On a Potential Lakers/Bucks Finals, and a review of Giannis Antetokounmpo's Wrestling Technique.
A conversation with Kyle Carr, writer and podcaster for Brew Hoop.
Welcome to issue #9 of Throwdowns. First off, I hope you all had a nice Mother’s Day and enjoyed the weekend.
In terms of sports, the NBA is still very much in limbo. As is the entire world. However, this shouldn’t stop us from imagining how a potential postseason would shake out if basketball were to resume.
With that said, I was fortunate to have a short chat with Brew Hoop’s Kyle Carr to help scout the Milwaukee Bucks, discuss a potential Finals’ matchup with the Lakers and spill plenty on the Lopez’ brothers. What follows is that aforementioned conversation.
Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
First off, how are you holding up Kyle?
All things considered, I am doing pretty well but have started to realize being in my house 24/7 is mentally draining. The weather is starting to become nice over in Wisconsin (ignore the polar vortex that just happened this weekend). My son is four months old so the silver lining of the stay at home order is I have been home and around him all the time which was nice.
I thought not having sports was going to be difficult for me to adjust to, but thankfully I have been finding other things to do like binge watching shows on Netflix and Hulu along with lots of video games to pass the time.
As someone who has covered the Bucks for some time now, did this team and the season they were having prior to the stoppage, feel any different to you?
The interesting part of the Bucks this year was going to be, how much are they really going to go for the #1 seed in the East. Last year was more of a coming out party and proving to not only themselves, but the league, that they were ready to take over the East post-LeBron James, and they were a few games away from accomplishing that.
Not only did Milwaukee match last year, but they were looking to surpass it before COVID-19 brought the league to a halt. It was a bit of a tough balance for fans as wins against the Clippers, Lakers, and Raptors were brushed off as “it’s just the regular season” but when they lost to the Heat, Sixers or Celtics it was “this is only a regular season team.”
In terms of their record, advanced stats and the sheer fact of having Giannis Antetokounmpo on their roster, the Bucks were definitely one of, if not the favorite to come out of the East this year. Do you think they are better equipped now to get back to the Finals? Or what potential factors can keep them out once again?
Before the stoppage, I figured the only team in the East that could beat Milwaukee in a 7-game-series was Toronto. They were playing that good even with guys like Brook Lopez and Wes Matthews suffering through shooting slumps.
I still think they are favorites to win the East when play resumes, but the biggest factors going against them might be other teams getting healthier like Philadelphia or Brooklyn, along with relying on Eric Bledsoe to hopefully shake off his playoff demons. As long as Khris Middleton plays well in a series, I can’t see any team in the East beating Milwaukee.
Now onto the Lakers. If you were forced (YOU ARE) to compare the LeBron James/Anthony Davis duo to any buddy cop movie, wrestling tag team, or supernatural force, what would it be?
My first reaction was Lethal Weapon. LeBron taking the Danny Glover role while AD would be the young upstart.
But I have to go with the tag team of Edge and Randy Orton, or Rated RKO. Both are at the best in their craft, people hate them but at the same time want to keep watching them. They probably will win a championship at some point.
If the season resumes, the Lakers and Bucks will still likely have a strong probability of meeting in the finals. How do you think the two teams match up? And how much stock should we put into their two regular season contests?
I think there is a bit you can take from their two regular season contests. The series would likely go a full seven games, and the teams match up pretty well. The nice part of Wesley Matthews’ addition to the team is he can take a shift guarding someone like LeBron. That responsibility would have fallen onto Khris Middleton and as we saw last year against Toronto with him guarding Kawhi Leonard, it leaves him vulnerable to not be at his best offensively.
The series may come down to something like which point guard between *Rajon Rondo or Eric Bledsoe, contributes for their team when they need it the most.
*Alex: This does not bode well for the Lakers if Kyle is correct.
As an ode to Gary Payton’s description of Dennis Rodman’s role on the Bulls, which player from the Bucks do you think would be “the fuck everything up person” come the postseason?
Boston Celtics fans can attest to this and it’s George Hill. He has been fantastic since last year’s playoffs for Milwaukee, and you could argue was the best point guard in that series.
He has been a fantastic 6th man and has that ability to get timely plays when your team needs it most. He still seems to have it on defensive-end, getting a timely steal and being a guy where he won’t fill up the box score, but will do something that rips your heart out.
As someone who enjoyed covering Brook Lopez when he was in Los Angeles, how has the Brook experience been in Milwaukee?
Brook’s signing last year has been the most impactful free agent signing Milwaukee has had in the last decade. His shooting opened up the offense last year and made him a priority signing for the Bucks this past offseason.
This year his shooting has gone downhill which is a bummer, but he has been playing the best defense in his career in a season that can see him be a dark horse candidate to getting an All-NBA spot. Personality wise, I can’t say enough about how perfect he’s been. He always has a quote ready that makes you laugh, and now with his brother, it’s only gotten better.
Speaking of Robin, my favorite aspect about this Bucks’ team this season has been their routine wrestling segments. Giannis’ “Cobra Strike” probably needs some work, but Robin and Wes Matthews have a genuine knack at it. Tell me everything you can about this fantastic development.
Giannis needs a new move other than the Cobra strike, it can easily be countered against a good opponent. Why he hasn’t added a superkick to his arsenal is baffling considering how long his legs are.
The dynamics have been interesting. It started with Giannis and Robin, then you had Wes jump in and team with Giannis, which was a smart move. Every once in awhile, Giannis’ brother Thanasis, would partake in it as well, even turning on Giannis.
My favorite part of their wrestling segments was when Milwaukee added
Marvin Williams. He came in and saw it go on during pregame and looked to wonder tom himself: what the hell is going on, and why am I here? It will be interesting to see if any other players join in on the action, if I had to put money on it, Eric Bledsoe will take on a Rey Mysterio role.
After close examination of the wrestling footage compiled by the Milwaukee Bucks’ organization this year, I can confidently say Wes Matthews is easily the best wrestler amongst the group.
Dude pulls off standing Frog Splashes like nothing, and even slaps on a Million Dollar Dream at one point! It is worth noting however, that during the December 28th fisticuffs, Matthews at one point looks to attempt a Tanahashi-esque Slingblade on Robin Lopez, but sloppy execution and miscommunication nearly leads to disaster.
On the other end of the spectrum, Giannis, my god man. Love the enthusiasm, but the first crime is no-selling all of your teammates’ moves. And second, I have to agree with Kyle here, of all the finishers to choose to steal from, you go with the Cobra Strike? You’re better than that. MAJOR props for the Eddie Guerrero sneak tactics though.
Lastly, a few quick shout-outs to the team’s other notable standouts:
1) The aforementioned Robin Lopez. Consistently selling his ass off and proving time after time to be an incredible base, Lopez is firmly the team’s workhorse and most giving parter to work with.
2) Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s elite refereeing. He aptly doesn’t count the three after noticing Robin’s shoulders were not flat on the ground, and almost always prevents the use of foreign objects. Those little things are invaluable.
3) Ersan Ilyasova’s legendary announcing ability. Never has “Rolo” sounded more terrifying.
This has been Throwdowns. If you enjoyed this, or any other post in the archive, please feel free to share it on social media or with your friends and family. It is greatly appreciated.
If you have any questions, concerns, feedback or want to send me recent work for consideration in future “recommended reading” installments, feel free to email me: Alexm.regla@gmail.com. As always, thank you.