In short, if I’m going to be completely honest, Jennings didn’t speak like someone who was telling the truth. But for now, his motives on Tuesday night remain just that: His motives.

I won’t pin this on his relationship with management, or Coach Scott Skiles or Stephen Jackson or anyone else. Maybe he was annoyed with his teammates. Maybe he was bitter about the fan support last Saturday. We can’t say for sure because Jennings isn’t letting us in right now. But something was very different about his game on Tuesday night, no one imagined that. Just watch the first quarter again. He doesn’t dribble the ball inside the three-point arc for his entire stint. This wasn’t some superhuman defensive team either. Jennings attacked a much better team in Chicago just days ago with considerably more vigor.

Skiles said after the game that he thought Jennings looked, “disconnected.”

Here’s Jennings after his strange game.

On getting down big and the offensive rebound late for the Suns that set up the game winner: “Second group came in and did a great job bringing us back in. We just fell short. Steve Nash hit the layup. That was a big defensive rebound we should have had right there. Probably could have got the shot, probably could have sealed the game.”

On rebounding: “It’s been a struggle the last couple games. We’ve been out rebounded by teams. They’ve taken advantage of our short size. It’s gonna take all five guys to go in there and rebound, including myself.”

On himself: “I mean, I just didn’t have the shots that I usually have. That’s about it.”

On how he feels: “I’m fine.”

On if Steve Nash’s defense was just too much for him to overcome: “Yeah I guess, if that’s what you want to say.”

On just taking one shot in the first half: “I just wasn’t open. Just trying to get my teammates goin’.”

On his made three in the fourth: “Umm, yeah. You know, the shot clock was going down. And it went in. So, that’s about it.”

That’s about it.

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Phoenix Suns

107

Final Recap | Box Score

105

Milwaukee Bucks

	Drew Gooden, PF 29 MIN | 12-21 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 25 PTS | -7 There would not have been a come back had no one scored in the first half. Drew Gooden carried the load inside, even if he looked completely awful at times. But with Jennings sleepwalking through offensive sets most of the game, someone had to shoot. Drew Gooden is always willing. This was the first game since he’s started at center where he’s really been lit up too. Steve Nash made it a point to feed Marcin Gortat throughout the game.
	Brandon Jennings, PG 29 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 3 PTS | -10 Brandon Jennings took four shots. He took one in the first half. He claimed after the game that he just wasn’t getting the looks he usually gets. He didn’t say that like someone speaking with much conviction though. Milwaukee is now 0-5 when Jennings scores less than 10 points this season. Jennings and Stephen Jackson each have one game like this under their belt this season. The plot thickens. More on this later.
	Stephen Jackson, SG 30 MIN | 4-11 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 12 PTS | +6 It was his first game in a while, but there was little rust on Stephen Jackson. He got his shots up and hit a couple timely ones. He also had a couple of big assists. But he’s still struggling to make shots consistently and his words after the game make it sound like he’s hardly on the same page as the organization, even if he’s constantly talking about how much he loves his teammates. His situation is incredibly messy.
	Mike Dunleavy, SF 37 MIN | 5-7 FG | 3-3 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 17 PTS | -2 There was a reason the Bucks found a way back in to this game. Someone had to have made some shots. Mike Dunleavy led the charge. He always looks like a great shooter and Tuesday he actually was one, knocking down five of seven from the field and four of five from three.
	Beno Udrih, PG 19 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 6 PTS | +10 While Jennings appeared to take the night off, Udrih picked up some of the slack. Six points, four assists and three rebounds in just 17 minutes. The backup point guard was a big part of the Bucks second half come back.
	Larry Sanders, C 13 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 2 PTS | +8 Larry Sanders helped provide some energy and chipped in a couple blocks but struggled on offense. That sentence is his career thus far.

