Recap/Box Score

(Note: Sorry about the lack of a game preview and slow to arrive recap of the Kings game.  It’s the holidays, friends are in town, things are going on, I’ll try to see to it that this doesn’t happen again.  The Kings game was the first game I was unable to make it to, and naturally it wasn’t on TV either, so it’s hard for me to be exceptionally thorough about this one.)

• Another night, another last second loss.  This type of thing is becoming as common as flying and dribbling for the Milwaukee Bucks of 2009-10.  After a particularly gut-wrenching home loss to the Sacramento Kings Saturday night, I’m left with a number of questions.

• Why can’t the Bucks win close games?

• Why do other teams get good looks in important spots and the Bucks are left to flail contested impossible heaves?

• How could Andrew Bogut ever go 6-20?

• Has anyone ever before seen such violent swings in minutes as in the case of Charlie Bell?  His four minutes Saturday come after 32 and 27 in the previous two, which followed two DNP-CD’s.

• And speaking of Bell, it comes to my attention that he was on the court for the very final play of the game.  On offense.  Which may be a little more difficult to succeed at after not having played for a while.  He came back in, after having played four minutes all night.  Didn’t Luc Richard Mbah a Moute not come in against the Lakers because he hadn’t been playing?  Didn’t that happen!?  DIDN’T IT!?  Sigh.

• Will Michael Redd ever again hit two free throws in a row?

• Why can’t Redd hit free throws?

• Did Brandon Jennings and  Bogut combine to miss their last 13 shots?  Is this an accurate figure?  I counted twice.  What are the odds of that?  50-1? 100-1?  5-1?

• After a rough two games at the office, has Luke Ridnour finally come back down to Earth?

• In games LRMAM plays at least 30 minutes, the Bucks are now 4-2.  In games he plays less the Bucks are 3-7.  Has he proven he needs over 30 minutes a night yet?

• Now that the Bucks are healthy, is there any hope for a semblance of a rotation emerging?  Kurt Thomas has appeared to grab hold of backup center minutes, Hakim Warrick is entrenched as the backup power forward and Ridnour at point, but when will a rotation work itself out amongst the swingmen?

• And if a rotation is established, will Jodie Meeks be facing the D-League?  He had a nice line against the Kings, five points two assists and two steals in nine minutes, but doesn’t Redd squeeze him out?

• When the Bucks staff watched Jason Thompson, were they thinking, “This is exactly the guy we need here,”?  Because they should have been.

• Isn’t Tyreke Evans the other piece the Bucks need?  But I’d love him to be playing NEXT to Brandon Jennings, not instead of him.  Evans is a helluva wing player, but this point guard thing will never makes sense to me.  In the last few minutes, sure.  Then just give him the ball and let him make a play, but I’d rather have Jennings running my team for the first 45 minutes.

Lots more questions than answers at this point for the Milwaukee Bucks.  But when a team is trying to reincorporate it’s ex-star with it’s new stars, it’s not easy.  Yes, Redd’s been struggling the last two games after one  nice game, but it’s all just a work in progress.  Give Milwaukee at least ten games with Redd before panic is allowed to set it.  As long as the Bucks keep games close, they’re bound to win a few more of these last second games.  I refuse to panic until after ten games of Redd’s return or a dip down to five games below .500.

Recap/Box Score

The hundreds aren’t the way to go for the Bucks.  The Bucks have allowed their opponent to score 100+ points on eight occasions this year.  The Bucks are 2-6 in those games.  They have held their opponent under 100 points nine times.  The Bucks are 7-2 int hose games.  Sometimes, it’s just that easy.  But for as much as the idea is easy, the execution of that idea isn’t quite as easy.

The stats against Washington were not pretty Wednesday night.  The Wizards largely had their way with the Bucks defense:

• 54.3 percent shooting
• 25 made free throws to nine for the Bucks
• Six players in double figures
• 25-10 advantage on fast break points
• 13 dunks/layups to eight for the Bucks Read more…

Recap/Box Score

Just let me have one moment.  However fleeting you’ll insist it may be, all I ask for is one simple moment.  I know you’re waiting around the corner from my moment Pessimistic Bucks Fan.  I know you’re sitting there waiting to tell me it’s only a matter of time before Andrew Bogut gets hurt again.  I know you want to say “they rushed him back and then he played nearly 35 minutes?  Are these guys nuts?  He’ll by out by next week!”  But I don’t care about any of that right now.  All I care about is what happened tonight.

The Bucks eeked one out.  That’s something they haven’t been able to do lately and it doesn’t imply that they are any better than they were last week or the week before.  Generally, there is a decent amount of luck involved in one possession games.  The Bucks certainly came close to blowing this one, but didn’t and that’s a good thing.  A large part of the reason they were in it is the largest guy on the team.

Bogut’s play figuratively (and at times quite literally) leapt off the court for the majority of his 34:39 on the court.  He was mobile and showed no sign of the injury that had kept him shelved for the previous five games.  He frequently carried the Bucks for extended stretches on offense. When he wasn’t the focal point, he was often the release valve if the Bucks struggled to get a good shot.  Bogut brought his entire offensive repertoire in this one: hooks, baby hooks, left hand, right hand and runners.  It all started with Bogut in the paint on offense.  22 points on 10-19 shooting.  Ask Joakim Noah if Andrew Bogut is back, he spent the better part of four quarters getting destroyed.

But that’s not the best part. Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 8-4

(Likely) Inactives: Joe Alexander, Andrew Bogut, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

at

New Orleans Hornets ( Jeff Bower) 6-9

(Likely) Inactives: Chris Paul, Ike Diogu, Hilton Armstrong

Date: 11/25/2009

Game time: 7:00 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Darren Collison

I don’t want to be in Darren Collison’s shoes Wednesday night.  Jennings is coming off a 6-21 effort against one of the best defensive teams of the past decade.  He’s shown in the past that he’ll use negatives as motivation.  The Hornets have the second wort defensive rating in the league, so don’t expect Collison to have the best help in dealing with an angry, motivated Jennings.  On the plus side, Collison is probably the Hornets best perimeter defender, if not already their best overall defender.  Whether he is or isn’t, he probably has seen plenty of point guards in his four years at UCLA and through his 11 games in the NBA, so while Jennings may not surprise him, he should still prove quite a handful for the rookie.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…

The way things have gone this year it seems like we’re going to have to stop expecting anything to have an effect on Brandon Jennings. He’ll struggle out of the gate adjusting to the NBA.  Nope.  Michael Redd is out, Jennings won’t be able to take on much more of an offensive role, will he?  Yes he will.  Andrew Bogut went down?  Jennings should struggle now that his two best teammates are out, one being his pick and roll partner, right?  Nah.  At this point, I’d expect him to put up 20 points on a court constructed purely out of kryptonite.

The kid just keeps topping himself and upping his own ante.  Without his two best teammates and in his first game without Andrew Bogut Jennings was his typical (crazy I’m already saying this is typical, isn’t it?) self in scoring 29 points and contributing seven assists to only two turnovers.  His impact was clear right off the bat. Read more…