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2023-2024-bucks-schedule-release

2023-2024 Bucks Schedule Release

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Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis both had big double-doubles for the Bucks. Jrue led the team with 28 points and 10 dimes and Bobby added 23 points and 11 boards against the Cavs.

highlights-bucks-102-cavs-114-1-21-23

Highlights: Bucks 102 – Cavs 114 | 1.21.23

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Picking these has gotten to be tough, because so many Giannis games look so similarly and easily dominant: 30-some points, 10 or 15 rebounds, a bunch of assists, all-world defense, in like 31 minutes. That is most games! Such is life for the back-to-back MVP. Anyway, after three straight seasons of Giannis locking up all the spots on this list (see below), we have an addition in this edition.

2013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–19

36 points (13–25 FG), 20 rebounds, 6 assists, 9–12 free throwsFebruary 6, 2020 — Bucks 112 Sixers 101

Got far, far, far and away the best of one of his biggest (really, quite big) foes in Joel Embiid, carrying the Bucks to their 12th win in 13 games.

51 points (16–26 FG), 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 7–10 three-pointersJanuary 28, 2020 — Bucks 151 Wizards 131

A good new-fashioned shootout between Middleton and Bradley Beal (47 points); when Middleton faced the Wizards the next time, the next month, he “only” put up 40.

35 points (12–14 FG), 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2–3 three-pointersAugust 22, 2020 — Bucks 121 Magic 107

Here in Game 3, in case there was any doubt (there was not), the Bucks took definitive control of the first round series against the Magic, on the shoulders of a near-perfect, near-normal Giannis performance.

48 points (18–31 FG), 14 rebounds, 4 assistsDecember 16, 2019 — Mavericks 120 Bucks 116

Down by 11 points with less than a minute to play, the Bucks still found themselves with the ball with two seconds down by three, and while they did not force overtime or win, this was one of those games that made the Bucks feel so close to unbeatable, because of Giannis.

37 points (14–21 FG), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3–5 three-pointersJanuary 14, 2020 — Bucks 128 Knicks 102

Now the thing about this one is that Giannis played 21 minutes, meaning the King of New York was on pace for a 74/18/8 line if he had played 42 minutes.

36 points (14–20 FG), 15 rebounds, 7 assistsJuly 31, 2020 — Bucks 119 Celtics 112

In their first game in the Bubble, Giannis picked up his MVP season where it was left off back in March, punctuated by a nearly flawless 16-point fourth quarter.

36 points (14–21 FG), 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 blocksNovember 2, 2019 — Bucks 115 Raptors 105

In his first game against the Raptors since falling to them in the Eastern Conference Finals the year before, Giannis played like he had a little something to make up for.

36 points (12–28 FG), 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 stealsSeptember 6, 2020— Bucks 118 Heat 115

34 points (11–19 FG), 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocksDecember 19, 2019— Bucks 111 Lakers 104

In the most memorable, most fun, and highest-quality game of the season, Giannis outdid the very much in-form duo of LeBron (triple-double) and Anthony Davis (28 second-half points) to keep a grip on the best record in the league.

50 points (17–31 FG), 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 0 turnoversNovember 25, 2019 — Bucks 122 Jazz 118

His second half takeover alone — 32/11/5 and 9–10 on free throws, 3–4 on threes, and zero turnovers — would qualify as a career type of game for most players in the league.

10-best-bucks-player-performances-of-2019-20

10 Best Bucks Player Performances Of 2019–20

Reaching back to think about the most memorable games of the season has never been such an adventure. This season went on for almost a full calendar year. Dichotomously it still did not feel long enough.

