The weird and wacky world of basketball! We truly see it all the time now, a great example would be the Bucks. Another one would be the Suns, this is so strange that it is not funny.
If you didn’t listen to our podcast, then you probably didn’t hear about the prediction I made about Giannis and the Bucks.
I predicted that the Bucks were going to have a dunk-fest, mainly Giannis, on the Nets. Sadly, it was the complete opposite. Please share to me how the Nets, who don’t have Dinwiddie, KD, or Kyrie, can beat the Bucks?
Throughout the whole game, especially early on, the Bucks were trailing to the Nets. LUWAWU-CABARROT and Temple combined for 45 points! The Nets, despite horrible roster, are 2-1. The only loss they had was at the hands of the Magic.
Take this into perspective; the Bucks have Giannis, Bledsoe, Middleton, and Korver. But they still couldn’t win, this hasn’t been a pretty sight for the Bucks as they lost back-to-back games. One against the Rockets and now the Nets.
The Nets, who lost their three key players, have been playing their second team/rotational players and winning. On top of that Jamal Crawford came back to the league for his debut as a Net in the Bubble; sadly, it ended short with an apparent hamstring issue.
What are the next two games for both of these teams?
For the Nets, they have to go up against the Celtics. This is happening today on ESPN for anyone that wants to watch. Even though the Nets are riding on the hot-wave of momentum, the Celtics should not lose. The Celtics have Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker. That’s a pretty stacked team, just by looking at those three players.
Now, I will say, there is no advantage here. Meaning this, that both teams are going to be playing back-to-back games. In the sense of yesterday and today, now the Nets are on a two-game win streak while the Celtics aren’t. If the Nets come away with this win, then this is a team to look out for. Because that would make them 3-1, imagine that.
Finally, to the Bucks. On the sixth, the Bucks will be playing the Heat. This could be a tough matchup, but I still have to believe that Giannis and his team will prevail against the Heat. If the Heat doesn’t have Jimmy Butler back, it’s over. Giannis, Middleton, and Bledsoe will run wild in Miami. The Bucks need this for a confidence booster and to get on the path of success.
The underdogs pouncing viciously!
I’m not kidding when I use that phrase, the Suns are the ultimate underdogs and have been pouncing on their prey (meaning opponents). The Suns yesterday, closed out an epic game against the Clippers. Where Devin Booker hit the game-winner, winning it 117-115. Booker was explosive from the arc, Ayton was finding his rhythm, and Rubio made things happen passing wise.
The Suns have earned their third win in the Bubble, which makes them 3-0. They are undefeated in the Bubble, this is a miracle unto itself. The eighth seed is wide open now, how? Because teams are losing, the Grizzlies lost Jaren Jackson Jr to an untimely injury, and the Suns just past the Kings with this win today.
If they make it 8-0, which is a higher probability then what it was a month ago, they will be in the playoffs. They have been showing us that without the fans, without practicing for several months, and with a tough schedule; they have been showing us that they are hungry to win. Suns beat the Clippers and the Mavericks, two big-time teams.
With fate, luck, and whatever else is on their side; this could be the Sun’s year in 10 years to reach the playoffs. The talent has been meshing together nicely, players been scoring holding their grounds, and no crucial errors have happened yet. The Suns have the favor on their side, with all this moment they should be able to beat the Pacers this upcoming game.
What do the Pacers need to do to stop them?
This has been the team climbing up the ranks in the Bubble, this is a team that nobody can sleep on. The Pacers need to focus their attention on Booker, he has been having the hot-hand lately. The Pacers need to trap him, not letting him create his own shots, and especially when driving. If they fail then Booker will be getting all the attention and leaving DeAndre or Rubio open for the easy basket.
This certainly will be interesting on how the rest unfolds, it feels like everything has been swapped. Like the Bucks are playing like the Suns and the Suns like the Bucks. Either way, the Bucks are in the playoffs. Have one of the best records in the league, and the Suns are fighting for a spot. The underdogs have now put themselves on notice. The radar is beeping fast, can teams respond quick enough?
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According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the National Basketball Association is set to launch an investigation into Gary Trent Jr. and the Milwaukee Bucks regarding the new agreement between the two sides on the four-year, $64 million contract.
The NBA has confirmed they’ll be “continuing to look into” the contract and if anything shady occurred behind closed doors. They view this as possible salary cap circumvention, plus their collective bargaining agreement contains a clause against “prior agreement.”
Trent’s $64 million deal follows two successive seasons playing for Milwaukee at the veteran’s minimum.
The last time the NBA stepped in, investigated, and handed out punishments for this type of alleged behavior was back in 2000 with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joe Smith. The league proved that both sides signed a written, illegal secret agreement that promised Smith a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract extension after he had played three seasons on minimum contracts for the organization.
The punishments handed out were penalties and voided a contract; if Trent Jr. and Milwaukee were to be found guilty, then they would most definitely receive some of the same treatment. The extent of the punishment is unknown, as investigation is still pending, but many speculate it would follow the same rules as the Joe Smith situation 26 years ago.
The 27-year-old opted out of his player option to become a free agent this offseason and is set to earn $15.2 million this upcoming regular season.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Boston Celtics did submit proposal offers to the Milwaukee Bucks, but ultimately the Miami Heat’s offer was selected. This led to Giannis Antetokounmpo being traded to team up with Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell, and others.
Boston’s offer was Jaylen Brown and two first round picks. This emphasized pushing an offer that was superstar driven and not a volume-based, breaking the bank type offer. Completely different than the offer submitted by Pat Riley’s Heat.
It is unclear if Brown will be fully shopped now, but there is a reportedly growing expectation of him being offered to teams who do show interest. The Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Houston Rockets all have shown interest in him. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has confirmed these rumors and turned them into reports.
Brown is eligible for a contract extension this offseason and is signed until the 2029 offseason.
In a blockbuster trade late Monday night, per the reporting of ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Milwaukee Bucks have traded Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro and a load of players and picks, including this upcoming draft’s 13th overall pick.
Miami gave Milwaukee Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap, and one second rounder. This was significantly more than the Boston Celtics trade offer; Brad Stevens only offered them two first-round picks and Jaylen Brown.
After declining to go with Boston’s offer, Jon Horst and Andy Elisburg got to work finalizing the trade agreement. Fans will now see Bam Adebayo teaming up with two-time MVP, one-time Finals winner Antetokounmpo.
The reason why Milwaukee did not go with Boston’s offer is simple: they preferred the flexibility of controlled contracts and future draft picks over a single superstar player with limited draft picks. Flexibility in planning and financially played a huge role in their decision making.
For Antetokounmpo, the 31-year-old has been linked to the Heat’s organization since 2020 – before winning the 2021 NBA Finals with the Bucks. This got canned when Milwaukee made the Jrue Holiday trade and he then signed the supermax contract.
Last offseason, Antetokounmpo wanted to be traded to the New York Knicks, asked the Bucks to make it happen, but nothing serious came of it. This last postseason, fans saw New York win their first NBA championship since 1973 – 53 years ago.
After 13 seasons with the Bucks, Giannis became a franchise legend by being their all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and games played. Plus, winning them their franchise’s second-ever championship, breaking the 50-year drought they had. After the Finals concluded, Adam Silver presented Antetokounmpo with the Finals MVP. On top of that impressive resume, not forgetting two MVPs (2019, 2020), he was also a ten-time All-Star under the Bucks.
