Khris Middleton provides a playoff performance for the ages but the Bucks fall short to the Pacers in OT

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It's the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.

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On today's Locked-on Bucks ORG, we get a Chris Middleton performance for the ages, a valiant effort by the Bucks coming back from spot where it appeared. They were left for dead, and the postseason essentially debut for all intents and purposes of Andre Jackson, Jr. But it still results in a loss. So the buck's now in a two one hole. How do they climb out of this? Frank PERSON and I take a look at that.And some of the latest coming out of the locker room coming up after this, Unlocked on Bucks WORK_OF_ART. You are locked On Bucks. You are Locked on Bucks, your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast, part of the Locked On

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Podcast Network, your team every day.

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Welcome into Locked on Bucks. I'm Justin Garcia, joined by Frank Madden as we're here to recap the 121, 118 overtime loss in game three of this first round series. We thank you for making lockdown bucks your first listen each and every day, free and available wherever you get your podcasts. You can find it on YouTube as well, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Frank, look, there's a lot of Bucks ORG fans that I think probably tuned out in the last couple of minutes of the first quarter and thought, here we go again.And that group, when they wake up to see the score tomorrow, are going to be stunned. That's all well and good. I've talked to a few people that have said, hey, there's a lot of positive to take away from this. And there are. but this is not a team that is in the market for moral victories. And now for the second consecutive year, you're in a spot where you're in a two to one hole. You don't know if Janus PERSON is going to return in this series. And I do think we cannot state that enough.Everybody keeps saying, well, if they lose, he'll come back for this game or maybe they'll save him for this game. I think you have to approach this series thinking he is not going to play. And now you're in a spot where you got to win three out of the next four games and do that on the road as well. Yeah, you got to win three out of four against a team that has beaten you six

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of eight, right? Those odds ain't great. We're starting with the negative Nelly energy. So I'm going to flip it on you, Justin PERSON. Oh, oh.

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Chris Milton PERSON Appreciation podcast.

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Let's make this start this with the Chris Milton PERSON appreciation.

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Let's do that instead.

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I mean, Chris gets the injury early in game two, twists the ankle. He comes back, plays, you know, 30 plus minutes after turning the ankle pretty early. I mean, I said when we were talking postgame with Camille, I said, like, let's see how that thing swells up over the next couple days, right? Like, when you've seen this, yeah, it's happened to Janus PERSON, too, where Janus will play through a sprain in a game and then, you know, he misses the next game because, you know, sometimes you can just fight through it. I mean, that's even like, you know, normal people will have this experience, right?You turn an ankle doing something. You kind of can go through it and not worry about it for, you know, the rest of your afternoon. And then the next day, it's really swollen. And that also happens to elite athletes. And Chris, obviously, let's just say, does not have the Janus Wolverine PRODUCT healing factor.So I was a bit nervous. I was, when I saw he was questionable, I thought, okay, he's going to play. If he's questionable, it's a playoffs, he's going to play. He does play. And, you know, he was the only steady thing the Bucks had all game, right? And I think just deserve so much credit, put up 42. I know he had 40 in that finals, what game four, I think it was in 2021. I think he had, what, 39 in game six against the Nets ORG?Yeah. So to put up a playoff career high, you know, at a stage when, you know, the negative Middleton people were coming out and using the fact that he was on the injury list as, you know, the negative Middleton people were coming out and using the fact that he was on the injury list as, you know, a reason to freaking try to bury Chris Middleton PERSON and, you know, bad contract, all this stuff, should have traded him, blah, blah, blah. To come back with that performance and, you know, against a guy in Ernie Smith PERSON who's a good defender. And, I mean, they have been battling Erin Neesmith who's a good defender. And, I mean, they have been battling all series.And three games in now, after that 42-point performance, Chris PERSON is averaging over 27 points a game. You know, he's been, he's done everything you could hope that Chris Middleton PERSON, you know, could do. And Dame Lomler did not have a good shooting night tonight. It started off really slow from deep. The whole Bucks ORG team did. But Dame began to put it together a bit in the second half, got to the line pretty effectively,hit a couple pull-up threes in that fourth quarter, or second half, I should say. So, I mean, Dame PERSON came around too. What do you have, like 20 points, I think? But unfortunately, this was the game that he was, you know, hobbled early and then kind of gutting through to the end.And, you know, I think Doc even said at the end, Dame PERSON was just basically like, hey, just used me as a decoy on these last plays because he just did not have any explosion. So now we'll play. Now you only have one day off. And we're going to play this game of not knowing what, you know, Dame's availability is going to be on Sunday, let alone Janus PERSON, who, I mean, Janus isn't even at the point of, like, practicing or, like, going through pregame workouts. I mean, he's just, he's out, like, even before.He's not even a game time decision. So, like, he obviously is not close. So, um, so yeah, I mean, Chris PERSON, the shot making, you know, he got to the rim a bit, you know, that play where he just diced up, uh, Miles Turner PERSON to get to the rim for a lefty finish.And then just those two monster clutch threes at the end of regulation and then late in overtime. Obviously, the overtime one was banked in. So certainly some luck there, but the shot that he hit to send it to overtime with 1.4, whatever it was left, you know, shades of that Boston three that he hit, I guess, whatever it was, 2018.

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Yeah.

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So, so yeah, I mean, look, is Chris the same guy he was, you know, in 2021?

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Physically, no, I don't think he is.

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But I thought his defense was really good today. I mean, you know, Bucks ORG could not grab a rebound to save their lives. We'll talk more about that. That is why they lost this game. But I thought that was just a fantastic performance from Chris Middleton PERSON. I mean, I think hopefully people, regardless of what happens in this series,what happens next year or whatever else may happen with Chris PERSON and his future, I hope people always remember the day that, you know that Chris Middleton PERSON showed up with a bum ankle, played, dominated, and did absolutely everything you could have hoped for to try to win you a playoff game because, again, that was just another example of this guy being a big game, big time player. And, you know, it's been a privilege watching this guy for a decade plus,and he just did it again tonight. And again, they're going to need more of this at some point from Chris PERSON, maybe not 42 points. They're going to need more from him. I don't know what he's going to have in the gas tank on Sunday. But that's partly why obviously this is such a tough game to losebecause you wasted, you know, one of the all-time Chris Millington PERSON games.