One Thing We Saw

1. Things aren’t very pretty right now and we’re not yet one week removed from what seemed like a huge win over the Heat. Players seem disgruntled and the Bucks are heading back out on the road. A win or two could completely change the team’s outlook, but this is not a group that seems like it’s about to start ripping off wins.
2. Michael Redd. Dude did it for a while, that’s for sure. He scored five of the Suns first six baskets in the second quarter and had everyone in the Bradley Center flashing back. Good for him. He’s worked hard and it was great to see him playing at a high level offensively. He missed all four of his threes but he finished with 14 points.

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I’ve watched Oklahoma City and more recently, the Minnesota Timberwolves, load themselves up with talented young players. I’ve seen them flounder and flourish. I’ve also seen the risks. The Washington Wizards present the flip side of the destroy and rebuild plan. Sure, they landed John Wall, but they also have hitched their wagon to Andray Blatche and Javale McGee. It’s a dangerous game.

Dangerous as the game may be, I’ve wanted to see the Bucks play it since it was obvious Michael Redd wasn’t enough to make the Bucks relevant. Playoff appearances may generate some revenue, but title contenders are what really sparks fan interest. Title contenders capture hearts and minds. The middling records and low playoff seeds the Bucks have been shooting for since 2003 haven’t been of much interest, they’ve been Band-Aids on a basketball wound.

Many have been begging for the tank. We saw it roll out for a little bit in 2006-07, but the Bucks got burned, landed the sixth pick and Yi Jianlian. But with Redd coming off the books in 2011 and John Hammond the new GM, it seemed 2008 would be the start of a new era. An era where the Bucks would spend a couple years losing then many years reaping the benefits. Joe Alexander didn’t work out, but Brandon Jennings seemed like just the young dynamic talent the Bucks would be acquiring over and over for the next few years.

But the Bucks were ahead of schedule in 2009-10. The planents aligned and some how that team started playing like a real threat, eventually landing a sixth seed in the playoffs. That team’s success looks to have the Bucks set on an infinite loop of mediocrity.

Scott Skiles, Andrew Bogut and Jennings made them a playoff team and a two month out of body experience for John Salmons altered the course of the franchise. Suddenly, they weren’t going to be rebuilding, just adding on.

So we’re still here. Still not good enough to contend and not bad enough to land a potential star. That’s a problem. But the biggest problem the Bucks have is that they can’t go back now.

Beg all you want, but this team can’t and won’t be tanking any time soon. It’s too difficult now. This is what would have to happen for the Bucks to completely blow things up:

• Trade Bogut for nothing. No lottery team would ever trade for Bogut, it wouldn’t make sense. No contender that would look to add Bogut could give up any sort of value to a rebuilding team.
• Lose Brandon Jennings. Is Jennings going to want to sit through a rebuild in Milwaukee? Tank now and Jennings is gone after two more seasons, no question. It would take at least two seasons before the Bucks could get together enough young talent to move forward with.
• Fire Scott Skiles. Skiles can’t be the coach of a rebuilding team. He’s too good. I have a hard time believing a team Skiles coaches will ever win less than 30 games. Freak out about his rotations and handling of Stephen Jackson all you want, this dude is a terrific basketball coach.

Look at those three bullet points once more. How could the Bucks possibly spin those items as positives to the casual fan that follows the team and wants to see a win when they come to the Bradley Center? Impossible.

If this were Portland and the Bucks had a die hard base, maybe they could level with the fans and get their point across. In Milwaukee, where the Bucks rank a distant third on the major league level and probably fifth after Marquette and the Badgers, these moves would be unforgivable.

Even if they could some how find a way, the Bradley Center’s uncertain future further muddies the situation. The blow up is a four to six year plan. Six years from now the team could be on the way out of town. More than anything, the Bucks need to sell themselves to Milwaukee again to get funding for a new arena. A blow up may be the thing that sells them to the die hard fans, but after the past 20 years, stringing together a bunch of 50+ loss seasons right now wouldn’t appeal to the average tax payer. This isn’t baseball and the Bucks don’t have the goodwill the Brewers had.

