Milwaukee Bucks win Summer League opener with last-second heroics | Doc Rivers’ vision for Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks win Summer League opener with last-second heroics | Doc Rivers’ vision for Bucks

Summer League low-key is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you’re going to get. But for the Bucks in their season opener for Summer League, they got a game winner. Who stood out? Who to keep an eye on? Plus, Doc River speaks and what did he reveal about what the upcoming Bucks season could be like? We’ll talk about on today’s episode of Locked on Bucks. You are Locked On Bucks, your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What it do? Welcome to Locked On Bucks, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. I’m Camille Davis, NBA analyst with the Locked On Network, plus co-host of the Technical File Podcast. Joining me is Frank Madden, longtime voice of the pod and founder of brewhoop.com. We truly do appreciate you for tuning in and making Locked on Bucks your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcast as well as on YouTube. And today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Frank, before we started recording, I made the remark of the Bucks have finally won a summer league game after going 0 and5 yesterday. I want to table set the conversation, but we got a game-winning three from Booyah in the game. We have to start there, Frank, because Bucks winning in the summertime. Like, what is this? I mean, last year’s summer league team was one of the most offensive, not not like offensive basketball, but offensive to our taste um basketball performances that I think I’ve ever seen. They were horrendous and just depressing all around. Chris Livingston, one of the few bright spots of last year’s summer league team and even being waved last week, which was not surprising, you know, just given um kind of the lack of macro progress and kind of just like how he would fit in the roster. But shout out to Chris Livingston. You know, he he was probably the Buck’s best player tonight. Um, and it was maybe not. I mean, it was entertaining since we got that that shot at the end, but you know, what do you really want out of summer league? Well, you want the guys that you’re most invested in from, you know, a draft um perspective to uh to show out and show you flashes of stuff. Um, and looking at the Bucks draft picks that were and and roster players that were available tonight, um, they were not the highlight of tonight. Um, I don’t know that we can string together two sentences of like what uh B, our dear Bogleub Marovich did. He was completely MIA and just, you know, we’ll call this a mulligan, I guess. See what happens next time. Things just look too fast, too physical for him. Tyler Smith also did hit a three in the fourth quarter. Um, but really not the kind of impression I think that probably you’d hope from from Tyler Smith given he’s also a young guy that you know you hope there’s some upside he can tapped into. Um, so it was like these more random guys. Obviously Livingston’s not a random guy but I thought he acquitted himself well. Um, Cormarmac Ryan man like found out who that guy was tonight. Um, be intrigued going forward about him. Yeah, I mean he was probably right there as far as the Buck’s best players tonight. Um, you know, has a strong reputation as a shooter. Uh, and we saw it tonight, you know, capable shooting guard, uh, stretch the floor. Um, and I thought, you know, Pete Nance also like less so in the kind of late stages, but first three quarters. I think you saw honestly the kind of stuff we saw from him last year especially um year was maybe ex uh exaggerating it because like we got like a week of Pete Nance but it was a totally adequate week including probably most notably the last game of the season when he had some extended run and he looked like that guy tonight you know has kind of some competent especially offensive skills that I think translate to real NBA basketball to an extent obviously translated today um and then obviously Jamari Buouay with with the excellent exclamation point on the win. But um but yeah, you know, um I don’t know that we saw a lot of indications of like that there’s dudes in this kind of Vegas roster that are going to be, you know, making any sort of impact uh with the big club this fall. Um but you never know, right? I mean, I thought Ryan Rollins like looked generally really good. Um you know, I guess he was on it last year, too. I feel like it was two year or Ryan Rollins two years ago I think like looked intriguing and last season in last season two but like like wasn’t like amazing right and then he obviously became a real NBA contributor to the point we were all thrilled that he’s was retained so you never know exactly you know it’s a weird environment for a number of reasons um so again like I will not say that Vegas is a marathon not a sprint it’s like a 400 meter race not a outright sprint. So, you