The Milwaukee Bucks are already done with the Cam Thomas experiment, releasing him after 18 games following being waived by the Brooklyn Nets.

The Bucks have converted forward Pete Nance’s contract from a two-way to a standard contract in response to releasing Thomas.

The former first-round pick out of LSU has never had a problem scoring; it is just everything else that has hampered Thomas in finding a home.

Thomas averaged 24 minutes per game with the Bucks and averaged 15.6 points per game. On the surface, those numbers aren’t bad, but his inability to impact the game on the other end of the court and his lack of playmaking make it hard for him to be a consistent part of a rotation.

This does seem really early, especially for a non-contending team like the Bucks to split from Thomas, even after the team was super high on him when they first signed him. Head coach Doc Rivers compared the guard to his former players, Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams.

“They’re similar, but they’re all different in their own ways,” Rivers said after they signed him. “Cam wants to do right. He wants to play well. You can see that. And we’re going to give him every opportunity. I mean, the guy is a natural scorer, and you can see that. Probably forced one or two today where he overdribbled. You live with that, and you teach that to get that out of him. But overall, he was fantastic.”

The Thomas split comes in the wake of the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga, after not being traded at this year’s trade deadline, to now the Bucks wanting to shut down their superstar, but Antetokounmpo wants to continue playing this year.

The Bucks have a huge off-season ahead, with uncertainty about Rivers’ future as head coach and whether Antetokounmpo will ask for a trade.

As the Milwaukee Bucks stand on the brink of elimination Thursday night, their star players remain questionable to return. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are reportedly working toward a potential return in Game 6 on the road against the Indiana Pacers, but they do not yet have an official status.

“I don’t know how to answer that,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said when asked for injury updates. “I know I hope [to have them on the floor again in the series]. I think they’re very, very, very close.”

Despite finishing the season as the third seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks have suffered a litany of injuries to key players before and during their first-round matchup against the Pacers. Antetokounmpo has not yet appeared in the first five games, leaving Lillard and Khris Middleton to lead the team on the floor. Middleton has had to play through a setback he suffered in Game 2, while Lillard was heroic in the first three games before missing Games 4 and 5 with an Achilles strain.

“[Antetokounmpo] didn’t do a lot [at shootaround],” Rivers said during a press conference before Game 6. “Did some shooting again. Did more after I left, but I didn’t see it. Dame didn’t do anything.”

After the press conference, Lillard took the floor for shooting practice, and his status has since been upgraded to questionable.

Milwaukee has managed to claw its way back to a 3-2 series deficit without its major contributors, which is a feat in itself, as the Pacers have done them no favors while trying to spring the upset. Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton has led the team throughout the series, particularly in a Game 3 overtime victory in which he scored 18 points with 10 rebounds and 16 assists.

Even if Antetokounmpo and Lillard return, the Bucks will have to win two straight games, one on the road and one at home, to advance to the second round. A loss in the first round would be an unfortunate result for a team pegged as a serious championship contender before the 2023-24 season.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ playoff situation darkened even further in Game 2 of the first round Tuesday when guard Khris Middleton went down with an ankle injury. With star Giannis Antetokounmpo already sidelined, the team now has to deal with two uncertain injury statuses for starters entering Game 3 on Friday.

Though Middleton managed to play through his injury in Game 2, taping up his ankle and playing 36 minutes, he has reportedly not practiced since. Bucks coach Doc Rivers had very little to offer after practice Thursday.

“It’s another holding our breath situation,” Rivers said. “So, honestly, I don’t know.”

Rivers was slightly more optimistic about Antentokounmpo’s status. The star big man missed both games in the first round to recover from a calf strain. Still, it remains unclear when he will be available to play.

“He’s getting close,” Rivers said Thursday. But I don’t know what that even means. I’m being honest. I saw him moving around, and in my mind, I said he’s getting close. Does that mean a day or four days? I’m not sure.”

While Milwaukee piles up injuries to star players, the Indiana Pacers have taken full advantage, winning Game 2 in a 125-108 blowout to even the series. The sixth seed is led by emerging star Tyrese Haliburton, who has not performed brilliantly in the series thus far but has nevertheless facilitated well on offense.

Before the season, the Bucks were one of a handful of teams that could have reasonably won an NBA Championship following the addition of star point guard Damian Lillard. Now, Lillard may have to reassume his role on the Trail Blazers, that of a lone hero, to get this super team through the first round.