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Well, and that's what's been tough about the last two games. And I know the scores were double-digit deficits in both of the first two games. But in game two, you wasted another good Damien Lillard PERSON game. And granted, there was a lot that went wrong in that game, but you had another very solid, consistent Damian Lillard PERSON game. We've seen him do that consistently in the postseason from afar.You know, it's just been three games now that the Bucks have had Dame PERSON, but that wasn't the version you got in the regular season. So part of you was, man, you didn't consistently get this. And now you got it two games in a row and you wasted one of them. This one even more so, you know, you can point to the resolve the buck showed. And they did.And that is worth pointing out that this team could have very easily packed it in and quit and said, Dame PERSON went down. We don't know what his status is. It's already a 19 point deficit. It's over. And we're playing without Janus PERSON, but they didn't.And they slowly started to mount that comeback. But this was, it was there for the taking. You get that performance from Chris Middleton PERSON. That's what makes this very frustrating, knowing what you're up against. I'll say this. And you mentioned the success the Pacers have had against the Bucks this season.Look, I know there's a lot of Dumers out there, but it's still not last year. This is not the Miami Heat ORG. This is not Eric Sp last year. This is not the Miami Heat. This is not Eric Spolstrow PERSON. This is not Jimmy Butler PERSON. It's not a team with all that experience that has been through the fire in the postseason. But it's still not a spot that you want to be in, especially as, you know, you don't know ifYannis is going to play in this series. And now the Damien Lillard PERSON element enters the conversation of what is he going to be like? And are you going to say to Chris Middleton PERSON once more, hey, we're going to need you to do it again. Because that to me is the big takeaway, is that, you know, I think there's a handful of us that have been pretty vocal in our support of Chris Middleton PERSON and how unfairly he gets recognized by his own fan base at times. He is the guy that has consistently showed you this through the last six years in the postseason. In 2021, it's well documented. We've talked about it before. He's the guy.You know, Janus will get the attention. Chris hit the game winner in game one against the heat. Who knows where the series goes if you lose that game. For all intents and purposes, he hit the game winning shot in overtime against the Brooklyn Nets ORG in that closeout game. You mentioned his 40-point game in game six of that series as well. He had a big game. He was a big reason why they closed out.The Hawks without Yannis. And of course what he did in the finals. So this guy has consistently been the guy that has carried your half-court offense through the years in the playoffs, in the biggest spots. And he did it once again tonight, but this was one of those occasions where the rest of the team just couldn't rise up to meet him.

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Yeah, and, you know, just looking back too, even last year, right, as forgettable as that series was, Chris Milton, 24.6 and 6 on 60 plus percent true shooting, something like that, right? After a full year of worrying that you know

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chris was not going to be able to ramp up ever going to be the minutes to be able to you know be as

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effective as you need to be in the playoffs you know he was again like nobody was good in the crunch time of that that series against the heat but um overall like chris's numbers were were terrific right like and and you kind of hit on it right i think i haven't i don't have the updated 10 of team stats but you know if you told us coming to the series that in the first three games you wouldn't have be honest but chris would put up you know 27 points a game on whatever some sort of high efficiency i'm sure it's over 60 percent trueshooting dame was going to put up i think he's averaging like 32 points a game right now in the series on high efficiency. You got to line, what, 12 to 12 today, I think, 12 three throws. You know, only two turnovers. Chris, only three turnovers, five assists in 41 minutes. You know, you would say, geez, take that every day, right?

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Like, you could be getting.

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Yeah, I know. If you could be getting, like, you know, if you could be getting like, you know, if you were getting this version of, of these guys, and again, like, take away some usage, but if Janus PERSON is healthy and you're getting this version of those guys, like, you feel like, man,the bucks are, you know, a death machine again. Like, look out, here we go, right? But, you know, the playoffs are not fair. Like, you know, the thing I always come back to, the playoffs are just a series of small sample sizes. When you have injuries, everything goes out the window.And look, with the way that this team finished the year over the past couple months, I was emotionally prepared for anything to happen in this series, right? I had, you know, God PERSON bless people that thought, you know, the Bucks were going to win this series regardless of Yannis playing or people who thought the Yannis was just going to magically be healthy for game one and just, you know, act like nothing

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that happened. It depends on what they do. If they lose, he'll play. But, um, but, you know,

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again, it's like, it just shows you, I think how it's, it's like, the sport, you just never know what's going to happen. And, you know, as we said, like, now you shows you, I think, how it's, it's a, it's a, the sport, you just never know what's going to happen. And, you know, as we said, like, now you're, you're up against it. And, um, I think the biggest concern is specifically dame's injury and Chris PERSON's, you know, like, fatigue factor in the fact that he's carrying an injury. And, you know, he just emptied the clip, basically here on Friday. Like, what is anybody going to have left on Sunday against a really young Pacers team that now is feeling probably pretty good about themselves and escaped a game in which they missed a ton of me.They made threes early, but then they missed an absolute ton of shots. They were 26% from three. But, you know, I thought the last 10 minutes of game, the Bucks ORG looked very slow and old defensively in terms of not in terms of how they were kind of starting possessions. I think they played a lot of good, really good initial defense, but the problem was they just could not get, they could not end possessions. I mean, I tweeted out at one point like the Bucks ORG, you know, cannot end a possession and save their lives. And then they literally gave up four straight offensive rebounds directly after that tweet. Like, what were there like six chances on that one possession that that those Pacers ORG had?

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I mean, they took 105 shots with what did they take? Like 20 shots more on the bucks, something like

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that. 17, yeah. Yeah, even with the bucks taking a ton of free throws. Um, like that's just really

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hard to overcome. Pacer didn't turn the ball over. And I looked at the half court numbers.

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I think the Pacer's at a 93 rating on first shots in half court, but 47% offensive rebound rate. Like, anything over 30 is very good.

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Yeah.

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47% offensive rebound rate in half court. And, you know, again, like, it's kind of funny. It's like, like, look, I thought Bobby Port PERSON has had a, had a generally poor game. He definitely was able to get buckets and score points in the second half. I thought individually he played pretty well against Siakum PERSON, actually.

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But, you know, again, just as a help defender, he's going to struggle and his shot was

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not there for most of the game. He had a great look that would have put the bucks up six in the fourth quarter when they

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were up three. There was 95, 92, and he had a wide open three.

