Milwaukee, WI

Defensive ills, no title contender, 1 shot for Durant in 4th: Takeaways from Suns’ ugly loss to Bucks

Published

2 years ago

March 18, 2024

Defensive ills, no title contender, 1 shot for Durant in 4th: Takeaways from Suns’ ugly loss to Bucks

MILWAUKEE — The Phoenix Suns are who they are — not an NBA championship contender. Not even close.

They might very well figure it out come playoff time, but right now, the Suns (39-29) are right where they should be — in the play-in that will be hell to survive with a seed.

Eighth in the West, the Suns would have to beat the Mavericks in Dallas to get the seventh seed if the postseason started today.

A loss and they’re hosting either the Warriors or Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Really? Wow. They’ve dealt with injuries, and only had their Big 3 together for 27 games (16-11 record).

Devin Booker keeps saying they have things to address as he smiled after Friday’s win at Charlotte in saying the Suns (39-29) fix one thing, but then repair something else.

The following have been problems all season:

Turnover prone, don’t get back on defense after coughing it up and lack consistent urgency, which is crazy considering their current postseason situation.

Struggle in man-to-man defensive and give up the paint without much rim protection, which further hinders their already weak 3-point shooting defense. Too much hand down, man down.

That also leaves them vulnerable on the offensive boards, especially when going small.

Play iso ball, take tough shots and don’t get enough easy looks despite having three prolific scorers in Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Booker.

Those ills are why the Milwaukee Bucks (44-24), even without Giannis Antetokounmpo, could splatter Phoenix with 82 points in the first half of a 140-129 victory Sunday afternoon at Fiserv Forum.

Let’s get right to the takeaways as the Suns trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half and 25 in the second in concluding a four-game road trip.

Suns’ defensive disaster

Damian Lillard going for 31 points is one thing. With Antetokounmpo out, Lillard went Portland-mode early in being aggressive, but how did he come up with 16 assists, too?

The Suns not only couldn’t guard him off the bounce, they helped off so much, that it left the four other guys relying on Lillard to set them for 3s to have open shots off the drive-and-kick game. The Bucks went 24-of-41 on 3s two games after Boston blitzed the Suns for 25-of-50 Thursday night.

Lillard took advantage of what he called “lazy switching” by the Suns to score or find teammates.

Yes, this modern NBA is leading to historic offensive numbers, but any team that gives up 18 3s in the first half when they weren’t having to defend Antetokounmpo playing downhill to really force the defense to converge in the paint to help isn’t a championship contender right now.

Now, Bobby Portis going 5-of-5 from 3 in scoring 25 points in the first half came out of nowhere, even though he let it be known he’s caught fire like this before. Fair enough, but Portis made up for Antetokounmpo being out not only with his 31 points, but 10 rebounds and three steals.

Frank Vogel has a reputation for being a defensive-driven coach, but his team isn’t playing like that end of the court is a major priority — or maybe they just can’t guard the ball. Period.

Kevin Durant’s dilemma

He’s right. Any team that scores 129 points should win. The Suns lost Sunday’s game on defense.

He’s right. The Suns went small with him at the five and got back in the game. They cut the 24-point deficit down to six in the third, but Portland closed the quarter on a 9-0 run to go back up 15.

And yes, Durant had to take care of other things, like rebound and defend in that small ball unit as the Bucks played Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks off the floor by spreading the Suns out.

However, Durant taking 10 shots in scoring 11 points with only one coming in the fourth is not enough even with Beal cranking out a team-high 28, Grayson Allen having 25, hitting 6-of-11 from 3, and Booker adding 23.

Durant said after the game Allen took his “scoring spot” Sunday, but teams will live with Allen going for 25 if it means Durant’s scoring just 11. The Suns got by with Durant only scoring 13 in Friday’s win over lottery Charlotte, but the Bucks are a different monster that can score at will.

Phoenix needed Durant in that go-get-it mode. Allen can score, but Durant is now nine points away from passing Shaquille O’Neal for eighth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list for a reason.

