Milwaukee, WI

Pacers players Jalen Smith and Aaron Nesmith remember past playoff battles with Milwaukee Bucks

Published

2 years ago

April 18, 2024

Pacers players Jalen Smith and Aaron Nesmith remember past playoff battles with Milwaukee Bucks

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 as a franchise, but much of the roster been there before. Multiple players have reached the postseason with other franchises before, and their experience will be valuable for a younger Pacers squad.

Two of those players, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith, have specific prior postseason experiences that could be valuable for Indiana this year. They battled the Milwaukee Bucks in a series recently — for Smith, it was during the NBA Finals in 2021 when he was with the Phoenix Suns. For Nesmith, it was the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2022 while he was a member of the Boston Celtics.

While a lot has changed for the Bucks, much is the same. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middlteon, Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis remain for the Milwaukee group that won an NBA Championship three years ago, and five of those players still get significant playing time for the team to this day. While other players, including some stars, have come in and changed the roster in a major way — and the Bucks have made two coaching changes, too — they do have a roster filled with continuity. And now, they’ll face the Pacers in the first round.

“Yes and no,” Smith said of what he remembers about the series he played against the Bucks. “I try to say no because I lost, so I try to forget it. But at the end of the day, I understand the game plan that we had.”

Smith didn’t play at all in that series. He was a rookie for the Suns, and Phoenix didn’t want to rely on him in the postseason. But he was still a part of the preparation against Antetokounmpo and company. He has experience with a battle against Milwaukee.

“They’ve got a lot of shooters around Giannis now,” Smith said of what is different about the Bucks in 2024 compared to 2021. They’ve added Malik Beasley and Damian Lillard, among others, who can bury outside shots.

Phoenix was up 2-0 in that series before losing four in a row to drop the best-of-seven. The Bucks got the best of Smith and the Suns. But in the following season, Nesmith and the Celtics got their shot at Milwaukee in the postseason and had different fortunes.

Boston had an intense, seven-game battle with the Bucks the year after Milwaukee’s title run. Nesmith, who was in his second season at the time, was largely out of the rotation, but he did make an appearance in four games during that series.

“It’s a different team, different coaching staff, different play style. It’s a brand new series, brand new team,” Nesmith said of playing the Bucks now compared to a few years ago. “We’re going to look at it with a great opportunity.” He had three points and four rebounds in the 2022 series while shooting 50% from the field.

The Celtics won the best-of-seven before reaching the NBA Finals. Nesmith, like Smith, learned a lot about playoff preparation from that run, and both young players are better now thanks to their past experiences.

Now, they are both in the Pacers playing rotation, so their involvement in the upcoming postseason will be much different. They both acknowledged that it does feel different to get ready for a playoff series in which playing time is clearly coming.

“I’m super excited, super pumped. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Nesmith said of the upcoming set with the Bucks. He’s preparing differently day-to-day now since he has a bigger role that he did with Boston. But he still learned a lot with the Celtics. “I’m familiar with the prep and how detail-oriented you have to be about everything,” Nesmith said, noting that small things matter.

Smith shared similar sentiments on Wednesday. “I got the mental aspect and how crucial each game is,” he shared of his experience with the Suns. Now, he’s the Pacers backup center and will be a key reserve behind Myles Turner against Miwlaukee.

“Just being ready and being prepared mentally just to go out there and compete,” Smith said.

Both players have similar career arcs in that they were traded to Indiana after being a deep reserve lottery pick in their first NBA stop. With the Pacers, Smith and Nesmith both took advantage of bigger opportunities and are key parts of the team’s rotation. The blue and gold went through some development years that benefitted the pair, but now those two are ready for a postseason series as contributors.

Their prior experiences against the Bucks will be valuable. They’ve seen Milwaukee up close, and on the biggest stage. Their opponent has a different look and feel now, but so do Nesmith and Smith. They’ll be ready for more responsibilities in this series.

The Indiana Pacers are playoff bound and will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the postseason. CLICK HERE.
Myles Turner steps up and leads Indiana Pacers over Atlanta Hawks the way he said he would . CLICK HERE.
T.J. McConnell is reaching a new offensive peak and guiding Indiana Pacers to wins. CLICK HERE.
Indiana Pacers electric offensive night guides them past Atlanta Hawks and into 2024 NBA Playoffs. CLICK HERE.
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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee County funeral home debt; committee advances collections plan

Published

6 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee County funeral home debt; committee advances collections plan

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County leaders are moving forward with a plan to collect unpaid fees owed to the medical examiner’s office by funeral homes.

What we know:

A Milwaukee County committee on Tuesday, March 10, advanced legislation allowing the county attorney to pursue collections from funeral homes with large outstanding debts owed to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Earlier this year, the medical examiner’s office began requiring funeral homes with outstanding balances of $25,000 or more to pay fees up front for services such as death certificates, cremation permits and body transport. Funeral homes collect those fees from families and are expected to pass them along to the county.

What they’re saying:

“What is the overall number we’re waiting on?” asked Milwaukee County Supervisor Sky Capriolo.

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“We do list 18 funeral homes that have a balance, currently, of $25,000 or more,” said Timothy Schabo, Milwaukee County Medical Examiner operations manager.