know, there’s at least a few more games to kind of take in here and kind of think about the body of work that these guys put through. But, um, hey, it’s almost NBA basketball, Camille. It’s been been a minute since we had that and a little something. Been a while since we washed out the taste of that last official Bucks game of the season, which uh I’m I’m happy to do that. Yeah, getting a getting the win here um does feel good. Even though, you know, for me, watching summer league games, it’s not ultimately about who wins and who loses. Like it’s just watching the players and how they develop, who pops, who has flashes, uh who looks good, and things of that sort. Like even taking my notes during the game, they look far different than my notes during a normal NBA game. Like summer league notes are more so playerbased, just notes about each different player. Um and Booyah is one of the interesting ones because like early on, I thought he had a good start to the game, showed some things on defense as well. Um but then as the game was going on, you know, he’s driving into a lot of bodies and he’s missing these shots and it was kind of like I was like, man, you know, he don’t um ain’t too many shots that he’s not comfortable taking right now. Like and it’s summer leagues, that’s the kind of environment that it is. Um and then to get the game winner from him was really fun. But I think outside of Chris Livingston, who one, I just have to say, looked stronger, like he looked like he was stronger uh than most of the other guys out there on the court, um had his three ball going for him a bit tonight as well. Shot 50% from three on the night. Um and that’s been a little inconsistent for him from time to time. So seeing that in summer league was really good for me for for Chris Livingston. Although he’s out in the Bucks now, we know he is out here, you know, trying to um audition, one could say, for for other clubs. And who knows if the Bucks would even consider bringing him back with the strong summer league performance. But Cormarmac, maybe maybe that’s maybe that’s who Andre Jackson Jr.’s gonna get waved for, right? Gota got to get Chris Livingston back in the fold, man. Sorry, Chris. We should have picked you over Andre Jackson. I I don’t know if I’m ready to say that would be a good idea. I think I’d still roll the dice on Andre Jackson and his extremely up in sort of one-way version of basketball. But um but yeah, it’s it’s going to be interesting to see kind of how how that evolves. Yeah, cuz Ajax in this game too, like early on like he he looked just a little unsteady at times. He got the game started with the corner three. I think he’s only made two shots in the entire game. Both were threes. Took two shots. Yeah. Like first quarter and fourth quarter. Go figure. And the one in the fourth quarter was like, “No hesitation from the wing three.” And I was like, “Oh, you ain’t shot since the first quarter and you feel comfortable taking this shot right now in the fourth in crunch time.” And he knocked it down. Awkward looking shot still, but um knocked it down for the Bucks, but Ajax game was a bit up and down throughout, but I thought in the clutch for the Bucks tonight. uh which is really funny to say in a summer league game, but in the clutch for the Bucks, he made some some winning plays, even like a big offensive rebound, I don’t think the Bucks were able to convert off of it, but just some good energy down the stretch from him. Yeah, I mean I feel like if we’re being candid, uh the odds of us learning anything about Andre in, you know, year three of summer league, uh both because it’s year three and he’s way has way more NBA experience than obviously the vast majority of the guys he’s playing against, but also just the his style of play. I I feel like this is just a fundamentally bad environment for kind of figuring out like what how his game is evolving in terms of how it’s going to fit with a real NBA roster because you know we saw it the last two years. Obviously last year he barely played because of the injury. Um, but you know, he’s a guy who fundamentally when he’s on the floor in an NBA game, he’s going to be the fifth option every time offensively, and he’s going to be surrounded by guys who are, you know, much better, more talented, and can do things with the ball that he’s not going to be asked to do. So, he’s able to, you know, be in a more complimentary role and could just really focus on defense. And yeah, I mean, in Vegas, like again, he doesn’t have like a scalable game that way. I think when he was drafted, I think there was more hope that, you know, he would have some of that kind of secondary playmaking kind of funky passing, you know, uh, type of ability. And to me, that’s honestly been kind of the biggest appointment. Like the most consistent thing he’s done in the NBA is make three-pointers, which is crazy to say, right? But he hit like 38% for his rookie year. I think he was right around