He’s arguably the greatest scorer who can deliver on all three levels, get to the line and force the defense to adjust, which opens up the rest of the offense.

The problem is he’s also the team’s best defensive player. That shouldn’t be the case.

It’s great for the 35-year-old Durant to play at a high level on that end. He’s kept his word to Vogel about wanting to guard in his system, but to play 41 minutes with some at the five, which has become their get-back-in-the-game lineup, could be taxing on him physically.

He could very well be wearing down at this point in the season. The Suns need wins to stay out of the play-in and have called upon him to initiate an offense and be the team’s best defender?

More Suns: How Grayson Allen is quietly building a historic season in first year with Suns

Turnovers, again

Again, this is who the Suns are.

They turn the ball and the opponent scores off those turnovers as an alarming rate. The Bucks scored 24 points Sunday off 14 Phoenix turnovers.

Isaiah Thomas isn’t fixing this.

The Suns are signing him to a 10-day later this week, sources informed The Arizona Republic this weekend. The 35-year-old veteran point guard provides depth, but he can’t be the answer for their turnovers that are as much about decision-making than who is handling the ball.

Trying to make passes in traffic and without the proper spacing is a recurring problem.

They should be better than this, but the bigger problem is how they’ll respond to the turnovers in giving up points off them. That’s a greater concern than the actual turnovers.

Look, this team has more than enough offense. Can’t see them greatly improving on the defensive end in terms of man-to-man, but Royce O’Neale is a starting point.

O’Neale has been a liability from 3 on offense, but made 4-of-5 in the fourth. The Suns can only hope that carries over into the next few games because he can guard and isn’t backing down.

However, it’s on Eric Gordon, Allen, Booker and Beal to make a stronger commitment on that end in terms of contesting 3s and guarding the ball. The schemes clearly aren’t holding up as opponents are just gutting them with dribble penetration, ball movement and 3s.

The game has been played like this for a minute.

The Suns must be better — or this season of championship expectations will end in the play-in. Period.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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Milwaukee, WI

5 takeaways: Horrific second half spells doom for Celtics in Milwaukee

Published

6 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

5 takeaways: Horrific second half spells doom for Celtics in Milwaukee

The Celtics have been on a heater recently, and midway through the second quarter against the Bucks on Thursday, it appeared they were going to cruise to a sixth straight win.

That all changed rather quickly as Boston would go on to miss 16 straight threes, losing in rather embarrassing fashion to a Milwaukee team without Giannis Antetokounmpo and who had lost 10 of its last 12.

Here are five takeaways from the loss…

Staying hot

As mentioned above, it wasn’t a night where Boston just didn’t have it — it was actually quite the opposite. The Celtics connected on 10 of their first 17 threes, with Jordan Walsh and Payton Pritchard each hitting a pair to build a 21-8 lead.

Midway through the second quarter, Boston was shooting 56% from the floor and 53% from deep, going up by as many as 14 in the quarter.

That all came crashing down in the blink of an eye.

Walsh’s efficient run continues

Walsh was once again why Boston was finding success on both ends of the floor against the Bucks in the first half.

The 21-year-old forward was perfect from the floor in the first half, connecting on all seven of his shots — including three triples — to score 18. Walsh also snagged three steals as his defensive energy continued to shine.

At the half, Walsh was 27-for-32 in his last five games, good for 82% from the floor. Like the rest of the Celtics, Walsh didn’t do much in the second half, finishing with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting, but his offensive effectiveness continues to be impressive given where he was even two months ago.

Can’t hold a lead

The Celtics held a double digit lead on three separate occasions on Thursday night, and all three times that lead evaporated in just minutes.

When you have a team like Milwaukee, who have lost 10 of its last 12 and appear to be on the verge of losing one of the best players in the NBA, it isn’t hard to knock them out rather quickly. But each time the Celtics went up, they let go of the rope just enough to give the Bucks — and their half empty arena — some life.

A big part of that was Kyle Kuzma exploding for a season high 31 points. The journeyman forward went toe-to-toe with Jaylen Brown all night, getting the better of the superstar on multiple occasions.

