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…
Scott Skiles had to laugh, probably to keep himself from crying, but maybe to keep himself from running on the court and launching an impromptu tutorial on how to properly shoot a free throw. After all, we’re talking about a guy who was an 88.9 percent free throw shooter for his career.
So the 0-7 finish the Bucks had at the free throw line Monday night was properly particularly devastating for their coach to watch.
And it’s unfortunate that the once again unacceptable free throw shooting takes away from the positives that this game brought. Andrew Bogut had the best game of his career, dominating Roy Hibbert and everyone else the Pacers threw at him en route to 31 points and 18 rebounds. And Bogut was able to cede control of the ending to Brandon Jennings, who had another frigid looking shooting night at 7-19, but hit a three and fall-away jumper in the last two minutes that helped give the Bucks just enough breathing room.
And that’s how everyone envisions the Bucks being successful, ride Andrew Bogut relentlessly all game and then let Jennings handle the ball and make plays in the fourth quarter, it’s the perfect big man/little man set up. And for one night the Bucks had it going.
And still, Milwaukee almost blew the game.
Sigh. Read more…