So clamor all you’d like, but things aren’t changing any time soon.

Milwaukee will keep trying to catch lightning in a bottle like they did two years ago while the rest of us stand watching in the rain.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Bulls were happy, Bucks were sad. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

The Bulls were very happy on Saturday night. They won by a lot and dominated all 48 minutes of the game against the Bucks. Also, the crowd was absolutely in Chicago’s favor. There were MVP chants for Derrick Rose throughout the night. There was a chant, an embarrassing one, for Brian Scalabrine as the game wound down.

Rose either assisted or scored each of the Bulls first 15 points. Luol Deng made a triumphant return to the lineup. The Bucks fouled the Bulls just eight times despite Chicago’s repeated trips into the lane to the hoop.

Everything was bad.

Momentum from that Miami win? Gone. Hopes right now? Low.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on guard Darington Hobson (6-7, 210), General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Hobson, 24, was originally selected by the Bucks with the 37^th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, but was waived prior to the start of the 2010-11 season. Hobson re-signed with Milwaukee as a free agent on Dec. 10, 2011, and appeared in five regular season games for the Bucks this season, tallying four points, three rebounds and six assists in 39 total minutes of action. Hobson also spent two separate stints with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League where he averaged 10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in eight games (six starts).

The Bucks roster now stands at 14 players.

What does this mean? Let’s let the next few days play out and see if it has any meaning at all before we jump to any conclusions.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Love this picture. I had to modify this post just to include it. Brandon Jennings: No fear, just swag. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

You’ll remember that Brandon Jennings spoke with Steve Nash over the summer.

“I asked him when he got that MVP two times, he said he just made plays down the stretch,” Jennings said in mid-Jaunary. “So, that’s something I really worked on this summer, not always shooting it, just making plays for everybody, trying to get the best possible shot.”

Everyone loves to hear that. The emphasis on teamwork sounds great. Teamwork is playing a big role in Milwaukee’s recent success too. The ball movement has been crisp. The players didn’t give up on themselves or each other when they were down 17 after the first quarter to the Heat. Scott Skiles had some nice things to say about the group’s chemistry after the game. Hooray for teamwork.

Teamwork wasn’t so much what had people on their feet last night though. That was just Brandon Jennings letting his natural abilities and attitudes shine through.

Jennings attitude and swag spread through the arena like smoke from a fire by the time the fourth quarter was over, but it actually started much earlier.

As he often is, Jennings looked frustrated when the Bucks were losing. He wasn’t shooting well, the Heat were doing their fast break thing and Lebron James and Dwyane Wade were taking turns making tough shots look simple.  Skiles said after the game that, given James’ mid-50s shooting percentage, there really is no such thing as a low percentage shot for him. The first quarter spoke to that, as James poured in 24 points while Jennings stewed.

With 1:52 left in the second quarter, Jennings hit a three. He was 2-10 from the field before that shot and 1-5 from three. Then he did something I’ve seen before.

He had that look on his face and made that motion with his hand that we’ve all made when we finally figured something out. It was kind of like he was a contestant on a game show and everyone else had moved on from the first step, but for whatever reason he couldn’t figure it out. Then  he figured it out and it was like he had to catch up, so going forward he knew he’d have to be better than his competitors.

Jennings did the same thing early in the second half of his 55-point game. I swear it was the same exact look.

From there, Jennings acted like he was just playing a game again. He started having fun and started letting the other team know he was doing so.

Jennings hit a three early in the third and almost before the ball had finished passing through the net, he stared at Mario Chalmers for just a moment before flashing the three-point monocle in his direction. I know we all grew up hearing about how important sportsmanship is and how no one likes a braggart, but does anyone really not love it when a guy on the team you’re cheering for is openly taunting the best team in the league and playing well enough to do it?

