Keyon Dooling appears to have taken his last shot for the Milwaukee Bucks (Photo: Jonathan Daniel)

UPDATE: Charles F. Gardner is reporting Dooling and a second round pick will be heading to Boston for a trade exception.

Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld adds on to an earlier report from Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, tweeting that Milwaukee Bucks backup point guard Keyon Dooling will be heading to the Boston Celtics for a second round draft pick.

Dooling had been a likely trade candidate since June after Milwaukee acquired two point guards, Beno Udrih and Shaun Livingston, along with forward Stephen Jackson in a draft day three-way trade with the Charlotte Bobcats and Sacramento Kings.

Dooling’s one season in Milwaukee was a rocky one. Originally signed to backup Brandon Jennings, Dooling spent a large part of the season in a shooting guard role that he wasn’t quite cut out for. Dooling started 22 games when Jennings went down with an injury mid-season. After a stellar year from Luke Ridnour in the backup point guard spot, Dooling’s sub-40% shooting often made him a target for the criticism of fans.

Dooling’s departure essentially leaves the Bucks with 15 current roster candidates, not including the backup center many suspect they will be after. Dooling was set to make just under $2.3 million this season. Assuming Mike Dunleavy Jr., signed earlier on Thursday, is going to make in the neighborhood of $3.75 million next season, losing Dooling’s contract leaves the Bucks $1.825 million under the salary cap when accounting for Luc Mbah a Moute’s qualifying offer. This number does not take into account Darington Hobson, but does take into account Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer.

While the point guard log jam appears solved, Milwaukee will still have a decision to make now that Mike Dunleavy Jr. is reportedly in the mix. Stephen Jackson, Carlos Delfino, Dunleavy, Harris and Hobson will all compete for minutes at the two and three, with Udrih and Livingston able to spend some time on the wings as well.

Clearing Dooling gives the team the option to hold steady with this group or drop one more wing and make a run at another big man.

It’s worth noting that oft-mentioned Bucks backup target Joel Przybilla is considering the Bucks, but is rumored to be leaning towards retirement.

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

Recap/Box Score/Enemy

For more than a little while Sunday night, the Milwaukee Bucks were playing some pretty good basketball.  They had their share of struggles, but they fought back.  They played hard and it appeared they might make enough of those timely plays they’ve been unable to make so many times before this season to give themselves a shot down the stretch against the mighty Boston Celtics.

Then things went back to normal.  Late in the fourth quarter of the Bucks 89-83 loss, their offense broke down, they struggled to get good looks and then, even when they did get those looks, they couldn’t convert.  It’s been the story all season, so why should anything have been different against the Celtics?

The most glaring difference about these Bucks versus the team that was so effective last year has come when plays have broke down.  Initial motion doesn’t always fail the Bucks.  Sometimes they are able to get players in the right places and they get high quality looks.  But it’s often seemed that late in games, that becomes infinitely more difficult.  And that makes sense.  With the game on the line, defenses are going to tighten up, they are going to want to make everything a little more difficult.

So open looks are harder to come by and individual creativity and skill become more important.  Last season, in this area, the post initial movement, someone has to make a play area, John Salmons really excelled.  He was the playmaker, the shotmaker, the guy who bailed the Bucks out so often.  This is where having a star is nice, and Salmons was that kind of guy for the Bucks last season.

He hasn’t been that kind of guy for the Bucks this season.  No one has.

After a Carlos Delfino three to tie Sunday’s game at 82 with 3:35 left, Milwaukee failed to convert on any of their remaining possessions.  Zero field goals the rest of the way.  The Bucks missed their final six shots and, for what seemed like they hundredth time this season, sprinkled in a crunch time shot clock violation.  Scott Skiles was asked specifically why Milwaukee’s guards had such a hard time operating out of pick and roll scenarios against Boston bigs that showed out time and again, and his response to that question seemed to indicate the various areas that are holding the Bucks back at the end of games, not only in the pick and roll, but just in general.

“Quickness, skill, creativity, vision, quick decision making, there’s a lot of stuff involved in it,” Skiles said.

