SB Nation - Andrew Bogut

Briefing: Bucking the trends

JakeTheSnake — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:30:43 -0000

Wizards 109, Bucks 97 - Mike Jones, Outlet

Arenas -- who jumpstarted tonight with 13 first quarter points and finished with 18 and nine assists -- was injured just before that game-changing run when he drove the lane and collided with two Bucks players and was called for a charge although he went crashing to the court. He suffered a bruised left thigh on the play. "I got kneed by two big men. I just ran into knees. I thought, 'This hurts way more htan it should.' I was a little tired anyways, so I figured I would just sit. Since I was sitting, they went on a run and there was no point in me going back in. Tonight was a great night for Earl. This was the second night in a row that the team won the game. Earl came in tonight and finished where I left off earlier in the game. That's what we needed." During the collision, Arenas suffered a bruised left thigh and when he tumbled to the floor, he knocked out his left front tooth. Arenas said his Christmas Eve will be spent seeing a dentist, and also celebrating his daughter's birthday.

Washington Wizards defeat Milwaukee Bucks, 109-97 - Michael Lee, Washington Post

"If anybody knows how to deal with injuries and adversity, we do. We saw one of our keys go down and we turned it up a notch," said Butler, the Wisconsin native who led the Wizards with 25 points and 10 rebounds and ignited the game-changing 9-0 fourth-quarter run with a baseline jumper immediately after Arenas went down. "We stepped up and made the way. Everybody." Jamison had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Boykins had 12 of his 15 in the final period -- with nine coming after Arenas was forced to sit with 7 minutes 12 seconds remaining -- as the Wizards won consecutive games for just the third time this season. The Wizards (10-17) also snapped a three-game losing streak at Bradley Center.

Instant Analysis: Wizards-Bucks - Brian Jackson, CSN Washington

While Michael Redd had his way with the Wizards, Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut were almost non-factors. Both players were in foul trouble throughout the second half and spent time on the bench. Washington was fortunate in keeping Jennings to just seven points, the lowest he has scored in his young career. Jennings played just 16 minutes and finished with only two assists, another career-low. Andrew Bogut battled the entire game with center Brendan Haywood. As a result both players each had five personal fouls. The former number one pick did have nine rebounds but finished with only 12 points in 29 minutes. In two games vs. the Bucks this year Brendan Haywood has defended Bogut well, he is averaging just 10 points and 8 rebounds per game against the Wizards this season.

Wizards Win Second Straight, Top Bucks - Dave Johnson, CSN Washington

More than Boykins’ points, he seemed to settle the Wizards down after they were rattled by a stretch of four turnovers in a span of 2:39 early in the fourth quarter. It was during this time the Bucks grabbed their first lead sine 2-0 when they pulled ahead at 86-84. It would be the Bucks last lead. "You have to learn how to close games out in this league," said Boykins who is now in his 11th season. "I understand how to close games out. We did get erratic in the fourth quarter. I was telling the guys, just because it is the fourth quarter we have to relax and concentrate"

Why Earl Boykins is the Best and Worst Thing to Happen to the Washington Wizards - Jarrett Carter, Stet Sports Blog

And therein lies the rub. The Wizards were visionary enough to go get him, but with their struggles, can ill afford to be free of him. Size be damned; Boykins has already proven himself a valuable commodity through 10 years and almost as many teams in that time. No one will doubt his ability to play. But they can ill afford their $111 million dollar man not taking the shots or creating them for the other players upon which the franchise’s marketing and league-wide appeal are built. Can you imagine the TNT plug for the next Wizards-Cavs nationally televised game? "Watch Gilbert Arenas and Earl Boykins take on LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal in a battle of bitter Eastern Conference rivals."

Wizards' Butler gets happy homecoming - Mike Jones, Washington Times

Caron Butler finally had a happy homecoming. After experiencing either serious injury or losses in trips to his home state of Wisconsin since 2007, Butler on Wednesday night left Bradley Center with both a victory and his health.

Wizards finish with Arenas, Top the Bucks - William Yoder, Agent Dagger

Antawn Jamison rebounded from a rough night against Philadelphia on Tuesday to lead the Wizards in scoring with 25 on the night. Jamison shot 7-12 from the field, and 10-11 from the line. Jamison also grabbed 10 rebounds on the night and had a plus/minus of +20.

Wizards 109, Bucks 97 [UPDATED] - Michael Lee, Wizards Insider

Jamison was pleased with how the Wizards have responded since returning from the West Coast and explained what happened the night before against Philadelphia, when he was visibly frustrated when Saunders benched the starters in the third quarter. "As long as I win it doesn't matter," Jamison said. "I think last night was a case of the ball not coming my way, and you're going to have times where you don't see the ball. Tonight I had to work for it, and I was able to get some free throws down. But Gil got it going early, Caron got it going middle of the game and myself and Earl were able to finish it off at the end. There are going to be times when you struggle, but the thing about it is your teammates have to carry the load and when you do struggle you've got to bring something else to the table. But it was nice to get things going a little bit."

Recap: Wizards 109, Bucks 97 - Frank Madden, Brew Hoop

1. The Wizards nearly missed becoming just the second team to be held without an offensive rebound, as Brendan Haywood grabbed their first offensive board with just two minutes remaining. `The Bucks fared much better with 14, but the fact that MIlwaukee had only a 40-39 total rebound edge says a lot about the teams' relative shooting percentages.

What Was Worse Wednesday?: Wizards 109 – Bucks 97 - Jeremy, Bucksketball

Washington was going right at Jennings all night, whoever he was guarding took over point guard duties if they had in both Foye and Arenas. And in the fourth quarter, Boykins went to work showing Jennings how a little man can get off shots in the paint. Jennings shining moment was brief and swift when he blocked one of Boykins shots with ferocity (though he appears to have been incorrectly credited with a steal for the play). While it wasn’t just Jennings that struggled on a night the Bucks allowed the Wizards to shoot over 50 percent, he certainly did not help matters. The Wizards "attack Jennings" game plan also left Jennings battling foul trouble all night long and sat him for all but 6:33 in the second half.

Recap: Wizards 109, Bucks 97

Frank Madden — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:03:04 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Jennings once again struggled to hang with the Little General

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Box Score

The BC had kind of a retro feel Saturday night. To be clear, this wasn't a real retro feel--sadly, the crowd that braved the bilzzard wasn't treated to a '71 Bucks-type performance. It was more like 2006 or 2007 retro. You know, when Mike Redd was creating tons of offense, Charlie Bell still played some point guard, Andrew Bogut left you wanting more, and Brandon Jennings played like a high schooler...because he was.

And the feeling held for the Wizards, too. Gilbert Arenas was manhandling smaller point guards (18 pts, nine assists), Caron Butler (23/10) was making the Lakers feel like fools for trading him, and Antawn Jamison (25 on just 12 shots with 10 rebounds) was doing his inside/outside thing. And, oh yeah, the Wizards (still just 10-17) were a better team than the Bucks (12-15).

The outcome of this one was essentially foreshadowed by the first quarter, when the Bucks got a big start from MIchael Redd (13 points) but showed neither the shot-making nor defensive intensity to hang with a more focused Wizards team. Arenas set a physical tone by bullying Brandon Jennings to the bench, which is where the rookie spent much of his night thanks to an unfortunate combination of foul trouble and amateurish play. Luke Ridnour didn't fair any better with two quick fouls of his own, forcing Charlie Bell into the role of primary ballhandler.

The Bucks' reserves did their darndest to keep the Bucks in it, but most of the game seemed an uphill battle in spite of the Bucks slowly chipping away at the Washington lead. The 10-point first quarter lead was down to five at half, but the lead was still six after three. However, Bell scored six in a 9-0 run to start the third, as the Wizards started settling for long twos and also turned it over twice. The second came on a charge by Arenas, who slumped to the ground with a bum thigh that forced Earl Boykins (15 points on seven shots) back into action with seven minutes remaining. The Bucks suddenly had a three point lead and the Wizards were without their floor leader, but given what Boykins did to them three weeks ago, they probably should have known what was about to happen.

Trailing 86-84, the Wizards took the lead for good with a 9-0 run of their own, as Jamison scored five straight before Butler ripped a long jumper and Boykins stuck a mid-ranger in Jennings' face. Bogut was a spectator for all of it, as he let the Wizards goad him into foul trouble for much of the second half.