He wouldn’t stop there. Jennings banked in a floater a minute into the fourth quarter and gave Norris Cole a staredown. Maybe he was just insulted that Norris Cole has probably received more national attention than him this season. Maybe he was just excited that these weren’t just Knicks or Warriors point guards he felt like he could torch. Because he hadn’t even gotten to the torching yet. He hadn’t even begun his real fourth quarter show just yet.

Jennings would go on to hit three more threes in the fourth quarter, each one of them a hay-maker to the suddenly woozy Heat skull. He ended up 7-14 from behind the arc on the night. The Bucks play maker in the fourth quarter over and over again this season did it again.  He’s now averaging seven points and shooting 40% from three in fourth quarters this season. He certainly seems to have taken Nash’s words to heart.

And after his third three in the fourth, when the Heat called a time out to regroup, Jennings basked in the cheers from the Bucks crowd. He motioned for them to rise to their feet, but he had already put them there with his play.

After the game, Jennings talked about coming in early in the morning despite Coach Skiles canceling shootaround to get the team rest. He said it looked like it paid off in the fourth quarter. He talked about making plays for his teammates.  He talked about Luc Mbah a Moute’s insane defense on all three of the Heat stars. And he talked about the Bucks needing to get back to .500 on Friday. He had toned the swag back down and was all business once again.

It’s a delicate balance, like teamwork and a star knowing he should take over.

Teamwork is cool and finding the open man is just as important in the fourth quarter as it is in the first, maybe even more so. But when everyone who was at or watched the Bucks game at home last night talks about the game this morning there is a pretty specific order they’ll recollect in:

1. Did you see the Bucks last night?
2. Dude, Jennings went insane.
3. Those guys look good, they were moving the ball so well too.
4. But damn, Jennings was crazy.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Miami Heat

97

Final Recap | Box Score

105

Milwaukee Bucks

	Carlos Delfino, SF 20 MIN | 3-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 11 PTS | +10 Delfino played just two minutes and didn’t catch the brunt of Lebron’s first quarter explosion. I can’t say I saw Stephen Jackson do anything particularly bad on Lebron, I think it was more one of those times when a great player got into a zone. With Lebron, it takes a team effort and a lot of luck. It helps when ‘Bron isn’t necessarily the focus too. After the first it didn’t really seem like he was. Delfino probably deserves some credit for that, as he was hounding him off the ball and on. Oh, and Delfino chipped in three threes and 11 points. For a guy tasked with spending most of the night guarding the league’s best player, that’s a pretty terrific offensive contribution.
	Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, SF 33 MIN | 6-7 FG | 1-4 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 13 PTS | +22 Starting on Bosh? Forcing Wade into step back threes after 24 seconds of dribbling? Blocking him on a drive into the paint? Spending the last part of the fourth quarter on Lebron after spending the majority of the game on Wade? All while tossing in 11 points and six rebounds? As if Mbah a Moute needed to do anything else to endear himself to Milwaukee fans as a defender and putbacks guy. This game was the prototype for all big defense little offense guys.
	Drew Gooden, PF 39 MIN | 7-12 FG | 3-4 FT | 9 REB | 5 AST | 17 PTS | +5 Scott Skiles had a smile on his face after the game when someone asked him about Drew Gooden’s strong outing. “I particularly like the Drew Gooden one man press break.” That’s so Drew Gooden. Apparently so is drawing fouls and so is battling and making some big plays late in games though too. All over the map.
	Brandon Jennings, PG 42 MIN | 9-25 FG | 6-8 FT | 4 REB | 8 AST | 31 PTS | +16 I’m not really the superstitious type. I know what I say isn’t actually going to impact the future. I know I can accept something and be confident if there’s enough data associated with it, it won’t stop being true. All that being said, I’m still nervous to just accept that Brandon Jennings is pretty good now. I don’t want to jinx it. He didn’t even shoot particularly well against the Heat in the fist half, but he was such a damn leader out there. And when the Bucks were working on a come back, he was doing his whole annoying (to the other team that is) swag thing. It’s so easy to look past that shooting line and at the times he poked the ball from Mario Chalmers or drew the offensive foul on D-Wade or stared down Norris Cole and just enjoy the heck out of this dude. Oh, and then he hit some huge shots too. Then he mugged it up. Then he took it a step further and blacked out for a while in the fourth. Or maybe that was me. Regardless. Everyone really enjoyed that.
	Mike Dunleavy, SF 26 MIN | 4-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 5 AST | 10 PTS | +5 He wasn’t quite as sharp a shooter as he was Monday, but Dunleavy played a big part in the Bucks all around strong offensive night. He made his share of shots, but maybe even more importantly, he moved the hell out of the ball. Monday he was a creative perimeter player, a quick decision maker and a good shooter. That’ll do.
	Ersan Ilyasova, PF 33 MIN | 4-14 FG | 1-2 FT | 14 REB | 3 AST | 9 PTS | +3 Athletically, Bosh is on another level that Ilyasova will never approach. In terms of effort, Ilyasova can battle with any player in the league though. It was another very typical Ilyasova kind of night. He led the Bucks in rebounding because he knows when he can keep battling and knows how to tip a ball to himself. His shot-selection was stellar as well.