maybe even higher last year. It’s two tonight. Um, but it it just kind of goes to show, right? Like if you’re if you’re not going to be an onball guy, you know, there is more to to being a kind of contributing guy than just being able to hit like a wideopen three because, you know, nobody’s really guarding him even though he’s he’s done what he needs to do as a three-point shooter. And that’s like honestly the the area he’s least hesitant to shoot from strangely, right? Like, you know, we’ve seen him like take Ali pass out of alioops. Um, but you know, he he actually will seems like he’s kind of programmed himself like, “All right, I I got I got to look. I got to take it, right?” Which is the right thing for him to do. So, um, so yeah, it’s hard. I mean, he’s not ever going to I mean, if you if you’re not a threat to attack the rim or pull up a shot, like, you can’t run a pick and roll. So, that’s never really been an option for him. Um, you know, I think I think I’m a little torn on like kind of his his role last year because, you know, I think I’ve generally been, let’s say, less optimistic about, you know, what he was contributing last year. You know, people listen to us know I’ve brought up kind of ad nauseium, right? Like the lineups with him were kind of always like he was kind of the common thread in a lot of the worst lineups. He was like the only guy that Giannis was a negative on the floor with last year, which is a bad sign, but also not shocking just given the fact that like the way he plays like just isn’t going to bring out the best in Giannis either because he he’s obviously going to lead to floor congestion and they’re teams are going to play off him inside the ark and outside the ark. Um so yeah, it’s a hard environment in Vegas. Um, and you know, obviously then you add in just him having his guaranteed day pushed back and you know, who knows kind of what that could portend um for his future with with the team. So um so again, yeah, I I don’t think I know this kind of has been raised like, you know, is is he like under the gun to show something in Vegas? Like I don’t know what he’s going to show in Vegas that, you know, is suddenly going to like make the Bucks think differently about anything. um because again it’s just not I think a good environment for that. But um but yeah, so he did some on some Ajax type type stuff and you know I think the most probably the one thing I would say like would be really impressive if he showed like kind of just like the ability when he got the ball in the half court to just be decisive and attack the rim and actually use that athleticism to just go from 20 feet out. Yeah. Take like one or two dribbles and get to the rim and finish. Right. Like you would think a guy with his athleticism, I mean, he can dribble the ball. It’s not like he can’t dribble or can’t catch a basketball um but for some reason it just does not seem to just doesn’t really seem to have kind of that sort of natural feel for for creating shots for himself. So, it is what it is. But, you know, again, let’s let’s see what he does over the course of the week. We’ll curious if he plays all week or, you know, if they say couple of games. Yeah, maybe they’ll say at some point like, “All right, we’re good. You know, thanks for coming out. you can hang out and chill in Vegas the rest of the week, but we’ll see. Yeah, we’ll have to see how that goes. But again, this is only one game down. So, for the guys who didn’t perform as well, there’s a lot a few more games for them to go. But that’s the part I want to focus on next. It’s like what are things to keep an eye on? Maybe something didn’t go well tonight, something that you want to see different on Saturday and or Sunday when they play again. So, we’ll look at some things to keep an eye on right after this. There is nothing like being able to head out to a game, to a concert, whatever it might be with family and friends. And have you ever had the idea to do that at the very last minute? Cuz I know I have. Like it can be game day sometimes and then you’re just sitting around like, you know what, I’d actually rather see this game in person than watching this on TV. And that’s where game time comes in. It’s the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress. Because with the money you save on tickets, you can splurge on food, drinks, merch, maybe even invite more people to come along with you. Game time makes all of that possible. Game time makes buying tickets fast and simple. Prices on the app actually drop the closer you get to first pitch. It’s kind of like a procrastinator’s dream. They’ve got incredible lastminute deals, clear seat views, and the lowest price guarantee that takes the worry out of buying. Game time has lastm minute tickets and zone deal for big savings like 10% off exclusive zone deals for the FIFA Club World Cup matchups. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account and uh go ahead and get you some tickets. Get you some tickets, y’all. Use the code lock on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply. Again, create an account. Redeem the code L O C K E D O N B A for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Things to keep an eye on. Frank, like we mentioned, Ajax had an up and down performance, but just had a conversation about how his game is scalable and what it actually means for summer league. Someone who I was very much looking forward to see play tonight was the rook. Wanted to see what Marovic had in him. And um as you mentioned, it was it wasn’t much in this game to really go on. Like the passing touches were nice, but nothing really happened. It wasn’t flashy. It was just decisive. I would give him that at the very least. But like just getting out physical, like I was watching him get thrown around by guys like half his size at times. Um, not the greatest first goal for him, but again, a lot more ball to play. Uh, Smith was another one. Tyler Smith, I did think he looked bigger going into the game. He got a few like offensive rebounds that I was kind of like, okay, nice to see you attacking the glass, but ultimately still left something to be desired. So, I would love to see more for them two of them going forward. And, um, also just a little disappointed because there was no Mark Sears in the game tonight. He was out with a calf strain. So, little disappointed that we didn’t get to see him in this game. Yeah. I mean, I I mean, not that Tyler Smith is a guy that, you know, the fan base is clamoring and having these high hopes for that he’s going to be like some huge kind of piece of the future part of the franchise. But, um, it was interesting that they drafted, you know, Bogalu Marovic given the type of player he is. I mean, his position is Tyler Smith’s position. Yeah. Like what Tyler Smith does spread the floor, hit threes is pretty much like the MMO that you would expect that what that what bogei’s going to have unless you truly believe that Smith is going to be more of a three than a four. But that feels I don’t know about the defense part for him with threes. Yeah. And I just I mean like I feel like what we saw from him last year was you know some ability to be kind of like a garbage man hard hat guy around the basket and he’s got obviously like a really pretty stroke. Being a lefty never never hurts in that regard. Um but certainly not like off the dribble game, right? which right, you know, if you’re going to if you’re going to be three in the NBA, and this is also, I think, like something when we talk about Chris Livingston and like what sort of puts a limiter on on his sort of upside, um, you got to be able to make threes and you got to be able to like dribble a little bit and be at least like kind of a connector passer. You don’t necessarily need to be like running pick and rolls or like be a big time playmaker. Um, but I mean I said it last year, right, with Tory and Prince and and uh Livingston. I said Livingston should look at what Torian Prince does and basically like try to and again this is going to be funny because like everybody looks at Torian Prince like he’s, you know, like horrible, but the guy led the NBA in catch and shoot threes last year, you know, like he was one of the I think he was like third in the league in three-point shooting. I mean, he doesn’t try to do a whole lot because he can’t really easily put the ball on the deck, attack the rim, etc. Um, although we did see him do it a lot to Well, there there was probably way too much. You know, I it seems like Giannis was way more confident in Torian giving him a dribble handoff, going to the corner and, you know, trying to then run like basically empty side pick and roll with him than, you know, really was there. And I think his pick and roll ball handler numbers were horrendous. Um, but you know, credit to Tori. I mean, he shot the hell out of the ball all of last year. Um, and you know, even with that, like his most of his lineups, like his on-off numbers were were really not great. Um, which I think does speak to the fact that like, you know, being a good three-point shooter is obviously like hugely valuable, especially on a team with Giannis. Um, but, you know, if that’s all you can do, like it does put a cap on how useful you can be. And again, I think there is an importance in just in terms of like being able to be a good decision maker, quick decision maker, um, is really important. And so I think like for Chris Livingston, that’s really important. I think for Tyler Smith, it’s really important. You know, like you’re not going to have time to dwell on the ball and size guys up and, you know, yo-yo dribble and try to go one-on-one. like it’s going to be pretty much, you know, catch the ball, keep it moving, take, you know, one dribble, try to beat your guy if you think you can, and then make a quick pass if you can kind of get a second defender. I mean, that’s the kind of stuff you got to do. And then, of course, like