A lot of areas where the Bucks just come up a bit short.

Offense

Throughout his first season and in his second season, it seemed like Luc Mbah a Moute was a jump shot away from being a really useful 30 plus minute player.  Forget the jump shot though, this guy is awfully useful right now.  Mbah a Moute has come a long ways since his rookie season offensively.  He attacks the rim very hard and uses his athleticism and touch around the hoop to finish as well as anyone on the Bucks.  He is always competing and finds himself in the right places more often than not when the Bucks have the ball.  His defense no longer needs much praise, its a given every night he’ll be a headache for the opposition, but his offense has really come along nice.  From 15-feet in, Mbah a Moute is as reliable as anyone on the Bucks.  He finished with 19 points against the Celtics on eight of 13 shooting.

• After a very rough Febraury, Brandon Jennings seems to be coming along in his recovery from a foot injury in March.  He led the team in scoring again on Sunday and displayed some very good vision early on in the game.  When his teammates are moving and getting into spaces, Jennings is capable of delivering useful passes that lead to scores.  So often his teammates are frozen as he dribbles about.  Jennings scored 23 points on eight of 19 shooting Sunday night, and made three of his seven three point attempts.

• What kind of guy has Salmons been for the Bucks this season?  The kind of guy who makes four of 13 shots and scores 11 points.  That’s a Salmons line that has no one flinching any more.  Just run of the mill stuff for last season’s hero these days.

Defense

There was no one area where the Bucks defense seemed to particularly struggle in against the talented Celtics.  Boston’s 51.5% field goal percentage seemed more a tribute to their ability to make shots than it was an indication Milwaukee was doing anything wrong at that end.  Time after time Bucks defenders would be closely defending Kevin Garnett, only to watch him cock back the ball in with that high release of his and loft it over that defender’s outstretched arm.  Not much can be done there.

• Rajon Rondo appeared to be sleepwalking through most of Sunday’s game, but still managed a key four points and four assists in the fourth quarter.  He’d finish with just six and eight respectively for the game, but the real indictment of his play was the eight turnovers he lost.  He was repeatedly lazy and nonchalant with his passes and Milwaukee isn’t the kind of team that typically allows for that.

• For all Rondo’s and his teammates’ turnovers the Bucks rarely capitalized: they scored just 11 points on 18 Celtics turnovers.

Final Thoughts

Another strong game against a more than worthy opponent left me wondering: are games like this an indication that Milwaukee’s problems have less to do with talent and more to do with something else?  I don’t know exactly what that something else is, it seems like it’s some sort of preparation issue, but whatever it is, it’s an internal matter.  If they can stick with the Celtics for most of 48 minutes and occasionally upset really good teams, only to lose to the Pistons and Wizards, that has to be more than a basic talent issue.  Late in games, sure, Milwaukee doesn’t have a guy who can step up, but they shouldn’t need one against those bad teams.

Is it better that Milwaukee’s problems may be more related to matters outside of talent?  Maybe.  Perhaps it’s easier to remove those who aren’t taking care of what they need to take care of than it is to rebuild the talent base.  This is a game that I’ll have in mind when the Bucks are making moves this summer.  This team probably isn’t that far away from being a sixth or seventh seed.  Of course they aren’t far away from being sixth or seventh in the lottery either.  It’s been a crazy kind of year.

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

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 1-3
Inactive: Chris Douglas Roberts, Michael Redd, Darington Hobson

vs

Boston Celtics (Doc Rivers) 3-1
Inactive: Kendrick Perkins, Luke Harangody, Delonte West

Date: 11/03/2010
Game Time: 7:00 PM (CST)
TV: ESPN/FS Wisconsin

The Other Guys: Celtics Hub

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Rajon Rondo

Rondo is one of the worst outside shooting point guards you’ll ever see, but incredibly effective off the dribble.  With his array of shots, he’s pretty much unguardable if he gets in the paint.  His length, quickness and aggressiveness will give Jennings problems on the offensive end too.  Rondo plays with a real chip on his shoulder and seems like he’s out to prove that he’s the best point guard in the league every night.  With games of 17, 24 and 17 assists under his belt this year, it’s getting harder and harder to argue that he isn’t.  Jennings shot very poorly again against the Blazers, but didn’t force much.  So long as his 3-point shot is unreliable though, Milwaukee will struggle.  They don’t have enough outside shooters to absorb his inconsistencies.

