6-20 for 21 points.  That was Dwyane Wade’s final shooting line Saturday night and that was probably everything the Bucks could have asked for.  That sort of night out of a player like Wade is part good defense and part good luck, but probably more good defense than we realize.  I took the time to break down every one of Wade’s shots and so I could see how the Bucks had such success against one of the better players in the NBA today.  Enjoy.

(There’s a synopsis of the whole thing at the end if you don’t want to wade through it all.  Get it, wade through? Ah, I do what I can.)

(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) Wade did not have a happy (second) homecoming this year.

1-1: Wade catches it coming off a Jermaine O’Neal screen and then gets another screen from O’Neal off the dribble.  He’s able to take it right a back pedaling Andrew Bogut and hit a floater without a hand in his face.  When Wade’s isolated against Bogut like that it’s obviously not going to favor the Bucks very often.  Bogut isn’t quick enough with his hands to be able to contest a Wade shot without being susceptible to a fake and dunk combo. Read more…

Recap/Box Score

Dear Dwyane Wade,

Flash, you truly are the gift that keeps on giving.  You’re generosity when it comes to the city where it is windy rather than the Windy City seems to know no bounds.  Aside from delivering what will probably be Marquette’s only Final Four in the first quarter of this century, you’ve shown up at Marquette Madness in order to help with the always challenging recruiting battle and you worked with the university to secure a sponsorship deal through first Converse and now your Jordan brand.  A more dedicated alumni you cannot have been.

(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) The way things were going for Wade on Saturday this was probably a turnover.

But Marquette is not the only basketball program that’s reaped the benefits of your significant Milwaukee pull. In the nine Heat games played in Milwaukee during your pro career that you’ve played in coming in to Saturday night, the Bucks have had an average attendance of 16,546, roughly five hundred people better than their average attendance over the last six years. See, those fans come to see you play well, but they still are Milwaukeeans.  They don’t want to see the Bucks lose to a team from a city where the weather is nice and the night life is livelier. They want a Bucks victory with their great Wade play.  You bring them, but they cheer for the other team – funny how that works.

And things were no different Saturday night.  You may have got the loudest cheer during introductions, but throughout the game a passionate fan base cheered on their Bucks.  In turn, the Bucks gave them lots to cheer about.  The Bucks were able to do work for most of the night against your seriously over matched Heat team, but that’s not really your fault.  You don’t have much of a supporting cast down in South Beach or anywhere else you play actually.  Carlos Arroyo?  Joel Anthony?  If you don’t have a superstar night scoring and fail to set up your teammates on a silver platter, you guys are going to struggle.

And you didn’t have a superstar night Saturday.  Five fouls on Dwyane Wade, who are they trying to kid, right?  The fouls weren’t your only problem though: 21 points on 6-20 shooting with four turnovers in a 95-84 loss is probably not the way you envisioned your only trip back to the Mil going.  On the plus side, you made a couple plays that drew ooo’s and ahh’s from the crowd and Marquette pulled off an upset at Connecticut, so you and your old boys gave Milwaukee plenty to smile about Saturday.

It’s not all gumdrops and lollypops when you come around though. Your play turns people into conspiracy theorists on par with Mel Gibson’s character in the aptly titled 1997 movie “Conspiracy Theory”. I’m sure some thought you could have taken a bat onto the court to play defense with after committing your fifth foul and the refs would have looked the other way each time you swung it. But we can’t love everything about you, right?

Overall, its clear Milwaukee’s love affair with Dwyane Wade is as strong as ever, you just give too much for everyone to forget you D-Wade.  And about the rough night Saturday, remember: fall down eight, get up seven … or something like that.

Regards,

Bucksketball.com

PS.

Don’t get revenge Monday night. Read more…

Ah, Dwyane Wade’s return to Milwaukee.  The time that Marquette only fans become NBA fans for the day and venture down the the Bradley Center for their one Bucks game of the year.  Coincidentally (or not) it’s also when I hope the Bucks play their best game of the season and convert a fan here or there to the NBA game.  Believe it or not, that rarely happens and I’m often left hearing my Marquette fan friends inform me that the NBA still sucks and that Wade may or may not be a reincarnate of Jesus.

Anyway, it’s a back to back with the Heat, so no preview Monday, instead I have something else planned.  So be sure to stop back.  I may even have something for you Dwyane Wade fans.