If the Pacers successfully upset the Bucks and move on to the Eastern Conference Semifinal, it will be the team’s first trip beyond the first round since 2014.

At least one player on the Los Angeles Lakers is frustrated that the NBA is barring the team from wearing their black City Edition uniforms during the final games of the In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas. The league claims that the uniforms create a concerning contrast with the red and blue court that will be used in the T-Mobile Arena.

“That’s a–,” the unnamed Lakers player reportedly said after the announcement.

The Lakers are undefeated in the four games they’ve played in their City Edition uniforms and most recently wore them in a 106-103 win over the Suns on December 5 to advance in the tournament. It makes sense that Los Angeles is superstitious ahead of a semifinal matchup against the Pelicans, but LeBron James and company will have to make do in their primary yellow uniforms.

Los Angeles is not the only team facing uniform restrictions, as the Pacers have also been barred from wearing their black City Edition uniforms in their semifinal game against the Bucks. Indiana has won all five games in which the team has worn them and is winless in three games with the gold alternates players will wear instead.

Though uniform restrictions have been met with several minor criticisms from players and fans, the first rendition of the In-Season Tournament has been largely successful. Players have praised the format, ratings are reportedly up and some arenas have enjoyed playoff-like atmospheres early in the regular season.

“NBA basketball has never been more fun in November and early December than it has been this year,” Stan Van Gundy said on a Pelicans-Kings broadcast Monday night. “And I’m not sure it’s ever been more intense. I mean, these guys want these games.”

For reaching the semifinals, every player on the Lakers, Pelicans, Bucks and Pacers are guaranteed to receive $100,000. Players on the runner-up team will receive $200,000 each, while champions will receive $500,000 each.

During Tuesday’s game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Washington Wizards Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo clearly incensed by something hauled off and headbutted Wizards forward Moritz Wagner. Antetokounmo was immediately ejected for this and will now be suspended for the Bucks’ final seeding game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi3VMMiFHVg

This is a generous suspension considering that Antetokounmpo was likely to rest for the last game with the Bucks already having the first seed locked up, and the NBA has usually taken a much harder stance towards physical violence ever since the “Mallace in the Palace.” While Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was visibly upset in the video, he took this as a more positive experience than most would. “This is nothing. Giannis has been dealing with this for a long time,” Budenholzer said. “He’s an MVP. People are gonna try him. He normally is phenomenal, and today was a slip-up. I think it’s probably, in some ways, it could be one of the best things that happened today, and it’s a learning moment. We’ll all remember how important it is that we’ve got to keep our cool.”

“That was a very strange few seconds,” said Wizards coach Scott Brooks. “I thought Moe stepped in and took a charge. That’s what you have to do. You’ve gotta drop off and force him to shoot. He can drive, [you] step up and take a charge. And a few seconds later, he got a head-butt.”

Antetokounmpo was much harder on himself. “Terrible action,” he said. “If I could go back, turn back time and go back to that play, I wouldn’t do it. But at the end of the day, we’re all human, we all make mistakes. I think I’ve done a great job all year, in my career at keeping my composure and focus on the game, but at the end of the day, we’re human and make mistakes. But at the end of the day, you learn from it, keep playing good basketball and keep moving forward.”

Going into Tuesday night’s game, the putrid and COVID ravaged Nets (31-35) who were missing all of their original, healthy starting five were 18.5 point underdogs to the juggernaut, Milwaukee Bucks (54-13). And, miraculously, behind 26 points from Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and 19 more from Gary Temple, led the Nets to a 119-116 win of the title contenders.

This is a happy bright spot for what has been a pretty dull season and disastrous bubble. Now, there are a few caveats tot he win. None of Milwaukee’s starters including MVP favorite Giannis Antetokounmpo added 16 points in his 16 minutes and only played the first half. So, basically, this was a bench team beating another bench team but what is actually impressive was their beating of Vegas’s ineptitude in making this an 18.5 point spread when Milwaukee has nothing to play for having already clinched the first seed and would not roll out their best stuff against the current seventh seed Nets.

The names of the players the Nets were missing is too long to fit into a sentence, so here is an entire paragraph dedicated to that: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris Lavert, Joe Harris, Jarret Allen, Deandre Jordan, and apologies to anybody else that I forgot but that at least gives you a pretty good idea with what the Nets were–or weren’t–working with.