Once that third double-digit lead shrank to nothing, Boston didn’t have enough to muster another one.

Brutal shooting

As is often the story with Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics, once the threes stop going in, the ship usually starts sinking.

That’s exactly what happened in the second half on Thursday night.

Boston missed 16 straight triples, which is good for the fourth longest streak in franchise history. During that cold streak the Bucks went on a 27-8 run en route to blowing out the Celtics.

The worst shooting offender of all was probably Sam Hauser, who missed all 10 of his attempts, seven of those coming from beyond the arc.

After scoring 67 points in the first half, Boston only put up 34 in the second half.

Bobby Portis goes nuclear

When you combine horrific shooting with 30-year-old Bobby Portis pouring in 27 points off the bench, it probably isn’t going to end well for you. Portis scored 18 in the second half, with two corner threes to open the fourth basically being the dagger for the Bucks.

The forward also wasn’t afraid to go after it with Brown, even drawing a technical foul after getting a little too close for comfort.

Portis also grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

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Milwaukee, WI

Brewers to sign outfielder Akil Baddoo to major league deal

Published

18 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Brewers to sign outfielder Akil Baddoo to major league deal

The Brewers have made their first major league move in the 2026 free agent market.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers are signing outfielder Akil Baddoo to a major league deal. The major league nature of the deal is somewhat of a surprise, given that Baddoo spent almost all of last season in the minors.

Baddoo, 27, was a Twins second-round pick out of high school in 2016 and moved to Detroit in the December 2020 Rule 5 draft. That first season in Detroit went quite well: in 124 games, Baddoo hit .259/.330/.436 with 20 doubles, seven triples, 13 homers, and 18 stolen bases, which earned him 2.1 bWAR. But his bat has not reached those levels since, and in parts of four seasons since 2021, Baddoo has hit just .201/.288/.323 in 682 plate appearances. He spent most of the 2025 season at Triple-A Toledo, where he had good numbers: he hit .281/.385/.483 with 15 home runs, 21 doubles, six triples, and 25 stolen bases in 29 tries.

In the field, Baddoo is primarily a left fielder but has played some in center and a little bit in right. Defensive metrics have graded him as about an average outfielder, but those samples are not large.

Milwaukee had one open spot on their 40-man roster, which Baddoo will presumably take.

It’s an interesting move. The Brewers could use an upgrade in the outfield, but their depth isn’t bad; between Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins, Isaac Collins, Garrett Mitchell, and (sort of) Christian Yelich, the Brewers have several viable major-league options. Brandon Lockridge is also in the mix as a player at the line between Triple-A and the majors. Baddoo does not project to be much of an upgrade, and instead will slot in for more depth, but MLB at-bats might be hard to come by.

In unrelated free agent news of some interest to Milwaukee fans that broke about the same time, former Brewer Hoby Milner has signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, where he’ll reunite with his former Brewers manager.

Update: According to Curt Hogg, the Brewers have also added outfielder Greg Jones on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Jones will be 28 in March and has appeared briefly in the majors over the past two seasons with the Rockies and White Sox. He was a fairly highly regarded prospect several years ago, appearing at #91 on Jonathan Mayo’s Top 100 prospect list prior to the 2022 season. He is likely to be merely added depth for the Brewers’ Triple-A squad.

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Milwaukee, WI

Hidden ‘Treasure Island:’ Wisconsin demolition exposes shuttered store

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Hidden ‘Treasure Island:’ Wisconsin demolition exposes shuttered store

BROWN DEER, Wis. – Take a look in any direction around the FOX6 TV station, and it is clear Brown Deer is growing. The village is amidst multiple major developments that will soon bring new apartments, shopping, and restaurants to Milwaukee’s North Shore. No project is bigger than what’s being called Riverside Landing.

A hidden treasure

What we know:

“All told, it’s going to be probably a four-year build-out,” said Brown Deer’s development director Nate Piotrowski. “It’s such a huge piece of land at really the gateway to Brown Deer.”

As crews demolish what was once here, something unexpected happened.

