Hi everyone,

First time posting here. I’ve been engaging in the game threads for the first time this season, and I (like many others) often fall victim to the epic highs and lows of Bucks basketball. I’ve watched every game so far this season, and I’d like to share my thoughts and ask some questions to hear what you guys think.

I’ll start by acknowledging that our record is quite impressive. While we’ve struggled a lot during games, the team has managed to pull through more often than not. That said, I feel like we’re fighting for our lives every single game. Just once I’d like to watch the bucks blow a team out of the water so we can get some of those sweet, sweet T Nasty fourth quarter minutes. IMO, our defense is lacking in both personnel and schemes. We’re not seeing enough rookie minutes, even though those guys seem to shore up our defense. We also don’t have much to give come the trade deadline. I’ve heard many people call for AG to be fired (I’ve done it a few times myself), I’ve heard people say we need more defensive-minded players, I’ve heard some say we just need time to figure out our identity. Personally I think losing Jae Crowder was devastating, so I’m going to try and save my judgments until he’s back in action. This probably explains the statistical underperformance of the bench in the last two games, which has made games a lot closer than they would otherwise be.

In your opinion, what needs to be done to fix some of the most obvious issues the team faces? Why haven’t we seen some seemingly obvious plays from AG like the Dame + Giannis PnR or more minutes for our rookies? What trades can reasonably be made to improve the team? Do you think we’ve improved much since the start of the season? At what point should we be concerned with the team’s performance?

I want the team to succeed, but I have yet to walk away feeling confident about a win. I have hope that things will improve, but the doomer in me says if we don’t act fast, we won’t be able to find something that works in time for the playoffs. I think Tuesday’s game against the Heat will be a good measure of progress. Hopefully the Heat don’t shoot the lights out.