2011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–19 (regular season)2018–19 (playoffs)

10. Bucks 121 Magic 107— August 22, 2020 — HP Field House

9. Bucks 151 Wizards 131 — January 28, 2020 — Fiserv Forum

8. Bucks 132 Knicks 88 — December 2, 2019 — Fiserv Forum

7. Bucks 115 Raptors 105 — November 2, 2019 — Fiserv Forum

6. Bucks 117 Rockets 111— October 24, 2019 — Toyota Center

5. Bucks 112 Sixers 101 — February 6, 2020 — Fiserv Forum

4. Bucks 118 Heat 115 — September 6, 2020 — The Arena

3. Bucks 133 Thunder 86 — February 28, 2020 — Fiserv Forum

2. Bucks 119 Clippers 91— December 6, 2019 — Fiserv Forum

1. Bucks 111 Lakers 104— December 19, 2019 — Fiserv Forum

10-most-memorable-bucks-games-of-2019-20

10 Most Memorable Bucks Games Of 2019–20

The Second Annual Giannis MVP Award is a historic (and an historic) one even as far as MVPs go. To wit:

25. Giannis joins two other fairly well-regarded fellows (LeBron and Kareem) as the only players in NBA history to rack up multiple MVPs by age 25. The thing about that is, LeBron and Kareem entered the league as the two most hyped players in league history (and for good reason). Giannis was the #15 pick in a draft that was singled out at the time for not having stars, was largely an unknown entering the league, and as a rookie came off the bench and averaged 6.8 points per game for a 15–67 team.

1. Giannis was a near-unanimous choice as MVP, receiving 85 out of 101 first-place votes. On the other 16 ballots, he was second.

30.4. Giannis averaged the fewest minutes per game of any MVP in league history. The previous low was 32.7 by Stephen Curry in 2014–15, with Giannis at 32.8 in 2018–19 as the next lowest. His 30.4 minutes per game this year was also the lowest number since his rookie season.

3. Giannis joins Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to scoop up MVP and DPOY honors in the same season.

34.9. Giannis averaged 34.9 points per 36 minutes. That means he scored more points per minute than anyone in the league, even more than James Harden, who averaged 34.3 points per game, which shook out to 33.9 points per 36 minutes.

17.5. Giannis led the league in points in the paint for the third straight season, averaging 17.5 for the second straight year. That is the most since Shaq in 2002–03 (19.6), and when controlling for minutes per game, Giannis is ahead.

31.9. Giannis notched the greatest PER in NBA history.

51–12. Giannis led the Bucks to the best record in the league, and the Bucks went 51–12 in his 63 games, the best team record of any individual player in the league.

13.6. Giannis finished second in the league in rebounds per game, and generally made a case for himself as the best rebounder in the league, on the best rebounding team in the league.

34. So to recap, MVP, DPOY, best PER in league history, arguably the best rebounder in the league, most prolific scorer in the league, and best player on the best team in the NBA. And still more to do, in his eyes.

10-numbers-about-mvp-2-for-giannis

10 Numbers About MVP #2 For Giannis

Giannis played like the MVP, which he is, Middleton played like an All-NBA player, which he is, and the Bucks won, which they did more than anyone this season. In those ways, this game was back to normal for the Bucks, except as you know it was not normal.

19. Giannis scored 19 points in… 11 minutes. He did not have the look of a guy who was going to score 50 if this was going to be the last game of his season. He had the look of a guy who was going to score 50 and this was not going to be the last game of his season. Giannis glided to the rim for an easy two to start the game, and he got whatever he wanted from there, until he could not play anymore, which, sadly, was after 11 incandescent minutes.

8–10. Giannis missed two shots. One was a dunk. One was a lay-in that ambled across the rim. He then grabbed his own rebound and just about ripped off the rim. For as well as the Heat have defended Giannis in the series, it was clear that they had nothing for him today.

21. Middleton set a new franchise record with 21 points in the third quarter. The Heat kept pace, scoring 40 in the quarter themselves (on a rather outrageous 12 assists). If Middleton had not gone nuts, the Bucks likely would have entered the fourth quarter down by quite a few more than three.

8. Middleton was a touch busy scoring in the third quarter, so he only had one assist, but his one assist stood out as his most memorable play of the quarter to me, a one-handed cross-court whip to Matthews for a three that brought the Bucks to within a point 71–70. And overall in the game, no one on either team had more assists than Middleton (8).

