Saturday afternoon I texted a couple of my friends I felt I could take advantage of. The Warriors moneyline was -450 going into Milwaukee. I saw this as a good opportunity to throw some real money on the Warriors losing their first game, plus, I could potentially get five times my investment. However, my friends shared similar sentiments on an impending Warriors loss, my hunch on the Bucks being better than 5 to 1 odds did not come as much of a surprise to them, and none wanted to strike a bet. This was the third straight game I had been predicting loss #1. To be fair, my predictions clearly had some validity. Outside of a freak 22-0 run by the Warriors in the first quarter against Indianapolis, the Pacers outscored the Dubs 123-109, and 40-20 in the fourth quarter. Then, the Celtics took them to 2OT with two blown opportunities to win the game from Isaiah Thomas. To go along with these performances from the Warriors, Klay Thompson and Leandro Barbosa would be getting back from missing a game. Harrison Barnes would be out once again, forcing Brandon Rush into another start. The tail end of a seven game road trip can tucker a team out; not to mention the fact they had flown into Milwaukee at 3:30 AM on Friday night, just hours after their 2OT win in Boston. All signs pointed to a poor performance from the Dubs, my friends did not want to be a part of a bet that had so many caution signs. They did admit, however, that more than likely Steph Curry would drop 40 and the Warriors would get to 25 straight as I had once again got overly excited about a potential Warriors loss. In fact they were playing the lowly Bucks. The Bucks are worse than you may think. Despite signing Greg "Moose" Monroe, they have actually been rather disappointing this year. Losers of two in a row, they were sitting at 9-15, and saw a jump in defensive efficiency from second in the league last year, (behind, who else, the Warriors) to 26th this year. Grievis Vasquez and Jerryd Bayless would once again be out, forcing OJ Mayo to start at point guard, a position that the Bucks have only been trying him at for less than a month. Michael Carter-Williams, the only true point guard to get any run in the game last night has been reliable in only one thing this season for Jason Kidd: being horrendous at offense. Despite all this, my hunch remained. It probably has something to do with the love affair I have had with Giannis the past couple years, who would end up having a triple double by the way. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the Bucks ended the standing longest win streak of 33 by the Lakers in 1972, and history has a tendency to repeat itself. Ok, fast forward to the game. Should have just bet with Vegas. This was not a matter of poor play by the Warriors. The Bucks played brilliantly, defensively as well as offensively. I watched with my brother and he kept saying that the Warriors were playing so terribly. I begged to differ, the Bucks played the best defense on the Warriors I had seen all year. Could have something to do with the clear abundance in preparation the Bucks had been given or the clear lack of the same for the Warriors, but the Bucks didn't bite on Curry plays. Warriors love to run fake down screens for Curry that he can juke his defender into and then run to the opposite wing for an open three owed to the fear of Curry's defender. But whoever may have been guarding him could see right through almost every offensive set intended for a Curry three. Luke Walton has been able to slide by using the "play Steph Curry in the fourth quarter" strategy in order to win every close game so far this season. Last night he looked like a deer in the headlights for the first time, no pun intended (#FearTheDeer). It is never as simple as I have put it, but the Bucks might be the first team that is starting to figure these Warriors out. Of course despite this, they still needed masterful offensive performances from Moose, Jabari, Giannis, and OJ Mayo in order to pull out the win. So maybe it is just an anomaly game. But if a team that runs lineups involving Rashad Vaughn and Johnny O'Bryant III can beat what is potentially the greatest sports team ever assembled, then why can't any other team? Except the Sixers. The Warriors deserve to be commended, however, for their valiant efforts in fighting for the win streak. As you watch the NFL today (or maybe you're equally as bored of football as me and won't watch any) remember that no team in that leagues history will ever win 24 games in a row. And, yes, it is the same. 24 games is 24 games, it is equally as difficult to win 24 in a row in basketball as it would be in football. Despite how good you may think the Panthers are, remember that even if they don't lose the rest of the season and win the Super Bowl, they will still have to come back next year and reel off their first five games with five wins in order to match what the Warriors have done. And, yes, once again, IT IS the same. Fear the Deer