The Milwaukee Bucks will attempt to rebound from their most embarrassing loss of the season and take on one of the best teams in the league, the Detroit Pistons. These two teams recently played each other, which saw the Pistons win 129-116 less than two weeks ago.
Milwaukee has struggled to play at the level of its opponents, including against bad teams. Aside from last Saturday against the Nets, the Bucks have competed and played well against top teams like the Knicks, Heat, and even the Pistons without Giannis or KPJ. But the same Bucks lost to the Hornets, Kings, and Wizards in the past month or so, and barely scraped by the Pacers and Mavericks. Monday night was the most frustrating, seeing a team we assumed they were going to beat, but lacked any urgency or defensive effort against the Wizards in the second half. That is a sign of a coach who does not hold them accountable or has a plan to stop the bleeding in most games.
Detroit has had a very strong season. The Pistons have the second-best record in the league and have won eight of their last ten games. Cade Cunningham and J.B. Bickerstaff won the Eastern Conference Player and Coach of the Month award in November. Having such a strong season without Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris, and Ausar Thompson for stretches is also impressive. I don’t think there really is a weakness on this team, and if there is, Detroit has the talent to mask it in the regular season.
The Bucks will not have Taurean Prince (neck surgery). Kevin Porter Jr. is questionable after leaving Monday’s game with back spasms, while Gary Harris has Achilles soreness. Giannis is listed as probable due to left abductor strain management.
The Pistons will not have Bobbi Klintman, who is out with an ankle injury. Duncan Robinson is listed as questionable with a right ankle sprain.
To be honest, I am surprised Doc Rivers is still the head coach at this point. Doc’s supposed strength was getting the respect of senior players/stars, but now that the team is younger and Rivers isn’t holding his veterans accountable for their lackluster performance, what is the point? His rotations are poor, and he is not showing any tactical strength from this team. This is the second straight year the Bucks have had a poor start to the season, and now, after almost two years on the job, there aren’t positives to point to on why he is still around. Mike Budenholzer and Adrian Griffin got fired for accomplishing less than Doc has, and he’ll need an impressive showing the remainder of the week to salvage his job. Darvin Ham, get ready to learn “interim head coach.”
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