SB Nation - Carlos Delfino

Recap: Kings 96, Bucks 95

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

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

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.

Larry Brown's Young Players in the 2000s

David Arnott — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:28:19 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Rookies! You're getting this many minutes, so show me what you've got!

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Let's take a look at the rookies and second year players Larry Brown has coached this decade. I'll list the teams, the players, and their minutes per game. Guys who went on to reasonably decent role player NBA careers or better are italicized.

This ignores Games Played, and obviously, some guys were blocked by legit starters, but... well... draw your own conclusions. All numbers are from the invaluable Basketball-Reference.com.

===

99-00 76ers -- Ira Bowman (1.8), Larry Hughes (20.4), Jumaine Jones (4.2), Todd MacCulloch (9.4), Nazr Mohammed (6.8)

00-01 76ers -- Raja Bell (6.0), Rodney Buford (12.2), Jumaine Jones (13.3), Todd MacCulloch (9.5), Pepe Sanchez (4.8)

01-02 76ers -- Raja Bell (12.0), Damone Brown (3.9), Speedy Claxton (22.8), Samuel Dalembert (5.2), Alvin Jones (5.5), Jabari Smith (10.0)

02-03 76ers -- Efthimi Rentzias (4.1), John Salmons (7.9), Kenny Satterfield (4.8)

03-04 Pistons -- Darko Milicic (4.7), Mehmet Okur (22.3), Tayshaun Prince (32.9)

04-05 Pistons -- Carlos Delfino (15.3), Ronald Dupree (10.0), Horace Jenkins (6.9), Darko Milicic (6.9), Smush Parker (10.0)

05-06 Knicks -- Trevor Ariza (19.7), Jackie Butler (13.5), Channing Frye (24.2), David Lee (16.9), Nate Robinson (21.4), Ime Udoka (14.3)

===

The first major caveat of a backwards-looking glance like this is that we don't know if Brown's methods helped or hurt anyone. Maybe John Salmons really did need to be eased into the rotation at just under 8 minutes per game, and that was the stepping stone experience he needed. Maybe Efthimi Rentzias was railroaded by Brown's total shutdown, and he's selling insurance in Greece because no one else would give him a chance after that.

So, should we be worried by the fact that not a single star has emerged from Larry Brown's influence, with the exception, perhaps, of Tayshaun Prince?

What I see from this list is that Brown will play the guys he thinks are going to help him immediately, and if a guy can't, he'll sit until he's older. That kills the guys whose ceilings are "decent starter". Todd MacCulloch was no great shakes, but he started at center for back to back NBA Finals teams. Samuel Dalembert won't blow you away with his game, but the year after Brown left, he missed the entire season on the injured list, then the next year began starting and has started at center in Philly ever since.

I get the distinct sense it's a very college-hoops-oriented approach: freshmen and sophomores have a higher bar to clear to prove they should play over juniors and seniors. Of course, in the NBA, young players are paid far below their free market value (as are superstars), so it behooves teams to get production from young players while they're cheap instead of sitting them until they reach their qualifying offer years, when their salaries will come more in line with their potential production.

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)

Game 25 Preview: Blazers vs. Bucks

Dave — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:09:23 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Amir Johnson and Ersan Ilyasova audition for "So You Think You Can Dance?" I'd be keeping my day job, guys.

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Game Time: 5:30p.m. Pacific TV: Comcast

When news came down that Milwaukee's main star, Olympian Michael Redd, had strained a knee tendon and would be down for an indefinite period the assumption was the Bucks were going to struggle. Correction...the assumption was the Bucks were going to struggle even more than they otherwise would have struggled, which was presumed to be a fair amount. Surprise! Milwaukee has actually managed to eke out a decent season so far. They're 10-11 overall but were cruising at 9-7 before a tough road swing and a home date with the Cavaliers busted them in the chops for four straight losses. They won their last game against Toronto and are looking for a critical gasp of air while they're near the surface because the L*kers and Cleveland are next on the docket.

The guy getting all the headlines for the new-look Bucks is rookie Brandon Jennings. The 6'1" 20-year-old has posted double-figures in every game of the season but one including pasting 55 on the Warriors back in mid-November. Jennings is also dishing 5.7 assists, grabbing 3.8 rebounds, and shooting 44% three-point range. He's actually better from distance than he is inside the arc. You literally have to watch him everywhere because he's made a cottage industry of tearing teams apart and then letting his teammates feast on the carcass. In fact there's a bright, nearly-straight line running right down the middle of the Bucks' schedule. When he tops 40% shooting on the night the Bucks win. Under that and they lose. He's everything for them right now.

That doesn't mean that Jennings is absent help, however. A bright spot on the season has been Turkish forward Ersan Ilyasova. He's long, rangy, and tends to score and rebound in flurries. Oh, and he too can shoot the three. He doesn't bring it every night but he's a double-double waiting to happen, especially if you take him lightly. Luke Ridnour's defense hasn't improved any since his Seattle days but he's found a niche with this team taking smart shots and dishing the rock when Jennings doesn't have it. Veteran sharpshooter Charlie Bell also haunts the roster along with small forward Carlos Delfino. Both of them can hit the long ball as well.

If you're starting to notice a pattern here that's because there is one. The Bucks take and hit a ton of three-pointers. The constant threat of toxic rain keeps the middle clear for penetrators and for center Andrew Bogut, who started the season slowly but now is rounding into form, averaging 52% from the field, 15 points and 9 rebounds. Forwards Hakim Warrick and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute round out the rotation adding athleticism and a little more scoring punch.