Demolition of Treasure Island store, Brown Deer

“I said to my husband, ‘Oh my God, I have to stop and get a picture of that,’” said Lynn Hunsicker.

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“And I thought, I haven’t thought of that place in years,” added Cynthia Taylor-Gray.

As an old facade is revealed by the construction of the development, memories have come flooding out.

Demolition of Treasure Island store, Brown Deer

“It never occurred to me the old Treasure Island roof would still be intact under there,” said Karen Spinti.

Treasure Island revealed

Dig deeper:

Discount store Treasure Island opened in the early 1960s. First in Appleton, and then in the exploding suburbs around Milwaukee.

“They had everything from hardware to underwear,” explained Cynthia Taylor-Gray.

Treasure Island won awards for its design. This picture was included in the August 1963 edition of Wisconsin Architect Magazine. Photos provided by Wollin Studios

Taylor-Gray said despite not being in one in decades, her memory has been jogged.

“It felt like acres, just acres of retail merchandise,” added Karen Spinti.

Sprinti recalled getting dither when she dove into the clothes as a child.

Treasure Island in 1963 as seen in Wisconsin Architect

“I remember having to go to the bathroom urgently and not being able to find my mom,” said Spinti.

The Madison Location of Treasure Island as seen in 1963 Wisconsin Architect Magazine

For Lynn Hunsicker, her senses have returned.

“I really remember the smell when you first walked in because it had popcorn and hot dogs,” recalled Hunsicker.

Treasure Island locations included full snack bars located at the front of the store. Picture appeared in 1963 Wisconsin Architect

It’s all coming back, as the store’s old look is revealed again.

But for all the clothes and tools and food for sale, there was nothing more recognizable than what was on top.

“Shop under the squiggly roof,” said Hunsicker with a smile.

Designing The Squiggly Roof

Designing the Squiggly Roof:

The squiggly roof isn’t just bringing back memories for shoppers.

“Frustrating for an 8-year-old, let me tell you. I spent a lot of time in the book section,” said architect Jim Shields.

Shields’ memory is different than most. His parents didn’t just drag him to the retailer, his dad’s employer designed it.

The Milwaukee architecture firm led by Jordan Miller and George Waltz, where Shields’ dad worked as a structural engineer, had a number of high profile projects.

Key players

George Waltz graduated from Yale before starting the firm with Jordan Miller.

From Milwaukee’s airport terminal to the downtown post office, it was the firm’s decision to go with an untraditional wavy roof for a retailer that may go down as their biggest hit.

“It’s called folded plate concrete. Normally, concrete is envisioned as a flat slab, or a plate. But in this circumstance, they could fold it up and down. And that gave it long-span capability,” explained Shields.

Courtesy: Dekalb Historyv Center

Branded as the squiggly roof, the design allowed Treasure Island’s massive stores to have fewer beams leading to a wide open floor space. The shape is so unmistakable, the roof was seen in nearly every ad.

“All under the squiggly roof. That was their trademark,” said Merissa Howard with the Dakalb History Center near Atlanta, Georgia.

Courtesy: Dekalb History Center

Howard said that Milwaukee design was soon being exported to her neck of the woods.

“They were absolutely massive. They were over 200,000 square feet, which to put into perspective, is bigger than a Costco,” said Howard.

Courtesy: Dekalb History Center

Known as the Treasury in some states, by the late 1970s, the retailer started to struggle through a recession.

“They were too big. There’s too much competition,” said Howard.

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By the 1980s, Treasure Island’s run was over. The stores closed, and new retailers moved in. Those famous squiggly roofs went away.

They’ve been there all along

Dig deeper:

But if you look close enough you’ll realize those roofs never actually disappeared. Have you ever been behind a former Treasure Island location? It’s worth a peek.

“They had a roof put over the top of it to keep it from leaking. So it was really hidden away,” said Jim Shields.

Shields said most of the locations weren’t destroyed, they were simply retrofitted. The squiggly roofs were hidden under new flat roofs placed on top.

From Appleton to West Allis and Brookfield, a peek behind the buildings revealed the squiggly roofs have been there all along.