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And the shot was not falling consistently today. So again, not to like overly pick on Bobby PERSON, but it hasn't been a great series from him. I said it was going to be a litmus test series for him. He's certainly been great when Yannis doesn't play 21 and 11 this year. But he has not been great. And defensively, he's always obviously giving up stuff and it's challenging.So, and Brooke PERSON, I mean, I think, you know, look, people who like dog Brooke, I mean, regular season, like, I mean, you're an 88 if you think the bucks are not desperately dependent on brookelopez defensively i mean they give up a 122 defensive rating when brook was off the floor this year like abominable like they literally cannot defend even when yonis is on the floor when when brook is off the floor during the regular season but they've obviously like had problems they had problems in the regular season defending turnerwith brook GPE um they obviously went to brook on siakum that didn regular season defending turner with brook um they obviously went to brook on siacum that didn't work they went back to brook on turner today turner had another good game siacum ORG did not so i think that was at least something um and halliburton i thought was was good i thought he was effective but you know he didn't shoot well from three and was not an efficient score. So again, like, you talk about like three games in.Like if you told us that Tyrese Halliburton PERSON would be putting up, I don't know,

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his numbers in front of him, but whatever his numbers are, whatever his shooting splits are, you'd be like, oh, man, that's perfect. Like, couldn't hope for more than that. But, you know, his playmaking has been really good. And, you know, I kind of, looking back on that, the late game And, you know, I kind of,

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looking back on that, the late game stuff, you know, I saw some people like on Twitter and real GM and stuff saying, like, oh, like they got to put in a rebounder. Someone literally said put in a rebounder. It's like, okay, Janice PERSON is not playing.

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Who's that guy?

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You have Bobby and Brooke PERSON, literally the only big guys that play for this team. You know, people say, oh, Brooke PERSON doesn't get rebounds. Well, yeah, but he's like, they're always way, I mean, his entire career teams have been

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better. He creates the opportunities.

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Right. He boxes out and they're always better at rebounding when he's on the floor. And Bobby PERSON is obviously a guy that gets rebounds. You know, is he the best rebound in the world? Maybe not. But, like, Andre Jackson PERSON isn't magically like getting all therebounds if you put him in. I think you can certainly say that they would have been better off

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finding a way to get him on the floor potentially for Bobby PERSON late in the game. Um, because I thought,

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you know, we, we should definitely talk about him and what he brought in his minutes to kind of turn the title of it defensively. But, um, I don't know. I mean, like, you'd have to really look'd have to look at the tape again and like, well, why could they just literally not get a rebound? Honestly, I think a lot of it was just they were dead tired from coming back.

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And this team is old and they're playing a young team.

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And that young team, it's interesting. I mean, the Pacers ORG are clearly not afraid one bit of the bucks running on them, crashing the boards and having the bucks run on them going back the other way. Chris Middleton PERSON got fouled, almost had that dunk and maybe should have gotten a flake or foul

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yeah um in late in the game um but other than that like they're they're not worried about the bucks

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hurting them if they crash the boards meanwhile the bucks are like terrified of the pacer's

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doing that to them so there's a huge advantage on the glass for the pacer's in this series because of

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that dynamic um but again like is a smaller land? Like what, Jay Crowder PERSON is going to? I don't know, right? Like Pat PERSON Conantin, like Pat probably deserved, like, I probably wanted to see it a little bit more of Pat PERSON, but whatever, you know, this was just one of those games, like, where part of it is effort and hustle and crashing the glass. And some of us, too, like every time like there was a ball slapped away like the bucks would like deflect the pass and it would go back to the pacers you know it felt like one of those games were just like little stuff or like chris corralling a rebound but then like barely going out of bounds

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i think that was in overtime or late in fourth quarter late in the fourth just like that small stuff

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man it just adds up and you know it just in at the end of regulation, it felt like, man, they pissed away this chance. And then Chris PERSON gives

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them another chance at an overtime. And but same story, right? And you can say, well, you know,

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like Siakum may have fouled Bobby PERSON on the rebound he got and the putback that was kind of the decisive play. I mean, look, bucks, the Pacers ORG, I think, created their own luck in this game to a large extent. And I think they deserve credit. And, you know, again, I think there were obviously positives for the bucks in the way that they were able to find some things at times. And I thought the zone worked pretty well when they went to that. And it kind of changed things up for them.But, but yeah, it's just that's a really tough, tough game to lose. And a series like this with the concern around Janus PERSON, this feels like the game you kind of needed to win, you know?

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Like, this is what turns these kind of close competitive series.

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Like who, when you need, Bucks need to win a game in Indiana GPE. They've lost at home. So they need to win a game in Indiana GPE. And this one was right there. And they weren't able to do it. So, you know, again, not to be fatalistic about it or whatever, but, hey, I had noexpectations. I still have no expectations. So I'm just going to sit here and say, you know, good job, good effort. Maybe not on the boards, but, you know, I'm just going to celebrate Chris Middleton and I'll sleep well tonight. And we'll see what the injury report says tomorrow going into Sunday.