In their element any of the Bucks players can cause you harm, which is the secret to Milwaukee's battle plan. They want you thinking in four directions at once. They like to space the floor and watch you scramble. On good nights you need to field at least two octopi in order to cover them all.

Unfortunately most of these guys are spotty, up to and including Jennings himself...likely due to being a rookie and all. When it goes bad for the Bucks it goes really bad. If they're in the 80's they're done. They are just not set up to win that kind of game. It happens every now and again because they're neither a great paint scoring team nor a fast breaking team. They rely on the jumper and the jumper is a fickle mistress. When push comes to shove they'll settle for getting up more shots than you do and hope for the best.

Here's the thing, though. Unlike Bucks teams of yore this year's incarnation often wins when scoring in the 90's because (gasp!) they can play a little defense. Mind you, we said a little. Nobody's going to confuse this team with the Robinson-Duncan Spurs. But they get after it most nights, possibly because they play a legit 10 guys and keep them fresh. What they lack in individual prowess they make up for in covering ground, though they can get caught lapsing in transition sometimes. Like many young teams their defense tends to feed off of their offense. On nights when the scoring is easy the energy is high. Grind them down offensively and they'll lose focus on the other end too. Their huge, HUGE Achilles Heel is that they foul like a mug-mug, again an example of enthusiasm over true defensive chops. They're giving opponents 29 free throws on average while drawing fewer than 20 themselves, losing around 7.5 points per game at the stripe. Even a decent turnover differential can't make up for that.

The Bucks are better offensive rebounders than defensive. Their eyes light up when they get a chance to score. You have to worry about nearly every forward they put out there plus Bogut. Boxing out is an important skill against them.

Pivotal Points to the Game

1. Just deal with Jennings somehow and the Bucks are your oyster. Unfortunately that key has been on the chalkboard of every team they've played since he broke out. Obviously you should never leave him alone to help on anyone else...ever. If he gets a single shot uncovered beating sticks should appear in the hands of the coaches. Portland's propensity to mix defenses may come in handy here, as he's yet inexperienced in the league and overall. Throw different looks and different players at him. If nothing else put Bayless on him and let them fight.

2. The Bucks KILL teams that play fast and play no defense. The Blazers' best bet is to grind it out and make them work for their points.

3. Limit their offensive rebounds. Remember lots of shots are going to come long and on the whole you have better rebounding guards than they.

4. Take care of the ball, eh?

5. If you don't drive on this team and draw some fouls it's like telling those Publisher's Clearing House guys to get the hell away from your door when they bring that oversized check and balloons down your walk.

Final Thoughts

Need a win here. Just take the good things you did last night, repeat them, and patch up a small hole or two. At least you know you won't have LeBron driving a truck through your roadblock tonight. Come out to win this one and don't let go until you have done it.

Check out the Milwaukee point of view at the fantastic Brewhoop!

You can enter tonight's Jersey Contest form right here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Recap: Celtics 98, Bucks 89

Frank Madden — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:16:20 -0000

Box Score

Let's not kid ourselves. When your team has dropped eight of its last nine, there's no such thing as a moral victory, even if it's a hard-fought game on the Celtics' home floor. But let's at least say this: the Bucks' rather predictable loss in Boston at least had more to do with the Celtics being damn good than the Bucks simply being bad.

Unlike Sunday, the Bucks were playing catch-up early but this time held their composure for about 44 minutes. A big reason was Andrew Bogut, who settled the Bucks early on by dropping a series of hooks with both hands en route to 12 first quarter points. Brandon Jennings again had a slow start, missing three shots before heading to the bench midway through the first, but came back in time to toss a tough runner high off the glass going to his left for a three point play to end the first. Improbably, the Bucks not only were in it, but had a one-point lead.

The second quarter was largely the same story from a flow perspective. Both teams rested their starters for longer stretches, and Bogut was held shotless with two turnovers, though he also notched three assists. But as much as the Celtics made short spurts, they couldn't put together the consistency needed to put the Bucks away. The Bucks again finished respectably, as Delfino buried a late three and Jennings dropped in a floater near the buzzer to bring the Bucks within a point at the half.

Third quarter? Same story. Kevin Garnett (25 points, 9/13 fg) started to get on a roll in the third, burying four open jumpers as Rajon Rondo (11 pts, nine boards, 13 ast) used P&R to get in the lane and kick to open teammates seemingly everytime down the court. But Bogut answered with eight of his own and the Celtics' role players had less luck--Eddie House and Brian Scalabrine among those missing open looks that had the Garden crowd ready to explode.

Unfortunately, in crunch time the Celtics simply played like the Celtics. And the Bucks, well, they played like you'd expect the Bucks to play on the road against the league's best defense. After Delfino found Ilyasova surprisingly open for a layup to tie it at 86, Rondo (40% ft shooting coming in) hit a pair of freebies and stuck a mid-range jumper shortly thereafter. It was the capper on a big quarter for Rondo, who scored all 11 of his points in the decisive period, including 5/7 from the stripe. Bogut then turned it over on consecutive possessions, and Garnett dumped a righty hook over Ilyasova to extend the Boston to lead to 93-86. Ballgame.