Immediately thereafter the Bucks ironically started getting to the line and taking full advantage (they made all six freebies on three straight possessions thereafter) but this time it was their defense that let them down. Jamison rose uncontested to bank in a short jumper and Boykins waltzed in for a layup shortly thereafter--and what had been a close game throughout fell well out of reach as the Bucks spent the final two minutes hoisting wayward threes.

Three Bucks

Michael Redd: 32 pts, 8/21 fg, 1/5 threes, 15/15 ft, 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 1 to
Redd went cold from the field after a 5/5 start, but that made his ability to draw fouls (and actually, you know, make them) so much more important. And even when Redd was hitting shots it wasn't generally because of his jump-shooting--he was in attack mode all night long, terrorizing Randy Foye and Nick Young with dribble penetration. The Wizards may not be a great defensive team, but ti was great to see Redd taking it to the rack and creating offense all on his own. Welcome back, Mike. Now keep it up.

Charlie Bell: 14 pts, 6/15 fg, 0/4 threes, 2/2 ft, 1 reb, 0 ast, 1 stl, 0 to
Bell's box score ended up fairly non-descript, but in truth he was the only point guard who looked deserving of playing time. For starters, he didn't let Arenas walk all over him--a nice contrast to Jennings and Ridnour. And while he wasn't creating much for teammates (hence the zero assists) he had a nice stretch in the second half of the third and beginning of the fourth where he made 5/8 shots, effectively attacking the heart of the Wizards defense for buckets. Considering most of the Bucks' offensive weapons were watching from the bench at that point, I'll take it.

Luc Mbah a Moute: 11 pts, 3/6 fg, 5/8 ft, 5 rebs, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk, 0 to
Another night with a little bit of everything from Luc. He couldn't be the Bucks' savior on defense--though Skiles did use him on Arenas, Butler and Jamison at various points--but his energy and aggressiveness (hence the eight free throws and three offensive rebs) alone made him stand out from his other teammates.

Three Numbers

.529/.600/.886. Let's just lump the Wizards' superior scoring efficiency all into one. Blame it on good jumpshooting if you like, but the truth was the Bucks also had no ability to contain the Wizards penetration either and seemed a step slow rotating on help defense.

1. The Wizards nearly missed becoming just the second team to be held without an offensive rebound, as Brendan Haywood grabbed their first offensive board with just two minutes remaining. `The Bucks fared much better with 14, but the fact that MIlwaukee had only a 40-39 total rebound edge says a lot about the teams' relative shooting percentages.

15. Two nights after his free throw shooting demons nearly cost the Bucks a victory, Redd rebounded in style with a huge and perfect response.

Three Good

Redd rebounds. It didn't end up as a great shooting night for Redd, but the hop in his step was an extremely encouraging sign for the longer term.

Jesse White Tumblers. Always a halftime treat.

Seniorgee. The second of two acts that provided infinitely more satisfying performances than the Bucks. Old people dancing: one standing ovation. Bucks playing basketball for 48 minutes: no standing ovations. Not a good sign for the main event.

Three Bad

Starting frontcourt. Delfino and Ilyasova continued the poor play that started in Indiana, as they combined for a horrid 2/15 shooting. While he still looks to be working hard, Ilyasova has made just one field goal each of the past two games and his usual semi-wreckless, "bend but don't break" style of defense has been closer to "bend and snap in two." While Hakim Warrick wasn't much better in his meager 11 minutes, you have to think he's feeling pretty demoralized that he's playing so little even as Ilyasova struggles.

And then there's Bogut. It wasn't quite as bad as the 4/14 night he put up against Brendan Haywood last month, but he was again mostly ineffective offensively with a 5/13, 12 point night in 28 foul-plagued minutes. Unlike Roy Hibbert, Haywood didn't let Bogut back him down or get especially deep catches, forcing Bogut into too many of those 10 foot hooks which are a foot or two out of his range.

Though he had just five points and looked hilariously clueless on the two post moves he tried, Haywood made up for it with nine boards and excellent defense in the paint, swatting six shots including at least a couple of Bogut hooks. Bogut did add nine boards and his now-customary two blocks, but there were also a couple plays where he basically watched the Wizards make layups.

Jennings. This loss probably represents a new low for the Bucks, and the same is certainly true of Jennings. The rookie was held to a season-low seven points, three rebounds, two assists and three turnovers in 16 minutes--the kind of performance you might have expected a lot of before the season started. Arenas looked like the older brother toying with his younger sibling in the driveway in the first quarter, backing the smaller Jennings down with ease before a second foul sent him to the pine. I'm surprised we haven't seen more of this, but that may be something to what out for going forward.

But as it turns out, Jennings didn't fare any better against one of the few PGs in the league he does have a size advantage on. In the fourth quarter Boykins toasted him for the second time in a month, as the mighty mite scored 10 in the decisive period to embarrass the Bucks in front of their home fans. More and more we're seeing Jennings' defense exposed, and it's forcing Skiles into gimmicky reactions--like running Bell at the point or having Mbah a Moute guard the 1.

Wake up. For the first time in a few weeks the Bucks had no excuses; this game wasn't about free throws or referees. No, this was about playing flat against a team you're supposed to beat, one that was finishing a back-to-back no less. The Wizards are talented and should certainly be better than their record suggests, but a poor road team like the Bucks simply can't give away games at home like this. The loss now puts them at three straight at home, a worrying sign that leaves us still wondering what this team is really about.

Game 27: Wizards/Bucks

Frank Madden — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:23:33 -0000

2009/2010 NBA Season
	@
9-17 (4-10 road)		12-14 (9-5 home)
December 23, 2009
Bradley Center
7:00 PM
Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: FSN Wisconsin
Probable starters:
Gilbert Arenas	PG	Brandon Jennings
Randy Foye	SG	Michael Redd
Caron Butler	SF	Delfino (LRMaM?)
Antawn Jamison	PF	Ersan Ilyasova
Brendan Haywood	C	Andrew Bogut

104.6 (23rd) - OFFENSE - 103.0 (25th)
108.6 (20th) - DEFENSE - 102.3 (4th)
94.1 (9th) - PACE 93.3 (10th)

Linkage:

Bullets Forever / Truth About It

News/notes after the jump

Free Throw Line Blues. The Bucks' mind-boggling 0/7 finish from the line in Indy left a strangely bitter aftertaste to what was a crucial road win. The Bucks' problems at the line aren't anything new of course, but they've taken it to new ~~heights~~ lows of late, as free throws were key ingredients of the Bucks' losses to both the Lakers and Kings last week. Charles Gardner spoke to the prime suspects, and the Bucks offered the cliched responses you expect:

"For me, it's just getting back into a rhythm of playing basketball, shooting my free throws," said Redd, who stayed after practice Tuesday to work on his foul shots with coaches Joe Wolf and Bill Peterson. "My first two looked good last night; my last two looked terrible.

"I'm going to get back to that; it's just a matter of time. Our team will as well. How you correct that is by practicing it. You don't want to shoot 500 free throws but shoot certain sets, put yourself in situations where there may be some pressure."

Bogut also termed the problem a "mental" one, but whatever the origin I'm not sure any of us are expecting sudden improvements from the Big Aussie. With the exception of 07/08 (when he improved by 1% over 06/07), Bogut's free throw percentage has fallen every season since his final season at Utah. He's down to a career-low 53.7% after a combined 6/15 the past two games, so even a return to the modest 60% mark would be a welcome sign.

Guarded optimism. You probably remember the Bucks' visit to the MCI Center last month as the Revenge of Lil' Earl. Boykins was the man down the stretch, scoring 11 of his 13 points (3/5 fg, 7/10 ft) in the last 10 minutes, and capping it off by drawing a foul on Jennings and stroking the clinching free throws. He scored 18 in last night's home win over the Sixers, though he'd managed just 11 points combined in his previous four.

But as scary as Earl may be, Gilbert Arenas is still the guy worth losing sleep over. Despite a sore hip that caused him to miss practice on Monday, Arenas has dropped 30+ in three of his last four games, including 31 last night and 45 against the Warriors (surprised?). In other words, he's finally looking like the Gilbert of '05-'07.

Redd watch. With the exception of the Lakers game a week ago, we haven't been able to say the same thing about Michael Redd. But Redd did show some positive signs in Indianapolis (5/12 fg, 2/3 3fg, 14 pts)---before leaving the aforementioned two free throws well short with the Bucks protecting their narrow lead in the final minute. An 84% career shooter from the line, Redd is now shooting just 55% from the line, 35% from the field and 31% from deep. He also committed a couple cheap fouls down the stretch, but the sloppy defense is at least something we're more used to. Despite all that, Redd still somehow managed to log a game-high and season-high 41 minutes. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me that Redd would see so much burn--for fitness as well as production reasons--but I'll give Skiles the benefit of the doubt for now.