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Yeah, we'll see what the injury report says. Some of those rebounding things I do want to get to. And most importantly, as you mentioned, we do have to spend some time talking about Andre Jackson, Jr. And some of the rotations that we saw here from Doc Rivers PERSON and what that could potentially mean for players like Bobby Portis,too, as you take a look at how do you match up with this Indiana Pacers ORG team? So Frank and I will get into that discussion coming up after the break on Locked On Box PRODUCT. Well, today's Locked On Box is brought to you by Nissan ORG. Are you the kind of driver that likes to push things a little further? Ever wonder what adventure could be around the next corner? Our friends at Nissan ORG have a lineup of SUVs with the capabilities to take your adventure to the next level.There's the 2024 Nissan Rogue PRODUCT. It's perfect for city drives and great escapes. It has class exclusive Google ORG built in as you're always updating the system to call on for almost anything. So gone are the days of connecting your phone to that lightning cable. Use Google ORG Assistant, Google Maps, and Google PlayStores. They are all built into the 12.3-inch HD touchscreen infotainment system.The 2024 rogue is perfect for mid-sized crossovers for your next adventure. Or you could use the 2024 Nissan Pathfinder PRODUCT. It has room for up to eight in expansive cargo capacity and advanced available four-by-four capability with 284 horsepower and up to 6,000 pounds towing when adventure calls. The Pathfinder PRODUCT is there to answer. Take the Nissan Rogue, Nissan Pathfinder PRODUCT, or theNissan Armada, and go find your next big adventure. Shop nisanusa.com ORG. This episode of Lockdown Bucks is sponsored by Better Help ORG. Sometimes we all need the opportunity to get something off our chest big or small. Certain things can really start to get to you. So it's important to let that out, especially to someone who's unbiased on your life. So today, as Frank PERSON and I have gone through, I want to share something that I feel with the rest of you. And that is, I was wrong about Andre Jackson, Jr., which we'll get to in the upcoming segment here, but I'm sure we're all dealing with some anxiety and uncertainty about this playoff series.Well, sometimes there's more difficult things to handle in your life than just is my favorite NBA ORG team going to win. That's where better help comes in for you. Therapy can be different for everyone. Most of us have bigger problems than what we've just discussed with our favorite sports team. So it's important to get those things off your chest every once in a while. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp ORG a try. It is entirely online.Design to be flexible and suited to your schedule. Visit BetterHelp.com slash LockedonNBA, and you'll get 10% off your first month. That is BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com slash locked-on NBA ORG. All right, Frank PERSON, we have to get into Andre Jackson, Jr. Look, that was probably the guy that fans were calling for the most, not just in this series, but this whole season. I was talking with one of the Pacers ORG beat guys, too,just the other day. And after game two, and he said, man, the crowd, when that Jackson PERSON guy entered the game, they really went nuts and explaining to him, yes, that is the newest pet project for Bucks ORG fans. But I think we talked about this a little bitbefore the series started in that. I wondered, could he be an before the series started in that I wondered, could he be an X factor in that maybe you could steal five or so minutes a game from him and use his athleticism and defense and energy to just throw somebody out there on Tyrese Halliburton PERSON. We didn't really see that in the first two games. You saw it today. And I think after seeing this, it's going to be impossible to keep him off the floor in this series.You know, you do have to wonder, do we even get to this point if the score isn't 19 and if Damien Lillard PERSON doesn't go down? And who knows what that means. But nonetheless, we saw it. He made an impact. And I think the only thing that you would nitpick is, man, the Bucks ORG really started to turn this around and at least put themselves back in the game in the second quarterwhen he basically played the duration of the quarter. He had some big minutes in the third. But that was the one thing is, you know, I'm not suggesting have him to close the game. But I think there is definitely opportunities for more minutes for Andre Jackson, Jr. in the fourth quarter. Yeah, I mean, I think there is definitely opportunities for more minutes for Andre Jackson, Jr. in the fourth quarter.

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Yeah, I mean, I think the big thing with him is just the injection of athleticism and, you know, energy that he brings. And I mean, I think I use the phrase old and slow like two or three times in this single, in this one podcast to refer to the bucks, right? And I think that's a phrase that doc rivers has used as well to explain like why they switch as much as they do um so i think just you know bringing more of the energy to match what the pacer's have with some of their young guys um i think is is useful um and especially defensively i think you know it's sort of my things. I think maybe we set him up to, not fail, but the fact that, you know,A.G., you know, Adrian Griffin PERSON put him as like a primary ball stopper, like, you know, put him on the primary ball handler so much early in the season. I think it's, it's great for his learning. I think it's also like probably not like setting him up to succeed so much because again, the fact that he's very aggressive means that he just, you know, has this like prodigious foul rate,

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you know. And I think that's probably a problem like when the other team is in the penalty,

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like when he came into the game like in late game situation, he did come back into the game on number looking at late game situations. I was just like definitely afraid that he was going to get, you know, a foul call. Right. And some of that's like not getting rookie, rookie whistle respect. But, you know, look, he, he is very physical and he kind of, you know, hasn't figured out how to kind of find that, that line between physicality and too much physicality. So, and I think the other thing, too, is like, without Janus PERSON on the floor, you know, you don't have the same concerns about somebody gumming up the paint with the fact that, you know, teams don't respect his, his shot.So, I mean, that was always my thing during the regular season was, hey, go put him on the floor as like a power for, like as the nominal four when dame is out there.

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As the Bucks version of Ben Simmons PERSON.

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Yeah, just like basically running around like setting screens. You know, if dump offs like he can you know short roll make the right read make a good pass um you know certainly he's not going to like take a take a pass and drive to the basket and dunk because again it's crazy i don't he's so weird we saw it again tonight when he had that play where he was driving and i think he got stripped in the open floor. Like, I've never seen someone who is so hyper athletic, has a pretty good handle. It has basketball IQ, but literally, like, when he gets the ball, he has no idea how to, like, get to the rim and finish.Like, he has, and that's why he doesn't look at the rim, right? It's just like, and he's unselfish, too too but he just has no idea what he's supposed to do around the basket there's no instincts as a finisher despite again just the tools being off the charts so i mean that's like obviously the big issue i don't think he's ever going to like become a great finisher but like man if he can just harness that athleticism a little bit, I mean, we've seen the three point shots been totally like solid this year,which he deserves credit for. But I think it's really the defensive end where he's obviously a value add. And you can put him on, you know, a ball handler to pressure to be annoying. But you can also use him, I think, at the top of that zone. You can use them as, you know, put him on a wing or a four and have them switch. I think that's another really useful kind of way to use him is if you've got, you know,like Pat Bev PERSON or somebody on the primary ball handler, you can, you know, whoever they want to run pick and roll with, put Andre Jackson PERSON on that guy. And then, hey, if they want to do that and just try to get switches with Andre PERSON, like, well, like, that's okay, right? That's the, you'd much rather have Andre than, like, Bobby or Brooke PERSON having to switch. So, yeah, I think the energy kind of impact that he brings is sort of just palpable.You had a nice tip dunk today. The offense is going to be a problem. I think, you know, especially in the playoffs, like the scout is going to get out on him. And, you know, teams are going to dare him not just to shoot threes, but literally to shoot like anything.

Speaker 31707.88s - 1708.2s

Anything.

Speaker 21708.88s - 1728.26s

And that's obviously just a huge area that he has to improve on. But, and the other subtle thing that I think is important, the pace, I think one of the biggest problems the bucks have had is the pacers have made it so hard just to get the ball up the floor, you know? Like the pacers like are sometimes like getting shots in four seconds. The buck's like, you know, it's likeers, like, are sometimes, like, getting shots in four seconds.The buck's, like, you know, it's like.

Speaker 31728.32s - 1733.76s

Taking all the time in the world. Like, how many times today you thought, are they going to beat an eight second violation here?

