A special thanks to Andy Kamenetzky from ESPN’s Land o’ Lakers Lakers blog for stopping by to answer some questions I had regarding Milwaukee’s opponent this evening. Check out Land o’ Lakers and see a few answers I had for him as well.

1. He’s smart enough to do it, but will Kobe be willing to let Gasol and Bynum dominate the Bucks?

Given Gasol’s exceptionally aggressive nature Wednesday against the Clippers, I’d like to think Kobe will try to keep that going, for the sake of Pau and the matchup. And he’s already praised Bynum’s “thirst to score.” And for all the talk about Kobe’s high shot count this season, he’s done a pretty fine job moving the ball around. But as is always the case with Kobe involving teammates, there’s a leash, and it can be frustratingly short. Kobe’s natural desire to take games over, even when not always necessary, can also equal big men receiving too few touches over stretches.

But in fairness to Kobe, there are kinks being ironed out in Mike Brown’s offense, one of them being Gasol’s role. Pau’s number hasn’t been called enough by the coach, as opposed to Bryant. There’s also an onus on Pau to seek out more scoring opportunities with the ball in his hands, even if he’s theoretically working as a facilitator on a particular set.

Read more…

Recap/Box Score/Enemy

This is a team that refuses to be predictable.  One night after a discouraging effort in Portland, Milwaukee marched into Los Angeles and bullied around the Lakers like they were the Clippers.

And, in theme with the absurd premise of the Bucks beating the Lakers on the road, the lead bully was 5-foot-5, 135 pounds.

Earl Boykins led Milwaukee with 22 points in their 98-79 win over the Lakers, but this was done by an ensemble cast, not a man alone.  Milwaukee harkened back to the brighter days of last season, moving the ball constantly (19 assists on 37 makes), hitting 3-point shots (8-14 3FG) and getting contributions from all over (four players between 15 and 22 points).  And while playing as well as they had all season offensively, Milwaukee continuously stifled the vaunted Lakers offense, keeping them from the customary runs during which they pull away from opponents.

The Bucks making shots?  Boykins and Keyon Dooling aptly manning the point?  Kobe Bryant called for a charge and ejected on his home court?  The whole night felt about as bizarro as bizarro gets.

Yes, the Lakers had just returned from a road trip and yes, they may be looking ahead to their Christmas Day matchup with the Heat, but there will be no less gleam on this gem of a game the Bucks turned in. Read more…

Enemy: Forum Blue and Gold

I also did a Q and A with the Land O’ Lakers blog at ESPNLA.com.  Check it out.

Point Guard
Keyon Dooling vs. Derrick Fisher

Dooling had a moment in the Portland game.  He hit three shots in a row, he dunked on Nicolas Batum (kind of), he looked like he may be able to make this thing work after all.  It was only a moment though.  Soon enough, Earl Boykins had entered the game and taken over the point and Milwaukee watched their deficit grow and grow.  Dooling isn’t able to get into the paint the way Brandon Jennings was, and if his jumper isn’t falling he doesn’t offer a ton offensively.  He’s not a bad defender though, and plays a smart game.  Fisher shoots threes and knows where to be.

Advantage: Lakers Read more…

What’s the difference between me and you?  You talk a good one, but you don’t do what you supposed to do. – What’s the Difference, Dr. Dre

Recap/Box Score/Enemy

Tuesday night, in their 118-107 loss to the Lakers, Milwaukee absolutely did not do what they were supposed to do.

Against a team as talented as the Lakers, Milwaukee would have had to play one of their better defensive games to win, and, despite being the number one rated defensive team in the league coming in, they didn’t.  It wouldn’t’ be so bad if it were a case of the Lakers coming in and knocking down one difficult shot after another.  Kobe Bryant certainly did his fair share of that throughout the night, but that’s just something you expect when the Lakers are in town, that wasn’t the issue.

One wide open shot after the next?  Those were issues.  Repeatedly in the fourth quarter, Shannon Brown sunk open threes, either shaking off a closeout that was far too hard or soft or catching on skip passes with no defender rotating over.

After a stunning offensive start (Bucks shot 63.2% in the first quarter), it was unrealistic to expect them to continue to play so well on that end of the court.  An eventual defensive surge was expected, but never came.  One game after holding the Warriors to 72 points in four quarters, the Bucks allowed 118 to the Lakers, the first opponent to score 100+ points on them in regulation this season.

As much as Milwaukee’s offense faltered in the third and fourth quarters (they shot just 35.7% in the second half) and for all the points they left on the free throw line (Milwaukee missed 11 free throws, eight of them from Andrew Bogut), it was their defense that really let them down.

For once, the Bucks just couldn’t get stops when they needed them most. Read more…

Before we get started today, the good folks at Stubhub.com have generously allotted some tickets to the readers of Bucksketball.  Head on over to the Bucksketball Facebook page for the chance to win tickets to Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 5-5
Inactive: Chris Douglas Roberts, Michael Redd, Darington Hobson

vs

Los Angeles Lakers (Phil Jackson) 8-2
Inactive: Andrew Bynum, Theo Ratliff

Date: 11/16/2010
Game Time: 7:00 PM (CST)
TV: FS Wisconsin

The Other Guys: Forum Blue and Gold

Point Guard

Brandon Jennings vs. Derek Fisher

Jennings will once again have a quickness advantage, but will he be able to put it to use?  He’s been much, much better finishing at the rim this season, but his in-between game still needs work.  It’s hard to complain too much though, he’s having a strong second season and been very effective in a lot of areas in the game over the past three games.  Fisher has been a little better this year than he was last year, specifically with his outside shooting (12-22 on 3FG), but he’s still largely out there because he’s savvy.  He’ll probably draw a charge at some point tonight that no one will like and he’ll probably hit an open three.  If Milwaukee’s going to win this game, it would help greatly if Jennings dominated this match-up.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…