Box Score/Recap

Remember those old electric football games where the pieces moved about aimlessly as you hoped (At least I assumed you were hoping. I’m too young to have ever had the pleasure) your team ended up somehow scoring some points?

(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) This was called a foul on Charlie Bell. For real. Nothing was going the Bucks way Tuesday night.

That was the Bucks offense in quarter one Tuesday.  The Bucks moved aimlessly about, throwing the ball in the general area of the hoop and prayed it went in.  A few times it worked, most of the time it did not.  Andrew Bogut, also known as the Bucks best offensive player, not only hit the side of the backboard with a shot, but airballed a one-handed attempt from the elbow.  He finished quarter one 0-7, which was just a touch worse than point guard Brandon Jennings’ 1-6 effort.

After his treacherous 0-8 start Bogut went on to hit six of his next seven.  Jennings followed his poor first quarter by hitting four of his next eight, which we’ll take with both hands open as Bucks fans at this point.  Suddenly, what started as an 11-point deficit after one quarter became a Bucks lead six minutes and 17 seconds into the third quarter.  From there it was anyone’s game.  Unfortunately, the Pistons apparently temporarily changed their name to “Anyone” and the Bucks went from eclectic electric football to Madden 2010 to a complete loss of electricity in the fourth quarter.

The Bucks turned it over five times and played nearly as poor in the fourth quarter as they did in the first in losing 93-81 to Detroit.  This game didn’t look much prettier than the Bucks win Saturday against the Pacers, which coincidentally finished with the same score, only in favor of the Bucks.  Very little was in the Bucks favor Tuesday though, and that’s evidenced heavily in Jennings final 5-16 shooting line.  Of course, that’s not too hard to believe given his shooting woes in the past few months.

When Detroit first came to the Bucks humble abode, Jennings introduced himself to Milwaukee, the Pistons and the league in a big way.  Jennings took over the third quarter scoring 16 points, winning the hearts and minds of Milwaukeeans in the process.  Tuesday, Jennings made numerous attempts at claiming ownership of the third, but was unsuccessful in each try.  Jennings pulled up for a three with the crowd beginning to buzz and his team down just three: no dice.  He pulled another after two makes sandwiched around free-throws: another miss.  Notice he was still able to hit a few shots, but the feel of the whole thing was different.

In November the building was on the edge of rocking and Jennings gave them the necessary push, but Tuesday he didn’t pack the oomph to get everyone over the edge.  Perhaps he’ll regain that, it’s certainly too early to write him off as incapable of pulling anything off, but right now he’s lost that mojo. Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 23-26

Inactives: Michael Redd, Francisco Elson and Joe Alexander

Vs.

Detroit Pistons (John Kuester) 17-32

Probable Inactives: Dajuan Summers and Chris Wilcox

Date: 2/9/2010

Time: 7:00 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Matchups

Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Rodney Stuckey

It couldn’t have been more than a year ago that Stuckey seemed like the future of “Deeeee-trooooooiiiiit Baaaasssskkkkeeeeettttttballllllll”, right?  Now he’s back down to 40 percent shooting with a cast of overpaid role players and aging veterans on the fast track to nowhere.  Is Stuckey really good?  It’s probably too early to say.  He’s had an injury here or there, but he’s playing on a team that’s been beat up and he’s probably been asked to bare too much of the burden for these guys.  He’s getting to the rim a lot (six shots a game) and finishing okay (50 percent) but he hasn’t been able to do anything from anywhere else.  If Stuckey can get his jumper going  from literally anywhere else it’ll make him a much more dangerous player and reinvigorate his career and the Pistons team.  Against Jennings though, Stuckey should be able to penetrate more often than not and knock Jennings out of the way if he’s by him at all. Read more…

Recap/Box Score

Had I started writing this immediately  after the Bucks game, things would not have been pretty.  The number of scathing criticisms going through my head had to have been up over 50.  We just hadn’t seen an effort like that out of this year’s Bucks team to date, so I had a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around the performance.  Lambasting the Bucks lack of energy is easy, as they had none.  It was virtually never a game from start to finish and the Pistons manhandled and at times embarrassed the Bucks.  And we’re not talking about the ‘96 Bulls here.  The Pistons (6-12 coming in) aren’t very good.  The weren’t even a better than average home team at 4-4 entering play Friday night.

So there is a lot do be disappointed about.

But the more I thought about it, the less the whole thing bothered me.  It’s all still frustrating, but I get it a little more.  Yes, anyone can have a high energy and effort level on any given night.  And yes, teams with less talent really should be bringing it with a full tank of pluckiness to make up for their deficiencies, but it’s not that simple.  But a team with as little overall talent as the Bucks can’t possibly match their opponents effort every single night.  The Pistons won only for the second time in ten days, they were very hungry and saw the Bucks as the perfect team to feast on.  It was evident almost immediately.  They pushed and got very little resistance.  This Pistons team didn’t necessarily have more talent than the Bucks, but they certainly were playing with a greater sense of need for this win.

At this stage in their development, the Bucks aren’t going to win any games where they don’t feel like the absolutely need it.  Why they played like they didn’t need this one is beyond me, the schedule isn’t getting any easier in the next week.  They have two or three quality starters on their team and then role players galore.  That’s a team that needs to scrape by with grit and determination, both of which were in short supply Friday. Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 9-8

(Probable) Inactives: Michael Redd, Joe Alexander and Francisco Elson

at

Detroit Pistons (Jon Kuester) 6-12

(Probable) Inactives: Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton

Date: 12/4/09

Time: 7:00 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Match-ups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Chucky Atkins (!?)

These are like the grandfathers to the 2000 Pistons.  Chucky Atkins?  Ben Wallace?  Atkins has been bumped into the lineup over the last couple games as a way to get Rodney Stuckey some time at the two, apparently as a method of sustaining his energy.  Atkins is more a pure point guard than Stuckey or backup Will Bynum.  He’s mainly in that crappy starter who gives you less than 20 minutes of non-terrible defense role.  The Royal Ivey Memorial Starter if you will.  At any rate, Jennings may be able to get some good looks early if he chooses.  Jennings typically looks to get Bogut involved early in games though, so that may not really pay off.  By the time BJ usually starts to look to get off, Atkins will be on the bench.  Atkins isn’t any kind of threat on offense though, so at least BJ won’t get burned while he’s in.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…

That little point guard that can’t shoot and was a possible misfit who played in Europe for a year?  Brandon Jennings, was his name?

He’s gone apparently.

In his place is an offensive dynamo that can score from the paint or from behind the three point arc.  His name?  Brad Jennings.  Read more…