dribble handoffs, um, given these are kind of like perimeter type big. So, um, so yeah, I mean, the the mandate for for them is is is limited. It’s kind of narrow. Um, and uh, and it’s hard because even with Prince, like literally people wanted to drive him to the airport after he, you know, basically led the NBA in three-point percentage because again like that that’s kind of a limited thing. And defensively, obviously, he was often put in spots where he was having to guard smaller guys. But again, that’s that’s kind of a Doc Rivers problem as much as it is a Torian Prince problem. So, um, so we’ll see. But yeah, I mean I I I’m not shocked that Bogleub I mean again like just as you said physically just did not look outmatched. Yeah. And and it’s going to be interesting because it’s like I mean he’s 6’11 200 lb pretty much I think is is what he’s listed at. So not surprising he’s not going to put on 20 pounds of muscle you know between now and Sunday. I mean the the Vegas buffets are impressive but I don’t I don’t think he’s going to be able to manage that. So um so short of you know just another year of of getting bigger, stronger, etc. Um I am curious to see like you know I’m sure there’s there’s a degree of just acclamation that probably for someone his age I think what he’s turning 20 is he turning 20 this did I hear is it this weekend or something but I think it’s coming up. Yeah. Yeah. So he’s he’s almost 20. He’s still very thin obviously. Um but also just I mean I I just didn’t you know when he had the ball like he had a couple turnovers you know he kind of rushed his first shot. Um honestly when he hit the rim on his first shot I was like considered it a victory. I was like okay you know. Yeah cuz like he got he got fouled early and he badly missed his first two free throws. Almost like bananked both of them in which you know my guess is he I think he was like a 75% free throw shooter last year in Serbia. So, I I kind of think that was probably a lot of like nerves and just like he was probably juiced up. Um, you know, trying to go go to the rim and get his first points. So, that had to wait. Um, but yeah, I mean unfortunate that really did not see a whole lot from him. Um, and hopefully he has some moments because we didn’t see any moments tonight. Um, and certainly if this is like indicative of where he’s at right now, then yeah, I mean, you there’s no point in giving him a roster spot, you know? I think I think the roster spots are too too important um to filling out kind of the the depth of this team. Um, but it also would have been nicer if Tyler Smith had shown like year two, baby. Like I’m ready to go. I’m ready to show you kind of how I’ve grown and be productive and you know go do what kind of what Chris Livingston did a year ago, right? And what he did tonight, but um we didn’t see that in this game from Tyler. You know, move on to the next one, right? Like burn the videotape and and hopefully next time you have a better outing because between the two of those guys again, they they’re kind of competing, you know, somewhat indirectly for maybe a shot to be that stretch a stretch four down the road. Um it’d be nice if one of one of them had some good moments in Vegas. Um certainly tonight was was uh was nothing to write home about. Yeah, something to keep an eye on with both of them. And like you mentioned, next game for the Bucks is Saturday and they play again on Sunday. Um so it’s going to come around quick for them. Saturday and Oh, I’m sorry. I was thinking Saturday and Sunday. It’s okay. It’s gonna be quick for them. Oh man, if you if you I hope everybody’s ready for bad basketball. Get get ready. Vegas is coming, man. Man, luckily most of the Bucks are few of the Bucks are still too young to really enjoy Vegas um at this age. But we did hear from Doc Rivers on the broadcast last year during summer league when we heard Doc. He dropped some bombshells on us about Chris Middleton getting double ankle surgery. So as soon as I heard that Doc Rivers was coming up to speak on the broadcast, I was like, “Let me get these ears going because what is Doc going to say?” So more on what he did reveal about the team coming up next. So, when Doc Rivers joined the broadcast during the summer league game, he said a lot of what I was hoping to hear, a lot of things that we’ve been talking about on the show here um about the direction we think that the Bucks are going in, the direction we think the Bucks need to go in. Uh we heard Doc mention things like we need to we needed to get younger. We need to play with more pace. Got to play p or got to play faster defensively. Started to slow in the year but kind of picked up in the second half of the year and for this team want to kind of pick up where they left off defensively. Talked about making point guard Giannis more of a thing. Um and hearing Doc even go into that of like you know it it’s not like I’m a genius and and thought of it myself. It was more so you know