Foye starting? Randy Foye's started the past two games next to Arenas, but the once-balleyhooed lottery pick in Minnesota has struggled to make an impact in Washington. Mike Prada at Bullets Forever writes that Foye has been slow to adjust to a new reality:

In Minnesota, they desperately pumped his psyche up and started him all the time, hoping that he would be a cornerstone like the guy they traded him for, Brandon Roy. They tried him at point guard and shooting guard, but they always gave him his guaranteed 35 minutes. They even gave him the ball with the game on the line, asking him to make the winning plays. In short, he was treated like a much bigger star than he was. Now, he comes to Washington, and he learns the ballad all reserve players learn. Life isn't fair.

Prada goes on to note that Foye is starting in the injured Mike Miller's spot mostly to keep Nick Young in his usual backup role. It's perhaps not surprising then that Young has played more minutes even in Foye's past two starts.

Small forward. Carlos Delfino remained in the starting lineup against the Pacers, shifting over to SF to make room for Redd, but it didn't seem like Skiles particularly wanted him on the court. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute got the call to replace Delfino less than three minutes into both the first and third quarters, as Delfino ended up scoreless on three shots. That's a far cry from Saturday night, when he led the Bucks with 17, including 11 in the fourth.

Delfino has started all 24 games he's played in this season, but given a) Mbah a Moute was significantly better than him against Indy b) the Wizards have the potent Butler/Jamison duo at the forward spots and c) Redd's presence *should* mitigate the need for a fourth three point threat in the starting lineup, Mbah a Moute seems the better lineup fit. Many of us have been rooting for a Mbah a Moute/Ilyasova starting forward combo since the summer, and Skiles was using that lineup before Redd was reinserted into the starting lineup. Stay tuned.

Recap: Bucks 84, Pacers 81

Alex Boeder — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:16:23 -0000

More photos » by Ron Hoskins - NBAE via Getty Images

Even if it wasn't always pretty, Bogut's finishing was almost perfect in Indianapolis

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Box Score

The bad news: The Pacers played all the part of a last-place team, and the Bucks were barely better.

Like so many games before, the Bucks found themselves in a close-and-late one. Unlike most before though, they had the game-changing players, big and small, both playing big.

Andrew Bogut was the biggest, headlining the show with a career-high 31 points (14/19 fg). And surrounded by players on both teams mighty determined to lose, Brandon Jennings carried it in the clutch.

In a game that looked like the 84-81 final score, the Bucks and Pacers slopped through Indianapolis. The game was fittingly capped by seven straight misses at the free throw line by the Bucks and two wayward T.J. Ford three-point attempts in the last five seconds, underscoring a rough game for both teams.

The good news: The Bucks were barely better.

Three Bucks

Andrew Bogut. The only player to really stand out in all good ways, Bogut scored the first basket of the game, foretelling a breakout not only from his three-game shooting slump but also a point-scoring breakout half a decade in the making.

He scored 20+ plenty prior to tonight: 37 times. But just now the Aussie made it into the 30's scoring for the first time in his career, with 31 points on a tremendous 14-19 shooting night.

Andrew's only first-half miss was an atypical jumper perhaps spurred on by a long j that Hibbert had just knocked down on the other end. He made the other eight. And unlike so many times before when he started hot, Bogut looked for the ball, the Bucks found him, and he attacked. So rare that those three things come together at once for two hours.

And while I'm not really okay with Roy Hibbert going for 16, Bogut (18 rebounds and three blocks) pretty much controlled the paint from start to finish. Another level, tonight.

Brandon Jennings. The point guard of Bucks' future haunted the point guard of Bucks' past with a few dagger-swishes late in the fourth.

Jennings made three of Milwaukee's last four shots from the field, all long, tough shots, each one better than the one before. He capped it with a ~~Iversonish~~ dribble-around, step-back jumper in T.J. Ford's face to give the Bucks an 84-79 cushion that they very much needed.

A slow start, but he finds a way to put up the points, and tonight he finished with 16, good enough for second to Bogut in the game. Not a stellar shooting night (7-19) again, but also again, he didn't get the benefit of calls and added six assists, four rebounds, and two steals against just two turnovers.

Michael Redd. Hard to tell if he deserves this, but rather than talk about him in the Good and Bad, I'll just cover Mike here. And for Mike, it was a mixed showing, which is simultaneously an upgrade.

This looked like a Redd-not-Reddy-redux return to the starting lineup early on. Seemingly slower than ever, he had three of his first six shots blocked. And he almost gave it all away late, missing two free throws.

But in between, Mike was alright. He swished some shots (5-12 from the field, 2-3 on threes) on a night when the Bucks couldn't shoot from the field (.422), from deep (.312), or at the line (.450). Needed that bit of offense he provided tonight.

Three Numbers

11.5 % Best known as tall guys who can shoot the ball, Mike Dunleavy (2-17) and Ersan Ilyasova (1-9) combined to shoot 3-26 from the field, or 11.5 %.

1. The Bucks only made it to the 20's in scoring in one quarter, when they threw down 29 points in the third quarter. Not something I'd usually sponsor, but they made it work.

0. Second scoreless night for Delfino in four games. He got blanked against the Lakers and was a zero again tonight. Odd. This time, he went 0-3, all on threes.

Three Good

On the road. The Bucks won for the first time on the road in a month and won for the first time at Conseco in ten tries. All in the past.

Young Buck. On the same night when the former star (Mike Redd) returned to the starting lineup and the current star (Andrew Bogut) had his most productive offensive game ever, it was the current/future star (Brandon Jennings) who made the plays down the stretch, sinking eight points in the final 5:22 when everyone else on the court for both teams was thoroughly convinced that scoring was against the rules.

Some experience he's getting in these late-game situations, and I always like how he handles it, win or lose, coming back for more.

Bogut. I remember Frank called out Bogut (Brogut, actually) in the preview of the Celts game. And I highlighted the center's issues of late before this game. Both times, huge games followed.

[Bonus Good/Humor: Completely off-topic, but the Kings outscored the Bulls 33-10 in the fourth quarter in Chicago tonight to win 102-98 tonight, and yeah, I'm thinking about the division and playoff implications a little bit in December. At least I get to think about such things these days.]

Three Bad

45.0 % Just when you thought the Bucks had hit the bottom of the earth at the free throw line, they fall all the way through into a previously uncharted Galaxy of Ineptitude.

The only time Milwaukee's tragic free throw shooting can avoid Three Numbers is when it becomes so Bad that it must be singled out here.

And tonight is one of those nights.

The Bucks missed their final seven free throws of the game. First it was Luc, then two from Charlie Bell. Two more from Redd, capped off by two misses from Bogut.In all, 9-20, much like middle school teams might shoot.

The... game? In the end, I'll take a sloppy win over an exciting loss. In the end. During the game? That's another one.

All the usual suspects were present: the orange basketball, the hardwood floor, the nets, the rims, the unreasonably tall humans. And so on.

But it was generous to call most of what happened "basketball." This is one of those times when the only logical explanation is that everyone contracted H1N1. Airballs, shots thrown off the side of the backboard, bricked free throws in the clutch, the refs fitting right in with the whole thing.

This was the bad kind of ~~speechless~~ typeless.

41 minutes? Skiles has been so on this year, but did Mike Redd really just play more than anyone else tonight? Delfino was off, but a little more from Luc Mbah a Moute (21 minutes) or Luke Ridnour (12 minutes) perhaps? Both played fairly well when they had a chance.

Bucks 84, Pacers 81: Pacers Can't Figure Out How To Win

Tom Lewis — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:11:17 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

The rookies showed up well, in a game without many bright spots.

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What are we doing?

That was the question Mike Dunleavy was asking no teammate in particular after the Indiana Pacers failed to get an open 3-point look for their preferred shooters with the game on the line, instead leaving the 84-81 win sitting on the table for the Milwaukee Bucks to scoop up and take home.

After Michael Redd was gracious enough to miss two free throws, the Pacers had their last real chance to extend the game with the ball and 18 seconds to play. Dahntay Jones inbounded to Troy Murphyat the top of the key, but Luc Mbah a Moute arrived at the same time forcing Murph to give up the ball to Mike Dunleavy guarded 25 feet from the hoop.

