Bucks vs Spurs Preview- “Look out! It’s a trap!”
The (19-7) Milwaukee Bucks take on the (4-21) San Antonio Spurs at home in a game that features the best team in the NBA and one of the worst teams. The game is at the “beer keg”, the Fiserv Forum, and downtown Milwaukee owes the game a passing interest because of the lackluster opponent. The Bucks are in a stretch where they are constantly playing every other day.
The Bucks have won 13 in a row at home. The Spurs are 2-9 on the road. Milwaukee is a 17 point favorite. That is almost unheard of in an NBA game.
The Bucks are an experienced, veteran team. Damian Lillard is starting to heat up offensively and Giannis just broke the franchise record for scoring in a game (64 points) and is now the franchise leader in rebounding.
For San Antonio #1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama is sitting this one out.
The Spurs are a team interested in rebuilding and are very young. Another top player for the Spurs (Keldon Johnson) just turned 23. They dealt another top player, Dejounte Murray, last season for multiple first round picks.
Milwaukee Bucks Keys to Victory
Hit some threes
Milwaukee was fine in shooting the three against Houston going 13-36 as a team. (36.1%)
Against Detroit, Milwaukee was lights out, hitting 19-42 (45,2%).
Anywhere in that range will be good for the Bucks. On the season Milwaukee is shooting 38.3% from three.
Related: Former NBA Coach Calls Bucks a “Finals Team”
Keep winning the rebounding battle.
As a team the Bucks are doing a much better job of rebounding the ball now than they did to start the season. In the big win against Detroit, Milwaukee outrebounded the lowly Pistons 49-36. Against Houston Milwaukee also won the rebounding war 46-31.
By winning the rebounding battle the Bucks also can control the tempo of the game. That is always something that helps this team.
Empty out the bench
Let’s get some AJ Green minutes or let’s get to see what Chris Livingston has to offer. The NBA regular season can be a grind and it’d be nice to see Milwaukee go more than 8 deep in tonight’s game.
The Opponent: The Spurs
The Josh Primo “curse” is alive and well. The Spurs drafted the 19 year old in the 2021 draft. He was accused (and released by the team) of showing his genitals nine different times to different Spurs employees. GROSS!
Now the case is not being investigated further.
Primo is now getting a second chance with the Clippers.
So while making a big draft pick like that and have it clearly not work out may have set the franchise back, the Spurs now have Victor Wembanyama. He has looked like the real deal so far. It helps he has a great coach.
Greg Popovich is a legendary, amazing coach who gets the most out of his players. He has been Mr. USA Basketball and is already in the coaching basketball hall of fame.
He has a good young roster that simply has not figured out how to defend the three or really score when they need too.
Jeremy Sochan starts at small forward. He plays a Khris Middleton-type role in the offense. The problem is his three point shooting (34%) and field goal percentages (41%) have been pretty bad.
Malaki Branham plays the point guard even though he is a shooting guard trapped in a point guard’s body. The former first round pick is young and doesn’t pass all that well (2.4 assists per game).
Like Branham, guard Devin Vassell can play. But he is so much more of a scorer than a distributor. (18.3 points per game).
Dougie “Buckets” provides a veteran presence for the Spurs off the bench. The 31 year old plays around 15 minus a game and around 6 points, usually in the form of an erratic three.
Things to tell your buddies as you are watching the game
- Remember David Robinson? The Admiral. The former #1 overall pick is alive and well and on Twitter @Davidtheadmiral
- Former Bucks Head Coach Mike Budenholzer comes from the Popovich “coaching tree”. He spent 17 years as a Popovich assistant from 1996-2013.
- Greg Popovich is 74. He is a legendary wine drinker.
- The Spurs lead the all-time series 53-44.
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