out of necessity. And then when I told the coaches we should put the ball in Giannis’s hands even more, they were surprised and I tell Giannis and he’s surprised, but you know, he’s the most dangerous guy on the team and no one’s really pressuring Giannis full court. So, if you’re able to bring the ball up without pressure, you surround him with shooters, then good things can happen. Doc mentioned that he thinks that AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. will have breakout seasons. And Kevin Porter Jr., He said out of all of the guys, I think he’s going to have the biggest jump. Mentioned how Kevin Porter Jr. listens really well. How during the second half of the year, he noticed that KPG was or KPJ was actually becoming a point guard driving and kicking instead of doing as much and one not as much dancing. Uh said the biggest surprise that he can defend a little bit too competitive guy. Uh still got to work on it, but really likes what he sees from him. So, a lot of what we heard, like I mentioned, summing all that up, is what we were hoping that the Bucks would be doing this season, which is why uh for people who were seeing what the Bucks did this off seasonason of bringing in a Miles Turner, who fits Giannis beautifully as a front court mate in addition to bringing back the guys mentioned Gary Trent Jr., Kevin Porter Jr., talking about the role of AJ Green. People were looking like, well, how is this going to be different when we saw these guys last year? But the difference comes and how the they’ll be utilized throughout the entire course of a season rather than, you know, a handful of games out of necessity down the stretch. Yeah. Well, so first off, I’ll say the the thing when he was talking about like, you know, making a point guard or whatever, and I was like, “Oh, like everybody was like thinking that’s crazy.” It’s like like Jason Kid did this years ago. Like like I I mean Larry Drew talked about it when Giannis was a rookie. Obviously they didn’t really like do it in a full-time capacity, but you know they talked about him like being kind of like point guard and then yeah like basically his breakout that second half of you know year three basically um came with him being the you know like playing like with the ball in his hands as a point guard. You know he had the triple doubles against Kobe and you know really kind of gave the flashes of what we hoped um that he was going to be. So that was like a little weird to me because it was like no like always knew that he can do this. I mean I think the inside of you know the comment about putting the ball in his hands like teams don’t pressure you I think is is a useful one. Um you know I remember um making the comment actually about Ajax. Obviously that it’s very different with him because people don’t really pressure him because he’s usually guarded by like the worst defender and like you know whatever. But like I I I do think it’s an interesting sort of construct to think about like how do you kind of limit the way the other team is going to try to defend you. Um, and with Giannis, it’s interesting because I feel like when you have Giannis in that role, you’re either playing really fast, which of course Doc mentioned like pace was like the number one thing that they wanted to try to do more of this year, which is, you know, like a classic coach head coach thing to say in July, right? Like nobody in July is saying like, “Oh, we got to play slower. Like we gotta we got to become a halfcourt grinded out team.” Transition basketball, no thank you, right? Nobody’s saying that in in July. So, we’ll see. Um, you know, I think obviously with KPJ in particular and and Giannis, like they’re I think a lot honestly with like KPJ and Ryan Rollins, I think the way that those guys and Gary Trent, you know, you think about like some of like the zone defense spells and things like that, like the turnover forcing to me that was like really the catalyst for the pace because with Giannis, like you’re either playing fast because he’s going downhill in transition and like collapsing the defense and being the greatest transition player in the history of the sport, or he’s tired and he’s walking the ball up, you know, and then you’re like slower than ever because he’s literally walking the ball up and then he’s probably passing to somebody else. So then he’s not even going to get the ball like right. So, um, so that there it be can become very slow and you can burn a lot of clock because Giannis honestly, you know, he he only goes one speed. Well, yeah, he’s either on or off. Um, and when he gets tired, you see it. Yeah, exactly. like he is like getting the ball over at, you know, 16 seconds on the shot clock. So, um, so we’ll have to see kind of what that dynamic looks like. Obviously, I think it confirmed, as you said, a lot of what we were assuming and honestly a lot of probably what the pitch is to Giannis about, you know, why he should be patient with the team and