Three Bucks

Andrew Bogut. Bogut finished the game with an unsightly seven turnovers, but that shouldn't overshadow the fact that he was miles better than he's been the past three games (25 points, 11/17 fg, 14 rebs, five assists, two blocks). It was mostly what we expect of Bogut at his best: when he posted deep he finished with both hands, and when further out he was able to put the ball on the deck and get equally good looks. He even had one improbable turnaround fadeaway with the clock running down and made each of his three free throws--one of those nights apparently.

Ersan Ilyasova. Garnett was able to take it to Ilyasova on the rare occasions he got the ball on the block, and Ilyasova's shot generally wasn't falling from outside. But otherwise the Turkish Delight held his own about as well as could be expected against Boston's best, scoring 19 (6/17 fg, 2/6 threes, 5/6 ft) to go with eight boards, and three steals in 43 minutes.

Carlos Delfino. Jennings (7/19 fg, 17 pts) had a flashier night, but Delfino provided both some shooting (12 points on 5/10 fg, 2/4 threes) and passing (team-high five assists). I'm not sure I like Delfino orchestrating the offense too much, but it's tough to complain when Delfino plays Ray Allen (13 pts on nine shots) to a draw.

Three Numbers

52.2%. Though the Celtics couldn't crack the century mark, it's not to say the Bucks defended particularly well--Boston ended the game right around their averages with 108.9 pts scored/100 possessions and 98.9 pts/100 allowed. They came out looking to pound the Bucks inside, and eventually found their mid-range groove as well.

The Bucks certainly worked hard, but Rondo was seemingly able to draw the extra defender at will, forcing the Bucks to leave either Perkins open under the basket or Garnett open on the perimeter. And even though Rondo was basically no threat to score himself most of the night, he made almost no mistakes finding his talented teammates (13 dimes, one turnover). Whether it was the screener or someone setting up shop in the corner, Rondo's vision was tremendous and he's got the teammates to make him look good.

14. The Bucks got after it on the offensive glass and it helped keep them in the game--14 offensive and 45 total boards helped offset the Bucks' 43% shooting.

17. Turnover differential has generally been one of the Bucks' saving graces the past two seasons, but not tonight. The Bucks coughed it up 20 times--a whopping 17 on Boston steals--as the Celtics simply gave them no margin for error. The Celtics are just impressive all the way around on defense: they defend one-on-one, they take away passing lanes, they hedge/recover on P&R, they close out on shooters when you move the ball. The Bucks might not have seen the Celtics at their best tonight, but they probably saw enough to know why they're once again one of the league's toughest teams.

Three Good

The Anchor. Technically Bogut's been back for over a week, but it's been three games since we saw the Bogut we want to see. As is so often the case, Bogut's ability to finish around the hoop was closely correlated with everything else about his game, and it was nice feeling like the Bucks had someone they could count on to create scoring opportunities whenever the crowd was starting to get into it. Turnovers not withstanding, this is the Bogut that we need to see every night.

The Prince. If practice made perfect, then Luc Mbah a Moute's development as a jump-shooter wouldn't be progressing so miserably. But as much as the Prince has struggled with his shot, his work-rate and footwork on defense is still a sight to behold. Paul Pierce didn't have a terrible line tonight (15 pts on nine shots, five turnovers), but thanks to Luc, he was among the least of the Bucks' problems.

Bouncing back. Unlike most of their recent losses, the Bucks at least didn't have anything to be ashamed of tonight. It was a road game, the Celtics are good, they were in it until late, blah blah. And tomorrow night the Bucks get a chance to bounce back quickly against a Calderon-less Raptors team in Milwaukee. No excuses.

Three Bad

Closing time. It's no secret that the Bucks don't have proven scorers they can rely on in crunch time--a void that was all the more obvious when you watch the Celtics with KG, Pierce and Allen all ready to drop daggers when the Celtics need a hoop.

Sure, Jennings has made some big shots, but he's had even more misses and turnovers--a theme that continued tonight as he misfired on a pair of late threes. Tonight Bogut fell victim to the turnover bug as well, coughing it up twice in the last four minutes as the Celtics made their surge. So while we used to always complain about Mike Redd's one-track mind late in games, I wouldn't mind having an 04/05 or 05/06 Redd around to make life easier at this point. Sadly, I'm not counting on it.

Bench. Luke Ridnour and Hakim Warrick have typically been reliable bench scorers of late; maybe not both at the same time, but typically one of them has provided a shot of energy to the second unit. Not tonight. Ridnour didn't make a field goal before going down with an elbow injury in the third quarter, and Warrick was a complete non-factor in 13 minutes. All told, the Bucks got just nine points on 2/11 shooting from the short bench of Ridnour, Warrick, and Bell.

Rondo'ed. It was a matchup of contrasting roles and styles for Jennings and Rondo. While the more trigger-happy Jennings is already carrying the burden of an entire franchise 20 games into his career, Rondo has steadily developed into one of the league's best all-around PGs while sharing the stage with three all-stars. I doubt either team would want to trade their guy for the other one--the Bucks need to roll the dice with a potential superstar and the Celtics need their more experienced jack-of-all-trades. On the positive side, Jennings showed some creative shot-making around the hoop...but he also missed all eight of his jumpers outside 15 feet. Live and learn.

Recap: Pistons 105, Bucks 96

Frank Madden — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:54:05 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Pretty much.

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Box Score

"Same old Bucks."