Dunleavy quickly back to T.J. Ford who pump fake Brandon Jennings out of the way and drove in the lane. Instead of taking a pull up for two with 12 seconds left, Ford was forced to toss it back out the Dahntay Jones. Jones was covered and knew better than to force a three. Murph was pinned in the corner and covered up, so Jones tossed it back to Ford behind the arc. After pumping Jennings past him, Ford let go a clean 3-ball with five seconds left.

The missed bounced to Andrew Bogut, leaving Dunleavy wondering what had just happened. After watching the replay, I understand Dunleavy's disgust but he and Murph were checked.

After the game Jim O'Brien didn't critique the play, only saying that when they needed a three, they wanted to go for Murph first and Michael (Dunleavy) second. Of course, those first two options were quickly covered up by the Bucks and after both had to give up the ball, they never touched it again.

Once the play broke down, Ford was left to create something but passed on a two, before being stuck launching a three with five seconds left. Yes, it clanked and much credit goes to the Bucks for defending the Pacers into a 3-ball from a guy who has only made one all season.

Still, Murph and Dunleavy didn't touch it in the final15 seconds thanks to Milwaukee's defense, but it seems like there was enough time to keep moving the ball and trying to free one of them for a shot. The shooters were left stuck as an easy cover with nowhere to move. Once Ford dribbled into the middle, everything broke down, most notably the Pacers chances to steal a win.

T.J. Ford did have one last shot at redemption after Bogut missed both of his free throws. With no timeouts, Ford had to race the ball up the floor and did get off a clean game-tying attempt, but once again, the game ended with a shot bouncing off the rim.

More observations:

This game was a real grind with two of the worst shooting teams in the league living up to their reputations. The Bucks shot 42% on the night while the Pacers clanked their way to a 36% (if you're generous and round up) shooting night. Coaches will point to good defense and there was some of that without a doubt, but there were also a lot of good looks that went sideways.
The Bucks helped keep the Pacers afloat in the fourth quarter with their poor free throw shooting. On the night Milwaukee was only 9 for 20 from the line, but they also missed six straight freebies in the final 1:02 of regulation, giving the Pacers multiple chances to sneak up and win the game.
Aside from the final two shots, which in reality were thrust upon T.J. Ford, the point guard was looking for someone else to play the hero role down the stretch. Inside of two minutes, down four, Ford passed up good looks which seemed to surprise his teammates and jumbled up the possessions. One in particular had Ford in his wheelhouse - wide open just inside the free throw line for a jumper with 1:08 to play. After jumping though, he tried to pass it out to Mike Dunleavy who had continued moving past where Ford threw the ball. Turnover and worse a blown opportunity to close the gap.
Mike Dunleavy is officially in his first shooting slump of the season. He struggled to get anything going, making just 2 of 17 shots on the night. That makes him 6 for 27 in the last two games which includes 0 of 9 from 3-land.
Brandon Rush and Luther Head both played strong minutes off the bench. Luther continued his positive play making plays at both ends when given a chance. Sure would like to see him play more down the stretch. Rush was used about right tonight, logging 20 minutes off the bench. He was as assertive as I've seen him all year. One play in particular stuck out as he ran baseline to the left corner, he was actually calling for the ball. Then when he received it, turned and knocked down the shot. Nice to see.
The Pacer bigs had their moments offensively, especially Roy Hibbert using his low post repertoire to log 16 points. But defensively, everyone struggled trying to slow down Andrew Bogut. The Aussie center nuked the Pacers for a career-high 31 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Rookie sensation, Brandon Jennings didn't do much of note through three quarters, but flashed a little brilliance in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Most notably, hitting a well-defended 3-pointer and another two late to score five of the Bucks' last seven points. While the Pacers seemed to be looking at each other for a hero to make a shot, Jennings didn't flinch at the opportunity to step up at winning time.
Tyler Hansbrough had another strong outing with 11 points, 5 rebounds and a couple blocks. It remains incredible to see how many opponents end up on the ground when in the vicinity of Hansbrough. He earned some late-game burn and actually scored the Pacers' final two field goals, one on a sweet spin move past Bogut that resulted in a nice little four-footer for two.
Luc Mbah a Moute was king of the little things, giving the Bucks a nice boost late in the game. Scott Skiles went with the defensive-minded Mbah a Moute when the game appeared set to be a grind all the way through. The Bucks' forward not only defended the heck out of Troy Murphy, he also tracked down some critical loose balls to keep possessions alive for Milwaukee at winning time.
Along with the poor shooting, the Pacers donated 18 turnovers on the night. Troy Murphy had seven donations on his own, not to mention how a really solid second quarter could've been fantastic if not for too many careless possessions.
The Pacers have to get up off the mat to take on the Celtics in Boston tomorrow night. I myself will be heading out west for a week, so posting may be lighter than normal, although Sean will fill in the gaps when he can. Let me encourage you to use the FanPosts to offer more thorough thoughts on the games or general issues of the day with the Pacers. I'd love to promote some of the varied opinions around here to the front page. Just keep it clean. I know, not always easy...

Bailed Out By a Star: Kings 96, Bucks 95

Ziller — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:50:02 -0000

It's not often you can actually see poor defensive rebounding finish off a team. Usually, the poor defensive rebounding puts the team in question in a bad position at the end of the game, and something else spells explicit doom. But, had it not been for the irrepressible Tyreke Evans, who made mincemeat pie of stud Bucks center Andrew Bogut on the game-winning bucket, this game would have been settled by Sacramento's terrible defensive rebounding.

Bogut missed two free throws down one with 42 seconds left. Studies have shown that the average NBA team rebounds opponent missed free throws at something like a 90 percent rate. But for roughly the dozenth time this season, the Kings gave up an offensive rebound, with Brandon Jennings somehow sneaking in to get the ball.

But it didn't stop there. Jennings missed a layup attempt. Rebound Bogut. Bogut missed his tip. Rebound Bogut. Another missed Bogut tip. Rebound Jennings, who drives back in and gets fouled by Spencer Hawes. The Kings could have ended the possession four times and taken the lead into the final half-minute. Hawes and Jason Thompson -- the frontcourt of the future -- were both on the floor. This wasn't smallball. This was a bad defensive rebounding team giving the game away on the defensive glass.

Of course, it didn't end up that way, because Thompson was brilliant on offense in the fourth (seven points on 3-3 shooting in the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds), because Hawes finished a monster dunk in the lane, and, of course, because of Evans, who came off a J.T. pick on that final play and deked Bogut all the way back to Tuesday. No blame on Bogey for that one -- what can a big guy do?. It's just another crosshatch in the early canon of 'Reke, one we won't soon forget.

I have no idea how Bogut ended up shooting 6-20 from the floor, given how effortless his possessions near the rim looked. Neither Hawes nor Thompson could stop him -- Bogut ended up getting enough tough bounces and failed tips to turn out an inefficient night, but in most games it wouldn't have gone that way. The only Buck who actually came out with a strongly efficient game was Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (14 points on five FGAs).

As for Jennings-Evans ... well, true to form, Jennings distributed more readily, while Evans owned on the scoreboard and defense. Evans won the battle and the game, but the narrative between those two will be told over the course of careers, not single nights. Can't wait until the war moves to Sacramento in March.

All told, a brilliant bounceback game for the Kings. Revenge against Chicago (just one game worse than Milwaukee right now) is next.

Recap: Kings 96, Bucks 95

Frank Madden — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:31:40 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

It took him a couple quarters, but Thompson eventually found ways up, over, and around the Bucks' defense.

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Box Score

My Saturday started in Copenhagen, Denmark about 25 hours ago; in fact, I woke up just in time (about 4 am Danish time) to follow the last minute of the Bucks' 85-82 loss to the Cavs on the hotel wifi. Terrific start to a day. So if I seem a bit incoherent and annoyed that my Saturday is also ending with a last-second Bucks' loss--and one that I got to witness in person at the BC--forgive me. It's not often I get two Bucks losses in one day.

The highlight shows will of course focus on the hype-friendly matchup between the rookies, which is easy given Tyreke Evans (9/19 fg, seven rebs, three assists, six turnovers) scored the final two of his 24 points on a lovely stutter-step layup past Andrew Bogut with just 0.9 seconds left. Brandon Jennings mostly kept his end of the bargain as well, scoring 15 (4/11 fg) with nine assists, six boards and just one turnover. The good also included four clutch free throws in the final minute and a heads-up dish to Ersan Ilyasova for a layup to give the Bucks a 95-94 lead. Evans had the last laugh, however, and Jennings missed his last seven from the field as the Bucks' big names shot blanks down the stretch. Hey, sound familiar? Considering Michael Redd's latest clunker (1/6 fg, three points) and Andrew Bogut's awful second half (1/10 fg), it's in some ways amazing the Bucks kept it as close as they did--until you consider that the Kings also came into this game an awe-inspiring 1-11 on the road.