Three Things We Saw

1. It would have been easy for the Bucks to check out after the Heat shot 80% and scored 40 points in the first quarter. I’ve seen Milwaukee do that to teams (no really, I swear I have) and pretty much put them away in the first. But the Bucks didn’t quit. There really wasn’t any reason to expect them to, I can’t remember the last time I saw them do that. It’s like the Bucks gatorade cooler is full of lemon lime laced with effort.
2. I’m sure you won’t feel bad for Jackson at this point, but it was almost like he was sacrificed in the first quarter. Lebron was unreal and Skiles brought Jax in as the first man off the bench when Delfino ran into foul trouble. Lebron proceeded to wear him out. Jackson would not return and Lebron wouldn’t stay quite so hot. I will not connect those dots so simply though.
3. Milwaukee struggled a bit late with the Heat press, but they found away to stay just composed enough to keep Miami at bay. Drew Gooden tried every insane thing he could to infuriate and drive fans up the walls at home and at the Bradley Center, but, as unorthodox as his methods are, he didn’t kill the Bucks late. I mean that as a compliment. The Bucks looked like a five-year-old who just realized his parents let go of his bike and didn’t tell him late when the Heat put some pressure on. But they held firm. Also, I have no idea what just happened. But I’m pretty sure that’s two wins over the Heat this season for Milwaukee. Wow.

