Milwaukee Bucks

73

Final Recap | Box Score

85

Utah Jazz

	Stephen Jackson, SG 5-17 FG | 5-6 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 16 PTS | -12 Things did not go well for Jackson. He’s holding the ball a ton over the past two games after making quick decisions over and over when the Bucks were thriving in transition against the Wizards. He’s forcing drives into traffic, he’s missing shots. Over the past two games, he’s been John Salmons.
	Ersan Ilyasova, PF 2-9 FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 7 PTS | -2 Overmatched. That’s the easiest way to define Ilyasova’s night. He had trouble banging with Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson all night. The eight rebounds are nice, but they mean little when you look at how many rebounds were available Tuesday night.
	Drew Gooden, PF 12-20 FG | 0-0 FT | 12 REB | 1 AST | 24 PTS | -6 Gooden had a terrific statistical game full of bonehead lapses. For every tip shot he fought to put in, for every long jumper he hit, there was an airballed shot he tried to draw a foul on or a silly foul of a Jazz big man that had blown by him. He was the Bucks offense though, so there’s that.
	Carlos Delfino, SF 0-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 2 PTS | +3 An oh-for for Delfino. His drives resulted in wild shots in the paint. His threes weren’t falling and he was often standing around off the ball. For whatever reason, Milwaukee hasn’t been able to run with Delfino in the lineup like they did with Dunleavy. Small sample size and defensive stops figure into this, but he certainly lacks the movement and passing skills Dunleavy has.
	Brandon Jennings, PG 4-19 FG | 0-1 FT | 6 REB | 6 AST | 8 PTS | -14 With Bogut out, a nation of Bucks fans turned their lonely eyes to Brandon Jennings. They’ll need sunglasses. Jennings’ layup that failed to so much as hit the rim in the fourth quarter summed his night up. It’s nice that Jennings competes hard all game, but if that’s all he has going for him in a game, that’s a problem. The past two games have been a rough regression for Jennings.

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Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Deron Williams

Williams is coming off a rough night in New Orleans against arch-rival Chris Paul. The Jazz fell to the Hornets by 29 and Williams was held to just 10 points and five assists.  Surely, he’ll be looking to right the ship in Milwaukee.  Jennings was instrumental in the Bucks fourth quarter comeback in San Antonio, but was unfortunately just as instrumental in the Bucks needing a comeback.  He made just four of 18 shots against the Spurs, lacking the touch he’d shown frequently in the games before.  Jennings is getting closer and closer to a reliable 40% shooter, which, when compared to his first season, isn’t such a bad thing.  Especially for a 21-year-old.

Advantage: Jazz

Shooting Guard
Keyon Dooling vs. Raja Bell

Not a lot to get excited about here.  Dooling will start is Salmons is unavailable and Bell is a 3-point shooter, gritty defender type for the Jazz.  Dooling was much better than he’s been nearly all season in Dallas and serviceable in San Antoino.  Milwaukee can get by with another serviceable night from him, so long as he keeps an eye on Bell and doesn’t let him get a bunch of easy looks from 3-point range.

Advantage: Jazz

Small Forward
Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Andrei Kirilenko

Inconsistency was a big problem for CD-R in New Jersey last season, so one has to wonder if that’s something he’ll battle at some point in this current season.  Freed from the mess in the Swamp though, perhaps CD-R has found the situation that can allow him to be at his bets more often than not.  So far so good at least.  CD-R looked like the fit Salmons was last season in his debut as a starter in San Antonio.  So long as he’s hitting those jump shots and finishing around the hoop, Milwaukee will continue to give him minutes and opportunities with the ball.  Kirilenko is one of the league’s most reputable defenders and gave Milwaukee problems with his length and athleticism on the wing when the Bucks were in Utah.

Advantage: Bucks

Power Forward
Ersan Ilyasova vs. Paul Millsap

Millsap gave Milwaukee fits on the glass when Bogut missed the Bucks game in Utah and he’s pretty much given everyone fits all year.  He’s not the walking double-double that Carlos Boozer once was for the Jazz, but he can be just as productive on any given night.  Ilyasova is a strong rebounder, but may struggle when trying to keep the bulky Millsap away from the hoop.  This could be a night in which Gooden gets the lion’s share of the minutes again.  Traditionally, Skiles plays the hot hand, so whoever that is at the four will play the most minutes.

Advantage: Jazz

Center
Andrew Bogut vs. Al Jefferson

Once upon a time Jefferson was the last of the back-to-the-basket big men, with his slow feet and silky smooth post moves.  He still can do a lot of the same things, but he certainly has a comparable offensive matchup in Bogut.  And of course, Bogut is a far superior defender.  Both centers could impact the game offensively, but only Bogut can change the game on the other end.  Jefferson will be a good test for Bogut’s incredible defense of centers this season though.

Advantage: Bucks

Bench

Drew Gooden, Corey Maggette, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Larry Sanders

vs.

Mehmet Okur, C.J. Miles, Earl Watson, Ronnie Price and Francisco Elson

Maggette’s role has fluctuated to the point he played just four minutes against the Spurs.  If he’s going to get minutes, he’ll have to be aware defensively and keep the ball moving offensively.  Milwaukee wants him to attack, but at the right times in the right spots.  Gooden was strong against the Spurs and may be a better fit as a backup than as a starter.  Okur just returned from injury and played only 11 minutes against the Hornets, but can certainly impact a game with his outside shooting.