Speaker 21734.06s - 1811.06s

It's like freaking Normandy LOC, just trying to, like, get the ball across mid court sometimes, you know? And, you know, you've got knee Smith on Middleton PERSON, like just denying, denying, denying, denying on the perimeter. Obviously, Nemhart has really been physical with Dame PERSON. And look, Dame PERSON, like, gets by him whenever he's got space, which is why, like,Dame PERSON has still been really successful. But, like, man, he really pressures the ball and makes it hard, which is why they don't give Dame the ball a lot until they're in half court because it's just, like, too annoying to have to bring the ball up. So Andre Jackson PERSON, they were, I don't think they were really putting any pressure on him at all. And he's a good enough handler.He can just sprint up the court and get the ball into half court and get you into your offense. He's not really going to do anything. He's got to then hand it off. But he can at least run a dribble handoff. So that was kind of one of those like subtle things. I actually like that because they do have Pat Bev PERSON all the time.But Pat PERSON has a hard time bringing the ball before too. And Pat PERSON's really not a good passer. Like, he was inbounding it at one point late in the game. I was like, Pat PERSON's not a, not a best. That's like not really a good passer. So it's one of those things I think that there is a role for him,especially with Janice out and with Bobby PERSON really not distinguish himself. I mean, Bobby played, what, 44 minutes today? I mean, man, they were only a minus one in his minutes. So, I mean, I got to acknowledge that.

Speaker 31811.4s - 1815.42s

Yeah, you kind of mentioned it before, too.

Speaker 21816.34s - 1820.76s

I think that's a testament and a credit to the way Bobby PERSON played late

Speaker 31820.76s - 1828.26s

and in the second half because it was, to say he played poorly in the first half would be an understatement.

Speaker 21828.74s - 1830.96s

So when you look at the- I think he was one for six.

Speaker 31831.08s - 1834.96s

The only bucket he made was when he blew a layup and got his own rebound.

Speaker 21835.58s - 1843.5s

And, you know, he, when you look at the box score, you would say, man, if you just watched again, just watched early on the game, you'd think, really, Bobby Portis did that.

Speaker 31843.58s - 1941.18s

18 rebounds, but one of three on threes. And, you know, that's, the thing that struck me to was, it was kind of a, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, when you look at how the pacer's were attacking the bucks on the glass, because it did seem like when they really started to piece together some stops. And it looked like, okay, they're doing something here, was when they were playing small. And Andre Jackson Jr. PERSON was on the floor,and you just had one big. And when we saw them go to the dual bigs, part of you wondered, I don't know if they're going to be able to keep up with the Pacers in this in terms of their matchups. So you better get all the rebounds in the world if you're playing these two.And that's when it seemed like they struggled the most with their team rebounding was when Brooke and Bobby PERSON were on the floor looking at their bench. And again, that's kind of the predicament the Bucks are in with no Yannis. You got three bigs on your team and one of them is out. You're starting the other two. So I wonder maybe not changing the starting lineup. I don't think we're going to see that. But for all intents and purposes, the bucks went eight deep tonight. It was Pat Conditin PERSON,AJ Green, and Andre Jackson PERSON. They're all basically guards. Does that mean you really start to more keep an eye on the splits and some of the staggering between Brooke and Bobby PERSON. And do we see earlier exits for one of the two and just going to smaller lineups, knowing we don't have very many options with the bigs. And we've started to find some success here with those guys, with Pat Conanty, with A.J. Green and with Andre Jackson PERSON in this last game.

Speaker 21942.32s - 1983.82s

Yeah, I mean, it is interesting that the first sub that Doc PERSON has gone through, gone to, I don't know, I don't remember if they did it in this last game. Yeah, I mean, it's, it is interesting that the first sub that Doc has gone through, gone to for, I don't know, I don't remember if they did it in this game as well, but certainly the first two games, Malik Beasley for Bobby Portis was the first sub, right? Which, you know, we see it with Janus typically being an early sub for Bobby PERSON, but there you've got three big. So you can pretty much always have two big men at any given time, whereas now you're onlyplaying two. And so you're either got both of them to start or one of them. And, you know, especially when Bobby PERSON's the only big, like, I mean, I think the results today were actually pretty good when Bobby PERSON was the only big. But like, I don't think that's like some sustainable thing.

Speaker 01983.82s - 1984.94s

Yeah, like you wouldn't look at that.

Speaker 21990.4s - 1993.64s

And you like, oh, yeah that that makes sense right it happened in game one as well remember the second quarter of game one when they won on that big run it's like but to me that's more of the

Speaker 31993.64s - 2000.4s

pacer's kind of not taking advantage of the personnel but it is an interesting question I mean

Speaker 02000.4s - 2005.84s

look I fully expect Bobby's going to be starting so long as Janus PERSON is not playing. But I do think it's an interesting question.

Speaker 32005.94s - 2011.8s

Like, would you be better off playing Andre Jackson as like your four to start or something like that?

Speaker 02012.34s - 2022.06s

And, you know, I don't know in that scenario, do you put, would you put Andre on Steyakum or would you put Chris on Siakum PERSON, which we've seen at times?

Speaker 22023.24s - 2027.92s

I don't know, but it's probably irrelevant because they're not going to go to that starting group.

Speaker 32029.28s - 2042.14s

But it does certainly, Andre as a darting the four is interesting just because then it kind of, he's not on ball very much, but you know, he can blow up any switch because he's so switchable.

Speaker 02042.14s - 2045.16s

So, so I mean, I think that's the interesting thing.

Speaker 22045.32s - 2046.3s

I fully agree.

Speaker 02046.42s - 2052.58s

I mean, Andre PERSON obviously has made his case that he should have a role with this team.

Speaker 22052.88s - 2091.1s

You know, Jay Crater plays two minutes tonight, barely played last game as well. So it looks like it's a redux of last year. Can't blame Bud for this one, Jay. But I think Ajax needs to play at least 15 minutes, you know. And I thought AJ Green, you know, the Pacers ORG give up the fewest wide open threes in the league. They really try to take away the three point line.That's not their issue defensively. And AJ got, didn't take a three today, but he did have four points, hit a midrange jumper. And so and I just thought, I think he's been just very solid defensively, you know.

Speaker 32091.1s - 2094.78s

And this has been going on now for a couple months really, right?

Speaker 22094.78s - 2095.56s

Half of the season, yeah.

Speaker 32095.56s - 2100.14s

Yeah. I mean, like I feel like early in the season we started to see that he, I think as a rookie we

Speaker 22100.14s - 2106.14s

saw that he was, he was very good at being in the right spots, but physically you saw

Speaker 32106.14s - 2107.58s

the limitations.

