Are the Celtics now the Warriors’ new look? In addition, the Bucks could return.
I’ll be forcing a recap of “Love Is Blind” Season 6 into this email in two more days.
A fear of deer?
Bucks defeat the Clippers, really
The Bucks’ six-game winning streak began last week with their victory over the Timberwolves (43-19, first in the West), which came at a difficult moment for Milwaukee (41-21, second in the East). The Bucks then won four games that you could easily write off. Joel Embiid not playing for Philly? Cake, that is. Two encounters with the humble Hornets? We sigh. Eliminating the Bulls? a little more difficult, but uninteresting. However, the Bucks defeated the Clippers 113-106 last night (39-21, fourth in the West) to win their sixth straight game, led by a game-high 41 points by Damian Lillard.
Russell Westbrook aside, the Bucks defeated the Clippers at full strength, and they managed to do so by… This is the point where, hopefully, you’re seated sans Giannis Antetokounmpo. Yes, it is correct! Without their best player and best defender, the Bucks held the current No. 4 seed in the West to 106 points and 44 percent shooting. It begs the question of whether the hype of their defense improving under Doc Rivers as coach is true.
Over the last 16 games, Milwaukee’s defense has ranked fourth since Doc joined the sidelines. The Bucks went from being the worst at forcing turnovers to tied for eighth place in terms of field goal % allowed. Milwaukee has also improved from being a mediocre defensive rebounding club to an exceptional one.
All of these are positive indications that the season’s remaining success may be a result of Doc’s early growing pains as coach. And let’s hope Giannis returns soon. The Bucks’ next seven games are huge tests, so they’ll need it.
The Bucks’ next seven games are as follows: home versus the Sixers, home versus the Suns, at the Warriors, at the Lakers, at the Clippers, at the Kings, and finally at Boston. That timetable resembles an obstacle course from “American Ninja Warrior.”
Regarding Last Night: The Lakers are getting better
Perhaps you could explain it by saying that the Thunder (42-19, second in the West) are playing back-to-back games. Perhaps you think the Lakers (34-29, seventh in the West) will mount another late-season comeback. In any case, the Lakers defeated the Thunder 116-104 last night, destroying them. The fact that the Lakers had a 25-point advantage in the fourth quarter before OKC raised the white flag indicates that it wasn’t even close.
Leading the offensive attack with a game-high 26 points, D’Angelo Russell made 5-of-11 shots from downtown. The Lakers made at least 16 3-pointers in the uncommon game. The Lakers attempt the fewest 3-pointers in the NBA, despite ranking 13th in 3-point percentage. In a game, they have only made 16 or more.
