The New Year’s road trip makes its final stop in Milwaukee as the Nets take on the Bucks.
Back at it. The Brooklyn Nets rang in the New Year with a trip to Canada to face the Toronto Raptors. The Nets fought hard, but the Raps got hot and ended their 11 game losing streak. This is night two of a back-to-back for Jordi Fernandez and the Nets so we’ll see how they manage things this evening.
The Nets will be meeting a familiar foe. The Milwaukee Bucks are healthier than when we last saw them, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. They came back from a 19 point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers to close out 2024. Milwaukee is back in the top six of the Eastern Conference and hope to keep climbing the ranks from here.
Where to follow the game
YES Network on TV. WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:30 PM.
Injuries
No Bojan Bogdanovic, Trendon Watford, or Ziaire Williams. Cam Thomas missed yesterday’s game as part of injury management, but is expected back tonight. Ben Simmons played yesterday, so chances are he’ll miss this one. Noah Clowney took a hard fall last night and had to exit the game. We’ll see how he is today. The worst news, however, may be Maxwell Lewis. He left last night’s game with a knee injury. He will be undergoing an MRI sometime today and the team will be releasing an update. Hoping for the best.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (right patella tendinopathy) and Khris Middleton (recovery from ankle surgery) are both probable.
The game
Brooklyn won the first and third meetings while Milwaukee won the second contest. This is the last matchup between the two teams this season.
So, when do we start the Giannis is MVP talks? The Greek Freak has been sensational this season and turned it up a notch after Pascal Siakam pissed him off
Special shoutout to Pascal Siakam for waking up Giannis in that second half. Must’ve said something about his midrange because Giannis went on to splash 5 of them in the second half. He made sure that the last one he hit was on Siakam as well and started dancing afterwards! pic.twitter.com/j9lUXRF1i8
— Follow HeavenlyBuckets (@heavenlybuckets) January 1, 2025
When he’s got the midrange jumper going, look out. Like all superstars of his ilk, when they’re consistently making jump shots, it makes life hell on opponents. Riley Feldmann of Brew Hoop has more:
There is a reason why we salivate over the possibility of Giannis ever happening upon a jumpshot that has any level of replicability: it’d instantly transform the depth of his offensive game from dominance to possible transcendence. About 22% of his two point looks have been pull-ups this season which is his highest mark since 2021-2022 and he’s making them at a 43.6% rate. Definitely something to keep an eye on heading forward.
My my my. Not that you need more discussion about how amazing Antetokounmpo, but our guys Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr talked about Giannis and the MVP race on the latest edition of The Dunker Spot
It’s time to hoop it up! ☝️
Assuming Simmons is out, D’Angelo Russell figures to get back into the Brooklyn Nets starting lineup, 2081 days after his last time in the black and white.
DLo looked terrific in his Brooklyn return as he scored 22 points and handed out eight assists off the bench last night. Not bad for a guy who didn’t have a practice between Sunday’s trade and last night.
He gives the Nets another player who can get their own shot on offense, and that can help keep them close on nights they can’t make anything shake in transition. It will also be fun to see how he and Cam Thomas work as a backcourt tandem. CT is building himself back up from an extended injury absence, so managing his minutes and workload will be a fun subplot to the next week of Nets basketball.
Slowing Damian Lillard down will be a fun challenge for this Nets team. Dame had a rough outing on Tuesday as the Pacers picked up from three quarters court and did everything to make things tough on him. The Nets defense stunk last night, so we know the focus tonight will be on cleaning things up on that side of the ball.
Player to watch: Brook Lopez
Always great to see an old friend. Amazingly, this is his seventh season as a member of the Bucks. In that time, he’s continued to evolve his game and is incredibly reliable for the Bucks on both sides of the ball. The 36-year-old appeared in every game for the Bucks thus far and will be someone Doc Rivers counts on to keep the team’s defense on the rise. Milwaukee’s defensive rating has improved each month this season and if you’re able to defend, you’re able to contend.
Nic Claxton picked up a double-double last night, but he will need to get the team’s defense back on track. Of Toronto’s 130 points, 60 of them were in the painted area. Even though the Bucks are 26th in paint points this year, anyone can happily take layups if you let them. On the other side, it will be interesting to watch Clax do some more in the half court. He certainly has the potential to be pretty solid
The skill is there. Just gotta put it together night after night.
From the Vault
The voting process for the Naismith Hall of Fame is underway, and former Buck Terry Cummings is a candidate for induction. TC was an excellent player across the 1980s and 1990s, and on some nights, he was even a good singer. Now that’s versatility!
More reading: Brew Hoop and SB Nation NBA
- Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
- Milwaukee Bucks Game Notes – Milwaukee Nets
- Bucks’ Big 3 set to face struggling Nets – Larry Fleisher – NBA
- Brooklyn faces Milwaukee, seeks to stop 3-game skid – AP
- D’Angelo Russell makes strong first impression in Nets’ debut – Brian Lewis – New York Post