The Bucks led 53-49 at the half, as Evans scored 17 (albeit on 15 shots) while Bogut contributed 12/4/4 for the Bucks. A night after his 5/21 performance in Cleveland, Jennings looked patient and content to get other guys involved early on, as he didn't take a shot until the three minute mark of the second quarter. But he buried that first triple and added another jumper to round out a solid first half: seven points (2/2 fg), five assists, and three rebounds. Ilyasova (14/10) already had his double-double midway through the third, but foul trouble made him an observer for most of the second half.

The Bucks led by as many as seven in the third, but the Kings were far more composed than their road record would have suggested. After Evans carried the offensive load in the first half, Jason Thompson took over in the second, scoring 17 of his 22 in the period to go with 10 boards. The Kings seemed oddly shy to give him the ball in the first half with Andrew Bogut guarding him, but he showed the full repertoire of inside/out stuff in the second, including seven points in the final three minutes. One of those was a questionable three-point play that cut the Bucks lead from four to one, as Thompson hooked Bogut making a move along the baseline, but instead got the foul and continuation on Bogut. Not to whine though, because the Bucks overall didn't get the short end of the refereeing stick. They even got a charge called on Evans for wiping out Bogut on a play that looked eerily similar to the Kobe call on Wednesday. Also not to be forgotten is Beno Udrih (6/11 fg, 16 pts), who killed the Bucks with mid-range jumpers off P&R in the second and third quarters.

In any case, the game came down to making plays in crunch time, and as per usual the Bucks didn't make them as often as their opponents. These recaps are starting to write themselves in that sense. The Bucks had seven offensive rebounds in the final five minutes, but all that meant was they were working hard and missing everything. Bogut bricked a pair of freebies with 42 seconds left and the Bucks down one, only for Jennings to retrieve the second miss and start another possession that saw Jennings miss a reverse layup in traffic, Bogut miss two tip-ins, and Jennings grab another rebound and draw the foul.

As he's done so often--and unlike everyone else on the team--Jennings didn't miss with the game on the line, but the Bucks couldn't stop the Kings, either. After Evans penetrated, Thompson dropped a tough hook over Bogut on the right side of the lane to make it 94-93 Kings with 11 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds Jennings nearly had his inbound pass to Andrew Bogut stolen at midcourt, but he scooped up the loose ball, and with two Kings out of the play he found Ilyasova wide open under the basket for the easy two with five seconds left.

It turned out to be too much time. Evans ran P&R from the left with Thompson, and Mbah a Moute unwisely went over the screen, leaving Evans one-on-one with a backpedaling Bogut. That was all she wrote, as Evans smoothly went left and finished with his right off the glass. Bogut had a last-second heave from the baseline that could have won it, but you kind of knew the Bucks didn't have any more tricks up their sleeve.

Three Bucks

Carlos Delfino. It seems like Delfino's usual MO has been hot starts and anonymous finishes, but the Argentine reversed it tonight in a major way. The Bucks were leading 70-65 when Skiles subbed out Bogut and Jennings with two minutes left in the third, and it was Delfino who kept the Bucks' afloat for the next 12 minutes or so. First he scooped a driving layin to finish the Bucks' third quarter scoring, then led the way with three triples and 11 points in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter. He also took on the task of defending Evans for much of that period, yielding only in the final minute to Mbah a Moute.

Luc Mbah a Moute. Mbah a Moute's last contributions were missing a free throw with three minutes remaining and getting rubbed out on the P&R that led to Evans' game-winner, but that shouldn't overshadow what was another solid game from the Prince. It was particularly true on the offensive end, where LRMaM made all five of his shots including a corner triple.

Brandon Jennings. It was another solid game with plenty of ups and downs for Jennings. On the down side, he got smoked by Evans on a couple drives in the third quarter, which is becoming all too common for a small guy blessed with his quickness. With Beno Udrih getting major minutes down the stretch Jennings didn't face off directly against Evans

Three Numbers.

19. By my count, Bogut (7), Redd (5) and Jennings (7) combined to miss their 19 shots from the field. Yeah, not cool. Bogut didn't make a shot in the last 22 minutes and bricked his last five free throws, going 1/10 from the field i the second half after a solid 5/10, 13 point first half. Jennings at least made his free throws (6/6), but went strangely cold in the third quarter after making his first four shots from the field.

13. It wouldn't be the numbers section without some allusion to the Bucks' terrible free throw differential, so here's your daily dose: the Bucks made just 13/20 from the line compared to the Kings' 22/29. Same sh**, different day.

1-8. That's the Bucks' record in games decided by three points or less. Unlucky? Just bad at finishing games? I'll take the easy route and say a combo of both, but either way it's killing them in the won-loss column. History says that close games require more luck than skill, and that even good teams don't win a high percentage of close games over the long haul (they win the blowouts, natch). Still, the fact that the Bucks lack a guy who can a) both draw fouls and make free throws and b) create quality shots for himself reliably means that they'll probably be worse than average. Not quite as bad as they've been, but still not good. We've seen flashes of Jennings being a go-to guy late in games and so far he's had ice-water in his veins at the stripe, but he's not the guy yet.

~~Three~~ Two Good

Rookies. Sure, they've got growing up to do, but Evans and Jennings are damn good for a pair of 20-year old rookies. I've seen very little of Evans since the season started, but in Vegas he looked like a thrifty man's Dwyane Wade (all the slithery slashing and body control, less of the rim-endangering explosiveness) and it was pretty much the same deal tonight. Lots of turnovers and few assists, but he's really not a ballhog and his line would have been even more impressive if he didn't miss so many contested layups.

As for Jennings, he seemed to be in "play like a true PG" mode tonight, which worked reasonably well. Defense could have been better and he still doesn't make shots around the hoop, but you already knew that.

Meeks. I'm grasping at straws here, but it's not like I have that much to choose from. Meeks' minutes would seem to be gone now that Redd is back, but he got an extended look in the second quarter--guarding Evans no less--and held his own with five points, two steals, and two assists. He didn't get a look in the second half, but Meeks' +9 rating was the best of any player on either team.

Three Bad

Skiles. I don't generally call out coaches since, well, they know the game and their players infinitely better than I do. And let's be honest, Skiles isn't exactly Vinny Del Negro. Still, there were a few things that made me scratch my head on this one.

For one, Redd played 15 straight mostly awful minutes from the end of the third until late in the fourth. Why? Don't ask me--the way LRMaM was playing it didn't make sense for him to be sacrificing minutes for the old man. Heck, Bell, Ridnour or Meeks would have been better choices at that point.

Second, why did Jennings inbound twice in the final minute? I guess I can understand him inbounding with 11 seconds left since he can get it right back. But his pass was deflected and almost stolen (fortunately he recovered to both get the ball and find Ilyasova for the layup), so maybe we should take that as a sign that the little guy may not have been the best option. Moreover, with 0.9 seconds left I would have thought Jennings' ability to make tough shots would make him an obvious option as a shooter, but instead he was again summoned to make the pass, this time throwing a tough entry pass Bogut not surprisingly couldn't turn into a miracle. I vote we cut Elson and bring back Toni Kukoc (tall + great passer = great inbounder) purely as a late-game inbounding specialist.

Lastly, I would have dared Evans to shoot a jumper on the last play by having Mbah a Moute go under the screen rather than chase around. I'm assuming Mbah a Moute went over the screen on direction from the Bucks' coaches, though in fairness Evans didn't always kill them on that strategy earlier in the game. But do the math--Evans is a 59% shooter around the rim and 45% from 16-23 feet. Bogut might have been hoping to force Evans to hesitate by backpedaling, but give credit to the rookie for making such a decisive move.

Bogut's ability to put a ball in the basket. Ignore the shooting numbers and there'd be nothing to dislike about Bogut's line: 13 boards, five assists, one turnover and three blocks. Include the shooting numbers and...well, not so much. Bogut continues to struggle from the field (6/20) and the line (3/8)--the latter being expected at this point while the former is a more recent phenomenon.