The Nets are likely to be stomped by whichever team that they end up playing, likely Milwaukee or Toronto, but this could have been the most depressing bubble/playoff run imaginable will now have an actual record connected to it. This year was always going to be a limbo year for the Nets with Kevon Durant waiting in the wings, but we now how a bad playoff run plus Kyrie Irving can make a team fall apart very quickly, and this might be the galvanizing force to keep the Nets together long enough to be contenders.

It’s probably not the way he pictured it happening, but LeBron James and the Lakers’ mission for a title, James’ fourth, hasn’t slowed down. Back when the season shut down in March the Lakers were on a roll. They had the Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the league’s best record, and the Kawhi Leonard led Clippers who had had the Lakers number up until that point in the season.  James was even garnering more and more MVP buzz despite having no real statistical case over presumptive favorite Giannis Antetokounmpo the narrative, which drives an inordinate amount of MVP voting, was getting behind James with him averaging 30.0 points, 9.4 assists and 8.2 rebounds in the nine games after the All-Star Break. And honestly, I think if the league hadn’t shut down then LeBron may have been able to steal it away from Antetokounmpo who had suffered a knee injury in early March.

Despite this abrupt shunting of momentum, the Lakers may have been the team that benefited the most from this stop in action. With a four-month layoff, that basically equates to a full offseason, the scariest thing in the league is motivated and rested LeBron, who by all accounts was pushing hard for this restart. Another widely accepted rumor in league discussions is that the Lakers never really stopped practicing by getting access to empty gyms and, supposedly, practicing at a full-size replica of the Staples Center in a wealthy Los Angeles resident’s backyard – a rumor that was actually reiterated by Pelicans guard J.J. Redick who claimed to have worked out at there.

The Milwaukee Bucks were the presumptive favorites to win the championship with a 53-12 record and an otherworldly +11.2 point differential, with the Lakers and Clippers, considered contenders but not favorites. But now, with the four months off and the quick ramp-up time into the playoffs the Lakers hold a few clear advantages. For one, I must reiterate that LeBron is rested, but also, the Bucks are a very-good, deep team that have great chemistry but no world-beating star next to Giannis – apologies to Khris Middleton – while the Lakers rely less on team chemistry and more on their two-headed monster of James and Anthony Davis. It will be interesting to see how this plays out but expect the Lakers to coast during the eight seeding games, with the first-seed all but locked up, and to come out hard in the playoffs, knowing that LeBron is 35 and in year 17 of his career and this may be his last true chance at being the best player on a title team. The Lakers are serious contenders and with LeBron likely resting in a hyperbolic chamber and making a few Kobe Bryant-esque Germany trips, I wouldn’t bet against them.

Bucks forward, and presumptive 2020 NBA MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo revealed after Tuesday’s practice in Orlando that he did in fact have access to a hoop during the months-long quarantine that the country went through earlier this year. This contradicts statements he made during the quarantine where he claimed that he had not picked up a basketball. Antetokounmpo admitted it was a strategic maneuver.”Anybody out there that thought I didn’t have access to a gym, they don’t even know me,” he said. “So, I just said that to try to get a little bit ahead of the competition.”

It was interesting to hear this admission especially in the context that many players said similar things during quarantine including Antetokounmpo’s teammate Khris Middleton told media earlier this month that he had not picked up a basketball for two to three months during his quarantine. Although it may be the case that some players weren’t able to get access to a gym during the quarantine, there have been many comments in the discussion surrounding the league that it is unlikely that any of these guys are telling the truth.

One of these comments came from New Orleans Pelicans guard J.J. Redick on the Bill Simmons‘ podcast when he claimed that any guy who didn’t workouts in for the majority of quarantine simply didn’t want to be in the gym, adding that he had been able to get into gyms even in a hot zone like New York where Redick lives.

I have been hearing a lot of comments saying to expect the first few weeks of the return to basketball to be poor quality, but I’m starting to be skeptical that that will be the case. It appears like most of the NBA’s players have been able to get into a gym sometime during April, after a month or so layoff, and have had a whole month to ramp up with full practices down in Orlando. There will likely be little action in this upcoming week’s scrimmages since teams will want to ramp back up slowly, but I have a lot more optimism that the product will be just as good if not better.

