Monday Morning Media Roundup: August 14th, 2023

Mid-August is a time to throw any and all ideas at the wall to see if any stick. G may did just that last week and will be collecting some hardware below accordingly. While thinking about the proposal to load manage Khris Middleton from the bench, my mind began to drift to the other starters. Is there more flexibility in there than meets the eye?

There are some creative, if risky, options available to Adrian Griffin & Co. We’ve always got Giannis-at-center, a couple of different two guards with varied skillsets (Grayson Allen the shooter with a modicum of size and a singular dribble-drive, Pat Connaughton as do-it-all glue guy, AJ Green), forwards to fill molds alongside Giannis or a Lopez twin, etc. Maybe all of the above would prove a worse choice than trotting out last year’s starting five, but they could be worth a try.

Yet there is one guy whose place and role is untouchable: Jrue Holiday.

Jrue is untouchable because literally who the hell else could take his position? There isn’t a soul anywhere near the roster we could even feasibly pretend is a point guard. We can barely pretend that Jrue himself is a proper point guard.

Not only is there a dearth of viable secondary options on the bench, but the very nature of his core running mates means the ball and offensive flow will go through Jrue out of necessity as well. Khris is a decent dribbler and the most creative passer, Giannis has more or less one speed with the ball, Grayson can go to the paint, and Brook lumbers. Even if you put in MarJon, AJ Green, Pat, Malik Beasley, etc., the problem remains the same.

The concern herein isn’t so much that Jrue can’t do the job during the regular season; we’ve seen that he’s quite capable for 82 games. But within this structure lies the same flaw that has handicapped Milwaukee playoff offenses of the recent past: Jrue Holiday himself. It’s up to a rookie head coach to press the right buttons to avoid that handicap resulting in yet another series of seven-game struggles we’ve become so accustomed to. No small task, that.

Let’s roundup!

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Beloved Beauchamp celebrated in return to Yakima (Yakima Herald-Republic)

This makes it two consecutive weeks with MMMR debuts from different media outlets! The Yakima Herald-Republic doesn’t just have a great name: It also has a great piece on MarJon Beauchamp’s jersey retirement last week. In his ability to experience remarkable success while remaining grounded and true to the place he came from, MarJon partly reminds me of Giannis and the Antetokounmpos in general.

Yakima County is Bucks country.

Antetokounmpo Brothers Unite On The Nike Zoom Freak 5 “Five The Hard Way” (Sneaker News)

The Zoom Freaks looked their best in their initial design. That backwards Nike swoosh running along the side to the heel in particular made them stand out in my eyes. Since, each iteration has gotten chunkier and taller, much to my chagrin (Note: I don’t really care all that much). Edition no. 5 is out and the design is probably my favorite since the original. Nobody can accuse them of minimalism per se, but the sleek structure looks great. Can’t wait to see what absolutely godawful color ways Giannis wears these in this season.

Report: Sixers to play Bucks for 2023-24 season opener (Liberty Ballers)

Reminder that while it is understandable if, like me, you’re a little disappointed by a Bucks offseason with very little personnel changes, it could always be worse. James Harden trying to eat his way out of another team kind of worse.

UPDATE: Yo. Lmao.

NBA Mailbag w/Jamal Crawford (NBA.com)

You know you’ve reached the offseason doldrums when you’re relying on Jamal Crawford to take up some column space. The good news is he named Giannis one of the 2020s best playoff performers (thus far) alongside Nikola Jokic and Steph Curry. Also known as the three primary guys on the teams that have won titles thus far this decade.

Milwaukee Bucks Coach DeMarre Carroll Lists His Perk-Packed Atlanta Mansion for $3.6M (Realtor.com)

1) I’m pretty sure DeMarre is no longer employed by the team post-Bud canning. An easy mistake for the journalists at Realtor.com to make, I suppose.

2) What in God’s name is this mural, and is DeMarre going to pay for it to be painted over by whoever buys his house?

Why would you even bother to build a personal court if it’s going to be 10’x10’? Everything about this is confusing, and becomes more confusing the longer you stare at it.

Anyways, let’s band together and buy the place so we have a Brew Hoop mansion of our own.

Fan Post of the Week

A really deserving entry this week for the FPOTW award, with G may broaching a subject that will likely become only more relevant with the passing of time. “Khris’s starting job” asks whether new coach Adrian Griffin would find it beneficial to sit Khris Middleton at the start of games in a bid to better integrate a young player within the wider team concept. In theory, I like the idea of a new-look offense that encourages marginal guys to move around a bunch to increase the odds of an off-kilter defense for the likes of Giannis or Jrue Holiday to take advantage of — even if for merely a few minutes.

In reality, there’s no way Griffin would go for this. It would take courage like steel for a first-time head coach to be so liberal with his decision-making and strategies. I’d expect a relatively conservative approach on the offensive end that won’t mess too much with the remnants of Bud Ball; keeping Khris in the starting lineup likely won’t even be a question that remotely crosses this coaching staff’s mind.

The Social Media Section

Have a nice day, Javonte

Evan Turner confirmed ball-knower

Malik being featured in one of the the offseason workout videos of all time

Giannis the type of dude to actually iron his own clothes and not be half bad at it, too

Bobby’s skillset would translate to literally any setting, any group of teammates, and any ruleset. Getting buckets is eternal.

Adore the fact that Khris is so loyal to his video editor friend

Yakima “Milwaukee of the West Coast”, Washington

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FIBA World Cup play is still a few weeks away, and with Giannis bowing out of the competition while recovering from his knee surgery, the onus of representing the Bucks falls squarely on Bobby Portis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s shoulders. Maybe this is just the competition Thanasis needs to show off a newfound ability to dribble in traffic or make jump shots — meanwhile, Bobby will do Bobby things in whatever minutes are thrown his way. It should be scintillating.

Happy Monday!