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 19-25

(Probable) Inactives: Francisco Elson, Michael Redd and Joe Alexander

Vs.

Miami Heat (Erik Spoelstra) 24-22

(Probable) Inactives: Yakhouba Diawara and Michael Beasley

Date: 1/30/2010 & 2/1/2010

Time: 7:30 (CST) & 6:30 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin x 2

Match-Ups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Rafer Alston

Miami looked far and wide for a veteran point guard to guide them through this season after general dissatisfaction with the play of second year guard Mario Chalmers through the early parts of the season.  Chalmers has seen his minutes dip with each passing month and Miami now seems more content to get 30 minutes of just as mediocre play out of the veteran Alston.  It doesn’t really matter who Miami trots out as the supposed point guard next to Dwyane Wade anyway, because Wade’s going to have the ball in his hands the majority of the time when the game begins to matter anyway.  I’ve always been a proponent of having a deadeye shooter at the point guard spot next to a player like Wade.  All they really need out of their point guards is shooting and defense, two things Alston doesn’t do very well.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…

Recap/Box Score

Fortunately for the Milwaukee Bucks, one team had to emerge victorious Wednesday night.  It’s a rule.  Otherwise, the powers that be may have juts called the game at halftime to spare the crowd, because after an ugly looking first half, things rarely got much prettier in the second.

(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) Good Brandon Jennings hits these. It was Good Jennings Wednesday.

But basketball isn’t always a beauty contest and sometimes it’s just about pushing through tired legs and out-lasting the opposing team.  That seems like a fit way to describe Wednesday night’s game, it wasn’t so much a win for Milwaukee as it was an out-lasting effort in a proverbial scrum of a game.

And when I say this game wasn’t a thing of beauty, I mean right from the start it was hard on the eyes.  The Sixers were handling the ball with little worry on where it was ending up, at one point turning it over or having their shot blocked on five consecutive possessions in the first quarter.  The problem was that the Bucks couldn’t do anything on the other end after causing problems with their defense, thanks to three misses, a block and a turnover themselves at that point.  Milwaukee shot just 30.8 percent in the first quarter, yet led by one after winning the turnover battle 7-2.

Turnovers would end up being the theme all night.  While the game continued to be as sloppy an affair as the Bucks have been apart of all year, Milwaukee did their best to take care of the ball and not let the Sixers get out and run off turnovers.  The Bucks turned it over nine times in all, resulting in just six Philadelphia points, whereas the Sixers coughed it up 18 times, turning into 23 Milwaukee points.  In a one point game in which they lost the rebounding battle by 16, were outshot 46.2-43.5 and missed nine of 21 free-throws, that plus 17 points of turnovers differential was huge. Read more…

A few notes from around the internet to get you through the day while you wait for the Bucks-Sixers this evening.

• Sebastian Pruti of NBA Playbook (and NetsAreScorching.com God bless him) takes a look at Andrew Bogut’s sick performance against the Mavs and simply asks (and answers) the question: How’d He Do That?

• More and more people seem to be taking note of Bogut’s improved play of late, including John Hollinger of ESPN.com.  In selecting his all-star reserves (INSIDER), Hollinger mentions Bogut as a good candidate for injury replacement should someone not be able to perform:

For the frontcourt, I’d endorse Bogut over Lopez, Horford and Jamison. He’s been the strongest defensive player of the bunch and still posted solid offensive numbers, making him a major factor in Milwaukee’s surprising push into playoff contention.

It’s always nice to see some mainstream love for the Bucks and Bogut’s play of late certainly deserves some love.

• The NBA released the rosters for this year’s Rookie Challenge and, to no one’s surprise,Brandon Jennings will be taking part.  Not taking part is Ersan Ilyasova who, despite okay looking numbers for a sophomore, simply can’t compete with a ridiculously stacked class.  Click the link and marvel at how tough that group is.

• Over at HoopsAddict.com Ryan McNeil talks to Luke Ridnour about those damn low top shoes he wears among other things.

• In another Insider column, David Thorpe writes about Jennings, his number three rookie.

I’m really high on him. I see him as an artist who is years away from his prime. And just like Picasso or Dali, he has to spend years refining his craft before coming of age.

• The Bucks will be having an auction to benefit Haiti at their game against Philadelphia tonight and Haitian native Samuel Dalembert will address the crowd.  Among things that will be auctioned are signed shoes and jerseys by Bucks players.