointers the next. Since then, he has been slowly improving. But this year, we have seen the biggest jump in his career. 

Going back to the start, Glenn Robinson was somewhat right, but not entirely. Teams can’t just give Giannis space behind the arc, waiting for him to drive anymore. Giannis improving his three point skill will be vital if we want to win the finals. We need to attack the game at as many dimensions as possible, which will open shots at other positions. 

Thank You for reading this week’s edition of Bango’s Minute, and GO BUCKS!