Part of the issue tonight was the Kings doing a good job getting bodies in Bogut's way--Spencer Hawes' length bothered Bogut on two misses to start the game, and even though Bogut began to bully Hawes and co. for much of the rest of the half, they were mostly denying him the deep position where he's so dangerous. They showed the double teams on a number of occasions as well, and while Bogut managed to take care of the ball better than usual tonight, he sometimes seemed to be rushing shots just to get them off.

Michael Redd's ability to do anything. The silver lining from the Laker game was the hope that the old Mike Redd wasn't too far away--or that the new one wouldn't be that much worse than the old one. But in two games since Redd has again looked out of sorts. He started the game fairly judicious about his shot selection, but with Skiles playing him for extended periods with the second unit things fell apart more quickly. On paper, the idea of Redd going to work while Bogut/Jennings rest is a nice one, but thus far it's only reiterated why Redd shouldn't be starting.

Recap: Cavaliers 85, Bucks 83 (With Special Bonuses!)

Mitchell_M — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:59:31 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

5 days ago: Milwaukee Bucks' Brandon Jennings (3) runs into Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) on a drive to the basket in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, in Cleveland. Jennings scored 18 points in a 85-82 loss to Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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Greetings, Bucks fans. Frank and Alex are both unavailable for the Bucks-Cavaliers recap, so you guys get me. Sorry.

Box Score

The last time ESPN showed the Bucks, the team saw by the nation (and myself) was a young team both struggling without Andrew Bogut as a centerpiece and unable to keep up with Oklahoma City's rampant athleticism. It was a disappointing showing, even bordering on embarassing. But the Bucks aren't that team, and ESPN is giving them another chance to show what they really are.

Unfortunately, they drew LeBron James and the Cavs, meaning the road to redemption on national television is that much harder. But who's to say they won't do it? After all, the Bucks have some advantages in this game (weird, right?), and it always helps to have a defensive stopper with the ability to cover James one-on-one. Perhaps they can do the inconceivable and topple the Cavaliers? I sure hope so, and I certainly think they can.

(Note: For those of you wondering why I'm talking in the future tense, or why I haven't mentioned the result of the game, it's because I didn't watch it live. I DVR'd the game and watched it after getting home from work at 9 AM. Third shift sucks that way.)

This recap will be a little different than those before it. We'll still have Three Bucks, Three Numbers, and the Good and Bad, but we'll have some bonus triplets after the jump, plus some actual game analysis peppered in. Think of it as a retroactive live-blog.

On to the game (most of you have already seen)!

Three Things I Noticed Before Tip-Off

Hubie Brown and Dave Pasch were just a tad friendlier to the Cavs. Sure, they're a perennial powerhouse and led by the premier player of his generation, but do we have to make it sound like that much of a mismatch?

These teams aren't really all that different. Think about it; they both are defensive teams that keep the game's score low and can light it up from deep, they both have two big foreign guys that play defense, take charges, and rebound, and they're both led by players that arrived somewhat unexpectedly (Cleveland with the surprising #1 draft pick despite the odds, Milwaukee with 9 other teams passing on Jennings (and his impromptu entrance after being picked at #10)). It's almost like the Bucks are a poor man's Cavaliers, but then you remember that the Cavs are from Cleveland, which is a poor man's everything.

Brandon Jennings' hair makes him look even more like Allen Iverson. The corn rows aren't quite as long as A.I's yet, but give it time. I'd be frightened if his assist (6.0 apg) and three-point numbers (44%(!)) were as Iverson-like as he looks. Have I gushed about how much of a man-crush I have on BJ yet? I'll wait 'til the game starts to go full steam ahead, but let's just say he's already become my favorite NBA player.

Three First Half Observations

A Great Start. A 17-7 start before Cleveland takes its first timeout is absolutely led by Young Money (3 points, 6 assists). He would have had 7 dimes had Ersan not had his fast-break layup blocked by Shaq. I saw some good shooting, great passing, and above-average defense during this run; this is the team that the Bucks are trying to be. But they have to do it for all 48 minutes, not just the first 6:23. Which is exactly when Cleveland closed the gap and forced Milwaukee out of its game.

Jennings had a pretty good first half altogether with 8 points and 6 assists, plus he was the only Buck really willing to attack the paint. When he gets older/stronger, he'll actually finish those trips to the rack (2/9 in the first half).

The Daniel Gibson "Foul". I didn't want to waste one of my three points on one play, but this infuriated me. Gibson drove hard, froze Kurt Thomas with a ball fake, and went up for the layup. Thomas' foot was very close to the one Boobie took off on, so much so that Gibson's reaction resulting in his right foot taking out his left, thus sending him to the floor. He made the shot nonetheless, and it was a great play with an outstanding effort to make the basket. Then came the whistle, and Boobie took the line for the and-one.

BUT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO CONTACT. NONE WHATSOEVER. Just because a player trips over his own feet while shooting and a defender just happens to be near him (BUT NOT TOUCHING HIM AT ALL) doesn't mean he should get a freebie. Now, I reffed college intramurals, so I know how calls can be almost impossible to truly see at certain speeds, angles, and whatnot, and that's magnified 1000x in the NBA, but c'mon. Then, of course, Hubie Brown went on a long diatribe about how you don't foul a player when you get out of position and give him the and-one, unless you foul his arms to prevent the layup attempt, blah blah blah, completely discounting the fact that it was a phantom call. Gah, basketball can be infuriating sometimes.

To prove my point, Boobie missed the free throw. Ball don't lie.

Bogut + foul trouble = complete inability to protect the paint. Andy's three quick fouls (one of which was legit, one was iffy, and one was downright ticky-tack) limited him to less than 6 minutes in the half and opened up the lane faster than you can say "massive free throw discrepancy". Oh, and there was a massive free throw discrepancy (CLE - 21 attempts, MIL - 5 attempts). Part of this was too much jump shooting by Milwaukee, part of it was bad calls here and there, but most of it was missing Bogut.

Three Second Half Observations

When Cleveland asserts itself, they're impressive. The Bucks have enough good shooters to out-gun teams that get caught up in a scorefest. Good teams avoid playing to their opponents strength. Cleveland is a good team, which is why they forced the issue inside while Milwaukee was content to stay along the perimeter. Of course, they're often better than good, considering they've got a bunch of shooters to go with their strong post presence.

LeBron's post defense. There was one sequence at the 3:30 mark in the 3rd quarter where Hakim Warrick tried posting James up...and Bron-Bron didn't go anywhere. Warrick actually lost the ball because he simply couldn't move James off the spot. The look (I thought I saw) on his face was half surprise, half amazement.

The last 4:35. Milwaukee was getting handled, but managed to stick around long enough to gain possession with 9.7 seconds left and a chance to force overtime with a three pointer. More on this later.

Three Bucks

Brandon Jennings. Jennings reversed his historical trends by starting off hot and cooling off near the end. However, his 18 point, 8 assist night was punctuated by his 7-7 performance from the free throw line. Attacking the basket is something Jennings will have to learn how to do, which will hopefully cut down on the 5-21 shooting nights.

Ersan Ilyasova. Ersan only got 31 minutes, but he generally made good things happen during those minutes. He tied Jennings' 18 points and was +6 in point differential, but his defense, rebounding, and relentless motor was the defining characteristic of the Bucks relatively competent outing and ultimately kept them in the game.

Charlie Bell. Charlie didn't do that much (16 points, 1 rebound), but he was serviceable on offense and as-good-as-the-situation-allowed on defense. If only Skiles would stop putting him on taller players. The dude's only 6'3", asking him to cover the likes of Kobe (6'6") and LeBron (6'8") is downright silly.

Three Numbers

.269. If you're a jump shooting team, make sure that you make more than just barely over a quarter of your three point shots. I know Cleveland has a superb defense, but anytime you take that many threes (22 attempts), try to make more than 27% (7 makes). I wouldn't harp on this so much if I didn't see at least three airballs (Bell, Ilyasova, and Jennings) over the course of the game.

17:09. Bogut played significantly more in the second half, but he was so timid after racking up three first half fouls that it was largely ineffective. He still managed 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, but when you're the only low-post threat on a team that needs a credible low-post threat, you need to bring it against an old Shaquille O'Neal and an older Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

-17. Free throw differential. And that's just attempts: the Bucks were -13 in terms of makes. 'Nuff said.