If you were a visitor from the year 2007, that's probably the reaction you would have had at seeing the 09/10 Bucks drop back-to-back games in uninspiring fashion in Washington and Detroit. Defense? Not much. Rebounding? Meh, too much effort. Road wins? Nah. Andrew Bogut? Still getting owned by Ben Wallace.

Ironically, the 06/07 Bucks actually started their season off with a 105-97 road win in Detroit (nearly reversed tonight), but as is usually the case, a promising start (15-14 through December 27) gave way to a miserable, injury-plagued final 50 games. It's too early to be condemning the 09/10 Bucks to the same fate, but the Bucks have seemed rather lifeless for long stretches over the past two, most notably in their inability to get big (or for that matter even small) stops on defense. And with neither Andrew Bogut (4/9 fg, eight points) nor Brandon Jennings (6/20 fg, 15 pts) providing any fireworks in the scoring column, the Bucks offense has been similarly toothless.

The Pistons had no such problems, as Rodney Stuckey stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points on 11 shots and nine assists. He helped set the tone early, beating Charlie Bell on a pair of quick cuts to the hoop en route to eight quick points that staked the Pistons to a 34-23 edge after one. Stuckey then beat Brandon Jennings and the halftime buzzer with a layup that restored the Piston lead to eight.

Detroit then used an early 8-0 run to push the lead to 14 in the third, and with the exception of some typical small Bucks runs managed to lead the game by double-digits most of the way. Jonas Jerebko was active and looking very un-rookie-like with 16 and 7, and ended the game by packing Charlie Bell on a three point attempt in the waning seconds. Fitting? Yes, fitting.

Three Bucks

Luke Ridnour. If you were a visitor from two months ago who dropped by just for the last two games, you might be surprised to see Brandon Jennings still starting. After all, the kid's preseason didn't exactly scream rookie-of-the-year favorite, and Luke Ridnour has been outperforming him for a couple weeks now. Normally that would be a knock on the rook, but the reality is that it's mostly just a tribute to Ridnour, who continued his torrid shooting streak of late with a 7/11 shooting night, 21 points, and nine assists. That's now four out of six games with 20+ points.

Carlos Delfino. Delfino came out looking charged up against his former team, making 6/7 fg en route to 15 points by the half. Second half? Well, the charge wore off. The Argentine missed all five of his shots but still had one of the few respectable lines on the team: 15 on 12 shots along with seven boards.

Brandon Jennings. Young Buck still can't make shots to save his life (6/20 fg), but he continues to do other things--dish it out (eight assists), grab long rebounds (five boards), and for the second straight game he took care of the ball as well (one turnover after none two days ago). He made a couple big threes as the Bucks tried to stay in it late, but missed another triple and a layup (when Jerebko wasn't called for hitting him on the arm) in what seemed a fittingly frustrating end to the night.

Three Numbers

57%. Detroit's fg%...'nuff said.

46-30. The Pistons just waxed the Bucks on the glass, and with Bogut back (plus a brief cameo by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute) there's no excuse for it. Big Ben led the way with 11, compared to Bogut's five in 27 minutes.

20-9. The only area where the Bucks did themselves favors was in the turnover department, as they both took care of the ball and forced 20 Detroit turnovers.

Three Good

Luke's still here. Alex and I have been joking about the inevitability of Luke Ridnour's return to earth, but so far he's not giving in. It's not that Ridnour can't shoot the ball, but he's never been close to this good for a full season (51.3% shooting right now vs. 41.7% career). Did he steal Brandon's mojo or something a couple weeks back? Who knows, but hopefully he doesn't go cold now because there's no one else picking up the slack. Somewhat interestingly, he's putting up his excellent shooting splits in spite of the fact that he's once again under 40% on inside shots (which is as terrible as it sounds).

Luc's back. He only played 12 fairly ineffective minutes, but it's still a very good thing to see LRMaM out of his boot and back on the court. Have fun with LeBron on Sunday, big guy.

Skiles will be back. Skiles wasn't pleased after the last game and probably wasn't a fun guy on the flight home, either. Let's hope the Bucks' uninspiring play over the last two can be at least somewhat explained by the absence of their fearless leader.

Three Bad

Jennings' shot. To say Jennings hasn't been able to shoot is a little deceiving; his three point percentage hasn't cratered but his percentage on everything worth two points has. Tonight Jennings finished 3/10 from deep and the same from inside the arc. It's a shame too, because he started the night off so promisingly with a one-handed floater from the elbow. Tough shot.

Instead, Jennings continues to find himself in a prolonged slump. In the last seven games he hasn't been above 33% shooting even once, a streak so bad that Chris Duhon himself might be taking notice. Thankfully he's still getting other guys involved, but he knows he's needed to score and it's just not happening for him. His frustration was evident after the game with this tweet:

I'm done shooting the ball. Straight passing

Bogut's...everything. That 22/15/4 game against Chicago seems so long ago, doesn't it? The Palace once again proved more like a prison for the big man, who again seemed to let Ben Wallace get in his head and stymie all his attempts to get going early on. Normally short guys struggle to keep Bogut from shooting his short hooks over them, but Wallace is stout enough and his hands are quick enough that Bogut never seems comfortable going at him. Worst of all, those offensive issues seemed to carry over to the other facets of Bogut's game as well. Wallace threw down four dunks to finish with 11/11 on the night, while Bogut grabbed a measly five in 27 minutes and was a team-worst -16.

