2021-22 NBA Thread: The Bucks are Reigning Champs

[jficke13]

That's not what he asked though.  He's not saying "he shouldn't have to" if that was the case, just wondering if he gave a reason.

Im getting more and more the vibe of Kyrie pulling a Barry Sanders and walking away as a star in his prime.  He's made $160MM in salary, not including another $35MM this year, plus $15MM+ a year the last few years from Nike cause his shoes are insanely popular.  He's an odd duck and I can see him just walking away to go pursue a bunch of other stuff.  Always struck me as someone who is a prodigy but never LOVED basketball like some of the greats.

Also, I like Kyrie a lot and have always thought he was misunderstood but him being an anti-vaxxer is one of the least surprising things ever.  He'd basically be in the first 5 NBA players named if you asked who would be vax holdouts in the league before it began.

I would have bet a russian roullete round on Kyrie being an antivaxxer. Dude's a flat earther. (sure sure he says he was just joking, but come on now).

The #1 guy for being this flavor of idiot was Kyrie. The number 2 guy? Also Kyrie.

[MU82]

Im getting more and more the vibe of Kyrie pulling a Barry Sanders and walking away as a star in his prime.

See ya!

[MuggsyB]

Kyrie has over 70 mill left on his contract.  He might walk away if he gets a big chunk of that but I assume they won't have to pay him.  He's not bolting if he's gonna lose 70m.

[Uncle Rico]

Kyrie has over 70 mill left on his contract.  He might walk away if he gets a big chunk of that but I assume they won't have to pay him.  He's not bolting if he's gonna lose 70m.

Eh, I’m wouldn’t be so sure of that

[Jockey]

That's not what he asked though.  He's not saying "he shouldn't have to" if that was the case, just wondering if he gave a reason.

Im getting more and more the vibe of Kyrie pulling a Barry Sanders and walking away as a star in his prime.  He's made $160MM in salary, not including another $35MM this year, plus $15MM+ a year the last few years from Nike cause his shoes are insanely popular.  He's an odd duck and I can see him just walking away to go pursue a bunch of other stuff.  Always struck me as someone who is a prodigy but never LOVED basketball like some of the greats.

Also, I like Kyrie a lot and have always thought he was misunderstood but him being an anti-vaxxer is one of the least surprising things ever.  He'd basically be in the first 5 NBA players named if you asked who would be vax holdouts in the league before it began.

This is all very surprising. Kyrie was always a team first guy.

[JWags85]

Eh, I’m wouldn’t be so sure of that

Yea, like I laid out, its not crazy to estimate that between salary and off the court earnings, Kyrie has made $225-250MM.  Sure the extra $70MM is awesome, but he's got MORE than enough to do whatever he wants to do outside of basketball.  He's kooky but he's a pretty intelligent dude otherwise and he's spread some money wisely outside of basketball.  If he's done with basketball mentally, he's got the resources and roadmap to do whatever, with or without the $70MM.

[Golden Avalanche]

Does anyone know if Kyrie Irving is refusing to get vaccinated because he had COVID before?  I can't imagine he'll just pay close to $500K per home game missed.    But it will help the Buck repeat

He's a conspiracy theorist. Full stop.

I've known Kyrie since his Montclair Kimberly days. Have talked with him more than a handful of times. Worked with one of his best friends from high school for just over five years. His personality suggests he's made his point, kept people guessing, and will get the vaccine before year's end.

[MuggsyB]

He's a conspiracy theorist. Full stop.

I've known Kyrie since his Montclair Kimberly days. Have talked with him more than a handful of times. Worked with one of his best friends from high school for just over five years. His personality suggests he's made his point, kept people guessing, and will get the vaccine before year's end.

This seems like a reasonable conclusion.

[GB Warrior]

All preseason games should be 3 quarters.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

He's a conspiracy theorist. Full stop.

I've known Kyrie since his Montclair Kimberly days. Have talked with him more than a handful of times. Worked with one of his best friends from high school for just over five years. His personality suggests he's made his point, kept people guessing, and will get the vaccine before year's end.

And what point is that?

If he is going to end up getting the vaccine, and is just waiting to make some "point," he is being selfish and a bad teammate. 

[Pakuni]

Bunch of former NBA players indicted in fraud scheme.
Terrence Williams, Alan Anderson, Tony Allen, Desiree Allen, Shannon Brown, William Bynum, Ronald Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Christopher Douglas-Roberts, Melvin Ely, Jamario Moon, Darius Miles, Milton Palacio, Ruben Patterson, Eddie Robinson, Gregory Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Charles Watson Jr., Antoine Wright, and Anthony Wroten.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32354861/former-nba-players-charged-4m-health-care-fraud-scheme

[cheebs09]

Bunch of former NBA players indicted in fraud scheme.
Terrence Williams, Alan Anderson, Tony Allen, Desiree Allen, Shannon Brown, William Bynum, Ronald Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Christopher Douglas-Roberts, Melvin Ely, Jamario Moon, Darius Miles, Milton Palacio, Ruben Patterson, Eddie Robinson, Gregory Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Charles Watson Jr., Antoine Wright, and Anthony Wroten.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32354861/former-nba-players-charged-4m-health-care-fraud-scheme

At least this knocks Lazar from the top spot of the  biggest former NBA player fraud case of the last few weeks.