“Our hope is that, certainly, we’ll be able to avoid any litigation,” said William Davidson, deputy corporation counsel.

“If a family is paying a funeral home for services, and someone at the funeral home is not paying the county, where is that money going? We don’t know?” Capriolo asked.

Officials say it is not uncommon for funeral homes to carry large balances, and some are already aware of their debts, are on payment plans or pay quarterly.

The medical examiner says if families cannot pay and qualify for assistance from the state or county, those fees are waived.

“I understand there is some delay for some families receiving assistance from this program,” Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Dr. Wieslawa Tlomak said. “However, the funeral homes that we are talking about haven’t been paying us for a long period of time.”

Dig deeper:

The medical examiner said the outstanding balances continue to grow.

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Medical examiner records show four Milwaukee funeral homes currently owe a combined $1,324,100, including one funeral home with a balance of more than $512,000.

FOX6 reached out to the funeral homes for comment but has not heard back.

The legislation now heads to the full Milwaukee County Board for consideration.

The Source: FOX6 attended the Milwaukee County committee hearing regarding the funeral home debt.

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Milwaukee, WI

Critically missing Milwaukee man; last seen near Teutonia and Good Hope

Published

18 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Critically missing Milwaukee man; last seen near Teutonia and Good Hope

article

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a critically missing man, 33-year-old Nicolas Blakely.

Missing man

What we know:

Blakely was last seen around 9:45 p.m. on Monday, March 9 in the area of Teutonia and Good Hope.

Blakely is described as a male, black, 6’1″ tall, 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue puffy jacket over a white hooded sweatshirt, with tan Nike sweatpants.

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Police tips

What you can do:

Anyone with information is asked to call the Milwaukee Police Department District 4 at 414-935-7242.

The Source: The information in this post was provided by the Milwaukee Police Department.

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Milwaukee, WI

10 months after fatal hit-and-run that killed motorcyclist, Milwaukee man charged

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

10 months after fatal hit-and-run that killed motorcyclist, Milwaukee man charged

A 23-year-old Milwaukee man has been charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 44-year-old motorcyclist during the summer last year.

Jarvis L. Walker was charged March 7 with four counts: hit-and-run resulting in death, knowingly operating a vehicle without a valid license causing death, fleeing an officer and first-degree recklessly endangering safety.

The crash occurred June 7, 2025, at the intersection of North 76th Street and West Florist Avenue. Walker crashed into Wyman Kemble on his 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle and fled the scene, according to a criminal complaint.

Kemble suffered severe injuries in the crash and died at the scene.

Police said nearby security footage video shows Kemble was traveling northbound on 76th Street and had a green light when Walker, traveling southbound on 76th Street, crashed a rental car into Kemble while trying to make a left turn onto Florist Avenue.

Walker then exits the vehicle, grabs a backpack from the backseat and leaves the scene, the complaint said.

But a witness’ cellphone footage shows Walker return, yell something, and turn around and walk away before getting into another vehicle that just pulled over, according to the complaint.

The rental car came back to a person only identified in the complaint with the initials EW. The rental car customer told police that Walker had the vehicle during the time of the crash and Walker called him and told him that he had just been in a crash after a motorcycle ran a red light.

Ten months would pass before investigators zeroed in on Walker to arrest him.

On March 3, police had reason to believe that Walker was in the area of the 7200 block of West Marine Drive, the complaint said. Two undercover officers observed Walker get into an SUV, which exited a nearby parking lot and then immediately pulled over because the trunk was open, the complaint said.

Different officers in full uniform and an MPD squad moved in to try and arrest Walker, who was at the rear of the vehicle in the trunk, according to the complaint.

Walker then made his way back to his seat before one officer activated the squad lights and siren and exited the squad to say “Hey Jarvis, don’t do it” and “Jarvis get out of the car,” the complaint said.

But Walker fled the scene and led police on a nearly 10-mile pursuit in excess of 115 miles per hour, according to the complaint.

Police lost visual sight of Walker’s vehicle near North Teutonia Avenue and North Green Bay Avenue, but Glendale police observed the vehicle traveling southbound on West Green Bay Road and another short pursuit ensued before officers lost sight of Walker again, the complaint said.

Later that evening, Walker’s vehicle was observed unoccupied and running in the 4800 block of North 19th Place, according to the complaint. Police found Walker inside a nearby residence and arrested him.

Walker made his initial appearance in court on March 9, where bail was set at $25,000. If convicted on all counts, he faces decades behind bars.

Wyman Kemble remembered as mother’s rock

Leanne Kemble, Wyman Kemble’s mother, previously told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time of the crash that Wyman was her oldest child and her “rock.”

She said her son loved the motorcycle he was riding at the time of his death. She described him as one of the most “kind, caring and fun-loving people you’d ever meet.”

Leanne Kemble said her son graduated from Riverside High School, where he played on the football team, and was a graduate of Milwaukee Area Technical College. Volleyball was now his sport of choice, and he played year-round, she said.

“He was always helping people with their car repairs, or just doing odd jobs to help out our neighbors,” she said. “He was an all-around great person. Everybody loved him.”

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