Speaker 02107.96s - 2111.04s

And I think, I don't know how much like weight he might have put on over the summer.

Speaker 22111.34s - 2122.56s

He just looks stronger. And I think that he's just become, at least as like an individual defender, I think he's become actually like, I would say like above average, you know.

Speaker 02123.24s - 2126.58s

I think there's certainly you can question like his team defense

Speaker 22126.58s - 2133.04s

is he you know he's he's not coming over for help blocks or something um but i think he's really

Speaker 02133.04s - 2138.92s

acquitted himself well and he doesn't really make mistakes defensively which you know is a huge

Speaker 22138.92s - 2149.26s

huge thing when you're a young player just don't beat yourself right um so i think i hope we see more of him he has not i don't know if he does? So I think, I hope we see more of him. He has not, I don't know if he, does he have one three in the series maybe? I think so.

Speaker 32149.26s - 2151.84s

Yeah, he has not shot the ball well from outside.

Speaker 22152.08s - 2155s

But, you know, we know what he's capable of.

Speaker 32155.18s - 2159.9s

And, you know, I've been sort of looking at him all year as like the guy that when,

Speaker 22160.18s - 2163.9s

when Malik Beasley presumably leaves in the summer because the buck really can't pay him

Speaker 32163.9s - 2169.64s

anything, that, you know, that's like the spot for AJ Green PERSON to become, even if he's not starting,

Speaker 22169.64s - 2172.08s

that he becomes the designated shirt.

Speaker 32172.08s - 2173.16s

Heavy minutes there, yeah.

Speaker 22173.36s - 2184.92s

Yeah. And, you know, especially if Janus PERSON is healthy, I think you can argue like, man, you'd probably be better off playing AJ PERSON as a starter at this point than going to at the bench.

Speaker 32188.06s - 2193.02s

But I hope we continue to see, you know, again, is he going to get 30 minutes? No, I don't think that. But I hope we continue to see him getting like 15 minutes

Speaker 02193.02s - 2197.98s

at least. And hopefully he's got, you know, a five minute run in him where he hits like three

Speaker 22197.98s - 2217.42s

threes or something like that and can turn the tide of the game. So, um, so yeah, again, like I guess like silver line, you know, we were not hoping to have like, like, AJ Green PERSON looking playable as like the, you know, silver lining of the playoffs. But, but I think, you know, we obviously, there's been a lot of complaints about Doc PERSON, not developing young guys generally.

Speaker 02217.88s - 2221.24s

But AJ PERSON is a guy that he's trusted for a while now.

Speaker 22221.24s - 2248.54s

And, you know, hopefully he can have, continue to play like this defensively and maybe have a bit more of a breakout offensively. And then hopefully with Ajax ORG, you know, we continue to see them basically is like forcing them to find minutes for him, which again is hard. Consistency is the enemy of many young player, including, I think, for him. But yeah, shout out to those guys. Like, they're not afraid of the moment, which, you know, is, you can't say that about a lot of rookies. Yeah.

Speaker 32249.46s - 2353.84s

Well, does it count for developing a young guy if Doc knew Shegildjus Alexander was going to be this good and urge the Clippers ORG not to make that deal? And also, AJ PERSON actually has no threes in this series. He's only taken four. And I think that's, you know, you pointed to the way the Pacers ORG defend the perimeter is going to be the challenge. But, I mean, as unfair as it may be, you need A.J. Green PERSON to take more threes than that. You need A.J. Green totake A.3 tonight. And when you look at this team as a whole, again, when we talked about the performances from Dame in the first two games the performance of chris in this game you couple that with a version of tyrese halliburton that is starkly different from what we saw in the regular season matchups he's shooting at low 20% on threes in this series and low 40s from the field he just up until tonight didn't really appear to have all that much burstand looked more tentative. That's all of that is what makes it even tougher to swallow being in this one to two hole for the bucks. And I think the last point on Andre is, like, I think all of us were awarethis guy does need to play. I think we didn't think he would just because of what you said. And in fairness, it's not just Doc Rivers PERSON. It's most coaches. We have the same conversations with Bud, and it's not just bud. You just don't see young guys getting those minutes for the most part.So I think that was really a lot of the hesitation that we brought. But we've reached the point of, you know, we've seen it in one of these games now. So it just has to continue, especially when there, frankly, are no other options for the bucks when you look up and down at who they have.

Speaker 22353.84s - 2355.34s

Just play a rebounder, Justin PERSON.

Speaker 32355.66s - 2357.36s

Just get a rebounder in there.

Speaker 22357.64s - 2360.04s

Just find the rebounder and get them on the floor.

Speaker 32360.16s - 2453.86s

We'll take a look at those rebounding issues, where the bucks go from here, the rest of the outlook for this series. And one other parallel that I think there is from this series to another one that the bucks were a part of a couple of years ago. So we'll take a look at all that coming up after the break on Lockdown Books ORG. Well, this episode of Lockdown Books brought to you by LinkedIn ORG. It isn't just a job board.It helps you hire professionals. You can't find anywhere else, even those who aren't actively searching for a new job, but might be open to the perfect role in a given month. Over 70% of LinkedIn ORG users don't visit other leading job sites. So if you're not looking on LinkedIn, you're looking in the wrong place. On LinkedIn, 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours. Hire professionals like a professional on LinkedIn ORG. LinkedIn knows that small businesses are wearing so many hatsand might not have the time or resources to hire. So they are constantly finding ways to make that process easier. Even just launched a feature that helps you write job descriptions, making the process not only easier but quicker. Two and a half million small businesses use LinkedIn ORG for hiring. You should as well.Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash locked on NBA ORG. That is LinkedIn.com slash locked on NBA to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Looking for an assist with your credit card but can't get a hold of

Speaker 12453.86s - 2481.32s

anyone. Luckily with 24-7 U.S.-based live customer service from Discover ORG, everyone has the option to talk to a real person anytime day or night. Yep, you heard that right. You could talk to a real human in customer service anytime. Sounds like a real game changer if you ask us. Make the right call and get the service you deserve with Discover ORG. Limitations apply.See terms at discover.com slash credit card. And Frank PERSON, as you know,