Three Good

The last 4:35. I said I'd come back to this. The fourth quarter was a statistical win for the Bucks (21-14), but from the start until the 4:36 mark, they let the Cavs do whatever they wanted. That's how Cleveland opened up a big lead and ultimately gave Milwaukee the W. But let's look at the results of Cleveland's possession during this timeframe:

Turnover
Missed jumper
Block
Missed jumper
Missed 3-pointer
Shot clock violation (off of a Cleveland offensive rebound)
Missed 3-pointer
Turnover

If you're going to go for the ugly win, stretches like this are exactly what you need on defense. A Bucks win would have certainly been ugly, and it's a shame they couldn't make it happen, but with the game on the line, they managed to pick themselves back up and turn it back into a competition with an elite Eastern Conference team.

Jennings' shot defense. Maybe it's because I'm a fellow skinny PG, but when I see Brandon bust his hump getting a hand in the shooter's face, it makes me happy. He won't be able to outmuscle anybody, but he can make shooters miss through sheer annoyance. I chalk it up to good coaching (thanks, Kelvin Sampson!).

This point is less about Jennings' use of the lost art of "hand-in-face" and more about his exceptional effort. He plays like a guy who flat-out loves the sport, and if he works in practice as hard as he does in games (which I hear he does), he's going to be huge.

Determination, swagger, and stick-to-it-iveness. Results aside, the most important thing about this game is that the Bucks showed a national audience that they can hang with the Eastern Conference elite. They play feisty defense, unselfish offense, and once they become more seasoned, they will be able to hang with any team on any night, if they aren't already. Shoot, they took the Blazers and Lakers to overtime and played a tight game against the Cavs. That's one very good team and two elite teams.

Most importantly, they didn't fold. Down 10 going into the fourth and 13 with six minutes left, they could have just let Cleveland keep hammering them, but they didn't go away. They held the Cavs scoreless in the final 4:35 and pulled to within three. That says something to me. Maybe the casual fan won't see it, but I can see it. This team is actually going to become something.

Three Bad

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's foot. While it may be healed, it clearly isn't 100% yet. Whenever Luc was matched up on LeBron James, good things happened. Whenever Bell, Delfino, or someone else was matched up on James, bad things happened very quickly. I cannot keep track of how many times I saw someone other than the Prince defending King James and immediately thought "This cannot end well."

Quite simply, if Milwaukee wants to be a serious team, they need Luc to lock down the other team's best non-center. I don't care if his range is minimal, his shot mechanics are off, and his post game is weak: when he's locking someone down, they become a non-factor.

Addiction to jump shots. The Bucks are a jump shooting team. We know that. But unless they're willing to at least entertain the notion of driving to the basket, they won't become anything special. I know that the makeup of the team lends itself to a jump shot oriented offense (Jennings, Ridnour, Redd, Ilyasova, Delfino, even Thomas and Gadzuric), and some of those guys can drive to the hoop, but they have to want to. Right now, Jennings and Warrick are the only players who want to earn free throws. Two of twelve isn't nearly enough to create balance on offense, and no offensive balance leads to sub-par seasons and early playoff exits.

Fouling. Too much by Milwaukee (22), not enough by Cleveland (16). There's no easier way to break it down. Physical defense is great as long as it isn't sloppy, and it was terribly sloppy this time.

Three Wishes (a.k.a. What I Want To See Happen No Later Than All-Star Weekend)

An increase in plays ran for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute resulting in a corner-3 attempt. I know I just decried the Era of the Jumper in Milwaukee, but Luc needs more minutes, and the only way he can do that is if he makes himself useful on offense. What better way to do that than harness the power of the corner-3, following the footsteps of longtime defensive ace Bruce Bowen? And what better time to do that than during a season where the team is overachieving and searching for offensive identity?

Redd inserted as a permanent 6th man. No, he's not effective yet. He's still recovering from that ACL tear, and he's going to be playing his way back into shape. The sooner we accept it, the sooner we can accept his new role as a bench scorer. A second string Big Three of Ridnour, Redd, and Warrick can be potent if all three figure out their best roles. Speaking of Ridnour...

Ridnour signed to a reasonable extension. Frank explored the anomaly that is Frodo's scorching start to 2009, and I tend to agree with the consensus that it's likely just a prolonged hot streak. But regarding the question of what to actually do with him? I'm all for keeping him.

Look, Brandon's the man, but I doubt if Iverson's doppleganger will emulate the 47 minute outings put forth by his predecessor. Jennings should play at a high level for as long as he's able, and I see that level being sustainable for no more than 35 minutes a night. If you have a chance to lock in a backup who can take the majority of the remaining minutes and still play effectively and meshes well with the starter in certain situations, take it! Unless Ridnour's agent is looking for ridiculous Danny G money, I say sign Frodo for as much Shire-money as he wants (but as little as it takes).

* * *

Thanks for having me, guys. See you next time I manage to catch the Bucks on national TV and both Frank and Alex are unable to do the recap. If that doesn't happen (which it probably won't), I'll see you in the comments.

Kobe and Pau Rock Milwaukee

DexterFishmore — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:47:30 -0000

It's so nice when loyalty is rewarded. You sit through two-and-a-half hours of a December game in Milwaukee, an often dreary game at that, and as a fan you deserve something fun to show for it. Stay cool, stay patient, don't change the channel, don't head out to dinner just yet. Kobe Bryant will make it worth your while.

Playing stage two of a road back-to-back set, the Lakers spent the night scuffling with a feisty Bucks squad - sometimes pulling a bit ahead, sometimes falling a bit behind, never quite seizing the win nor conceding the loss. Pau Gasol was beastly from beginning to end. He had a double-dub by halftime and finished with 26 points, 22 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Kobe was on-and-off with his game, struggling with turnovers again but manufacturing points from midrange and the stripe. At the end of regulation, he missed a 15-footer that could have won the game.

At the end of overtime, though, he buried the shot that changed everything. It was a little 16-foot turnaround that we've seen a hundred times from him. The trajectory was perfectly on target, and it brought about a fairly stunning comeback win. The final score was Lake Show 107, Bucks 106.

To get to that final possession with the game still in reach, a number of strange little events had to fall into place. With the game tied and 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Michael Redd fired a three that went half way down the basket before popping out. A Derek Fisher jump shot later, Andrew Bogut hit a turnaround in the post, tying the game once again, and drew the "And 1." With 20 seconds on the clock, however, he biffed the free throw that would've put Milwaukee ahead. The Lakers lived to fight in overtime.

The Laker D, which had started to splinter in the fourth, really started to crack apart in the extra stanza. In their first six OT possessions, the Bucks scored 11 points to open up a six-point lead. Despair's icy hand tickled the back of every Laker fan's neck. Phil Jackson was riding the first unit hard - Kobe would end up playing 50 minutes, Pau 49 - and heavy legs were starting to show. Redd, Luke Ridnour and Ersan Ilyasova were both finding makeable looks and actually making them.

Kobe responded with a nine-foot J to make it 102-106, and then the weirdness really started. Ilyasova (who had a wonderful game) went to the line for two shots and honked them both. On the following Laker possession, Kobe spun into a lane bristling with Bucks defenders and crashed into Andrew Bogut while flipping the ball up and in. Whistle. And 1. Free-throw good, cue Milwaukee fan outrage.

Still with the lead and the ball, the Bucks proceeded to miss two shots before Ron Artest secured the rebound with seven seconds to play. The game-ender, as seen below, is uncut, grade-A schadenfreude. Watch it, watch it again, and then a couple more times just for giggles.

The Lakers are now 20-4 and get two days off before facing New Jersey on Saturday. There are a couple things they need to clean up. Three-point shooting continues to be awful: the Lakers have made only 11 of 57 attempts from distance over the last three games. They need to start knocking them down. Offensive rebounding also needs to improve, as they've recovered less than 20% of their own misses for two straight games now. Pau is a monster on the boards these days, but he's not getting much help.

There will be time to worry about those things tomorrow. Tonight, all of Lakerdom toasts the Black Mamba.

	Poss.	TO%	FTA/ FGA	FT%	EFG%	TS%	Off Reb%	Def Reb%	PPP
L.A.	102	17	0.42	88	50	58	17	76	1.05
Mil.	102	13	0.17	71	47	50	24	83	1.04

Game 25 Recap: Blazers 101, Bucks 108

Dave — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:08:09 -0000

Arrgh. It stinks to have to write about another loss. But you kind of knew when the game went into overtime, let alone double-overtime, that this would be a hard one for the Blazers to pull out. Shorthanded and on the tail end of a road swing against a team that's been waiting isn't a good recipe for extra-period success. Nevertheless the Blazers had their chances but couldn't overcome their mistakes and in the end couldn't pull out the win.