Opportunity knocks. Had they gotten some vaguely respectable shooting nights from their starters, the Bucks could quite possibly have taken both of these games on the road trip. Instead, they came away with two demoralizing losses that put them at 9-9 and losers of six of the past seven games--and with the Cavs next up on the schedule.

Game 16 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Milwaukee

Zorgon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:46:20 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

Neither of these guys will be playing tonight, which could, in itself, explain why we lost to the Bucks twice last year.

Browse more photos »

This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 8:30 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, ESPN

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): BrewHoop, Bucks Diary, The Bob Boozer Jinx, Bucksketball

Backstory: Well, it's that time of year again. Everybody has loaded up on Turkey, I'm ready to go buy discounted video games like some sort of crazed mad man, and the Thunder are getting ready to take on the hot hot Bucks on National Television. Wait, what was that third one?

That's right, the Thunder are on National Television. After an impressive 8-7 start, ESPN finally considers them to be hot material, at least, hotter than a blowout matchup between the Suns and Timberwolves. And rightfully so. This matchup, in an national perspective, could be seen as a proving ground for both teams. Both are playoff teams right now, which nobody expected at the start of the season. And both are probably not considered to be long-term success teams. That is, most are expecting them to fall into the lottery by the time the season is over. So, who's expected to win?

To be honest, they should expect us to win. The Bucks do have a better record, but their wins have only come over Detroit, Minnesota, Denver, Golden State, New Jersey, Charlotte, and Memphis. Aside from the win against Denver, they've pretty much won against all of the NBAs current doormats. And their losses don't look that much more impressive, with losses to the sub-.500 76ers, Bulls, and Hornets, with the only other losses coming to the struggling Spurs and the rather good Mavericks. Thus, if you put it all together, the only good teams they've played have been Denver and the Mavericks. They've visited almost every non-playoff team in the East (besides the Wizards) and almost every non-playoff team in the West (besides the Clippers, Kings, and Jazz). Now, I'm not saying that the Bucks continuing their run of success in the weaker East isn't possible, I'm just saying that this team isn't the powerhouse we thought they were. Combine that with the loss of Andrew Bogut and possible loss of Luc Richard Mbah A Moute, and you have one giant over-hyped sandwich.

On our side of things, things feel much more real. We're coming off of a huge wins in Utah and Miami, with a more minor win against the Wizards and losses against the Magic and Lakers. All of that doesn't look bad on paper, but it covers up our past losses to teams like the Clippers and Kings. If we can win this game, it will put us at 2 games above .500, and in a very good position moving forward. Thus, this game will decide, on a national stage, whether we are just another bad team having a good early season run, or whether we really are ready for the playoffs.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Dan Gadzuric

Ah, the Bucks resident backup Center, Dan Gadzuric. He could double-double in this game, if he gets enough minutes in which to do so. However, I'm pretty sure Krstic will have the better scoring night, as no one knows Gadzuric as a defensive stalwart or anything.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Ersan Ilyasova

Ilyasova is a rare example of how going back to the Euroleague can help your game, He was drafted in 05, played only in the D-League, and then played only sparingly in 06-07. Since he wasn't happy with his situation, he went to play for F.C. Barcelona, averaged decent stats for two years, improved his game, and then came back to the Bucks, where he's now a rather successful Power Forward, averaging 10 Points, 7 Rebounds, and 1 Assist per game in only 22 minutes. Still, this is weaker matchup for Jeff Green, so if he can stay out of foul trouble, he should manage to put up good numbers, and can probably beat Ilyasova in every category.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Carlos Delfino

You read correctly, Carlos Delfino is indeed playing Small Forward. He went to play in Russia last year and averaged decent statistics, but Delfino is already a known quantity, so that only served to raise his stock and get him decent pay. Nevertheless, even though Delfino is a jack of all trades who will produce in every category, he will almost certainly be overpowered by Kevin Durant and scored upon many times.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Charlie Bell

Charlie Bell, at one point, was the worst shooter in the NBA. He's improved since, but he's not going to be a scoring threat any time soon. He'll fill up the intangibles, just as Thabo will, making this matchup a draw.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Brandon Jennings

And here is the matchup of the hour. Brandon Jennings is the super rookie who decided to play in Europe for a year, and, boy, has it paid off. He has averaged 23 Points, 5 Rebounds, and 6 Assists in his rookie campaign, all while sporting very stylish haircuts (I've seen him with the flat top, the faux-hawk, and whatever you call the badass hair-style he has now). If Scott Brooks is smart, he'll have Thabo defending this guy, because Russell Westbrook doesn't have a chance in hell of stopping him. Jennings wins this matchup easily, and I shudder to think what will happen if Mike Wilks is forced to step on the floor.

Battle of the Benches:

This is a complete waste of time. Even without Mbah A Moute and Bogut, the Bucks still have a much more powerful bench, containing former SuperSonic Luke Ridnour, former Raptors star Roko Ukic, former Grizzlies star Hakim Warrick, and Kurt Thomas. We have Harden, Etan Thomas, Collison.....and Mike Wilks. Oh yeah, they still have Michael Redd off the bench, too. I'd say they get the win.

Coaching and Intangibles:

The one intangible on the Thunders side to pay attention to is Mike Wilks. It's not know if we'll have to play him, but if we do, the situation could get drastic, especially against the amazing Brandon Jennings. On the Bucks side, it's not know if Michael Redd can return to his former scoring form yet. If he can, it would certainly create a dynamic duo of a back court, making our situation even more desperate. Where's Kyle Weaver when you need him?

