(Jeremy’s out today, so Brian Matzat is back at it with the preview.)

Enemy: 8 Points 9 Seconds

Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Darren Collison

Darren Collison surprised everyone with his stellar play when Chris Paul went down last season. After getting traded to the Pacers in the offseason, Collison was handed the starting job when he arrived. Collison is averaging 14p/3r/4a per game on 46% shooting. On paper, Jennings is a better volume scorer, with his current statline reading 18p/4r/5a on 39% shooting. It’s hard to tell who will win this matchup. When the Bucks beat the Pacers 94-90 on the road in November, Jennings had 18 points on 7-19 shooting with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. Collison blanketed Jennings with 19 points on 5-13 shooting, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 5 steals, and 3 turnovers. Jennings has a knack for playing better in Milwaukee, so edge goes to the good guys.

Advantage: Bucks

Read more…

Recap/Box Score

Saturday night I ventured to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner.  Unfortunately, the wait was to be over 30 minutes and my friends and I were too hungry to wait..  With a lack of other options in the area, we settled on Applebees.

I’m not an Applebees guy; they’ve screwed up my mediocre food far too many times, so I was heading there with trepidation to begin with.  The mental transition I had to make in going from wings at BW3’s to whatever I’d have at Applebees had me down too.  Naturally, after we were seated and ordered, each of my friends received their food, while mine didn’t arrive.  A mistake was made, the order wasn’t placed and my food wasn’t ready.  I had to wait another 10 minutes to get my food.

My meal ended up being better than I expected and they gave it to me on the house for my troubles, so when it was all said and done I was pretty pleased with the end result.  Still, the process I went through was unsatisfying.

And by describing my Saturday evening dining experience, I’ve more or less told you the story of the Bucks-Pacers game Sunday afternoon.  The Bucks played down to the Pacers level, which made for some sloppy basketball and an overall unsatisfying experience.  Coming off three straight thrillers against Cleveland, Boston and Utah, I didn’t expect this one to be high theater, but I was hoping for a crisp game at least.  I shouldn’t be surprised though.  If the Bucks last three opponents are the equivalent to my BW3’s, then Indiana is absolutely my Applebees.

Still, the Bucks got the W and no matter what the game looked like Milwaukee is one step closer to a playoff spot and a fifth seed.  And that sounds about as good as a free meal to me. Read more…

Recap/Box Score

“We need multiple guys doing the damage out there.  That’s our formula right now, that’s the way our team is constructed.  We spread the ball around, I say it all the time, they’re unselfish and try and hit the open man and play good team basketball.  When we’re playing well and we’re clicking we are gonna have four or five guys in double figures.”

-         Scott Skiles 2/24/2010

Yes, one night before the Bucks put seven players into double figures, Scott Skiles was singing the praises of his teams unselfishness and insisting that it would take a lot of different scorers for the team to have success.  And he always claims he doesn’t know what’s coming next.

You fooled us all Coach, you fooled us all.

The Bucks got double figure points from seven different players Thursday night.

John Salmons             20

Brandon Jennings      18

Ersan Ilyasova           17

Andrew Bogut            15

Luke Ridnour 12

Jerry Stackhouse       11

Carlos Delfino            10

And they needed every last point to get past the pesky Pacers in the fourth quarter.  After taking control of the game in the second and further exerting their collective wills in the third, the Bucks let things get away from them a little in quarter four.  After grabbing a 14-point lead, two Pacer threes sandwiched around a layup brought Indiana back within six points with four minutes to go.

But the Bucks kept one play ahead of the Pacers.

A Troy Murphy three to close the gap to just three points?  Meet a Jennings jumper.  An Earl Watson tip shot to make it a two point contest?  Meet two free-throws for Salmons.  The Bucks were losing it, without losing it and ultimately stopped before they lost it.  Simple enough? Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 28-28

at

Indiana Pacers (Jim O’Brien) 19-38

Larry Legend has been Lotto Larry for a few years in Indy now.

Date: 2/25/2010

Time: 6:00 (CST)

TV: FS Wisconsin

Matchups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Earl Watson

Jennings numbers continue to look pedestrian, but his impact is evident in the success his teammates are having.  Five Bucks scored in double figures Wednesday night and three more scored nine points.  If a team doesn’t have a good point guard, it’s difficult to get that kind of even distribution, even in a blowout.  Jennings always keeps the offense running smooth and didn’t record a turnover against New Orleans.  Jennings’ usage is at 26, his assist rate is right around 30 while his turnover rate is only 12.6.  Let me take Deron Williams as an example of where Jennings is having success.  Williams’ numbers in those categories are as follows, 23.6, 42.7 and 17.2.  If just a few more times nightly, Jennings were to hit an open shooter leading to a successful three-point shot, Jennings could conceivably close in on the first two numbers while keeping his turnover number down.  He’s not all that far off from Williams and if he used a few less possessions statistically, as a point guard he’d be in the class directly below Williams.  That doesn’t say anything about his offensive struggles with shooting, which would bring his overall game down a little further.  Bottom line, Jennings has been a VERY good point guard.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 22-26

Inactives: Michael Redd, Francisco Elson and Joe Alexander

Vs.

Indiana Pacers (Jim O’Brien) 18-32

Inactives:Tyler Hansbrough, Jeff Foster and Earl Watson

Date: 2/6/2010

Time: 7:30

TV: Nah

Matchups

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. A.J. Price

The rookie matchup to end all rookie matchups, JENNINGS V. PRICE.  Okay, so not really.  Price’s rise from late second round pick to starting point guard on a bad Eastern Conference team hasn’t been a popular story, but is intriguing nonetheless.  With Earl Watson out after a death in the family, Price got his first start on Friday against the Pistons.  Price can hit an open three, but often won’t burn anyone from deep, he’s a fairly consistent 33 percent shooter from deep.  He probably won’t see more than 25 minutes or so, as T.J. Ford has come back with a vengeance or something like that.  After being banished to the bench for some time, Ford got some minutes on Friday and made the most of his time hitting five of seven shots and dropping five assists.  Either way, Jennings shouldn’t have his hands full with them on either end.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…