Milwaukee, WI

Pistons vs. Bucks: Detroit eliminated from NBA Cup with blowout loss to Milwaukee

Published

1 year ago

December 3, 2024

Pistons vs. Bucks: Detroit eliminated from NBA Cup with blowout loss to Milwaukee

The Detroit Pistons are not going to Las Vegas.

Facing the Milwaukee Bucks with a chance to clinch a bid in the NBA Cup’s Knockout Rounds, you could make a pretty good argument that this was the biggest basketball game in Detroit since Game 4 of the 2019 NBA Playoffs — ironically, also against Milwaukee.

The Pistons got throttled that night and, thanks to a pitiful defensive effort on Tuesday, they got their butts whooped again in a 128-107 loss at Little Caesars Arena.

The Central Division rivals entered the night 3-0 in the Group B standings. With the win, the Bucks move on while the Pistons, who had a pathway to have advance via a convoluted tiebreaker and a wild-card entry, will stay home and continue with the regular season.

Honestly, this one was over midway through the second quarter. The Bucks shot 74% in that period and exploded on a 14-0 run that took a semi-competitive game into a blowout.

Detroit has played decent defense at times this season, but Damian Lillard and Milwaukee bombed away early and often. The star point guard finished with 27 points and five triples as the Pistons gave up a whopping 22 threes.

Taurean Prince, AJ Green, Bobby Portis, Gary Trent Jr. and even Andre Jackson Jr. looked like they were in the 3-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend.

As for the Pistons’ offense, they played pretty well thanks to a balanced attack.

Led by Cade Cunningham’s 23 points, Jalen Duren (11), Tim Hardaway Jr. (15) and Tobias Harris (16) all scored in double figures. Duren, in particular, has really struggled with the Bucks and having to guard Giannis. He fared well tonight and has played well lately.

Normally a reliable defender against a guy like Giannis, Isaiah Stewart was a non-factor tonight. He scored nine but he fouled out in the third quarter.

Malik Beasley had one of those rough nights he’s prone to having after torching his former team the last time they faced off. I mean, it’s hard to get your ass kicked when you shoot 50% from the field and over 40% from three most of the night.

The Pistons found a way.

I’m not sure what this says about them. Maybe nothing.

They’re an improved team, but they’re far from the Bucks — who are still lightyears more talented and capable than their 10-9 record lets on. I think Detroit is still short on defensive talent, and that shows in games against teams like this.

A large part of being a good defensive team is effort. The less defensive personnel you have, the harder you have to play on that end. This team struggles with balancing the effort on both ends. That’s not acceptable, but it’s at least understandable.

I think the Bucks are a team that exposes another weak spot: Secondary ball handling. Cade really has to work to get to his spots against the Bucks length and size. Jaden Ivey is fine as a secondary ball handler, but his dynamic ability as the primary guy doesn’t translate.

Outside of them, you’re left with guys who you’d rather not handle the ball extensively. Detroit would be so much better if they had a big wing who could hit some shots, defend and handle the ball respectably.

And hey, before you type that comment: I know, 80% of the NBA wants that guy.

I keep waiting for Ausar Thompson’s minutes to rise and for his fitness to get back to normal. I think he can cure a lot of what ails that starting lineup — defending, hitting some open shots (Vinson effect!) and defending like a demon — he’s just not ready right now.

It sucks that the Pistons aren’t moving on. I was excited for this game and it would have been really fun to see them head to Vegas and replicate what the Indiana Pacers did last season.

Maybe this NBA Cup isn’t as silly as we thought it was when it started last year?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee parents sue MPS saying staff member locked students in ‘dungeon’ as punishment

Published

2 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee parents sue MPS saying staff member locked students in ‘dungeon’ as punishment

Children at Thurston Woods School in Milwaukee were locked in a boiler room as a punishment, a group of parents say in a recently filed lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 8 in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court’s civil division by three sets of parents. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors is among the defendants.

The parents claim in court papers several employees at the K4-8 elementary school on North 35th Street sent kids to the boiler room if they misbehaved.

Some of those staff members, as well as students, referred to the boiler room as “The Dungeon,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims a former male paraprofessional at the school locked three students in a boiler room multiple times during the 2022-’23 and 2023-’24 school years.

In the lawsuit, the parents said the “dungeon” presented a serious hazard to the children because of the potential exposure to “chemicals, cleaning agents, boilers, and other machinery.”

The paraprofessional resigned in November 2023 after he was investigated for violating several school district policies. At the time, he told district officials he placed the students in the room as a scare tactic, the lawsuit states.

Among the defendants is former assistant principal Dennis Daniels.

He pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of attempted misconduct in public office after failing to alert police that an 11-year-old student brought a gun to school in February 2024.

He initially was charged with a felony, but brokered a deal with prosecutors to instead plead to an amended lesser charge.

“Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to maintaining safe and welcoming learning environments for all students and staff,” Stephen Davis, an MPS spokesman, said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, the district thoroughly investigated this matter in 2023 and took appropriate disciplinary action which included termination of employment.”

In a statement, Milwaukee attorney Drew DeVinney, who represents the parents, described the alleged behavior of school staff as “disbursing and egregious,” and that it appeared no one intervened to stop it.

He urged other families to come forward if they also were impacted.

“Concerningly, MPS did not report any of these instances of seclusion and restraint to the Department of Public Instruction, in violation of Wisconsin law.

“We hope that this lawsuit will serve as a vehicle to prevent further incidents and abuse, and to obtain justice for our clients.”

Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.

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Milwaukee, WI

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

Published

15 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

1 day 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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