NBA Matchups: January 22

Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons

Team Totals: Bucks 129.8, Pistons 117.3

Injury Report: Giannis Antetokounmpo (P, shoulder), Cade Cunningham (O, knee), Monte Morris (D, quad), Isaiah Stewart (Q, ankle)

Bucks projected starters: Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez

Pistons projected starters: Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren

Griffin quotes: Said all of his guys defended well, said they have to do a better job of defending the 3-point line in Monday’s game.

Monty quotes: Said the defense was a lot better but the Bucks just had too many FTAs (49), said they understand the concepts better, said Ausar was great off the bench, said Alec Burks has been phenomenal and he’s also helping the young guys, said he’s trying to keep Bojan and Alec Burks on the floor for “know how” and spacing, said they want to continue to let Ivey handle the ball more and that’ll continue when Cade comes back.

Stats and Notes: 

*We get a rematch from Saturday and the Pistons were able to hang around until the end in a 141-135 shootout. As Monty mentioned, free throws were the story with the Bucks getting 49 and the Pistons getting 32, but the reason why the Pistons hung around was because of going 21-of-37 from deep. This Bucks defense just doesn’t have it this year with their 21st-ranked D, and of course the Pistons are the league’s worst halfcourt D (29th overall). It’s a little unlikely that the Pistons can hang around in this game, so we have a decent chance at a blowout.

*Damian Lillard had an extremely quiet 45 on Saturday as he just took it to Killian Hayes. He was heavy on the ball with 7.8 minutes of touch time and he had it all going with some PNR scoring (16 points), transition (10), and spot-up (8). This matchup is about as good as it gets for him. I wouldn’t expect 45 again, but he could easily get into the 30s here.

*The Pistons just didn’t have the ammo to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo, as they went with a lot of Jalen Duren. Sure, that sounds like it works, but just taking away the rim protection with that matchup doesn’t work. If Isaiah Stewart does give it a go, the matchup does get slightly tougher. Giannis looked unaffected from his minor shoulder injury and was extremely aggressive with a whopping 22 FTAs (missed 11). The matchup is a little better for Dame, but this is obviously a favorable spot for Giannis.

*Khris Middleton was a little underwhelming on Saturday, and his usage has ticked down a little over the last four games. The matchup should be excellent for him with Kevin Knox and Alec Burks picking him up for most of the game on Saturday. Middleton has also seen additional ball-handling as Jae Crowder has taken some minutes from Cam Payne.

*Brook Lopez also has a great matchup. With Duren on Giannis, the Pistons opted to use Bojan on Brook, leading to a 19/10/4 line. The Pistons also allow the fourth-most blocks in the league, so Brook should have that component to help his upside.

*Jaden Ivey gets one of the best possible matchups for him, as he’ll draw a lot of Malik Beasley again, but Ivey was just mediocre with 16 points. Ivey’s touch time is creeping up, and he’s up to 15.8 drives per game over his last five. Monty finally trusts him, and I’d expect him to thrive in this spot if the Pistons can keep it close.

*Alec Burks is on one, and there’s really not much else to say. Monty keeps saying he wants to cut his minutes down, but he just never does it. The Bucks put Dame on him a bunch on Saturday, leading to a 33-point gem in just 30 minutes for Burks. The Pistons just need more creation and Monty will have to add more firepower to the offense with Burks. He’s solid.

*It’s not a great matchup for Jalen Duren. His role is solid, and he ran incredibly bad on passing with just one assist on seven potentials (Bojan was 0-of-6 on Duren passes). He’ll also carry a lot of foul risk on Giannis.

Great matchups: Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaden Ivey

Good matchups: Alec Burks, Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton

Bad matchups: Malik Beasley (compared to teammates), Jalen Duren

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Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic (back end)