Advantage: Bucks

Prediction: Bucks 96 – Jazz 88

Utah is coming off a tough loss in New Orleans, while Milwaukee has had two days of rest since nearly upsetting the league’s best team on the road.  The Bucks have every reason to give a great effort and win this game.  If Milwaukee is a very good team, they’ll find a way to beat the Jazz Saturday night, there confidence is too high and there are too many advantages for them emotionally coming in.  A loss would be terribly disappointing for a team looking to establish itself at home and as a contender in the East in general.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com.  Follow him on Twitter.  Then become a fan on Facebook (in the sidebar).

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I was driving home to get ready for the game Friday night when I couldn’t help but find myself thinking of my prediction for the evening.  I had the Bucks losing by one.  The Jazz had been so good as of late and the Bucks seemed to be due to drop one.  But it was gnawing at me a little bit.  I couldn’t help but think of the number nine.  The Bucks had only lost nine home games coming into their tilt with the Jazz Friday night, and the number nine is even a little bit deceiving.

The Mavericks (Dirk), Lakers (Kobe) and Kings (Tyreke Evans) all barely escaped the BC with wins early in the season thanks to last second heroics.  Milwaukee was in position to win and got unlucky at the buzzer.  The Magic came to Milwaukee while Andrew Bogut was down with a leg injury and won by two.  That’s four losses that don’t really bother me.

So coming into Friday night’s game, 63 games into the season, the Bucks had five legit home losses, each coming before the arrival of John Salmons and after the clock had struck midnight on Brandon Jennings great start.

But Salmons is here, Jennings has gone from prince to pauper to pro and the Bucks showed me the error in my thinking.  This was a very good home team early in the season, but now I’ll be shocked when (if?) they drop another in Milwaukee.  The fans had the BC as loud as it’s been in years Friday night and the Bucks rewarded their loyalty by closing out the second (or third) best team in the West.

The home locker room in Milwaukee seems to have the obligatory quiet confidence (well, loud confidence in Jennings’ case) in their group to know they won’t be losing at home the rest of this season.  To be honest, they know a lot more about the team than I do, so who am I to argue?

Offense

I dropped my laptop bag coming out of the game and before it hit the ground Ersan Ilyasova caught it.  Okay, that didn’t happen, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if it did.  Ersan was all over the loose balls Friday, just like he always is.  It was his offensive rebound and putback with 27 seconds left that gave the Bucks the game’s final lead change.  I’d be remiss not to mention the pounding the Jazz big men put on the Bucks bigs down low in the battle for each and every free throw that Ersan fought through all night and the jump ball Carlos Boozer won that ended up in Ersan’s hands, just because he does that kind of thing.  It was a dirty kind of night, perfect for Ilyasova.

• I can get used to these 40% shooting nights from Jennings.  Jennings is up to 45% in his last three games, a three game number most of us had ruled out this season.  Even better, Jennings has played consecutive games over 40 minutes, in his 63 and 64 games of his first season I might add, and turned it over just four times total in his last two games.  His floor game hasn’t slipped, his defense has improved every week and he’s hopefully getting his shooting touch back.  It’s no wonder the Bucks have been so serious in their last three.  Jennings finished with 23 (7-16 FG 3-7 3FG 6-6 FT) and six assists.

• It’s fitting that John Salmons seems to have these quiet 24 point nights (8-14 FG 2-3 3FG 6-8 FT), as he’s the quietest dude on the team.  Night after night Salmons is playing stellar defense, hitting open threes, getting to the basket, shooting a high percentage on free throws and finishing among the Bucks leading scorers.  That’s a whole lot of positives.

• It’s been the norm lately for the Bucks and Friday was no exception: high assist-low turnover basketball.  The Bucks had 21 assists and just 10 turnovers, while Utah’s numbers were 18-16.  The ball movement that’s been the hallmark of recent Bucks play was there.  Carlos Delfino was having an off night shooting (4-14 FG 1-5 3FG), but chipped in eight assists and found Jennings with a couple particularly nice passes.

Defense

Boozer and Mehmet Okur did work on the Bucks inside.  Time and time again, especially early in the game, Deron Williams was able to get inside and drop off passes for Boozer to finish.  Okur had his way with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, exploiting his huge size advantage and doing work inside.  The Jazz big men finished with 46 points and 25 rebounds while shooting a combine 57%.  So how’d the Bucks win?

• The Jazz didn’t make a three.  0-10. The Bucks may have been getting hurt inside, but they weren’t giving up a lot of open looks on the perimeter and when they did, the Jazz couldn’t connect.

• Deron Williams: 11 points (3-12 FG 0-3 3FG).  Two games ago in Chicago, Williams had 28 points and 17 assists.  Games like that are the reason many think he’s the league’s finest point guard.  Jennings had trouble staying with him on the perimeter early, but it seemed to me that D-Will got a little frustrated by the second quarter and tried to force the issue a little without success.  He’s not going to have a bad shooting night very often, but the Bucks defense didn’t give him anything easy either.

Final Thoughts

A 4-0 home stand would be pretty sweet and shouldn’t be much of a problem, as the Pacers come to town Sunday.  One can’t help but wonder, what would the Bucks record be if they had this squad all year?  Would 50 wins be a total, or is it possible this would already be a 50 win squad?  It probably works to Milwaukee’s advantage, their record doesn’t accurately reflect the talent they have and there’s still an element of surprise in their victories.  But that’s fading with each win and each news story ran on the surprising Bucks.

I can’t help but keep thinking about how loud the Bradley Center was on Friday night with a crowd shy of 15,000.  If you’re a fan, and you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t, make sure you get to a game before the end of the year.  And then make sure you get to the playoffs and make sure your friends do too.  If the Bucks are beating teams like the Jazz and the BC gets that loud without even being sold out?  I’ll just say I wouldn’t want to be whichever team has to come to Milwaukee in April.

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