Giannis Antetokounmpo put on a clinic in Thursday’s nationally televised home game against the Lakers. “The Greek Freak” finished with 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists along with a career-high five three pointers.

Prior to Thursday, Antetokounmpo was 13-23 from shots taken at 27 feet and beyond in eight games this month, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Comparing that to 13-59 in the last 92 games, the reigning NBA MVP is showing signs of improvement. The five 3’s made were all from 27 feet and beyond giving the Bucks‘ star the most 27-footers for Milwaukee in 20 years. Antetokounmpo is shooting 45% from three point range in December.

SLIDESHOW: 50 GREAT SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019

“I’m going to keep shooting. It doesn’t matter for me if I made one, two or five, I just want to be better,” Antetokounmpo said. “And I want to keep getting better and keep working on my game, and it’s going to be some nights that I’m going to make zero and it’ll be nights I’ll make five, but I’ve got to keep shooting because that’s what my team wants me to do.”

The former 15th pick of the 2013 draft has came along way since being a skinny unknown teenager in his rookie year averaging just 6.8 points per game.

“I think the most important thing is to try to stay humble. When you win MVP and you win 60 games, it’s hard. You feel like, ‘Ok, what else?’ But at the end of the day, I realize and my family realizes that I’m not supposed to be here. “I wasn’t the No. 1 pick. [Anthony Davis] was. LeBron [James] was. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to go against these two beasts, so I’m just happy that I’m here and happy that I’m going through the process, and I always want to be better, do better for my team, and that’s what gives me joy.”

Bucks’ Head Coach Mike Budenholzer praised his player’s work ethic and told ESPN, “I think a lot of players keep working, keep getting better, and it’s part of our league, part of being a professional. But what Giannis does in the summer, the amount of time he puts in before practices, after practices, taking care of his body — but I think everybody, as special as he was last year, I think even opponents and his peers, I think, see and know that he can get better. He’s doing it. He’s putting the time and effort in, and we just feel fortunate he’s ours and excited about him and our future.”

Davis had a game high for the Lakers with 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. James recorded a triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, but shot only 42% from the field.

The two teams are first place in their respective conferences and they meet again at Staples Center on March 6.

While the NBA continues to bless its fans with endless entertainment and environments in which viewers can truly experience basketball as it’s played at the highest level, the league’s recent installment in the 2019 NBA playoffs brought up concerns regarding the level of involvement and impact fans should have on the game.

During Game Four of the Easter Conference Finals, all eyes not on the players seemed to find their way toward superstar rapper Drake, who drew attention with his antics. The Toronto native seemed to be sitting amongst Raptors players on the bench.

From start to finish, the four–time Grammy winner and “In My Feelings” singer rarely stayed seated, often trash-talking Bucks players and strolling up and down the court. At times, the Raptors super–fan could be spotted obnoxiously laughing amidst any Milwaukee turnovers, botched plays, or unfortunately for MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, air–balled free throws. Drake even trotted up behind head coach Nick Nurse during one of the game’s most pivotal moments, patted him on the back in support and seemed to rub his shoulders.

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer felt affected by Drake’s presence perhaps the most. The coach made clear his displeasure for the rapper’s shenanigans as he stated after the game, “There’s certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors. You know, to be on the court, there’s boundaries and lines for a reason.” Drake responded to the backlash through his Instagram story, as he quickly posted, “If you don’t want the opposing team to celebrate and dance, prevent them from scoring, winning, or achieving their objective. Get over it and keep moving.”

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

The NBA stands no stranger to instances such as this. Just earlier this year, the Utah Jazz crowd, and one fan in particular, pushed the boundary between fans and the game, enticing former MVP Russell Westbrook, which eventually led to that fan’s banishment from all future Jazz games. During the 2004 NBA season, a massive fight involving players and fans broke out during a Pacers vs Pistons game, which would infamously later coin the name  “the malice at the palace.”

Although Drake refrained from causing disruption to the level that former NBA fan interference episodes have in the past, his actions once again cause concern regarding the boundary between fans and the game. While Game Five tips off in Milwaukee, Drake will get another crack at the Bucks as the series will shift to Game Six in Toronto on Saturday.

Following up Sunday’s NBA action with an equally entertaining game at Scotiabank Arena looks to be a difficult task for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawki Leonard and Co. tonight, as the Raptors and Bucks clash on the court once again.