8. Middleton is a tough-shot maker, to say the least. He did not make a shot inside 8 feet all game.

9–8. His third quarter will rightfully get most of the attention, but Middleton also outscored the entire Heat team, 9–8, in overtime.

47:59. Including overtime, Middleton played just shy of a full 48. Needed just about every second of his brilliance.

26. DiVincenzo meanwhile played a playoff-high 26 minutes, including almost the entire overtime, in his best game of the playoffs so far. He found the right places to be, including with a game-high three loose balls recovered, and generally looked up for the moment while going to the hoop at the end of regulation. If the Bucks are going to make a run the rest of this series, have to feel that Donte is going to be a significant part of it.

54–38. Even with Giannis only playing 11 minutes, the Bucks won the points in the paint battle by a comfortable margin. Then again, Giannis did his part in those 11 minutes, as no one on either team surpassed his 14 points in the paint.

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Boeder: Giannis and Middleton Take Game 4

Giannis is coming off one of the greatest regular seasons by any player in NBA history. So far in the playoffs, he has been just as great, if not even better.

And so he is making a run at having one of greatest overall seasons in NBA history. There is a lot to be done beyond a first-round playoff series win over the Magic. But what he is doing is so far is up there with Kareem as the best in franchise history. Zoom out a little more and it is up there with the best in league history.

So, five Giannis numbers for perspective from the five-game series against the Magic:

30/16/6. Not even rounding up! This is what Giannis averaged in five games in the first round against the Magic. And as is custom with Giannis, his numbers are yet more impressive when you consider his modest minutes. He averaged 31.8 minutes against the Magic, just a few ticks more than the regular season. If he had averaged about 38 minutes per game — not an unusual number for a star in the playoffs — those per game averages would be closer to 35/18/7.

.231. Speaking of those 16 rebounds, Giannis leads all players in the postseason in rebounds per game, and he has the best rebound percentage (.231) as well, with both numbers in line (and even improving upon) his dominant regular season on the boards.

32.7. As noted after Game 4, and still true after Game 5, Giannis has followed up the best regular season PER in league history (31.9) by posting an even better PER thus far in the playoffs.

22–6. Giannis dunked 22 times in the series. The Magic as a team dunked six times.

.385. Giannis might not shoot 38.5 percent on threes the rest of the way in the playoffs. If he does? The rest of the playoffs will end well.

giannis-in-mvp-form

Giannis In MVP Form

After four games, the Bucks look like the Bucks, which is the key to the whole thing.

.750. After four playoff games, the Bucks have a .750 winning percentage. Only one team had a .750 winning percentage in the regular season this year. That team was the Bucks. The Bucks were easily the best team in the regular season. They are winning about as often in the playoffs.

8.0. In the regular season, the Bucks outscored opponents by 10.1 points per game, best in the league. In the playoffs, the Bucks have outscored opponents by 8.0 points per game. No team in the regular season outscored opponents by 8.0 points per game, other than the Bucks.

31/16/7. Giannis is averaging about 31/16/7 in the playoffs. In the regular season, he averaged about 30/13/5. He was the best player in the world in the regular season.

24–20. Giannis (24) outscored the entire Magic team (20) in the paint.

17–3. The Bucks won the second-chance points battle 17–3 so it was not really a battle. The Bucks were the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA in the regular season and they have been the best defensive rebounding team in the playoffs.

18. Middleton scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, in 10 minutes.

6–12. Brook went from barely shooting threes from the right corner in the regular season — he made 11 all year — to preferring the spot. After making 1–2 from the right corner in Game 4, he is up to 6–12 (.500) from the right corner in the series. And he is at .381 from deep overall in the series. Will take that.

3. Brook blocked three shots. But even when he was not blocking shots, as usual, he was affecting things.

32. Brook also contested 32 shots, which was 20 more than anyone else on either team.