the franchise. And, um, you know, again, like ESPN and people saying like, oh, Giannis is sitting here like, what are the Bucks going to do to become a contender? It’s like they’re not going to become a contender like this season like not that quickly this like in the next month you know is there some chance I will never say John Horse is not capable of pulling you know the rabbit out of his hat using the 2031 first the second month pick swap like could he do something with Koozma’s contract to bring in a bigger name it’s possible I’m sure he’s trying to do something and figure out like is there a play there or with you know just Koozma and Ajax or whatever like is there some way that he and get a player that he thinks can, you know, increase the upside and potential of this team. So, not questioning that at all. But, you know, the ability to do that is is challenged like, you know, um so so we’ll see if he can do anything. I I think I think a lot of Bucks fans have sort of like, you know, begun to embrace the conceptually the idea of like, well, it’s probably going to be KPJ and Rollins as your point guards and Gary Tren AJ and AJ Green and, you know, you hope that they can tap into kind of the the magic that they had in that eight game win streak at the end of the year with Giannis. Um and that having Miles Turner and Bobby and those guys kind of you know adding a um more dynamism certainly than you know what Brooke was able to provide and certainly pace-wise um you know Turner even though he’s not obviously like going to dribble the ball up the floor. Um he’s obviously used to playing in a faster pace team uh than than Brooke was. So so we’ll see. Yeah, but I I don’t know nothing shocking from from Doc. Um, and yeah, I mean, again, talk is cheap in July for sure. Um, but you know, we’ll see. And I I think obviously the probably the big thing I think the main thing I’ve been hearing people say on Twitter is, you know, kind of the refrain of like, hey, he better play, you know, those KPJ, Gary Trent, AJ lineups. I I’m personally fascinated like, is there a scenario where he would ever start that group? My guess is not, especially with Cuz Torian Prince around, like, you know, I I’m guessing one of those guys starts. Um, but if I had to pick between the two at this moment, I think I’d still go with Torian Prince over Cuz at the moment, but we’ll see. I think he’s probably a better I mean, I think that’s probably a more natural fit, you know, just because of the three-point shooting is so knocked down. with Cuz like again, I think if you’re a defense, you’re just saying like, you know, Kuz is just as liable to hit a three if we’re guarding, face guarding him or leaving him wide open. Exactly. Why why collapse on him, right? Let’s go defend Giannis. So, uh, so I agree. I I think I think probably a more optimal version of of the lineup is with Victorian Prince rather than Kuz out there. Although the you know, a lot of people throwing up the stat like that. I forget which I think it was basic. I don’t know if it was I don’t know if people were using the fiveman lineup of Porter, Gary, AJ, Giannis, Bobby or like four of those, but they had some like insane like plus minus stats. I think it was with the four. Yeah, they maybe without Bobby or something like that. And they had some insane plus minus stats and I always like just be careful because if we’re going to play the plus minus game then you’re gonna have to you’re gonna have to real you’re gonna have to also acknowledge that Ajax should never have played. like he should have been benched for Ryan Rollins or AJ or Gary Tren a long time earlier. Um, and you’re also going to have to face the uncomfortable truth that the Koosma Tory Prince starting five that everybody hated was a plus 13 net rating last year which just like boggles the mind because everybody looks at that group as like you know like they were like the worst thing in the history of time. So, uh, so yeah, you know, like this this this is the reality when we try to use sort of lineup data, um, to make a case. Like then you got to kind of realize like, hey, sometimes it says some things about things you don’t like that that maybe you might have to to accept. So, so we’ll see. But, um, yeah, we still have time and obviously we still have at least two roster spots that that need to be filled. Yeah. And we still have some more summer league Bucks basketball to watch. We will be back on Monday. Do we do we want to talk about the probably probably Milwaukee comment real quick? Do you Giannis on speed or I show speeds I show speed YouTube stream commenting basically. Yeah, me and Justin mentioned it this morning of like yeah Milwaukee. I don’t know. I I’ll say this. I actually watch the like most of that stream as long as Jiannis is on it later on in the day. One I would never want to be as famous as I show. absolutely ridiculous how famous he is at the age of 20. Uh but two, the probably comment took off. I saw ESPN