Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 42-34
vs.
Chicago Bulls (Vinny Del Negro) 37-39

Date: April 6, 2010
Time: 7:00 (CST)
TV: FS Wisconsin

Matchups

Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Derrick Rose

Two of the best young point guards in the East go head-to-head once again, this time, with even more at stake.  The Bucks win and they clinch a playoff spot without having to back in.  The Bulls need all the wins they can get if they really want to make the playoffs.  Jennings and Rose will have the ball in their hands all night, leading the charges.  Jennings got the best of Rose the last time these teams met, most famously in the highlight above.  We could see some changes in the Bucks offense that results in a little more Jennings, especially with Kurt Thomas starting.  Thomas does his best work a few steps outside the paint, so in theory that should result in more operating room for Jennings on drives.  We’ll see how it all shakes out though.  Containing Rose is going to be a HUGE key for the Bucks.

Advantage: Bulls

Read more…

In between referee whistles and defender complaints Andrew Bogut stood tall on Friday night in one of those efforts that makes you say, “Oh, I can see why this guy was a number one pick.”  Trading blows back and forth with Brad Miller like they were two aging prize-fighters, Bogut shook off a rough start to the second half to help the Bucks to victory.  Mentally, emotionally, physically, vocally, offensively, defensively, however you slice it, Bogut took the reigns (with some much-needed help from Michael Redd) in a VERY chippy fourth quarter to lead the Bucks to a much needed victory Friday night. Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 14 – 18

(Probable) Inactives: Joe Alexander and Dan Gadzuric

vs.

Chicago Bulls (Vinny Del-Negro) 14-19

(Probable) Inactives: Lindsey Hunter

Date: 1/8/2010

Time: 7:30 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Match-Ups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Derrick Rose

The last time these teams met, Jennings/Rose was hyped as a potential matchup of the league’s future at point guard.  Since then, Tyreke Evans has more or less made fans toss Jennings and Rose on the backburner.  Evans has shined as the Kings have outperformed expectations as Jennings and Rose have each struggled for teams that haven’t played well over the past month.  Rose has it going lately though, averaging nearly 25 points per game over the Bulls last five games, three of them wins.  He’s shot just a shade under 50 percent and is averaging six free throws per game.  He’s been attacking and the Bulls have had success.  The biggest change has been the free throw attempts; Rose was getting shots early this year, but wasn’t getting many easy baskets from the free throw line.  In November Rose shot just 32 free throws, compared with 72 in December.  The Bulls winning percentage in those respective months are reflective of it too: .385 and .467.  If the Bucks can keep Rose off the line, they’ll increase their odds of winning significantly.

Advantage: Bulls Read more…

Before we get into today’s preview, what do the Bucks need to do about their recent defensive problems?

Chicago Bulls (Vinny Del Negro) 6-8

(Likely) Inactives: Jerome James, Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Hinrich

at

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 8-7

(Likely) Inactives: Joe Alexander, Andrew Bogut, Michael Redd

Date: 11/30/2009

Game time: 7:00 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Match-ups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Derrick Rose

If anyone is operating on the illusion that playing point guard in the NBA is easy, you can look to Brandon Jennings and Derrick Rose for confirmation that that theory is flawed. Jennings has fallen on hard times since the media storm that’s encompassed him since his 55-point game.  Rose has struggled some in his second NBA season, likely due to an ankle injury and a suspect jump-shot.  He’s getting to the rim less and having to settle for more mid-range jump shots.  And as I said, he’s not particularly good at shooting mid-range or long distance jump shots, hitting just 40 percent of his 16-23 foot jumpers while pretty much completely foregoing the three (1-6 on the year).  Rose’s inability to shoot the three makes him a little easier to guard and Jennings confidence at home makes him more liable to have a big day offensively.  The Bulls don’t have a Dwight Howard roaming the paint to deter him inside.  Could be a nice day.

Advantage: Bucks  Read more…

From my TrueHoop Network Season Preview:

Botching last second plays seemed to be a rite of passage in Scott Skiles’ first season as Bucks head coach last year, so hopefully he’ll have this figured out by October 30.

It looks like it may still be an issue.

The Bucks were down two with 12.9 seconds left after two missed free throws from Joakim Noah.  The Bucks were faced with a similar situation roughly ten seconds earlier when they went to Brandon Jennings on the inbound pass.  Jennings went at Derrick Rose after failing to find Hakim Warrick streaking to the basket.  Jennings looked to have an opportunity, but ultimately was blocked on a fade away in the lane by Rose, resulting in a rebound for Noah who was subsequently fouled.

So do the Bucks go back to Jennings?

Not quite.  Jennings got a double screen from Warrick and Ersan Ilyasova, looked back over his shoulder and fired a pass to Ilyasova, who cut to the right of the top of the key outside the three point line.  Ilyasova immediately pump faked, never a good sign with him, and then fired a contested three over Luol Deng, also known as the Bulls longest most active defender.  Predictably, Ilyasova air balled the shot and the Bucks air balled a very good opportunity to win a road game in their division.

Things were so perfect.  The Bucks were up 18 with 6:56 left in the third quarter, the defense was swarming, every loose ball was going the Bucks way, turnovers were being forced and the Bucks were hanging in their offensively.  But when things were their bleakest for the Bulls, Deng, Brad Miller and Jannero Pargo led the Bulls all the way back when Pargo hit a three with six minutes to go in the fourth.

As described above, the Bucks had a shot in the end, but were unable to convert. Read more…