Bottom Line:

The Bucks are like the Raptors of a couple of years ago. They signed foreign talent, combined it with what they had, and became a threat to win on any given night. But, the team is flawed. If Michael Redd can't find his stride, then Brandon Jennings is the only serious scorer on the roster. If Thabo shuts him down to an extent, we can get an easy win. But, if they can get both of their scorers going and have another X-Factor step up, then we're screwed. Also, watch Mike Wilks. If he plays, he could be a huge liability when defending Brandon Jennings. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

Prediction: Oklahoma City 110, Milwaukee 105

Sorry, Bucks fans. I think we've got this one in the bag. Too bad the game is on the worst sports broadcaster of all time.

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I'll be in the Ford Center cheering the team on, but I'll be back to write a recap later tonight. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

23 votes

The Milwaukee Bucks

7 votes

30 votes | Poll has closed

Game Thread 3: Bucks/Bulls

Alex Boeder — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:34:00 -0000

Bucks vs Bulls coverage

No más. Insert sad face.

1-1 (0-1 road)		1-2 (1-0 home)
	vs.
November 3, 2009 - 7:30 PM CT
United Center
Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: FS Wisconsin HD
Probable starters:
Brandon Jennings	PG	Derrick Rose
Charlie Bell	SG	John Salmons
Carlos Delfino	SF	Luol Deng
Kurt Thomas	PF	Taj Gibson
Andrew Bogut	C	Joakim Noah
97.6 (28th)	Off	99.0 (27th)
98.7 (6th)	Def	109.7 (19th)
93.2 (15th)	Pace	90.6 (25th)

Three Points

City of win. Chicago opened the season in high fashion by knocking out the Spurs 92-85. And they did so while misfiring into a 3-16 night from deep; the result was not a fluke. But the Bulls have since lost two games in a row, first in Boston (beating San Antonio and Boston is too much for most) and then Miami on Sunday. Off to a 1-0 start at the United Center, where Chicago went 28-13 last season, they are happy to be home.
Redd: shoot. Maybe he didn't show it in his first 62 minutes (8 for 25 from the field), and maybe he can't quite like he used to. But shooting guard Michael Redd can shoot. I don't know if anyone else can. Maybe Carlos Delfino or Ersan Ilyasova? That's an optimistic outlook. Maybe they can shoot for players who are under 40.0 % from the field in their NBA careers. Maybe Jodie Meeks, if he actually plays? I like Charlie Bell, but he is starting at shooting guard, team. Two games in, the Bucks are second to last in the league shooting the ball, at 40.5 %. And now, Redd exits. Still in spite of all this unfortunate-ness, I:
Can't help but smiling. About this Brandon Jennings era. A real kick. Usually, flirting with a triple-double in your first NBA game would seem a mighty difficult act to follow. This is unusual. Twenty year-old rookie point guards are supposed to be threshold tests for pain. Though you might recall watching another nifty 20 year-old point guard take to an NBA court for the first time. Last year, right around this time, in the same place, Derrick Rose debuted and started in a win over the Bucks. While he's not off to an overwhelming start this season, Rose is already an elite player, as evidenced by many in last season's playoff series against Boston. These teams faced off a couple times in the preseason, but Rose didn't play. So this is it. Rose is quick like Jennings, but he's also very strong, so this will be quite a task. Here's to the first meeting of many between these Central Division point guards. Let the curtains open on Number 3, Act 3. And I can't help but smiling.

Coverage

Blog a Bull / By The Horns / Chicago Tribune

Recap: Bucks 96, Pistons 85

Frank Madden — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:55:21 -0000

Box Score / AP Recap / JS Recap / GameFlow

With less than a minute to go in the first half of the Bucks' home opener, you would have been forgiven for getting that same old feeling about the Bucks. Down 49-33, with Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd offering little help for the second straight night, it would have been perfectly acceptable to start extrapolating a long, long season. If the Bucks sort-of-stars were MIA, how were they ever going to win games? Anyone see John Wall or Derrick Favors lately?

Fortunately, the Bucks apparently have a bit more up their sleeve than just Redd and Bogut. Namely, they have Brandon Jennings (24 points, 9/15 fg), who for the second straight night was the fulcrum of seemingly everything good that happened for the Bucks. The rook had a perfect third quarter, making all seven of his shots en route to 16 points that catapulted the Bucks from down 11 to up 11. And when Jennings wasn't getting it done, Hakim Warrick and the Bucks' role players were. Warrick scored 21 of the Bucks' 52 bench points, and his 15 free throws were representative of a more active, aggressive approach that provided a stark contrast to Friday night.

Three Bucks

Brandon Jennings. Remember when we were wondering if he would be able to win the starting job? Like, you know, a week ago? Apparently time flies when you're a hyper-talented 20-year old.

Like Friday night, Jennings drilled a three in the first couple minutes of the game, but unlike the Philly game it didn't foreshadow a big first half. Rather, Ben Gordon and Rodney Stuckey used screens and hot shooting (well, what you'd expect from Gordon) to eat Jennings up in the first half (he guarded both guys at times). It wasn't particularly bad defense, but this is the NBA. Working hard simply isn't enough to shut the other guys down.

Then in the third quarter something happened. The Bucks started spreading the floor, running more high pick/roll to give Jennings room to use his speed. And Young Buck found a bit of a zone, which shouldn't be too shocking for a guy that once made 13 threes in a high school game. It started with a floater in transition, the Pistons' disorganization in transition allowing the rook to dart into the paint. Down five. Two minutes later, Redd found Jennings for a no-hesitation, catch and shoot triple from the left wing. Still down five.