Advantage: Celtics Read more…

With the Miami Heat emerging victorious (sadly and barely) from their last game of the season against New Jersey, clinching the fifth seed and leaving the Bucks to play the Hawks in the three-six matchup, it’s hard to get too excited about any of the positives that came from the Bucks Wednesday night win over Boston.

It’s merely evident now that Milwaukee’s jayvee plus team can defeat the Celtics freshman team.  And I think that was probably a safe bet already.  Milwaukee has pounded into us all season that they have good depth.  From one through eleven, Milwaukee can plug different guys into different lineups and compete with most starters and defeat most benches.

Once again Wednesday night, Milwaukee got productive games out of Luke Ridnour, Jerry Stackhouse, Ersan Ilyasova and even …

*gasp* Dan Gadzuric?

Yes, under the right circumstances even old Gadzuric can look good again.

But the circumstances will be much different in the playoffs now.  The Hawks have been a problem for Milwaukee all season.  Hell, they’ve been a problem for the majority of the league all season.  A group that’s been playing together for years now, Atlanta has the versatility, the star power, the defense and the offense to make a deep run into the playoffs and even scare the East’s top two.

If Milwaukee were about to embark on a playoff series with Boston, the questions would be how many games could Milwaukee win?  Would the Celtics lose their cool during the series, specifically Rasheed Wallace. Could Milwaukee capitalize on any of those moments and gain some momentum?  Basically, the questions about that potential series were full of hope and possibility.  It would still be a long shot, but Milwaukee would at least be on the verge of a series that was going to likely have some give and take.

Now I can’t help but ask questions like, how is this series going to look any different than Monday night?  Will Milwaukee shoot over 42% in any of the games?  How many points is Joe Johnson going to average?  My feelings of hope and excitement have withered away significantly.  I know asking the big “What If” about Andrew Bogut won’t do any good, but it keeps coming back to me and gnawing at me.

But I guess it is what it is.  The bottom line is that the Bucks are still going to be playing playoff games again this year, which is still a terrific feat.  And I’m glad we got this final game of the regular season out of the way.  Now, as Brandon Jennings so elegantly put it after Monday night’s game against Atlanta, we can just “lace ‘em up and let’s hoop.” Read more…

Over at TrueHoop, there is a clear breakdown of all playoff scenarios in play this evening.

The Bucks are involved.

If the Bucks want to face the Celtics in the coming days they need two things to happen.  A win over Boston tonight and a loss by the Heat against the Nets.

The Bucks are playing in Boston.  That’s a bummer.  On the plus side, Boston has clinched the fourth seed and will likely be resting their stars, or at least Kevin Garnett. Of course, that didn’t help Milwaukee very much last week.

Meanwhile, the Heat are at home against the Nets.  In related news, the Nets are still terrible.

In short, things aren’t looking great for the Bucks hopes of playing the Celtics.  Playing Boston would entail having a first round series that would sell out twice and entertain the masses.  Even if some see it as a foregone conclusion that Boston would defeat the Bucks.  As for Atlanta it’s difficult to guarantee a sold out crowd at the BC or an entertaining playoff series in a Bucks-Hawks matchup.  There has been very little edge to their games and even less competitiveness in Monday night’s game.

Sure it was close enough for most of the game, but it was the definition of an arm’s length game.  The Hawks had Milwaukee at arm’s length the entire night.  Milwaukee was good enough to stick around, but not good enough to make a significant run.  If the Bucks get hot, who knows what could happen.  But teams struggling to shoot over 40% don’t get hot very often, or for very long.

So, here’ s hoping against hope for a Bucks win tonight and a Heat loss.