Bucks At Rockets

So. The 38-23 Milwaukee Bucks are visiting the 15-47 Houston Rockets.

It seems safe to write 39-23 and 15-48, respectively, down in ink now. We won’t need an eraser, most likely.

The Rockets are unlikely to offer much in the way of true resistance to Milwaukee so what might we look for tonight?

PJ Tucker The Original vs PJ Tucker II (JaeSean Tate).

Tucker is basically the model for Tate. Tate is a bit less stout, and rugby like than Tucker, but give him time. What’s interesting is, Tate’s game attacking the basket, driving off fakes, scoring inside is basically how Tucker used to play. I remember a game back in 2013 where Tucker lead the scoring for a narrow Suns victory over the Rockets. He also frustrated James Harden all night. I remembered him scoring like 30, but it only felt that way, it was 20, but with stellar defense.

JaeSean Tate should probably also figure out something to collect. Like shoes, but not.

Is Jrue Holliday the Bucks best player?

Go and look, and decide for yourself.

Why are the Rockets so injured?

Will the Rockets get good injury luck next year? This is particularly awful.

Are these Buck fundamentally different from the gaudy-record, hollow playoffs, Bucks teams of the past?

Has Holliday altered the equation? Or will a dominant-seeming Mike Budenholzer team fall flat again? Last year’s utter collapse in the face of Miami with Antetokounpo accepting the MVP award on a Zoom call from his backyard (or wherever) has to be particularly galling. You hate to see it. I guess.

Injuries

Rockets (or some spoof of the Rockets)

The Rockets, of course, have a ton: John Wall (Operation Shutdown IV), Eric Gordon (Fishing Expedition), Dante Exum (Strained Ectoplasm), Sterling Brown (Knee, Assault), Avery Bradley (I dunno, something), Danuel House Jr (Also...something.), David Nwaba (Wrist Surgery), DJ Augustin (Ankle, Shutdown).

Bucks

Dante DiVincenzo will probably play.

Giannis Antetokounpo will probably play.

The Bucks have all the Rockets good injury luck, evidently. That’s fine for now.