The game started with both teams looking to their big men to provide scoring. LaMarcus Aldridge tore up the Bucks most of the night. Andrew Bogut returned the favor. Both were mobile enough and had enough range to their game that their counterparts couldn't stop them. Centers and power forwards were the order of the day early and the Blazers were fine with that. But when the various guards stepped up to the plate Portland got outplayed. Luke Ridnour did damage in the first half, carrying the torch for Brandon Jennings who didn't attempt a single shot in the opening 24 minutes of the game. Michael Redd chipped in a little bit. On the other side Brandon Roy was quiet and Steve Blake and Andre Miller were noisy in all the wrong ways...and in the clanging of loud rims. Nobody but Martell Webster could hit a three. By now you know what happens to the Blazer offense when nobody hits threes. Portland exited the first period down 5 and it looked like it could be a long night.

In the second period Roy went on a run, which in turn developed some shots for Martell and for Jerryd Bayless. Bayless didn't get many opportunities but he did well with what he had. Martell was still doing well in the first half, so it actually made a decent lineup. It's important to realize that many of these shots were coming off of movement and screens, which seems to be a consistent factor when Portland's offense is going well. The Bucks, meanwhile, suffered from a lack of backcourt scoring. Also Andrew Bogut sat out half the period. That was a bad combination for the Bucks. Portland made an enormous comeback behind their rejuvenated backcourt and turned the 5-point deficit into a 5-point lead at the half.

Apparently Brandon Jennings looked at the stat sheet at the half and realized it is really hard to win Rookie of the Year without attempting any shots whatsoever. Perhaps he looked at LeBron tape from last night's game as well. Whatever the cause, he came out in the third quarter firing. The Blazers had to know it was coming but they're a little shy on point guard defense at the moment. Once Jennings hit a couple of threes the court opened up for anything Milwaukee liked. It was like going through a pound box of See's soft-center candies for them. No matter what they picked, everything was good. Portland started the period by driving inside but after they were rejected at the rim they apparently decided that three-point shooting was the better part of valor. They got a couple of close shots but mostly it was Brick City. Only some well-timed free throws saved the period from total disaster. (You'll recall that giving up copious amounts of charity tosses is in Milwaukee's M.O.) The game's wobble increased again as the Bucks outscored the Blazers by 15. For those counting that means the first quarter one team outscored the other by 5, the second quarter it was by 10, the third quarter was by 15, and the superior team alternated each quarter.

Obviously all of the people who believe in an orderly universe are assuming that Portland outscored the Bucks by 20 in the final period and walked out victorious. You're half right. They outscored the Bucks by 10. Both Roy and Aldridge came alive at the same time to spur the comeback. They even helped each other out a time or two, which is something you don't see often. Milwaukee shared the ball but maybe they should have considered going with Jennings, Bogut, or Ridnour alone as the Blazers couldn't seem to stop any of them. In the process of sharing the ball with each other they also shared it plenty of times with Portland, aiding the comeback's progress. Andre Miller was the third scorer for the Blazers in the period but he was a mixed blessing. It's easy to love the 5 points and especially the 4 assists he posted in the period. It's difficult to forgive two critical turnovers down the stretch when Portland had a chance to score crucial buckets. They were nearly identical, featuring Miller trying to force the tempo by driving against superior numbers on the break when his teammates weren't with him. He got stripped both times, once by Redd and once by Jennings. Both of these occurred in the last two minutes of a then-tight game. The first one the Blazers got right back. Not so the second. But either one could have made the difference and you don't expect that kind of thing from a 14-year veteran point guard. That's not to pin the loss on Miller...it was a group effort. But it's indicative that every time the Blazers felt the win in their sails in this game they hit a rock.

The final 38 seconds of regulation featured a medley of nice offensive plays. Andrew Bogut hit a hook shot to put the Bucks up three then Brandon Roy pulled the defense to him and threaded a sweeeeeet pass to LaMarcus Aldridge for a dunk plus the foul to tie it. After the big man had their curtain call Brandon Jennings made a teardrop runner in the lane to recapture the lead by 2 followed by Brandon Roy hitting a turn-around with 12 seconds left that was so bad that we would have barbequed anyone but Brandon who took it. We maybe would have barbequed him too but we'll never know because it went in. You could almost hear the Bucks' fans (who were quite vocal and sounded amazing all game, by the way) lose their beer and pretzels. The Bucks almost got a tip-in off of a missed Jennings jumper at the buzzer but it was a nanosecond or two too late. Overtime.

The overtime started out well. After Andrew Bogut made a layup followed by a short Roy jumper the Blazers fed a running Aldridge thrice. It was like three punches to Milwaukee's ribs. It looked like they could be headed for the exit. Unfortunately the Blazers never scored again after the third conversion. Perhaps they relaxed. Perhaps they were fatigued. Certainly we began to see signs of the perimeter defense breaking down as the Milwaukee smalls scored repeatedly, often times after a screen left them either free or mismatched.

There was a semi-controversial play near the end of the overtime wherein the officials invoked instant replay review for a second time in the game, the first having been the shot at the end of regulation. Milwaukee missed a shot and there was a scrum for the rebound. LaMarcus Aldridge was touching the ball but hadn't fully controlled it yet when two Bucks tried to tip it away from behind. They succeed and the ball went out of bounds along the baseline. The officials initially awarded the ball to the Blazers but the video review would show that LaMarcus' hand was the last to touch it (by about the same nanosecond as before) so they reversed their call. Technically they were correct in their determination. Full marks there. But this does highlight that even instant replay isn't foolproof because technical correctness sometimes breaks precedent. Every other call in the game is made in real-time. And made in real time that call always goes against the team whose players come from behind to tip. Had this been any time but the last, critical moments of the game that would have been Portland's ball. As it was, the call was made differently because it was reviewed. This begs the question: is technical correctness really correct or is it consistency?

Anyway, Brandon Jennings made a final shot to end the overtime and we were knotted again.

There's not much to say about the second OT except that the Blazers looked even more tired. Jumpers fell well short. Brandon Roy drove expecting to get fouled and threw up the shot as an afterthought. In overtime games you have to get the shot in and expect the foul to be called as an afterthought. Needless to say, he came away with neither. Meanwhile the perimeter defense got even worse as switches on screens became comical. Jennings, Ridnour, and guard Carlos Delfino scored repeatedly. Portland did not. End of game.

The Blazers didn't hit enough jumpers and didn't throw a wide enough defensive net to win in this game and that's pretty much the story. They're tired. They're banged up. They need to go home and hope to recover with a little rest and a friendly crowd.

Click through for the rest...

Individual Observations

These are going to be quite brief tonight.

Brandon Roy scored copiously but less than efficiently again, shooting only 8-24 to get his 23 points. Part of it is him, part of it is that his backcourt mates are playing like doo-doo right now. He was streaky, pouring on the points when needed and hitting the critical shot. But the confidence just isn't there. 8 rebounds and 6 assists but also 4 turnovers.

Blake and Miller combined for 5-22 shooting, 8 assists, and 6 turnovers. That was ouchy.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a whale of a game with 31 points and 11 rebounds. The Bucks had a hard time handling him.

Poor Joel Przybilla gets used so badly by his backcourt on defense. He never gets to worry about just his own guy. Not that being able to worry about Bogut would have allowed him to stop Bogut, but I do feel bad that Joel has to do everyone else's laundry as well as his own. He managed 10 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Both Martell Webster and Steve Blake seemed to take some advice we offered last night and stepped in for a few shots instead of just bombing. It worked OK for Steve. He was 1-7 on his threes but 2-3 on the shorter shots. Martell hit 3-6 threes, 3-8 of the remainder. Keep at it.

Jerryd Bayless played 18 minutes and scored 9 points. His best moment came when he was set up on the left sideline while Roy drove the lane, Brandon pitched him the ball, and Jerryd drained the three. That's something Blazer guards playing with Roy need to do. Jerryd nodded like he knew it and Roy high-fived him afterwards. 18 minutes is better than the 8 he got last night. We're going to talk more about Jerryd's court situation tomorrow so I'll leave it at that.

Final Thoughts

This was a rough stretch. You have pretty much GOT to get these two upcoming home games now. Remember though that we're trying to get through December without totally getting ruined. It may not be pretty but it doesn't have to be. It just can't be fatal. And things are seldom fatal in December anyway.

Boxscore

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See your Jersey Contest scores here and enter Tuesday's game form here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)