In pushing back against comparisons between the Bucks and Lakers, Bobby Portis threw a wild shot at the purple and gold.
The NBA Cup's short history means that, for at least the near future, the inaugural champion Lakers will be routinely compared to future winners.
Those comparisons immediately came about on Tuesday when the Bucks completed a dominant win over the Thunder. They celebrated their victory by...not celebrating, at the suggestion of former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers told me after talking with Darvin Ham and his experience with Lakers last season, they chose not to celebrate The Cup championship with dousing and drinking of champagne. Want to focus on the remainder of the season. pic.twitter.com/CQ0J0aoeWz
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) December 18, 2024
Considering how poorly things went for the Lakers after winning the tournament last season, it’s fair not to do things they did, I guess.
Did they lose a bunch of games at the end of December because they popped some champagne bottles and drank some beer after winning in Vegas? Almost assuredly not.
But you know what else wasn’t a reason they lose games after the In-Season Tournament last season? Being too Hollywood, as Bucks forward Bobby Portis claimed, via Sam Amick of The Athletic, when asked why the Bucks wouldn’t struggle after their Cup title.
“We’re not Hollywood,” he told The Athletic when asked about the Lakers comparison. “We have hard-working guys (who are) selfless and who give themselves up for the betterment of the team. It’s not about the points you score. It’s all about winning, being connected. Our group is different from their group. We’re just different in that regard of selfless guys that give themselves up. You can’t really compare the two teams — not at all.”
In the (censored) words of 50 Cent, “What he say f--- me for?” And why are so many people with the Bucks talking about the Lakers after winning?
Portis has always spoken his mind, so that part isn’t too crazy. But saying the Lakers lost games because they were selfish and too Hollywood is wild.
They lost games because they played in Las Vegas on a Saturday, flew home to Los Angeles after, then played three games in four nights less than a week later as part of a stretch where six of their seven games after the In-Season Tournament came on the road.
On top of all of that, they were still dealing with injuries, too. That isn’t to write off everything that happened as being out of their control, but there was some context there outside of being too “Hollywood.”
The NBA learned from last year's mistakes and gave teams very extended breaks during this span this season. Milwaukee will play Cleveland on Friday before returning home on Saturday.
They also will benefit from playing the Wizards, Bulls, Nets, Raptors and Blazers, five teams not in the playoffs, a combined seven times in their next nine games.
Boy, I sure would have liked that schedule after last year's NBA Cup!
Also, Portis is talking pretty wild as someone on a Bucks team who has exactly as many wins as the Lakers despite playing in the Eastern Conference. Thirteen of Milwaukee’s 25 games this season have come against teams below .500.
Milwaukee probably won’t have the slump the Lakers did last season because their schedule is stacked with teams more interested in Cooper Flagg than winning games. But if they do slump, boy oh boy is he going to look awfully silly.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
