Monday Morning Media Roundup: December 28th, 2020

Another calendar year in the books means another year done for the MMMR. I could go back and see how long I’ve been doing this, or try to quantify how many times I posted in this series in 2020, but I’m too lazy and that really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we survived another year of the Bucks.

That’s unfair to them, though, as there were more highs than lows overall. We had another excellent regular season, a stand for social justice in the city and in Florida, community outreach efforts, that time in Paris when Marc Lasry told MJ to buzz off, and of course the Giannis supermax extension to cap it all off. Getting stomped by the Heat was less than ideal, but our rapid change in circumstances brought about by Giannis’s decision means we have a chance of recalling that series as a learning experience that helped get us to a higher ultimate destination.

And that’s what this season will be about, while the MMMR continues to stand ready to document it for posterity. Onward and upward, for the site and for the team, for all our sakes.

Let’s roundup!

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The Historic Significance of the Bucks Playing in MKE on Christmas Day (Milwaukee Magazine)

Friend of the site and actual Australian Kane Pitman lent his writing skills to the hometown magazine last week in honor of Milwaukee’s second consecutive Christmas Day appearance, and the result is some fun history and a Jon McGlocklin appearance.

Something tells me Jon McGlocklin wouldn’t bat an eye at a bus stop breakfast to this day. Doesn’t matter if he’s playing with Kareem, calling Mo Williams buzzer beaters, or watching Giannis, Jon will down three eggs and two pieces of toast in an instant.

Report: Giannis Antetokounmpo turned down offers to work out with LeBron James and be in new Space Jam (Lakers Daily)

First, I think this is Lakers Daily’s first time being on the MMMR, so a big congrats to them for that honor. Second, while I deeply appreciate Giannis’s willingness to go it relatively alone vis-a-vis his superstar compatriots, it would’ve been pretty cool to watch him catch CGI alley-oops off Elmer Fudd’s shiny dome.

Oh well. Maybe they can slap that scene into the Giannis biopic.

Haynes: Trail Blazers Were “Secret Team” for Giannis Antetokounmpo Before Supermax (Blazer’s Edge)

Can I count this under the heading Vulture Talk? We’ve retired that segment, but it just wouldn’t be right if we didn’t get a chance to engrave Portland’s name on that hallowed list.

Turns out Giannis and Damian Lillard have gotten to talking over the past couple of months (likely stemming from time spent together in the Bubble), and that isn’t surprising at all. In a league where stars are more likely to chill during the offseason, Giannis and Lillard are known for opting for a more solitary route to continual improvement. They’re bonafide superstars in small markets who have earned their praise as loyal players to their respective cities, and they also seem to constantly be the butt of jokes by other league personnel for not having a ton of connections on other rosters.

Probably for the best that they’ll continue to grind for the ultimate accolade apart, though I’m not sure you could dream up a better stylistic and competitive-mentality fit in the league.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo laments costly free throw miss, but welcomes being in ‘those moments’ (ESPN)

At this point I’m almost tempted to direct my nightly prayers towards the instituting of a hack-a-Giannis strategy, just to see if sheer volume and the anger of being targeted like that elevates his FT%. I’m aware that it probably wouldn’t and there’s a chance it would backfire and the FT% would actually spiral, but we’re down to that or consulting a horoscope specialist to fix this thing.

But, hey, at least he took the shots. That’s better than nothing, I suppose.

Know Your Enemy

• Miami Heat - Hot Hot Hoops - Will Heat come to regret Gallinari, Crowder decisions?

How’d that “Giannis master plan” work out?

(yes, I’m aware there’s a non-zero chance they bounce us again in the playoffs)

• Chicago Bulls - Blog a Bull - How much time does Lauri Markkanen have left?

I, uh... hadn’t realized that the Bulls were seriously this deep in the rebuilding hole still. This is year, what, four of being flat-out bad without much to show for it? They’re on a very Bucks-like trajectory right now in the worst way possible.

Fan Post of the Week

retired janitor’s “A Look at 3% Diff”

This guy is really on a roll now having taken home first place two weeks in a row. Who among us has the courage to try and stop him? Who will answer the call and post the “Riley, please pick me for FPOTW” Fan Post we’ve all been eagerly awaiting? Who will step up and write out a 10 paragraph comment somewhere among next week’s slate of articles for me to dig up and post here for everyone’s enjoyment?

(The idea of determining whether you making threes or allowing threes is more valuable to winning is intriguing, especially given Milwaukee’s woes on both ends in the playoffs. For this team in particular I don’t imagine opponent 3P% dropping much further since the scheme remains mostly the same, while our 3P% could tick up simply because of roster changes like not having Bledsoe out there in the postseason.)

The Social Media Section

Mamadi “Rashad Vaughn Hype Man” Diakite

Even when he’s tens of millions of dollars richer after free agency, Christian Wood is still boosting himself at all time

Donte transaction news!

Come for Ian’s gorgeous bun, stay for the insightful Sam Merrill breakdown

...it’s true, I’ve never seen Tim Duncan do these things

It’s not DJ Wilson levels of inexplicable outfit design, but it’s close

Khris approves of the blue jerseys

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Riley’s 2020-2021 Prediction Record: 1-2

retired janitor’s 2020-2021 Prediction Record: 1-2

The relatively untested nature of this roster may prove obtaining wins early this season a complicated endeavor. That was a lesson we could’ve taken from the preseason, but I bought in to the team “flipping a switch” anyhow once the games counted.

Whoops!

Three more games on deck this week with the first two being a short two-game series in Miami against the Heat. Game 1 is on Tuesday with Game 2 the following night on Wednesday. Then the Bucks return to Milwaukee to play host to our friends the Chicago Bulls on Friday evening. Obviously the first two of that three game slate are far more consequential in terms of setting narratives and all that, so I predict they’ll split it with a loss on Tuesday and win on Wednesday before beating the Bulls Friday night.

End the year on a high note! Positive thinking only.

(PS — We’re running the first of our weekly non-Bucks game threads starting tonight. Keep posted for when it goes live around 5 PM Central!)

Happy Monday!