And then with just over five minutes remaining in the third came a one-man 9-0 run that turned a two point deficit into a seven point lead. Two mid-range jumpers, then the play that may well be the lynchpin of Jennings' early season YouTube mixes (see above). Jennings just took the ball from Kwame Brown near the foul line, and immediately launched himself down court, navigating around Rodney Stuckey with an around-the-back to his right before corkscrewing himself for a reverse lefty lay-in on the right side of the hoop. Pandemonium, or at least as close to it as you can get from the just-over 15,000 people in attendance. And he wasn't quite done. On the next possession he skipped around a high screen on the right side and buried another triple from the right wing.

Overall, 24 points and three assists would suggest Jennings was just bombing away for himself, but in truth he was pretty consistently creating looks for teammates, much like a night earlier. The big difference was the Bucks didn't seem able to convert consistently, especially in the first half when Jennings took just four shots.

Hakim Warrick. With the Bucks' big money guys misfiring, Warrick provided the crucial scoring to keep the Bucks in it early (11 points at the half) and added another 10 in the second half. And while he's a bit too eager to fire up his backward-leaning 18-footer, he made up for it and then some with his willingness to attack the rim regardless of how many Pistons were standing in his way. He even made 1/2 from deep, though it was out of necessity--the miss coming at the first quarter buzzer and the make coming on a shot clock-beater from the right corner.

Warrick also did well when he wasn't the one finishing. He's not really known as a guy who makes teammates better, but he and the rest of the Bucks' bench did well moving the ball even if their mediocre shooting kept their assist totals down. Charlie V hit some shots in the fourth to finish with an OK line (12 pts on eight shots and six boards) but Warrick was better by a mile.

And he doesn't have a $35 million contract. Nice.

Luc Mbah a Moute. A night after an invisible debut in Philly, Mbah a Moute looked more like the old Luc. Nothing huge, and his line barely registers in a quick scan of the box score. Still, he tied Bogut for the team lead with eight boards and just played. Less worrying about shooting jumpers like a small forward should; more playing defense, crashing the glass and using his work rate to get easy buckets.

Three Numbers

+8. The Bucks out-fouled the Pistons (29-28). No surprise there. But their aggressiveness paid off at the free throw line for a change, as they were +8 in attempts and +5 in free throws made. Most of the credit goes to Warrick, who accounted for 15 of the 33 attempts. The best part about Warrick is how fearless he is around the rack; he simply expects to put it down every time he gets it near the cup, and all the energy seemed to be contagious, as the Bucks hauled in 16 offensive rebounds, 12 by the bench.

36. The Bucks don't have the look of a team capable of explosive offense, and looked the part with 38 first half points. So the Pistons were probably a bit shell-shocked when Jennings and company came out in the third and started making everything. The end result was a 36-14 edge, the only quarter the Bucks won on the scoreboard.

4. How can the Bucks win when they get a grand total of 4/15 shooting from Redd and Bogut? In general, they won't (see below). Which is why the lack of production from the big guns is cause for concern.

Three Good

The kid. We probably shouldn't hand him the key to the city quite yet, but it's impossible not to be excited by what we've seen so far. His style is unmistakably that of a point guard, but tonight we saw he could also carry the team as scorer for stretches.

Scott Skiles won't be surprised; he alluded in the preseason that Jennings would have to play that role at times. That doesn't make him Allen Iverson, though the Bucks won't mind if Jennings score like him at times. And as much as Iverson has become a four-letter word in any discussion of point guards, the truth is that great points have to score at times. Paul, Nash, and Deron Williams do it.

Role players. Jennings and Warrick were the only double-figure scorers, but they didn't pick up the slack for Redd/Bogut alone. Ersan Ilyasova didn't really have his shot going but was active (nine pts, six boards, four offensive and +13) and combined nicely with Warrick, each setting the other up a couple times. Mbah a Moute picked up the slack for Carlos Delfino, who started the game with a great move to the cup but seemed too eager to launch 27 foot threes after that. And as much as I give Dan Gadzuric a hard time, he stepped up tonight (4/5 fg, five rebounds) and allowed Skiles to sit Kurt Thomas the final 43 minutes of the game.

Something to talk about. You can't fault the city of Milwaukee for being skeptical of the Bucks right now. They've been mediocre-to-bad for too long, and a summer of exodus won't win over fans, even if CV and RJ aren't nearly as valuable as many assumed. So it's crucial the Bucks win some games and do it in a way that people can appreciate. Jennings provides the flash, and he's clearly going to be a guy who gets people talking. But the hard work has to be a team effort.

~~Three~~ Two Bad.

Bogut. Bogut got into early foul trouble and never got on track for the second straight night, finishing just 2/7 from the field for six points and eight boards before fouling out in 27 minutes. I thought he looked slightly better than in Philly, but that's not saying too much. Bogut's had a penchant for slow starts over his career, and his long layoff following his back injury can't help.

But the Bucks can't afford to have Bogut this uninvolved for the next month. Part of that is on Bogut--he needs to get deeper position on the block, get more freebies off the offensive boards, and catch the ball when his teammates find him in the paint (more of an issue in Philly). But the Bucks also need to do more than throw him the ball in the post five times a game. More pick and rolls, more high post where he can face up. You're paying him to be a cornerstone player, and now play him like one, too.

