Simmah Down Now :-)

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[Listen to the nice lady](https://preview.redd.it/sah66yqtf3gc1.png?width=294&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9f6fe9e6011ae676c42be5f3058a3c1745e9199)

***TLDR:*** *Bucks will be fine. Regular season does not mean as much as you think when it comes to playoff success. 👍*

First, 82 games is a long, long haul even with load management for the superstars. There will be ups and downs with the real metric of success being: **a*****re we improving?*** However, we can’t improve what hasn’t yet truly cohered or gelled after only half a season with a (second) new coach and a new superstar finding his way to fit in with an already very established Bucks team. Giannis and the boys have a sixth sense around each other that is the result of many seasons playing together. Dame will get there. So let’s all just [simmer down now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iGcCssftc0).

Second, I think we fans often don’t appreciate *how very small the talent difference is between the best and worst teams or even players*. Just to make it into the NBA means you’re literally better at basketball than everybody else on earth aside from maybe several hundred other NBA and EuroLeague players. The difference between benchwarmers, starters, and All Stars are startlingly small (check out this [great video featuring ex-NBA scrub Brian Scalabrine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCYeiwauyz8))…which is why when any player clearly transcends above his peers, he is referred to as a *superstar*. We have two such examples on our team.

Still not persuaded? Last night, the Portland Trail Blazers beat our 2nd best in the East Bucks. Barely, but they won, and it was an impressive, gutsy win for the youngest team in the league which was expected to win a whopping \~27 games this season after trading Dame, of which they’re on pace for. But what if I told you this 15-33 team has won 5 of their last 10 games, with their last two wins against the #2 and #3 teams in the eastern conference (Philly & Bucks)? They’ve also beaten Memphis, Cavs, Suns, and the Pacers *twice*. Earlier this evening, the depleted Lakers playing without AD and Bron comfortably beat the Celtics in Boston. [Any given Sunday](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146838/), right? Keep in mind that in the playoffs, you’re unlikely to encounter scrub teams who are hungrier despite being less talented on paper like you would in the regular season.

So combine the fact that it’s a long, grinding regular season with the second fact that any team in the NBA is capable of beating any other team on any given night given the incredible talent we have in this league…and it becomes clear the regular season for a playoff-bound team is basically a war of attrition. Staying healthy, buying in to a proven system, and trusting the coaches and teammates are the pillars of potential playoff success.

Even at our current 32-16 pace as the second best in the east, we’re on pace to win 55 games. Personally, I think we may eclipse 60, but it’s not worth it if it means our stars get worn down and thus more injury prone. We have the luxury of cruise control given our talent at least among the starters and can easily finish as a fourth seed or better, and then roll the dice of destiny. Hopefully by then, we will be in a far more cohesive, consistent place under Doc Rivers and the aegis of our two superstars and talented roster.

P.S.> Hey Bucks bench – get your shit together, mkay? Much appreciated. 😉

***Fear the Deer*** 🦌



by Smilechurch