Another disappointing loss in a disappointing season.
I guess finding the words to describe Milwaukee’s 100-85 drubbing at the hands of the Washington Wizards wasn’t that difficult.
As Coach Scott Skiles put it after the game, the Bucks were “pretty much dominated all over the floor.” After the game the Wizards were talking about which Nick Young dunk was their favorite. They had fun during the game and looked like a confident group.
They were everything the Bucks weren’t.
Milwaukee’s offense wasn’t as bad as it’s been sometimes this season, but was still terrible. Shots clanged all over the place, wide-open threes were missed and players continued to pump-fake and hesitate instead of making strong moves. As they often have this season, Milwaukee just looked old. Especially when compared to the bouncy Wizards, looking to get out and run constantly.
Milwaukee occasionally looks to outlet and do something, but aside from Brandon Jennings and Corey Maggette, the Bucks have few players who seem to thrive getting up and down the court. Rarely do you see Milwaukee get good looks after missed shots by the opponent the way the Wizards often did on Wednesday.
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Expect big assist numbers and a few turnovers from Wall. Expect neither from Jennings. Whereas Wall runs and guns in an offense ranked 11 in the NBA in pace, Jennings is the captain of a cruise ship, rather than a speed boat. Jennings low assist totals have something to do with his team’s lower than average shooting percentage, but they also have to do with the Bucks offense in the half court. A lot of times Milwaukee has other players handling the ball aside from Jennings, whose drives through the lane are rarely accompanied by a cutting teammate. There aren’t a lot of half court offense assist opportunities for the Bucks young point guard. In Washington’s offense, Wall certainly is creating more and finding teammates on the go.
The dynamic Wall has been all but forgotten about as a rookie of the year candidate with Blake Griffin putting up a rookie season for the ages and his own injury problems, but he’s still a sight to see. Wall’s creativity was on full display against the Jazz in the Wizard’s Monday win over Utah, as he dished out 15 assists while turning the ball over seven times. He’s prone to mistakes, but he’s even more prone to do great things. His speed could be an issue all night for Dooling and, gulp, Boykins.
A lot has changed since the last time these teams met. Gone is Gilbert Arenas. You may have heard about him, he had some problems, a gun was involved. In as the starter at the point is Randy Foye, an off-season pickup last June, sure to help turn things around for the Wizards in their quest to crack the top four or at least make the playoffs this year. The best laid plans, right? Foye’s game is more off ball scorer than ball distributor and he’s been forced back into the role he struggled with his first few years in the league. Foye had a lot of success in the Wizards last trip to Milwaukee, particularly when Jennings was in the game defending him. I’d think the Wizards haven’t forgotten this and will allow him to go at Jennings from the get-go in Wednesday’s game.
(Probable) Inactives: Jaravis Crittenton, Mike James and Mike Miller
at
Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 12-14
(Probable) Inactives: Joe Alexander, Dan Gadzuric and Roko Ukic
Date: 12/23/2009
Time: 7:00 (CST)
TV: FS Wisconsin
Match-Ups
Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Gilbert Arenas
Lost in the free throw madness Monday was Brandon Jennings’ lone miss. It was his first miss in 29 attempts, unheard of for this Milwaukee Bucks team. When it comes to free throw shooting for this team, Jennings is like a rose growing out of cracked cement. Arenas may finally be coming back on, he’s scored over 30 points in three of his past four games, including 45 against Golden State. But we know about Golden State’s defense. Being in company with Gil is not as illustrious as it used to be, but it’s still pretty cool for Jennings. Of course, Jennings has upped his assists and tried involving teammates more since his fast start, but I’d expect both of these guards to get their shots in tonight.
