MILWAUKEE — I was at dinner with friends on Saturday night and was asked, “Do you like Milwaukee?”
Yes, I am rather fond of it, and not just because of the Miller Lite.
Eleven years ago, when I started the NBA portion of my career, my first trip here was in the winter. I don’t remember when or what happened, other than I caught a T-shirt shot out of a potato gun from my media seat at the Bradley Center. But I remember my first impression of Milwaukee was not strong. No clusters of tall buildings, couldn’t find many people and, of course, all the snow. It reminded me of Akron, Ohio — by the way, I am from Akron. But I don’t think Akron should have an NBA team, either
These were ignorant first impressions. I am beyond glad I moved past them, as Milwaukee is a city of which I carry many warm memories, regardless of the weather. Milwaukee really began to grow on me when I started coming here for the playoffs as a national writer for The Athletic. So many great nights strolling through this easily walkable city, placing orders at Calderone Club or Capital Grille for dinner on game days, to be picked up and taken back to the arena after pregame interviews were complete. The beer gardens along the river, with plenty of pleasant people, Brewers games for $5 seats along the baselines.
But the best part about Milwaukee in warmer weather is jogging along Lake Michigan. The sun glistens off the calm waters, sailboats float in the harbor, dozens of pet owners and their dogs play in the grass, and the smell of charcoal grills dominates a midday run. It’s one of my favorite places in the league to run.
Sunday was a day like that in Milwaukee, and Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson went for a run. Atkinson is 57 and fit — not an easy thing to be in his line of work. He used to walk to work for every home game when he was Brooklyn’s coach. His living situation in Cleveland isn’t set up that way, so he’s staying in shape by logging miles when he can, and as a side benefit the jogging gives him a chance to clear his head, or, to think through the game plan.
On Sunday’s jog, Atkinson mulled the evening’s chief defensive problem: How does one try to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo? “I was thinking, we have multiple guys, which is huge,” he said. What Atkinson ended up doing Sunday night, he would later say never crossed his mind on the run. It just sort of … happened.
In Cleveland’s 112-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Cavs’ 14th in a row, Atkinson twice used the unusual lineup of Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Max Strus and Jarrett Allen against Giannis, including to close the fourth quarter. It was, arguably, the strangest closing lineup of any good Cavaliers team in history. If this were hockey, you’d call it the Cavs’ “checking” lineup — out there to bang a couple Bucks against the boards, but otherwise goals might be tough to come by.
Except, Strus turned out to be Cleveland’s leading scorer with 17 points and four 3s. Wade knocked down three 3s; Okoro made one. Allen, who’s been struggling with a right hand injury and has, more and more, found himself off the floor down the stretch, was 5 of 6 from the field. He caught a brilliant pass from Garland for a nasty dunk on Brook Lopez with 4:35 left in the fourth quarter for an 18-point advantage that essentially ended Milwaukee’s evening. Of that group, only Garland seemed to struggle with his shot (4 of 13 from 13 points).
All this happened while Donovan Mitchell (4 of 15), Evan Mobley (5 of 10), and De’Andre Hunter (2 of 6), three of Atkinson’s top players, were wearing warmups for much of the fourth quarter after games that, for them, were unusually unproductive (though Mobley tested Milwaukee’s patience and defensive strategy with two corner 3s in the first half).
“I did not think of that lineup (ahead of time),” Atkinson said. “You could argue when you see that, like, man, I don’t know, better get them out quick. But it seems like one of those years, a little bit, whoever we throw out there, whatever lineups we get, we kind of figure it out.”
Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points but had just four in the final quarter — a period which began with the Cavs up by seven. Throughout the game, Atkinson used Allen, Mobley and Wade on Giannis and was pleased with the result, despite Antetokounmpo’s gaudy stats (13-of-24 shooting, all 2s, and nine rebounds).
Giannis is a likely MVP finalist — almost sure to finish in the top five at season’s end. But let me ask you a question: How would the Bucks do in a game where their MVP candidate shoots 4 of 15 and commits four turnovers?
They’d probably not win comfortably like the Cavs did on a night when their MVP, Mitchell, really struggled with his shot. Cleveland became just the second team to win 14 straight games while scoring at least 110 points in each one, joining the 1986 Boston Celtics.
Mitchell logged just 3:53 in the fourth quarter — and hit his only 3 of the game during that stretch. He didn’t return to the game after Atkinson took him out for the “checking” lineup, which speaks to the incredible depth with which Cleveland is winning.
The Cavs, at 54-10, are one of the best regular-season teams in NBA history, and if they beat Brooklyn on Tuesday, will become just the fifth team in NBA history with two winning streaks of at least 15 games in the same season. All of this winning, and at best Mitchell is on the periphery of the MVP race. His scoring average, assists and rebounds are down from last season (so are his minutes). He is Cleveland’s leading scorer, but the Cavs rely as much on Mobley and Garland, and their full complement of role players to win all these games. Mitchell’s attitude and willingness to sacrifice his stats for the betterment of this team are part of his MVP case, but he knows the voters (like me, probably) generally tend to consider a player’s statistical impact on winning, compared to teammates, when deciding the league’s MVP.
He and I talked about it a little postgame. He said he thinks he should be in the top five but has a hunch he won’t be (we’ll see: If you count Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Giannis and Jayson Tatum as four of the top five, perhaps Mitchell gets in there ahead of LeBron James or Anthony Edwards). He said, not shockingly, he would like to win a league MVP, but he also said hasn’t won the trophy that really counts — the Larry O’Brien trophy given to the NBA Finals champion in June. So personal awards have to wait.
“I hope we will (have Donovan in the top five of MVP voting),” Atkinson said. “If you look at Shai, Shai’s having a great year, Donovan is right there. Just for argument’s sake, best player on best team.”
Then Atkinson conceded that most teams don’t win games like this — against a team good enough to perhaps be Cleveland’s second-round playoff opponent — when not only Mitchell, but also Garland, shoot as poorly as they did.
“Best backcourt in the league doesn’t have a great game and we still win by 12,” Atkinson said. “It’s just a testament to the depth we have on this team … and also give the coaches a little credit, because we trust them.”
All the players, from Mitchell to Sam Merrill (who also nailed three 3s last night, including one in the fourth quarter where the net didn’t move) have earned Atkinson’s trust. I don’t see Atkinson dipping below a 10-man rotation in the first round of the playoffs.
And in the second round, maybe against the Bucks, after a long run next to Lake Michigan, Atkinson can head into that night’s playoff game knowing he has as many bodies as he needs to throw at Giannis and win.
What’s not to love about Milwaukee in the spring?
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(Photo of Donovan Mitchell and Milwaukee’s A.J. Green: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)