blazesketball

I wish it didn’t have to be like this, Bucks. I’d been following your surprising progress all season, and was happy that Milwaukee basketball finally had some type of hope. Tonight was supposed to mark a happy and festive meeting of two talented young teams at different points in their upward trajectory. But the world is a cold, cruel place, so instead of that, tonight will mark the first time that each team has played after losing a core player to injury. For the Blazers, that player is Robin Lopez, who will miss 6-7 weeks after breaking two bones in his hand in a game against the Spurs. For the Bucks, it’s prized rookie Jabari Parker, who tore the ACL in his left knee two nights ago in Phoenix, and will probably be out for at least a year. Both of these are unfortunate, but you really have to feel for Jabari. That’s a really tough thing to go down with this early into a career, especially after he’d been playing so well as of late.

If you’re Jason Kidd, which you probably aren’t, tonight is all about weathering the storm psychologically. This probably wasn’t a game that the Bucks were going to win anyway, but now it becomes important that they stay emotionally involved in the game and play hard. Getting blown out after getting news like that wouldn’t be a helpful thing for a young team like the Bucks, especially given the fact that they still have a ton to play for. Despite only being one game above .500, Milwaukee still owns the 6 seed in the East. They have a lot of talent, and they’re going to need guys to step up to fill the statistical void that Jabari’s injury has presented.

Anyway, that’s the sad stuff. For the Bucks, tonight is also about looking down at your jersey, realizing that a buck is basically a reindeer, acknowledging that your colors are red and green, and getting back into the holiday spirit. Let’s talk about the main guys who will try to make that happen.

– Jason Kidd, PG Head Coach: If we’re being real here, Jason Kidd is still pretty easily the second best point guard the Bucks have. No offense to Nate Wolters and Kendall Marshall, but Nate Wolters and Kendall Marshall kind of suck.

– Giannis Antetokounmpo, PG/SG/SF/PF/Greek Freak: It’s all on Giannis now. This is his chance to develop as an alpha dog for a year until Jabari gets back, and assume his destiny as a horrifying Andre Iguodala / Kevin Durant hybrid of length and court vision and unfathomable truth. He’s 6’11. He has a 7’3 wingspan. He can defend multiple positions. He can score. He can rebound. He can block shots. He can run the point. He’s a big fan of smoothies. He is the Greek Freak.

– Brandon Knight, PG: Milwaukee’s best point guard who doesn’t wear a suit, Brandon Knight has flown under the radar while improving in each of the four seasons he’s played in since getting picked 8th overall out of Kentucky in 2011. This probably isn’t a super popular sentiment, but I think he’s the most underrated point guard in the league. That distinction was long held by Mike Conley, but people started talking about him being underrated so much that now he’s pretty much just properly rated. Nobody ever talks about Brandon Knight, mostly because he’s played for teams in Detroit and Milwaukee, and partly because they figured that after DeAndre Jordan dunked on him he just retired. He didn’t, in fact, and he’s quietly having a really nice statistical year for a 23 year old: 17.5/5.6/4.7 on .434/.396./.897 shooting with a PER of 18.80.

– Larry Sanders, C: Larry Sanders has very long arms. Larry Sanders blocks a lot of shots. Larry Sanders loves weed. Larry Sanders is trying to prove that he’s not overpaid. Larry Sanders loves weed.

– Ersan Ilyasova, PF: Much like myself, you may have heard of Ersan Ilyasova, but in all likelihood you probably don’t actually really know anything him This is fine though, because he isn’t going to play tonight due to a nasal fracture. Sorry, Ersan.

– O.J. Mayo, SG: Remember when Orange Juice Mayonnaise got traded for Kevin Love and Mike Miller on draft night..? ‘Twas long, long ago. After leaving Memphis and then Dallas, Orange Juice signed with the Bucks, where he unfortunately decided to wear number 00. Wearing 00, in my completely arbitrary and stupid opinion, is like the kiss of death for a career (sorry, Aaron Gordon). Ever since donning the 00s, he has struggled with his shot and his weight, which both may also be related to the fact that his diet is comprised entirely of orange juice and mayonnaise.