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Los Angeles Lakers

89

Final Recap | Box Score

100

Milwaukee Bucks

	Drew Gooden, PF 36 MIN | 9-15 FG | 4-4 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 23 PTS | +5 Drew Gooden will get by a guy like Pau Gasol for a layup and get a technical foul two seconds later. Drew Gooden will finish a wide open fast break layup and fall down for no conceivable reason. Drew Gooden will do his damnedest to defend Andrew Bynum and throw a pass through traffic into Derrick Fisher’s body. None of these things, not the good ones, not the bad ones, should be surprising. Gooden was all Milwaukee really could counter the Lakers front line with, and he did his best. He’s typically a pretty uneven player, but Saturday night, he was better than that. He made a higher percentage of his shots and performed as well as you could expect against the Lakers tough front line. He often has the best numbers of any of Milwaukee’s starters, but Saturday night, he actually played the best too.
	Shaun Livingston, PG 31 MIN | 4-9 FG | 3-3 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 11 PTS | 0 Elbow jumpers. I wonder how many Livingston has made in his life. It’s a pretty effortless shot for him, especially when he’s able to take it coming out of a post up. He displayed an uncommon blend of leaping ability and power with a dunk on a scrambling Andrew Goudelock. I’m sure Bucks fans are getting more comfortable with the idea of him as the starting shooting guard each game.
	Brandon Jennings, PG 32 MIN | 6-14 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 7 AST | 12 PTS | -3 Before the game, I was thinking if the Bucks were going to be competitive, it would be because Jennings has 30 points and eight assists or something like that. Jennings had 10 points and five assists coming into the fourth quarter and the Bucks led by seven. Huh? Your guess is as good as mine. Saturday night’s was an okay game from Jennings – he handled the ball well, had only one turnover and pressured Laker point guards well, but only scored 12 points. And the Bucks still won and even shot 50% from the field. Weird.
	Mike Dunleavy, SF 22 MIN | 6-8 FG | 1-1 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 15 PTS | +21 He was like the perimeter version of Ilyasova. He hit two threes, helped facilitate ball movement, grabbed some boards and shot a good percentage. If Milwaukee’s reserves can make shots at a rate better than 50%, that would go a long way towards moving them forward without Bogut. Obviously they won’t every game, but on a night when the starters were solid, but not great, it was a big pickup.
	Ersan Ilyasova, PF 25 MIN | 7-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 15 PTS | +14 While using most of his energy guarding the Lakers tough front line, he wasn’t the rebounding force he’s often been this season. But he helped the Bucks shoot better than 50% with his efficient night. Hit a three, grabbed enough boards in the fourth quarter to keep the Lakers from coming back – a game you’ll certainly take from Ilyasova.

Three Things We Saw

1. Defending Kobe was primarily a dual effort. Delfino spent a lot of time on him throughout the game, as did Luc Mbah a Moute. Poor Mbah a Moute got the duty in the fourth quarter, when Kobe decided to get serious. He was up to the challenge though, forcing Kobe into some tough shots. The Mamba made 10 of 21 shots and almost had a triple double, but he led the Lakers in turnovers and did not put another game winner on the Bucks heads. Success.
2. Did the Bucks just make more free throws than their opponent? That’s an anomaly for this group, but they love it every time it happens. With the Lakers huge front line and Kobe Bryant in the back court, this certainly didn’t seem like the game Milwaukee would win the free throw battle in, but here we are. It certainly helps explain how we ended up with such a surprising final score.
3. Milwaukee is one of the league’s best teams at forcing turnovers and they were at it again against the Lakers. 15 Laker turnovers led to 23 Milwaukee points. That’s defense leading to offense and that, is exactly what Scott Skiles wants to see.

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Przybilla as a Buck. It could happen again soon.

From Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld:

Stephen Jackson has been suspended one game for verbal abuse of an official and failure to leave the court. Incident occurred against CHI.

And things remain turbulent.

This is the second game this season Jackson will miss for disciplinary reasons. He missed the team bus to shootaround in New York and Coach Scott Skiles opted not to play him.

Jackson has apologized on Twitter.

To all my fans apologize for my actions. Its just somethings refs shouldnt say. Gotta keep my kool. Lesson learned.

In other news, I’ve obtained what I feel like is reliable information that John Hammond met with Joel Przybilla and his agent in Milwaukee on Saturday and could be close to working out some a deal. I’m now rooting for this scenario, solely so I don’t look like an idiot for reporting it.

That’s where this season currently sits for me.

Ultimately, Przybilla isn’t making or breaking the Bucks if he joins the team. He would be another big body and he would give the team a true center. But he’d be giving them one that hasn’t played in about eight months and seems fairly content to be retired.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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A special thanks to Andy Kamenetzky from ESPN’s Land o’ Lakers Lakers blog for stopping by to answer some questions I had regarding Milwaukee’s opponent this evening. Check out Land o’ Lakers and see a few answers I had for him as well.

