Hope, one baby hook at a time: Bucks 96 – Magic 85
Depleted opponent be damned, this game was about the Milwaukee Bucks. No one in the home locker room Saturday night was feeling bad for their flu-stricken counterparts from Orlando. Only 19 games into this young season, the Bucks have seen Andrew Bogut, Carlos Delfino, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Corey Maggette and Drew Gooden all miss games with injury. They’ve been out of sync on offense, sometimes incapable on defense and one of the league’s biggest disappointments.
Milwaukee was sorely in need of a performance that could give them some hope going forward. I’m not talking about one of those hollow wins like they got against the Warriors or the short-handed but more impressive win against the Bobcats. Milwaukee needed a win that gave them a formula they could replicate. With a lineup that’s as healthy as it’s been since the seventh game of the season, something needed to happen for the Bucks on Saturday night that would allow them to believe they could be the team everyone expected them to be before this season began.
Essentially, the Bucks needed the old Andrew Bogut back.
That wasn’t exactly what they got, but they’ll take the one who scored 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in their 96-85 victory over the Orlando Magic.
For as much as Milwauke’s offensive struggles fall on the shoulders of John Salmons and their off-season acquisitions, they fall on Bogut’s too. Not only the center, he’s the centerpiece of the franchise. Milwaukee didn’t add the Gooden’s and Maggette’s of the world to carry the load offensively this summer, they brought them on to complement their go-to-guy: Bogut. If The Elbow Explosion left Bogut incapable of progressing and being the all-star everyone hoped he’d be this year, Milwaukee’s offense wasn’t ever going anywhere, not for more than a game or two at a time at least.
Saturday though, Bogut was all he used to be and more. He started the game with his patented left-handed hook shot, and followed that up with a running layup at the hoop. After one more lefty hook came the moment of truth. He established deep position against Marcin Gortat on the right block and turned towards the baseline rather than towards the center of the court. It was time to give it a go with his right hand on a hook. Previously this season, never was it more evident that Bout was in pain than when he tried this move. He’d fail and fail, eventually shelving it and relying just on his left. Saturday though, he brought it back out and hit hit first one against Gortat, dropping the ball in gently without it touching the rim.
Bogut’s fourth quarter free throw troubles should still give fans pause, he was 5-16 in the game from the line thanks largely to a fourth quarter in which he shot just three for 10 when Magic coach Stan Van Gundy employed a foul strategy. Going forward that could be a problem that won’t go away so easily, as he’s now shooting just 42.1% on the season.
It’s a concern, but tonight is not a night for concerns. Just one for hope. Read more…
