(Sorry for the late post.  I work in retail and it’s the Friday after Thanksgiving.  I had a busy morning.  Also, be sure to stop by the Daily Dime Live tonight on ESPN.com to chat with me during the Bucks-Thunder game.)

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 8-5

(Likely) Inactives: Andrew Bogut, Joe Alexander and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

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Oklahoma City Thunder (Scott Brooks) 8-7

(Likely) Inactives: Shaun Livingston, Kyle Weaver and Kevin Ollie

Game time: 8:30 (CST)

TV: ESPN (No big deal)

Match-ups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Russell Westbrook

Two of the bright young point guards in the game today square off in this one.  Westbrook had a strong rookie season last year and has picked up where he left off this year.  He’s improved his field goal percentage, three-point percentage and assists.  His most significant weakness is his penchant for turning the ball over.  It probably has a lot to do with his incredible athleticism.  He was in the dunk contest last year and has had to make the transition to point guard from off-guard in college with relative ease.  When someone is as athletic as Westbrook they can find a way to have success wherever they are on the court if they put in the work.  He should be a real handful on both ends for Jennings, who’s had his share of struggles in his last two games.  As Jennings goes, so go the Bucks, so if Westbrook is able to corral him, expect another long night for the Bucks.

Advantage: Thunder Read more…

Two games, two disappointing losses, two completely different ways.  A blowout in San Antonio and a nail biter that slipped away like it was covered in butter.

There is no easy way to digest this one.  The Bucks were up five with 50 seconds to go in regulation.  A few jumpers, some free throw retaliations by Brandon Jennings and a Darren Collison three-point shot later, the game was tied with seven seconds to play.  But the Bucks had the ball and it was Brandon Jennings’ game to be had, Bucks fans had to feel good, right?  I certainly did.  I mean, Jennings had been struggling all game, but he’s still Brandon Jennings.  But regulation was not meant to be.  Jennings turned it over on a pick and roll initiated deep behind the three-point line on some good defense by David West.

No matter, overtime was a chance for redemption.  For a lot of guys.  Michael Redd had been struggling all game, so had Jennings and the song was the same for Ersan Ilyasova. Surely one of them would be able to get it going in the fifth stanza.  But it never came.  Redd hit a shot and then missed a couple more, including the game tying attempt at the horn.  Jennings had a crucial turnover in the back court and Ilyasova barely sniffed the court.

It’s hard to feel good about any of this game.  But … it’s Thanksgiving.  And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’ll give thanks about some things, rather than harp on another disappointing Bucks loss. Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 8-4

(Likely) Inactives: Joe Alexander, Andrew Bogut, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

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New Orleans Hornets ( Jeff Bower) 6-9

(Likely) Inactives: Chris Paul, Ike Diogu, Hilton Armstrong

Date: 11/25/2009

Game time: 7:00 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Darren Collison

I don’t want to be in Darren Collison’s shoes Wednesday night.  Jennings is coming off a 6-21 effort against one of the best defensive teams of the past decade.  He’s shown in the past that he’ll use negatives as motivation.  The Hornets have the second wort defensive rating in the league, so don’t expect Collison to have the best help in dealing with an angry, motivated Jennings.  On the plus side, Collison is probably the Hornets best perimeter defender, if not already their best overall defender.  Whether he is or isn’t, he probably has seen plenty of point guards in his four years at UCLA and through his 11 games in the NBA, so while Jennings may not surprise him, he should still prove quite a handful for the rookie.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…

Recap/Box Score

A lot of negative things can be taken out of this one.

Virtually every weakness the Andrew Bogut-less Bucks have was exposed in their 112-98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs Monday night.  Without Bogut, the Bucks had few answers for Tim Duncan inside and had to resort to double teams on him more often than not.  In turn, the Spurs were able to work the ball around, find the open man and hit open three after open three.  Sans Bogut, the Bucks struggled to keep the Spurs off the boards.   Coming into this one, the Bucks were out-rebounding the Spurs 45.8-42.8.  Sure, Bogut was gone, but the Bucks have still looked sharp on the boards even without the center.  The Spurs absolutely crushed the Bucks on the boards (more on this later).

The Bucks certainly haven’t seen a team like the Spurs.

The Bucks have faced a pillow soft schedule thus far, fattening up on the dregs of the NBA.  Bobcats, Grizzlies, Nets and Knicks are all no Spurs.  They offer little in the ways of crisp ball movement.  None of the teams the Bucks have been able to knock off has had a go-to guy like Tim Duncan.  So a logical question to be raised after this particularly brutal defeat is, are the Bucks close to being as good as their record indicates? Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 8-3

(Likely) Inactives: Michael Redd, Joe Alexander and Andrew Bogut

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San Antonio Spurs (Gregg Popovich) 5-6

(Likely) Inactives: Manu Ginobili

Game time: 7:30 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Match-ups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Tony Parker

Parker returned on Saturday after missing two games with a left ankle sprain.  Tony Parker on a sprained left ankle is more dangerous than most guards on two healthy ones, so it’s not like he’ll be an easy guard just because he’s had some injuries this year.  His numbers are down a little from a year ago when he had what was likely his best season ever.  The fact that the question can seriously be posed as to whether he’s taken the reins on this team from Tim Duncan says a lot about his talent.  Jennings has faced some talented point guards thus far, but hasn’t faced one with Parker’s scorer mentality.  He gets in the paint and scores more than most.  The back-and-forth battle between these two should be worth the price of admission, Jennings has been nearly unconscious all season long.  It’s very safe to say he’s outperformed Parker even.  In fact, this seems like the very type of game Jennings will bring just a little bit extra for.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…