Speaker 32481.76s - 2626.54s

lockdown has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel as well so you can turn off ESPN and Fox Sports and not deal with all the screaming. Lockdown Sports today here for you programming the biggest stories of the day from all the local experts you've come to expect from locked on our national shows as well. You get analysis, opinions, news, streaming 24-7 on YouTube, or the free Amazon Fire TV PRODUCT channels app. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. So one thing I did want to mention is in some ways, and maybe this is just hopium, Frank PERSON, but in some ways this series reminds me of, as we mentioned, that Chris Middleton shot that series in 2018,when the bucks were the seven seed, they were the plucky young team that, you know, can they get out of the first round for the first time and forever? Celtics were the two seed, but they were playing that series without Kyrie Irving PERSON. Now, you knew Kyrie PERSON wasn't returning in that series or playing in the playoffs. There's still ambiguity with Yanis PERSON. But that series went the distance.It went seven games. And I think the Celtics ORG were the betting favorite, but it was very, very slight. And as the series went on, there was more of, I think the Bucks ORG are going to win this series. It was ultimately the Celtics team that had more experience at one. There's some components that remind me of that series. But I would say the biggest difference is the way the Pacers ORG responded in game twoand looking at game one, you couldn't tell if it was just, was this a just a tentative group that was kind of feeling out the playoffs? They looked much more energized, played at a better pace in game two. And you saw a lot of that confidence in this game tonight. But there were still some moments in the fourth quarter, which again, not to dwell on these things, makes it even more frustrating.It seemed like the Pacers ORG were kind of playing hot potato. And there were stretches where you could tell the moment maybe getting to them. And guys, we're not really looking to take the shot. It just felt like if the Bucks could have, we mentioned that Bobby Portish sequence, you could have got it to five or six and made it a two possession game at any point. You'd start to feel good. But that was one of the storiesof this game. It took the Bucks forever to move past that 10 or 11 point mark. And then once they got in front, they could never push it further than three yeah i mean the lead

Speaker 22626.54s - 2704.02s

was you know felt kind of brief and they did you know have brief one possession leads um in overtime at at a couple points uh but you know i just come back to the offensive rebounding for this for the pacer's right i mean like you can screw around and look nervous and take bad shots all you want. If you always get the offensive rebound, at some point you're going to score if you're an NBA ORG team. And unfortunately, that was the case, you know, that we saw. Like, they just had so many, you know, their margin for error on offense was so massive given the fact that they just kept getting reload.So, yeah, I mean, it's just too bad that, you know, the Bucks ORG have been a team over the course of the season had, were, you know, for all the complaints early, like they were a very good defensive rebounding team over all this season. They've always been that, you know, under bud PERSON. But this is obviously just, you know, you take Janus PERSON out of the mix. Like, it's just a different calculation.And, you know, it take Janus out of the mix. Like it's, it's just a different calculation. And, you know, it was just absolutely fatal today. So I'm going to go ahead and say that this Pacers are going to come out and crash the boards again on Sunday. I don't think they're going to have any fear, you know, of the bucks running them ragged, you know, in terms of transition. And that's the problem, right? It's like Andre Jackson PERSON's like the athletic guy that they have.

Speaker 32704.9s - 2709s

Andre PERSON can dribble in the open court, but he doesn't know what to do with it when he's an adventure.

Speaker 22709s - 2715.42s

When he's bearing down on the basket. And so we'll see. But I figure should mention as well.

Speaker 32715.52s - 2720.12s

I mean, we talk about like the kind of ins and outs. I mean, Malik Beasley barely playing tonight.

Speaker 22721.48s - 2771.28s

And, you know, I mean, it's tough for him, right? I mean, he talked smack against the Pacers during the regular season on whichever podcast that was, doubled down on it, hit a couple shots in the first game, but it's pretty much been, you know, pretty absent since then. And again, the upside is that it's because in part of guys like AJ and Andre PERSON getting some run. But I think, I mean, I think there's a Pat Bev PERSON conversation to be had.And I think my concern, my concern with Pat Bev was always like, you know, the stuff that makes him a really useful regular season player. Like at what point does, you know, does his age and just his limitations at this point of his career in the playoffs like at what point like you know is he just over his skis a little bit

Speaker 32771.28s - 2774.14s

and you know we saw it on the last play

Speaker 22774.14s - 2828.8s

again that's a really hard play with haliburton with a head of steam like I don't know I don't know if there's anybody on the buck's roster that was going to do him a whole lot better on that play you can argue the bucks just generally weren't set up well to defend that play um but you know again like it's uh you're getting a very uh heavy dosage of pat bev in this series like doc is sticking with a guy that that he knows and trusts and i think between bobby and pat bev he's he's going to sink or swim with those guys.And there's going to be times when it works. And, you know, I think there's going to be times when it doesn't. And I think with Pat, you know, it's not too much that he's really good 1v1 on Tyrese PRODUCT. It's more that, you know, I think he knows which way to send him. And I think also Pat PERSON holds up when he switches better than certainly most point guards, like a campaign or something like that, right?

Speaker 02828.8s - 2833.48s

So it's hard, but, you know, Pat PERSON's also obviously like offensively, you know, he's not

Speaker 22833.48s - 2834.14s

much of threat.

Speaker 02834.44s - 2839.08s

And, you know, he's always trying to like push the, you know, push it up the floor and

Speaker 22839.08s - 2843.02s

he's always looking for other guys. So it's, he's kind of a weird offensive player in that regard.

Speaker 32843.4s - 2850.26s

And he does touch the paint quite a bit. Yeah. But yeah, he tries to bend the defense. And yeah, but the problem is like he can't,

Speaker 22850.64s - 2854.42s

he can't really create advantages. Yeah, he can't really create advantages for himself, right? Which is

Speaker 32854.42s - 2859.88s

ultimately kind of what, you know, really limits what he can do offensively. So it's hard, you know,

Speaker 22859.98s - 2863.3s

I don't know. I mean, I people, I know there's been a lot of people, I saw a lot of people complaining

Speaker 32863.3s - 2867.56s

about Doc Rivers PERSON. And I, it's like, not even sure, like, exactly what the complaint was.

Speaker 22867.62s - 2868.38s

I think a lot of it's around.

Speaker 32868.5s - 2869.34s

What do you want them to do?

Speaker 22869.68s - 2877.58s

Right. I assume a lot of it's like, well, Bobby and Brooke PERSON, like, put them on the bench. But, you know, it's like, look.

Speaker 32878.02s - 2883.7s

So I didn't, I didn't think either guy distinguishes up. Brooke PERSON had some really good moments running pick and roll, diving to the rim.

