Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 14 – 18

(Probable) Inactives: Joe Alexander and Dan Gadzuric

vs.

Chicago Bulls (Vinny Del-Negro) 14-19

(Probable) Inactives: Lindsey Hunter

Date: 1/8/2010

Time: 7:30 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Match-Ups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Derrick Rose

The last time these teams met, Jennings/Rose was hyped as a potential matchup of the league’s future at point guard.  Since then, Tyreke Evans has more or less made fans toss Jennings and Rose on the backburner.  Evans has shined as the Kings have outperformed expectations as Jennings and Rose have each struggled for teams that haven’t played well over the past month.  Rose has it going lately though, averaging nearly 25 points per game over the Bulls last five games, three of them wins.  He’s shot just a shade under 50 percent and is averaging six free throws per game.  He’s been attacking and the Bulls have had success.  The biggest change has been the free throw attempts; Rose was getting shots early this year, but wasn’t getting many easy baskets from the free throw line.  In November Rose shot just 32 free throws, compared with 72 in December.  The Bulls winning percentage in those respective months are reflective of it too: .385 and .467.  If the Bucks can keep Rose off the line, they’ll increase their odds of winning significantly.

Advantage: Bulls Read more…