Tuesday night’s contest will play sequel to a suspenseful Game 3, which felt sternly controlled by Toronto as the clock ticked away until Milwaukee chopped down Toronto’s lead, eventually tying the game in the closing seconds, just as they have time after time during their campaign this season. Despite Milwaukee’s late-game surge, they failed to add another playoff win to their collection as the Raptors walked away with their first series win by a score of 118–112 in double overtime. Leonard poured in 36 points, shooting 44% from the field, while Most Improved Player of the Year candidate Pascal Siakam made some noise in the scoring department as well, adding 25 points. Toronto’s defense payed dividends as well, forcing Antetokounmpo into his worst scoring performance this postseason as he tallied only 12 points. The potential league MVP’s supporting cast picked up the slack however, as six players joined the double-digit scoring club despite the loss. Tuesday’s game in Toronto will air at 8:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

While this playoff contest, just as others had prior to it, appeared too close to call for NBA fans, the game’s finish came as no surprise for those following SportsLine.com and its game predicting model. The remarkably successful model simulates each game 10,000 times, eventually piling up data from predictions regarding the game’s money line picks along with which side of the spread will hit. The simulations have led the module’s followers to growing profits without little to zero losses, as those wise enough to follow the model continue to stay up when rolling the dice this postseason. The money speaks for itself, as the model has put $3,000 into the pockets of those following the model pick for pick.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Tonight’s “Round 4” in this boxing matchup of eastern juggernauts already possesses a prediction from the unsurprisingly popular model. While specifics regarding the game’s anticipated outcome remain available only on SportsLine.com, the model has indeed reached a conclusion, claiming that one side of the spread plans to hit with a far greater chance than the other. Sports bettors looking to add to their funds have undoubtedly already placed their bets in accordance with the model, hoping to cash out once more.

Despite the model attempting to play spoiler to the game’s conclusion tonight, Leonard and his crew plan to tie up the series and defend home court once again. However, with fans opposing players and this game predicting model taking into account Antetokounmpo’s absence of back-to-back disappointing performances this season, look for Milwaukee to come out swinging and attempt to take a dominant 3–1 series lead. Following tonight’s game, the series will return to Milwaukee’s home court, as the Bucks will either attempt to advance to the NBA Finals or break a potential 2–2 tie with the surging Raptors.

The 2019 NBA playoffs are well underway at this point, and they’ve proven to be quite exciting, for the most part.

The Golden State Warriors reached their fifth straight NBA Finals on Monday night after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 119-117 to sweep the Western Conference Finals 4-0. The Warriors continue to be a dominant team in the NBA, setting both team and individual records in the league. Powered by superstars like Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins, Golden State has won the last two NBA championships and three in the last four years.

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Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks lead the Toronto Raptors 2-1 in the East Finals, with Game 4 set for Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Can Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks reach the franchise’s first NBA Finals since 1974? Or will Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors make their first-ever league finals appearance?

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Tickets for the NBA playoff contests are now available on StubHub. Tickets start as low as $134 for Game 5 between the Raptors and Bucks in Milwaukee on Thursday, and go up to $200 for Game 6 (if necessary) in Toronto on Saturday.

For the NBA Finals, which will be decided soon, ticket prices increase significantly, to about $500 or more per game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been on a tear lately and it’s not a surprise.

Greek Freak Anteotkounmpo Shines Again

MVP candidate Antetokounmpo has had an incredible season and had averaged over 30 points for his last three games before facing the Wizards. This night was even better for the young Buck, as Giannis erupted for 43 points (17-21 FG, 3-3 3Pt, 6-11 FT) while adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals in only 31 minutes during Wednesday’s 148-129 big win over the Wizards. He also shot an extremely efficient 80% from the field and added 61 fantasy points on the night.

The Wizards have been in flux this whole season, with star player John Wall out and the two key defenders on the Wizards, Otto Porter and Markieff Morris, both traded away in separate deals. With veterans gone and the Wizards missing their core, Antetokounmpo was in position to have a field day.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

He was even dialed in from long range, making all three threes he attempted, something that we see rarely from Antetokounmpo. The “Greek Freak” has always struggled from the perimeter, holding a career average of 26% from the 3-point line. One of the ways teams try to slow him down is by making him shoot. But when in good rhythm like he was last night Antetokounmpo is always a safe fantasy pick. If Giannis can keep going at this rate, the Bucks will be in position for a great playoff run.