Monday Morning Media Roundup: September 13th, 2021

The “Hey, George Hill is back!” Edition

George Hill is a Buck again! I’d have never expected his return to Milwaukee, and if you keep your eye off the ball you’d almost have forgotten the Bucks signed him on the back end of the free agency feeding frenzy. In theory, both on- and off-court, it’s a move that makes sense for both sides:

• For George, he returns to a locker room in which he was regarded as a leader and integral component of those capable “Bench Mob” units Milwaukee ran. He’ll be as capable of picking up and playing Budenholzer’s principles as any FA guard, and as he reaches the final years of his career there is access to Milwaukee’s famously good training staff.
• For Milwaukee, they effectively fill the backup PG hole in their roster at ~1/3 the price of what they doled out to DJ Augustin a year ago. $4 million annually could pan out to be wonderful value if they get the Hill of the past three seasons (sans his experiment in Philadelphia). On top of stabilizing bench units, he offers Budenholzer a primary ball handler that can free up Jrue Holiday to bring balance to team playmaking.

The trick in terms of evaluation rests as usual on unknowables. When will Hill’s athleticism drop off so much that he becomes a net negative, and was that Sixers run simply an aberration? The brief stint spent in OKC to start last season would suggest that we’ve yet to reach the end of the road for Hill; while 14 games isn’t a big sample, he started all 14, averaged 26.4 minutes a game (higher than in either season spent with Milwaukee), averaged 11.8 points (on .508/.386/.840 splits), 3.1 assists, and 2.1 rebounds, and a career-low 8.4% TOV%.

Those all compare favorably to DJ Augustin and Jeff Teague’s output in the same rotation spot a year ago, although Hill is older than both (although although Hill is also physically larger than both as well). If Milwaukee can get one more decent season from George, well, that’ll go a long way to reducing the vertigo induced during some of the more dire critical stretches of the playoffs wrought by #TeagueMinutes.

Let’s roundup!

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Former New Orleans Pelicans players (led by Jrue Holiday) commit support to Hurricane Ida victims (ESPN)

Kudos to all the players involved in this effort, spearheaded by Jrue and Lauren Holiday via their foundation. They’ve gone the extra mile beyond simply acknowledging their emotional connection to the people of New Orleans and Louisiana generally. Good people.

When the Greyhound ran through Milwaukee (GSPN)

It appears some of the Behind the Buck Pass crew have a new venture underway, and we’re always happy to see more organic Bucks content. They begin their journey with this piece on Bob Dandridge — how he landed in Milwaukee, how he earned his starting job, and the laurels that followed including his recent induction into the basketball hall of fame.

Bob-by, Bob-by, Bob-by (Dandridge) (The Stein Line)

And some more Bob Dandridge/Bobby Portis content over here by Marc Stein on his newsletter page thing. The thing I love about diving back into franchise history is how crazy some of the stats these guys put up were. Averaging 18.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in eight seasons of play? While sharing the court with Kareem and Oscar Robertson for stretches of that period? Man…

Don’t forget about Khris Middleton (Amherst Wire)

A first time MMMR appearance by the Amherst Wire! Congratulations on this prestigious honor.

There are plenty of reasons to be pleased for Khris to have been here when Milwaukee reached the summit. I just want to acknowledge that, against at least my expectations, he’s been able to play up to and even beyond his five-year, $178 million extension. That contract was a gamble that he’d be able to hold up his end of the bargain as part of a title-winning front line. Oh how sweet that it came off in the end.

Moe Wagner Opens Up On Getting Headbutted By Giannis Antetokounmpo: “That Sh*t Hurt. I Was Like ‘What The Hell Just Happened?’” (Fadeaway World)

A uh… resolution to that Bubble story I’m sure everyone was waiting on? Why does Duncan Robinson have a podcast? The headbutt is the kind of tale that continues to confound even after we’ve apparently received an explanation.

The Doldrum Series

A bit of a change in direction this week from debate master Ham Slamwich with “Doldrum Series: Relish Preferences”.

For my money it’s tough to beat a good chipotle mustard. Or mustards in general. Respect to all mustards except whole grain outside of very particular use cases.

Fan Post of the Week

RJ knows I’ve a weak spot for articles titled in very melodramatic ways, and “In Search of Jrue” fits the bill. I think the point that munchtime brought up that is critical in understanding the difference between Jrue and Eric Bledsoe is the mental fortitude Jrue had to continue to fight and keep trying to get things right even in the face of bad shooting. At the highest level, with all eyes on you, if your shot leaves you can you just leave that aside and respond? Jrue did, and here we are with a shiny new trophy because of it.

The Social Media Section

Can the Greeks among the commentariat explain the significance of this man? No disrespect intended, just curious

Bobby Portis: NBA champion, public health spokesperson for the state of Arkansas

This is certainly a collection of NBA players who also play for the Bucks

Noted NBA veteran Shane Larkin commented on this with “You smoked that layup. Don’t lie.”

This play was actually worth a title

More Bobby content as the Summer of Bobby Portis continues apace

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I’ll be doing these little thought experiments with all our recent FA acquisitions because let’s face it, between now and training camp it’s either that or talking mess about the Miami Heat some more. Though when I think about it, we really haven’t spoken nearly enough about how bad we got the Heat. That ruled.

Happy Monday!