As much as I’d like to think Corey Maggette turned some kind of corner against the Magic and will earn steady playing time the rest of the season in which he’s productive, I remain skeptical.  In an Insider piece for ESPN.com today, John Hollinger lists Maggette as a member of his All-Disappointment team — with good reason.

Maggette has been incredibly disappointing this year, not only because he’s been a shell of his former self as a scorer, but because he’s often been so bad on both ends of the court that he’s failed to even earn minutes.  Alone, this would be a troubling issue for the Bucks.  But his below average production doesn’t stand by itself in a corner.  It’s smack dab in the middle in one of the many rooms full of problems for the Bucks.

The Corey Maggette Wrecking Ball that’s been turned onto the Bucks instead of their opponents has amplified the problems at the small forward spot for the Bucks.  If Carlos Delfino were still playing, Maggette’s struggles would be noticable, but nothing Milwaukee wouldn’t be able to withstand.  But Maggette’s poor play and Delfino’s absence have left Luc Mbah a Moute logging more minutes at the three than anyone would like to see.

Recently Chris Douglas-Roberts has gotten more action at the three, and he’s produced somewhat better results.  But he’s still limited and rough around the edges offensively. So, despite a strong start to the season, Roberts has played like many would expect a third year, second round pick who is getting his first taste of supposedly meaningful basketball after spending two years with the Nets.  He hasn’t exactly been a godsend.

The play of Milwaukee’s sub-par forward trio has been reflected in the numbers. Read more…

Box Score/Recap/Enemy

It took a while, but eventually, the Miami Heat were the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks were the Milwaukee Bucks.  That much was reflected in the shooting percentages, and the final score, and the fast break points and the final stats at the rim.

It was a bizarre twist on how the game ended up looking like most thought it would though.

Milwaukee led 68-67 with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter when Coach Scott Skiles stepped on to the court, apparently to argue a shot clock violation he thought existed but was not called.  Carlos Arroyo happened to be moving to the same spot Skiles was standing and the two collided.  A technical foul was called and instead of the Heat missing a shot and the Bucks rebounding with a one-point lead, the Heat suddenly made a free throw, reloaded and made a three.

The Heat led 71-68 and wouldn’t trail again, going on a 32-13 run before the score evened out a bit in garbage time.

Skiles gaffe obviously isn’t solely to blame for the Heat winning or going on a monster run — they are the Miami Heat after all — but it did illustrate how a team must be virtually perfect against such a talented squad if they hope to stay in the game for four quarters.  The smallest of errors can ignite such a powerful team.

Prior to the 3-point shot James Jones made in the corner after that technical foul, the Heat hadn’t made one all game.  After that three, they made three more.  Even the best teams sometimes just need to see a ball go through the hoop before the flood gates open.  And when those gates open for a team like the Heat, they are virtually impossible to close.  Read more…

Recap/Box Score/Enemy

Strike another blow against momentum.

This season’s Milwaukee Bucks squad is doing their very best to shoot down any theories that a big win or two will carry over into the next game.  After taking two on the road on the traditionally difficult west coast, the Bucks were back home Monday night well rested and facing an Atlanta Hawks team that had been struggling mightily on the road.  There was every reason to believe Milwaukee would win again and have something positive going heading into a game with the Bulls in Chicago.

Instead, Milwaukee’s effort was as lethargic as it has been all year in a 95-80 loss to the Hawks.  Just how flat-footed and slow moving were the Bucks?  Jason Collins grabbed 12 rebounds.  The slow-footed, defensive minded, limited minute big man last grabbed more than 10 rebounds on February 19, 2008.  My goodness.

“This is how our season’s gone,” Coach Scott Skiles said after the game.  “We’ve been really read and really competitive a couple games in a row, then have a couple where we’re not and one where we are, one where we’re not, we’ve been riding that wave too much.  It was easy to see who had the mos energy and who wanted the game more, and that team won.  We can’t afford to play that way.  We want to win and until we get that figured out, we’ll be in this position.”

Skiles exasperation was evident in his lineups.  According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Monday night marked only the second time this season a team played both their starting center and point guard more than 40 minutes.  Andrew Bogut ptallied 43 minutes, while Keyon Dooling logged 41.  Skiles admitted he did not like playing Bogut so extensively.

“I overplayed him,” Skiles said.  “I had no intention of playing that much, I didn’t want to.  It’s just that we finally crept back into it and I wanted to leave him out there.”

Much more than last year, this Bucks team is tough to figure.  The loss drops Milwaukee to 7-7 at the Bradley Center, a place where the team played very well last season, going 28-13.  Yet with all the positive momentum and rest in the world, at home, Milwaukee could barely muster enough effort to keep it close with the Hawks.  A puzzling team these Bucks are. Read more…

Box Score/Recap/Enemy

Shoot, miss, rebound, score, repeat.  That was the game plan for the Utah Jazz apparently Saturday night in Milwaukee.

With no one doing much on the glass for the Milwaukee Bucks, the Jazz took full advantage and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds leading to 25 second chance points in a game that looked an awful lot like the one the Jazz won against the Bucks in Utah earlier this season.  The result was the same Saturday, just a little less lopsided, as the Jazz beat the Bucks 95-86.

Milwaukee actually outplayed Utah for the majority of the first half, but saw things start to slip away as the second quarter ended and what had been an 11 point lead with under five minutes to go turned into just a three point halftime lead.  Things officially began to spiral out of control in the third quarter.  Milwaukee was able to grab just three rebounds in the entire third quarter, while the Jazz had five on the offensive end alone.  Utah scored 10 second chance points in the third quarter and flipped Milwaukee’s three point halftime lead into a three point lead of their own.

One would expect the Jazz’s talented inside combo of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson to cause problems off the glass, but it was the rangy forward Andrei Kirilenko who gave Milwaukee the most problems, grabbing four offensive rebounds with a variety of snags, tips and touches that the Bucks had no answer for.

The 12 extra shots Utah accumulated more than made up for the shooting percentage difference when it was all said and done.  Utah chose their shots wisely too.  The Jazz attempted 12 more shots inside the paint than Milwaukee, outscoring the Bucks inside 32-28 despite hitting just 16/40 shots inside.  But all night, it was quantity for Utah over quality. Read more…

Enemy: Salt City Hoops

Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Deron Williams

Williams is coming off a rough night in New Orleans against arch-rival Chris Paul. The Jazz fell to the Hornets by 29 and Williams was held to just 10 points and five assists.  Surely, he’ll be looking to right the ship in Milwaukee.  Jennings was instrumental in the Bucks fourth quarter comeback in San Antonio, but was unfortunately just as instrumental in the Bucks needing a comeback.  He made just four of 18 shots against the Spurs, lacking the touch he’d shown frequently in the games before.  Jennings is getting closer and closer to a reliable 40% shooter, which, when compared to his first season, isn’t such a bad thing.  Especially for a 21-year-old.

Advantage: Jazz Read more…