MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 11: Kyle Kuzma #18 of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket on Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the first half at Fiserv Forum on December 11, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) Getty Images
A good showing but not enough to bring it home. The Brooklyn Nets went to Texas for a showdown with the Dallas Mavericks. Brooklyn had a chance to win late, but the Mavs did just enough to hand the Nets a tough loss.
The opponent tonight is trying to hang on. The season hasn’t gone according to the Milwaukee Bucks’ plans, but they keep competing. They helped themselves a ton after beating the Boston Celtics on December 11.
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No Cam Thomas or Haywood Highsmith. Ben Saraf is both ill and assigned to Long Island. And in a late scratch, head coach Jordi Fernandez will miss game. He’s also down with an unspecified illness. Steve Hetzel, his no. 2, will have the honors.
No Giannis Antetokounmpo, AJ Green, or Taurean Prince.
Milwaukee won the first meeting.
With the Bucks not meeting expectations, fans in Milwaukee want change. And if they have their way, it’ll be at the head coach position with the departure of Doc Rivers. Over at Brew Hoop, Finley Keuhl notes Doc’s performance in comparison to some of the younger coaches in the NBA right now:
In contrast, coaches like Hardy, Brooklyn’s Jordi Fernandez, and Phoenix’s Jordan Ott are building scrappy competitors out of subpar squads. They turn rag-tag groups of role players and fringe guys into unselfish hives of hustle and fearlessness. The Jazz and Nets are bottom-feeders, but their tanking efforts have been actively harmed by Hardy and Fernandez making their teams walking trap games. These first-time coaches are establishing identities in franchises that need them, and it’s tough to imagine them not achieving serious success whenever they finally have competent rosters to work with. Seeing what Hardy, Fernandez, Ott, and more are accomplishing makes it obvious that the Bucks need a fresh face behind the clipboard.
We’ll see how things develop from here.
Without Giannis, the Nets interior defense should breathe a huge sigh of relief. The Bucks are fifth in the NBA on field goal percentage inside the restricted area at 70.4 percent, led by Antetokounmpo’s 77.7 percent on 12 field goal attempts inside the RA. Whew. Even still, the Nets can’t afford to be lax on that end or take the Bucks lightly.
To help get those paint buckets, they’ll count on Ryan Rollins. RR is one of the league leaders in drives to the basket and he’s been a welcome positive in what’s been a cloudy season so far.
Danny Wolf has been a pleasant surprise for the Nets and he’s starting to get more comfortable coming off the bench. He’s put forth a string of good games and we’re starting to see the coaching staff have more confidence in him. As the Nets have started to play better and play more enjoyable hoops, the kids have been a big part of that. That should continue to make games fun to watch for Nets fans.
Myles Turner, brother you’re gonna need to be a LOT better. Milwaukee’s prized off-season acquisition is having the worst season of his career on offense, however the defense is a bit better with him on the court as compared to off. That’s nice, but Milwaukee is going to need him to find some success on offense, especially with Antetokounmpo out. For the Nets, Nic Claxton will look to be a pain in Turner’s side.
Player to watch: Kyle Kuzma
When the big dog is out, someone’s got to step up. For the Bucks, that’s been Kuz. He scored 31 points against the Celtics and the team will need something similar every night going forward. Kuzma will be the person Rivers turns to the most on offense as he tries to find the right mix until the team is back at full strength.
Michael Porter Jr is back and back to the business of bucket getting. MPJ hit the Mavs up to the tune of 34 points on .600/.600/.800 shooting splits. If this game is close late, we’ll see how the team handles things this time. Jordi Fernandez was a bit disappointed that his guys made some mistakes late. As the leading option on offense and team’s most experienced player, a lot is required of Porter Jr every night. To his credit, he’s handled everything thrown at him and the young Nets will turn to him for guidance.
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