[CreightonWarrior]

Bunch of former NBA players indicted in fraud scheme.
Terrence Williams, Alan Anderson, Tony Allen, Desiree Allen, Shannon Brown, William Bynum, Ronald Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Christopher Douglas-Roberts, Melvin Ely, Jamario Moon, Darius Miles, Milton Palacio, Ruben Patterson, Eddie Robinson, Gregory Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Charles Watson Jr., Antoine Wright, and Anthony Wroten.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32354861/former-nba-players-charged-4m-health-care-fraud-scheme

Today in Remember Some Guys

[MuggsyB]

I expect the Bucks to repeat if Kyrie doesn't play.  I think they will be better than last season. 

[MUfan12]

I expect the Bucks to repeat if Kyrie doesn't play.  I think they will be better than last season.

Their regular season record might not be as good, but I agree. With the short offseason they'll probably start slow as guys heal up and get their legs back. They got better in the spots they needed to.

Brooklyn is still the favorite in my eyes, Kyrie or not. But the Bucks are right there.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

IDK...

I am getting an '04 Pistons, '11 Mavs vibe about last year's team.  Not diminishing the championship in the least, but the Bucks got hot at the right time, remained relatively healthy and had some good breaks when it came to top seeds losing early.  Maybe I am just being cautious, but I don't know how sustainable this model is.

[tower912]

2005 Pistons lost the In game 7 to San Antonio.   There are worse 'year after' fates.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

2005 Pistons lost the In game 7 to San Antonio.   There are worse 'year after' fates.

Good point.  I had forgotten about that. 

[wadesworld]

I think the Nets are a tier above the Bucks, and the Bucks are two tiers above anyone else (Clippers could maybe join their tier if Kawhi were to come back healthy and the player he was a year ago).  And I think winning the championship will give them more confidence going forward.  I expect Jrue to be much better offensively, as a lot of times it takes a guy who is the 2nd-4th best player a year to settle into his roll.  And I think Grayson Allen is a massively underrated addition.  Plus Donte will be back at some point.

All that said, I think the Bucks lose whenever they run into the Nets.

[jficke13]

IDK...

I am getting an '04 Pistons, '11 Mavs vibe about last year's team.  Not diminishing the championship in the least, but the Bucks got hot at the right time, remained relatively healthy and had some good breaks when it came to top seeds losing early.  Maybe I am just being cautious, but I don't know how sustainable this model is.

Short of getting and sustaining a Jordan-esque Repeat Threepeat series of teams, don't most championships require some amount of getting hot at the right time, remaining healthy, and having some good matchup breaks? Not to say that the Bucks didn't benefit from those last year, but I'm just not sure how valuable it is as predictive indicator to say "well they had some lucky breaks on the road to the title, and they can't count on those breaks again this year."

[Uncle Rico]

Short of getting and sustaining a Jordan-esque Repeat Threepeat series of teams, don't most championships require some amount of getting hot at the right time, remaining healthy, and having some good matchup breaks? Not to say that the Bucks didn't benefit from those last year, but I'm just not sure how valuable it is as predictive indicator to say "well they had some lucky breaks on the road to the title, and they can't count on those breaks again this year."

The X factor is Giannis.  He’s a killer now

[wadesworld]

The X factor is Giannis.  He’s a killer now

This.  And if the 6-10 foot push shot/turnaround that he hit consistently from mid-Nets series on in the Playoffs is legit, look out.

[MUBurrow]

This.  And if the 6-10 foot push shot/turnaround that he hit consistently from mid-Nets series on in the Playoffs is legit, look out.

+1 on the impact of Giannis extending his arsenal by even those couple feet.  That fringe paint/short midrange game is the best thing that could happen to keep him healthy.

citations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWXCu1Dv8Mo
Hakeem played between 70-82 games every season from 91-97 (age 29-34)

[MUfan12]

Short of getting and sustaining a Jordan-esque Repeat Threepeat series of teams, don't most championships require some amount of getting hot at the right time, remaining healthy, and having some good matchup breaks? Not to say that the Bucks didn't benefit from those last year, but I'm just not sure how valuable it is as predictive indicator to say "well they had some lucky breaks on the road to the title, and they can't count on those breaks again this year."

Totally agree. The Bucks become the mid 90s Rockets rather than the Jordan Bulls? Okay. I'm great with that.

[MuggsyB]

I think Giannis will be more comfortable with the push shot and scoring from the perimeter in general.  And while I think he can get to 70-75% from the line the more important stat is getting to the line.  The fact that he took 19 free throws, in a Finals close out game, would worry me if I was the rest of the league.  He has that killer mentality which you just can't teach. 

Now the Nets are more talented, especially with Kyrie.  That said I expect Holiday to be much more comfortable offensively and their new additions to be a lot better than people think.  They essentially traded Tucker, Forbes, and Teague for DDV, Allen, Hood, and Ojeyle.  That's a win for the Bucks.  And Hood may be more productive than people expect as an instant offense guy off the bench.  Their overall roster is much stronger and their 2 and 3 compliment Giannis quite well.