Maybe?

Maybe the Milwaukee Bucks can pull out a big win against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.  Maybe they can keep their season alive for at least one more night.  They’ve done far more improbable things against the Pacers this season already.  It won’t be easy though.  Not against a motivated team looking to earn playoff seasoning to better the taste of their future.  Does that sound familiar?

These Pacers are not unlike the Bucks of a year ago (read this article and tell me you don’t think of the Bucks circa last season, pluses and minuses), but possibly with an even brighter future than the one Milwaukee dreamed of before Andrew Bogut’s arm injury dumped a bucket of cold water on the franchise.

There are no Pacers over 30 who figure to play a significant role in their immediate future.  Though Danny Granger has seen his stock and shooting percentage dip a bit over the past two years, he still gives them, at the very least, the idea of a guy who can close out games.  The Pacers have a promising young prospect in Paul George and $30 million in what amounts to dead weight coming off their roster this off-season.

Imagine if Milwaukee had a season slightly better than the one it has had this season, but without the trade for Corey Maggette, the signing of John Salmons or the signing of Drew Gooden. And imagine the Bucks failed to make the playoffs last season and wants that first taste as bad now as they did then.  That’s kind of the Pacers right now.  Last season’s Bucks youth and optimism, minus last off-season’s acquisitions, plus what could have been this coming off-season’s clearing of bad salaries.

Does that sound like a team this Bucks squad is going to knock off?

Not really.  But that’s the other thing about the Pacers.  Given that they aren’t as strong as last season’s Bucks, they aren’t exactly a sure bet to win the games they are supposed to win.  They haven’t used the second half to notify the rest of the league that they are a young, up and coming squad to be watched.  Last month, the month during which the Pacers could have locked down their final playoff spot, they lost to Minnestoa, Toronto, Detroit and Sacramento.  They haven’t exactly swept the leg.

But Friday is Indiana’s big chance to make a statement about the final playoff spot.  It’s their opportunity to finish off Milwaukee once and for all and make this thing a two team race.

All the while leaving Bucks fans to wonder where their team could be heading this off-season with a lottery pick and two significant expiring contracts.

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Enemy: Queen City Hoops

Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. D.J. Augustin

Saturday night’s struggles aside, Jennings is having a very good month of March, one of the best shooting months of his NBA career.  For the first time since his first professional month, Jennings is on track to shoot better than 40% (currently at 41%) for an entire month.  And if history holds true, Jennings should be able to boost his percentage and his other averages up against the Bobcats Monday night.  In two games this season, Jennings has averaged 26 points, 8.5 assists and six rebounds against Charlotte on 55.2% shooting.  The Bobcats are an average defensive unit, but point guard is not their strongest defensive position.  Augustin is no larger or quicker than Jennings and doesn’t share his defensive accountability.

Advantage: Bucks

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Enemy: Cowbell Kingdom

• Last season’s Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans will miss his 19 consecutive game when the Kings take the court Wednesday night.  A Kings team that hasn’t been very good WITH Evans this season is even worse without him, having won just four of the 21 games Evans has missed this season.

• Sacramento is coming off an emotional home win Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers.  Kings fans united under the “Here We Stay” mantra, as they attempt to convince ownership not to pursue other options for the future of the team.  Once the league’s very loudest building, Arco Arena was sold out and rocking as the Kings fed off the fans and downed the visiting Clippers.  At the least, it seems unlikely Kings players will be able to capture that energy and bring it on the road to Milwaukee.  Sacramento is just 8-25 on the road this season.

• A bright spot for the team of late has been the play of recently acquired guard Marcus Thornton. In 14 games with Sacramento, Thornton has averaged 21.4 points per game while tallying a healthy 20.8 PER.  While it’s easy to write off his accomplishments as the ball hogging of a second year player on a sinking ship, it seems like Thornton’s scoring spree is a little more meaningful than that.  He proved in his rookie season with the Hornets that he was a capable bench scorer, not a role most rookies fit so naturally.  It’s tough to project that Thornton will be a 20-point scorer consistently in the NBA, but at the very least, he’s solidifying himself as a very good scorer off the bench.

• DeMarcus Cousins did not start in Monday’s win and was ejected in the game previous.  No word on whether he’ll start Wednesday night, but he’s certainly a player Milwaukee will have to watch.  He has the talent, and temperament, to impact every game one way or the other.

• In three of Carlos Delfino’s last seven games he’s made just two of 17 shots.  In the other five he’s connected on 28 of 45.  Which Delfino will show up against the Kings?  Thanks to Sacramento’s shaky defense, probably the second one.  And if things are going well for the Bucks, they may not even need another 40 minutes of that Carlos like they did in the past two.

Prediction: Bucks 106 – Kings 86

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter.  Become a fan on Facebook (right sidebar).

Once again, the good folks at Stubhub.com have been generous enough to provide Bucksketball.com with some Bucks tickets to giveaway to our readers.

In the comments section of this post, leave your prediction for tonight’s Bucks-Nets game.  Final score and both team’s top scorers.  The winner will receive FOUR tickets to Sunday’s Bucks-Knicks game in section 111, row GGG.

Don’t feel any pressure to pick Milwaukee either.  If you think they’ll lose, then you think they’ll lose.  I’m looking for the closest pick, not the homeriest pick (yes, I made that word up).

Onto a few quick notes about tonight’s game.
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Enemy: Hoopinion

Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Kirk Hinrich

Jennings has taken some positive steps forward in March after a brutal February in which he was returning from foot surgery.  He’s been better from the field overall and has seen his three-point shooting trend upwards over the past few games.  If he can make modest improvements in shot-selection from this season to next season, he’s more than capable of being a 42% guy from the field and a 37% guy from three.  When Jennings is catching and shooting, his primary role for Milwaukee, he’s pretty good.  He just gets into trouble when he’s taking shots off the dribble, primarily that off the dribble fadeaway from mid-range that he so rarely makes, but too frequently attempts.  Hinrich is a tough matchup for Jennings though: a strong, quick point guard that is a fierce competitor on defense.  He’s a good point guard for the Hawks and one that gives Milwaukee trouble a lot.

Advantage: Hawks

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