1. He’s smart enough to do it, but will Kobe be willing to let Gasol and Bynum dominate the Bucks?

Given Gasol’s exceptionally aggressive nature Wednesday against the Clippers, I’d like to think Kobe will try to keep that going, for the sake of Pau and the matchup. And he’s already praised Bynum’s “thirst to score.” And for all the talk about Kobe’s high shot count this season, he’s done a pretty fine job moving the ball around. But as is always the case with Kobe involving teammates, there’s a leash, and it can be frustratingly short. Kobe’s natural desire to take games over, even when not always necessary, can also equal big men receiving too few touches over stretches.

But in fairness to Kobe, there are kinks being ironed out in Mike Brown’s offense, one of them being Gasol’s role. Pau’s number hasn’t been called enough by the coach, as opposed to Bryant. There’s also an onus on Pau to seek out more scoring opportunities with the ball in his hands, even if he’s theoretically working as a facilitator on a particular set.

2. Is there anyone on the Bucks who is a bad matchup for the Lakers?

Jennings, over the summer. (Photo via SoleCollector)

Quick point guards who can penetrate are never easy for the Lakers to corral. Brandon Jennings fits that bill. That he’s connected more consistently from distance this season makes him an even bigger challenge to cover. And considering Jennings talked some smack to Kobe this offseason, even tongue in cheek, he’s probably looking forward to sharing the court with 24.

Even possessions with Beno Udrih off the bench could be an adventure. Steve Blake’s injury, plus Darius Morris playing like the rookie he is, recently prompted Mike Brown to use rookie Andrew Goudelockas a defacto point guard. He responded well against the Clips, but his minutes this season have been a roller coaster on both sides of the ball. Goudelock is extremely easy to screen off, and Udrih loves to work in pick-and-roll situations. That could be a bad combination for the Lakers.

3. Without Andrew Bogut (ankle fracture), can Milwaukee even be competitive tonight?

On paper, the Lakers appear the better team. Even with Bogut healthy, they’d boast a decisive frontcourt advantage. Their defense has often been smothering. And with all sincere respect to Luc Mbah a Moute’s D, Kobe’s been on a prolific — and pretty efficient — scoring jag of late. Plus, the Bucks will be playing the second end of a back-to-back, while the Lakers will be rested and the schedule has finally allowed some practice time. There’s a lot setting up nicely for the Lakers.

Having said that, the Lakers are hardly bulletproof. For starters, they’re 1-6 on the road. Granted, the majority of those losses were against good teams, but 1-6 is 1-6. No game outside Staples can be presumed a victory. The offense is also a decided work in progress, and prone to turnovers, which could be exacerbated by the Bucks’ ability to force them. Plus, the Bucks’ bench is a considerably better bet to produce points. (Frankly, any bench is.) Thus, the game is hardly already in the refrigerator, as the late Chick Hearn would say.

For a Bucks perspective on things, I put these questions to our very own Ian Segovia as well. His thoughts:

1. Kobe is going to be Kobe. He’s going to take over 20 FGAs and give the ball to his big men just a handful of times. Even if Kobe decides that he’s just going to take 80 shots against the Bucks, Gasol and Bynum will still dominate the Bucks on the glass. They’ll gobble up offensive rebounds and tip-ins.

2. Jennings versus anyone the Lakers throw against him. He won’t have to expend too much effort chasing the likes of Fisher and Morris. Neither guy has the defensive chops to handle Jennings. This isn’t surprising. Top point guards have been manhandling the Lakers for several seasons already. However, the Lakers are defending the paint well. Laker’s opponents are only finishing 59% at the rim.

3. Winning is one thing. Staying competitive is something completely different. The Lakers offensive rating is ranked just 16th in the league and they are one of the slower NBA teams. Their offense is mostly post-ups, isos and spot-ups. The Bucks main defensive problem without Bogut is defending the PNRs. Rose and the Bulls ran the high screen perfectly last night (ok, Rose and the Bulls always run that perfectly). The Lakers don’t run PNRs and when they do, they’re awful at them (PPP for PNR ballandlers is just 0.72 and roll men are just 0.76). Even without Bogut, the Bucks can handle that offense.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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