Speaker 22884.9s - 2890.64s

Man, when he missed that shot, when he pulled up and tried to hit that little floater over Halliburton ORG and OT that he missed,

Speaker 02890.72s - 2892.92s

I was like, damn it, Brooke PERSON, go strong.

Speaker 22893.32s - 2902.78s

But yeah, I mean, like your other, I mean, without Janus PERSON, like your options in the front court are very limited. And if you think going smaller would have made them better at rebounding, like,

Speaker 32902.78s - 2905.38s

I was going to say, like, you're getting crushed in rebounding.

Speaker 22905.38s - 2907.24s

So get Brooke and Bobby PERSON out of the game.

Speaker 32907.48s - 2908.34s

Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 22908.68s - 2930.82s

They're just, the bucks are this team. I mean, the thesis of this team is you've got Janus, you got Dam and Chris PERSON, and that's going to carry you. You don't have Janus PERSON. You know, everything goes out the window, right? So, yeah, it's just, I just can't get too bent out of shape over it.You know, it sucks. But if they're not healthy, it's almost irrelevant.

Speaker 32931.44s - 2945.12s

You got to be healthy. You got to be lucky. You got to be good. And the Bucs had all three of those in 2021. They have not had all three of them since 2021. So I don't know if that was part of the deal that the Bucks ORG made to win the title or what.But again. I'd make it again, by the way. I that the Bucks ORG made to win the title or what.

Speaker 22945.54s - 2946.78s

But again... I'd make it again, by the way.

Speaker 32946.96s - 2948.04s

I'll make that bargain again.

Speaker 22948.16s - 2949.18s

I'm okay with it.

Speaker 32949.9s - 2952.04s

I would definitely make that again.

Speaker 22953.32s - 2959.72s

And look, I think after game three, well, after game four, especially last year,

Speaker 32959.72s - 3021.9s

it was pretty apparent where things were headed. After game three, you didn't feel great. I'm not suggesting you feel good here because, again, the elephant in the room is we don't know if you can expect Yonis PERSON back, but my contention is this isn't the same challenge. Not to say it's not a challenge, but this is not the prospects of crawling out of that hole against that Miami Heat ORG team that we ultimately saw go on to the Eastern Conference Finals. And who knows, maybe the Pacers ORG miraculously do the same thing,and I eat those words. But it's going to be a challenge. Again, I hate the whole must-win adage. The elimination game is must-win. So Sunday is not a must-win, but it's a man, you really need to win this game because if you come back to Milwaukee down 3-1, I don't care how veteran of a group you are, especially when you have the skeleton of that team that was there a season ago. You can't, it's human nature. You can't deny that part of that is going to creep in of, oh, man, this again, we're down 3-1 in the first round,

Speaker 23021.94s - 3029.52s

and this is how we go out. Yeah, and the unfortunate thing is, too, is I was just double-checking. I mean, you only have one day off here before.

Speaker 33029.8s - 3031.08s

Yeah, there's no more extra rest.

Speaker 23031.38s - 3038.78s

Yeah, and then game four, or sorry, game five is Tuesday. So you don't get, you know, I was kind of hoping like, oh, maybe we get that extra day to Wednesday.

Speaker 33038.94s - 3047.4s

You get Thursday on Wednesday, yeah, no. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think if Janus plays Sunday, it's going to be, you know, a very touch and go thing.

Speaker 23047.9s - 3055.6s

And, you know, like, if Janus PERSON, I mean, I don't think, if Janus plays, he's not going to be on a minutes limit.

Speaker 33056.32s - 3061.62s

But I just, with these soft tissue injuries, like, I just don't, I just don't even.

Speaker 23061.84s - 3064.02s

At this point, I'm just like, don't even bother.

Speaker 33064.02s - 3070.08s

The downside to it and what it could carry over in the next season is the, like, don't even. At this point, I'm just like, don't even bother. The downside to it and what it could carry over in the next season is the like, don't even touch this.

Speaker 23070.38s - 3070.52s

Yeah.

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Yeah.

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This season, I mean, now with this dame injury and stuff like, this season is just so cursed, you know? And I realize like you can't just punt on a year when like a window, right?

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When your window is maybe maybe maybe another year after

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this yeah maybe um but it's this this this season has just felt like so so screwed like when you just look look back on it like literally from you know last summer through to today it's just the basketball gods just do not seem to want to make this happen with the hockey box. So, you know, it is what it is, right? I'll think back finally to 2021. And if that was the bargain, you know, it is what it is.It's too bad. You know, I, Justin PERSON, at least we can, at least we can play the, the moral high ground and say that the bucks when any of their,

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when they had all of them together.

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When all their big three, whether it was Drew and Janus Chris PERSON or now Dame and Janus Chris,

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they have not lost since the bubble together.

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But alas, they have also not actually all been healthy since 2021. So it is what it is. Yeah, it's just too bad, but I don't know. I'm not mad. No.

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No, and look, that's the thing, is I think we all understand that next year was ideally going to be your peak year. When you think about the time it was going to take for Janus and Dame PERSON, and especially when you factor in another new head coach and all of that. But as you mentioned, it's, I don't know if it's borrowed time, but it's an older group. And, I mean, you are looking at next year with just the constraints you're going to facewith the second apron and the age of your roster, the fact that it's walk years for Chris Middleton and Brooke Lopez PERSON, that, I mean, it's easy to explain when you talk about the injuries and everything else, but it's also a lot of pressure for next year of this is basically the last stance for that group, if that's how you approach that season. But again, it's not a conversation we need to have yet.Folks, there's still two losses away from having that. And we'll see how this team responds on Sunday, because either this is you found the things that worked. Maybe it means more minutes for Andre Jackson, Jr. And some different looks and more minutes for some of those younger guys. And that's how we're going to keep up with this Pacers ORG team.Or it's a Pacer ORG's team that kind of use this. You know, as we mentioned some similarities, part of this felt like that game three in Toronto GPE. And granted, that was a different spot where you would have been up three games to none, but you look back at that one and thought, man, that was right there for the taking. You lose in what, double overtime. If you win that, you're on to the NBA ORG finals in all likelihood.And maybe it's the same with this. And the Pacers ORG look at it and say, we know we can beat this team. And now we took this game from that that we feel like we can put them one step away from elimination on Sunday. But that is the conversation for Sunday. And we'll see how this Bucks ORG team responds. We will be back Sunday nights with the post-game podcast, hopefully recapping an evenseries at two games apiece. For Frank, I'm Justin. We'll talk to you once again, Sunday night on

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