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Do you hear that? It’s the sound of the Milwaukee Bucks after a loss. And it’s headed right for...a bunch of guys wearing Brooklyn Nets jerseys. Brooklyn is already significantly ahead of the equally-depleted Washington Wizards for the Eastern Conference’s sacrificial lamb 8th playoff seed, so they have very little to play for and they’re missing a ton of dudes.
This one could get ugly.
Bucks Update
Milwaukee gritted out a hard-fought victory against the Boston Celtics, and was in position to do the same against the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Alas, a series of late-game blunders threw the door wide open, and the Rockets were too happy to waltz through and take the victory. A post-loss Bucks team is usually a team with something to prove, but most of the message coming from the team is self-reflecting and introspective. End-of-game situations are rare when you blow teams out by double-digits, so here’s hoping the lesson was worth it.
Wes Matthews will sit this one out, but as Matt Velazquez notes, we could see a return of backcourt mates Pat Connaughton and...
Wesley Matthews (right calf soreness) is listed as OUT for tomorrow’s game against the Nets.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) August 3, 2020
As of right now, he’s the only Milwaukee player on the injury report meaning Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton may be returning to action tomorrow.
Player to Watch: Eric Bledsoe
Welcome back, welcome back. The Bucks were clearly missing their All-Defensive Team point guard ever since play resumed, as their depth simply can’t replicate his on-ball defense or his ball-handling prowess. Using this game as a way to ramp up ahead of Thursday’s showdown against Miami would be ideal.
Update: it’s official.
Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton are both available for the Bucks today.
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) August 4, 2020
Nets Update
I’m not going to lie to you. I have no idea who’s going to play for the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night. I know that they don’t have Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving. I know that Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince, and Wilson Chandler have all opted out of the restart. Then this happens:
Jacque Vaughn says Joe Harris (hamstring/back tightness), Jarrett Allen (“unusual circumstances”/load management) and Caris LeVert (thigh contusion) are all out for tomorrow’s game against the Bucks.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) August 3, 2020
Who’s left?! I legitimately don’t know who could still be on this roster. Garrett Temple? Donta Hall?
Player to Watch: Jamal Crawford
Though he was listed as questionable due to his level of conditioning, the 40-year old bucket-getter is always fun to watch. Honestly, if he doesn’t play, I don’t understand why this game is happening. I can’t muster up any further analysis, here’s a Jamal Crawford highlight reel.
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