Redd...and his knee. Redd scored nine on just 2/9 from the field, and left the game in the fourth due to reported soreness in his surgically-repaired knee. He appeared to come down a bit awkwardly after a right-handed breakaway dunk in the third (see video above), which probably shouldn't be surprising given he seems to get hurt every time he dunks. The good news is that Redd's departure is being termed precautionary and he's expected to be ready on Tuesday when the Bucks play in Chicago.

Recap: Pistons 95, Bucks 93

Frank Madden — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:43:19 -0000

Box Score / Recap

Down.

Up.

Down.

The exhibition season is now done, leaving us to sort through a predictably mixed bag of results. The annual MACC Fund finale game saw the Bucks fall for a second time to the Pistons to finish the preseason at 3-5, reaffirming that despite occasional signs of progress, the club remains a definite work in progress.

The Bucks started the preseason with just two players penciled in as sure-fire starters: Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut. Considering neither had played a regular season game in about eight months, there was still understandable trepidation about both guys' ability to be at 100% come opening night. So the best news of the exhibition season was that eight games later both have proven they're ready for opening night--presuming nothing unforeseen happens in practice this week.

On Friday Redd (37 min) and Bogut (32) both broke the 30 minute barrier for the first time, with Redd leading the Bucks with 23 points on a tidy 18 shots and Bogut narrowly missing his third straight double-double with 10/9. Still, the opening quarter was brutal by any standard, as the teams combined for just 11 points in the first six minutes. Charlie Villanueva scored back-to-back buckets to give the ~~Bucks~~ Pistons a 7-4 lead but didn't do much after that, finishing 3/8 from the field for eight points along with six boards, three turnovers, and a -19 differential in 26 minutes. The starters did better in the third, building a 12-point edge that evaporated once Bogut went to the bench.

The Point: Jennings with the Edge?

Brandon Jennings started his third straight game, but didn't help his case much with a 2/9 shooting performance and uneven defense. His first field goal didn't come until a second effort in the lane midway through the fourth, though he followed it up with a triple shortly thereafter that cut the Piston lead to one. Defensively, he's still prone to getting rubbed out on screens--knifing around them is an art he's still learning--and he sometimes lets guys blow by him (hello, Will Bynum) despite having the quickness to prevent that kind of thing.

Ridnour didn't exactly take advantage of the opening, however, scoring six with one assist and three turnovers in 13 minutes. The Bucks were also outscored by 15 points while Ridnour was on the court--compared to +10 for Jennings--but that's also partly a product of who he was playing with. As we've mentioned, the problem with a Ridnour/Jennings rotation is that both guys look a lot better when they're surrounded by, you know, good players. Via Charles Gardner, Scott Skiles was really impressed:

"Our point guards had a hard time even getting the ball up the floor and getting into position to run our offense. On the other end, they shot 69% in the fourth quarter.

"Gordon, Stuckey and Bynum took us wherever they wanted to, and we didn't have much response to it.

"This was not a great night for Brandon. He looked like a rookie out there. But that's why you play these games, so he can get a further understanding of what it takes to excel at this level."

Before the preseason I was a bit skeptical of Jennings' readiness to start on opening night, and Ridnour's good play (.535/.429 shooting) in the first five games didn't help Jennings' chances. But Ridnour is what he is: a mediocre shooter whose best trait is a willingness to get out of the way. Meanwhile, Jennings for all his rawness (33% shooting, nearly 3 to/g in 26 mpg) brings a different dimension to the game, and Skiles knows the Bucks won't be going anywhere until Jennings starts to figure things out. Jennings needs to be more aggressive getting into the lane rather than just looking for his jumper, but unlike Ridnour he's at least capable of getting into the lane. Whoever starts, I'd expect both guys to get 20+ mpg early on.

Forward Spots: Delfino and...

Though he'll be suspended on opening night, Carlos Delfino seems fairly locked in at the starting three spot. He had another solid effort on Friday (11 points on six shots, six boards), but his edge over Luc Mbah a Moute is mostly thanks to Skiles' preference for bringing Luc off the bench and Delfino's range providing more flexibility at the 4. No one expects Delfino to be a long-term solution, but right now the reality is that Skiles' forward group has a bunch of solid sixth men and nobody who's proven much beyond that.

Speaking of which, Hakim Warrick got his first start (an anonymous eight points and two boards in 26 minutes) at PF but don't expect to see him in the starting five on Friday in Philly. As Jeremy notes, Skiles likes Warrick's scoring off the bench and wants more toughness from his starting 4. Makes sense. Warrick's been a poor-to-mediocre rebounder for a PF his entire career, and Skiles presumably will feel better with Kurt Thomas defending Elton Brand in the opener.

It will be interesting to see how long that pecking order holds. Ersan Ilyasova performed nicely off the bench on Friday, scoring 16 on 10 shots along with five boards and a couple assists in 22 minutes--nearly the same numbers he put up in Charlotte. He hit a couple big triples as the Bucks tried to come back in the fourth, taking advantage of a disorganized Pistons defense for a number of good looks, while also keeping a few possessions alive with his hustle. While not as versatile or explosive in the scoring department as Charlie V, no one will be complaining if he can continue to punish sagging defenses (45.9% threes in preseason) and defend consistently. He still seems like the most natural fit against perimeter-based PFs, but Warrick should also figure in those situations.