The Milwaukee Bucks are leading the Eastern Conference by four games over the Miami Heat and sprinted through December suffering only two losses. The first loss to the Dallas Mavericks ended the 18-game win streak for Milwaukee, while the second loss came against the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day. Outside of those two games, the Bucks put together an impressive December, including 12 wins; two of those wins coming against the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers — both very real title contenders.
Casual NBA fans would call that a great month, right? Well, things are a bit more dramatic on Bucks’ Twitter these days.
So, let’s not waste any more time. Here are some of the hottest and most dramatic takes about the Bucks on Twitter from December.
THE BUCKS ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE AS PHILLY LOOKS UNBEATABLE
We all knew the overreactions would be terrible after a blowout loss to the 76ers on Christmas.
Christmas Day basketball is the best. It’s an honor to play on this day and the teams that are fortunate enough to have this opportunity know that the national media will be fully focused on Christmas Day games. Not long ago, Bucks fans dreamt of playing on December 25th. Now, it seems like this will be a regular occurrence for Milwaukee. Unfortunately, this year the game wasn’t very enjoyable.
Here are some of the classic overreactions to the Bucks loss to the 76ers.
https://twitter.com/LkAliveThanLkD1/status/1209957397135007745
https://twitter.com/NBAddict1/status/1209956742584504321
https://twitter.com/ThirdEyeLooking/status/1209954254733139974
So, that’s it then, huh?
The Bucks lose one game on Christmas — a game in which the 76ers had an outlier shooting night making 21 three-pointers — and they’re no longer favorites in the East? If any team in the NBA makes 21 three-pointers, they’ll be almost impossible to beat. The Bucks played poorly and ran into an incredibly hot shooting performance from a quality opponent. This doesn’t mean that the blueprint on how to beat the Bucks has been clearly formed. And it surely doesn’t mean that the 76ers have figured out their offensive woes, either. There’s a long way to go and we’ll bet on Philly NOT shooting like that in the next matchup.
Don’t forget that in their next game after defeating the Bucks the 76ers lost to Orlando and shot 10-29 from three. That’s more like it.
THE BUCKS ARE BETTER WITHOUT ERIC BLEDSOE
Eric Bledsoe has missed a handful of games in December with a shin injury. According to Twitter, if the Bucks win while Bledsoe is out, this means that the team is better without him entirely, right?
Sure, the Bucks have won a bunch of games without Eric Bledsoe. But it’s important to remember that the Bucks are really, really good and they’ll win a ton of games regardless of injuries. If Giannis plays, the Bucks are likely going to be favored in any game. And much like we saw against the Hawks and Magic most recently, if Giannis sits out, the Bucks can still beat a number of teams in the NBA.
Let’s not forget some of the great things that we get from Eric Bledsoe each night. For the Bucks to advance deep into the playoffs this year, Bledsoe has to be a key piece.
The Bucks are NOT a better team without him.
JOEL EMBIID IS THE “GIANNIS STOPPER”
Giannis played poorly on Christmas. It happened and we’ve all moved on. Joel Embiid played very well and dominated the game. This is no secret to anyone who watched the matchup. And clearly many Embiid fans want to proclaim Embiid as the only man who can single-handedly stop Giannis.
https://twitter.com/Hanadis4ever/status/1209957393007820800
The Giannis stopper narrative on Twitter is one that should never have started.
Giannis is the MVP. He’s dominating statistically in a way that we’ve never seen before. And his team is off to one of the best starts in NBA history. There is no “Giannis stopper,” besides a bad performance from Giannis himself. It simply does not exist.
All in all, let’s just not get caught up in this debate again. Wasn’t Al Horford the “Giannis stopper” last year? That didn’t end well for the Celtics in the playoffs.
THE MARGIN IN THE EAST HAS SHRUNK
This one didn’t even come from Twitter, but we had to share one of the best overreactions of the month as it combines all of the above.
The Ringer’s Haley O’Shaughnessy said:
It’s not as if one game ruins Milwaukee’s chances, or that Embiid winning the matchup has “exposed” Giannis. He still had highlights. But the margin between the Bucks and the rest of the East suddenly looks slimmer, and that should worry the Bucks. Us, too. I’m not sure I can take more sad Giannis.
One loss and the margin for the Bucks suddenly looks slimmer? We’ll pass on that scorching hot take.
Until next month, enjoy Twitter!
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