had a lot to say about it today. Not as much to say about Giannis’s final words on the stream, which was um need to have you in Milwaukee for a game this year. So, you know how that goes, Frank. Yeah, it’s a double-edged sword. And I always like with Giannis, it’s like, you know, my view is always if you if you’re thinking that Giannis has never considered leaving or would never leave or like everybody’s crazy to even suggest he would like ever ask out, like I think you’re being naive. Um, but that said, you know, I I think there was it was always likely he was going to stay this summer. Um, and I think when push comes to shove, I think it will be very hard. I think for Giannis, if the Bucks really struggled this year, you know, whether it’s mid year or by the end of year, I think it will be very hard for Giannis to ever get to the point of saying he would want to leave um because of loyalty, but also because of comfort and you know, again, like the risk of going someplace else, right? Because yeah, you know, like there’s a hierarchy like the best possible thing for I think Giannis cares about his legacy. He cares about where he he fits in the kind of the history of the game. absolute best thing that could ever happen for him is to win a second championship Milwaukee. That would immortalize him, probably make him a top 10 all-time guy. The second best thing is he goes someplace else and wins one or more titles, right? But beyond that, like staying in Milwaukee and kind of gutting it out, not winning another championship, maybe you have some competitive seasons, that’s a lot better than going becoming a mercenary, going to some other place and falling short. And then you’re just kind of another guy that you know chase the rings chase the rings and and you know ultimately like wherever you go like as good as he might be you know his legacy there is never going to be what it what it was in Milwaukee. So, you know, these are all like I’m sure these are things that he thinks about and you know, he looks at what somebody like KD’s it was his favorite player growing up. Like KD’s legacy is a very strange one, right? Like a guy who put up two of the most incredible finals performances and yet still I think is often perceived as a guy who kind of never had like his own championship, right? Never had really what Giannis has and what Giannis did in Milwaukee. So, so yeah, we’ll see. I mean, the only constant I think is that like unfortunately, you know, Giannis is just at least for the time being like not going to just let this die. He’s going to he’s a little bit of a troll. He kind of enjoys the Yeah. I mean, so it is what it is. Um, but it’s not, let me just say this, like it ain’t just the media, it’s Giannis is contributing to why the media is doing this. So, it’s just it’s his, you know, he’s he has the he has the right to do that. Um, he’s earned it. If it’s just keeping pressure on the team, fine. Um, but you know, again, it’s doesn’t make it easier to be a fan. Let’s I think we can say that certainly doesn’t make it easier to be people that you know, spend hours a week talking about this team, but it is what it is. You know, that’s the price of getting to watch Giannis for the rest of his career. I’ll do it. I’ll do it, Camille. I’ll put up with it. I’ll put up with it every single time. But yeah, that I mean that’s the show for today. Like I mentioned, we will be back with more summer league talk as it continues to roll on for Monday. I know Justin even floated out the idea of maybe doing a little bonus one over the weekend. We’ll see how that shakes out. But we’ll absolutely absolutely be back on Monday at the very least. So, thank you for making Locked on Books your first listen today. For your second listen, find the Locked On podcast where there is no offseason. and Doug Madden Hayes. They keep you up to date on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to be the most informed NBA fan. Find Locked on NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. Part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. We truly do appreciate you for tuning in. For Frank and myself, we’ll catch you later. Enjoy your weekend.

Camille Davis and Frank Madden discuss takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ surprisingly fun Summer League victory over the Denver Nuggets, highlighted by Jamaree Bouyea’s game-winning shot.

They analyze Andre Jackson Jr.’s development, spotlight positive contributions, and discuss the players they’d like to see more from in the remaining games. The hosts also dissect Doc Rivers’ recent comments on the team’s strategy, exploring potential lineup changes and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s evolving role.

Tune in for expert analysis on how to evaluate Summer League performances, the Bucks’ push for a faster pace, and how Giannis’ most recent comments about his future in Milwaukee are being perceived.

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