Milwaukee Bucks Thread

[CKR13]

Point guard Brandon Jennings has a fracture on his fifth metatarsal on the left foot. Jennings will undergo surgery and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

[CKR13]

An injury depleted Milwaukee Bucks winning against the Los Angeles Lakers 98-79. Andrew Bogut had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Irsan Ilyasova had 17 points and 11 rebounds while John Salmons added 20 points and 6 assists.

Earl Boykins came off the bench with 22 points.

The Bucks were without the following key players:

Brandon Jennings
Carlos Delfino
Drew Gooden

[Khalid80]

An injury depleted Milwaukee Bucks winning against the Los Angeles Lakers 98-79. Andrew Bogut had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Irsan Ilyasova had 17 points and 11 rebounds while John Salmons added 20 points and 6 assists.

Earl Boykins came off the bench with 22 points.

The Bucks were without the following key players:

Brandon Jennings
Carlos Delfino
Drew Gooden

That was surprising !! It seems the Lakers just collapsed in the 4th quarter... cause at the end of the third quarter they were down 72-66.

Checking the box score (since no summary available yet for the game) and it seems Kobe got ejected from the game... He surely must have been frustrated with his team's bad game and horrendous shooting...

[mvblair]

That was surprising !! It seems the Lakers just collapsed in the 4th quarter... cause at the end of the third quarter they were down 72-66.

Checking the box score (since no summary available yet for the game) and it seems Kobe got ejected from the game... He surely must have been frustrated with his team's bad game and horrendous shooting...

Ejected with 2:07 left in the game? I think he did it on purpose as a poor attempt to blame the Lakers bad play on the refs.

I'm not surprised to see Ilyasova have such a big game. Or Boykins. Boykins is a very good player. Even though he wasn't great in Europe, his game is so quick that NBA players always fall for his tricks.

[Saskibaloia]

Ejected with 2:07 left in the game? I think he did it on purpose as a poor attempt to blame the Lakers bad play on the refs.

I'm not surprised to see Ilyasova have such a big game. Or Boykins. Boykins is a very good player. Even though he wasn't great in Europe, his game is so quick that NBA players always fall for his tricks.

I was shocked with the outcome of the game ... it was like David vs Goliath clash ...

[dxjayrock2008]

The Milwaukee Bucks has defeated the Sacramento Kings, 84-79. Andrew Bogut leads the Bucks with 15 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks and 1 steal.

[Saskibaloia]

Fear the deer?

What is going on right now with the Bucks?

Was the acquisition of so many new players a bad thing?

Should they have stuck with their core group of players from last year rather than attempt to acquire so many new fresh faces?

Will we be seeing the Bucks of old?

NBA.com

Fear the deer? Right now, Bucks the ones ducking for cover


Posted Dec 29 2010 11:41AM

CHICAGO -- "Fear the Deer" was clever and catchy and plucky, a sweet battle cry for an underdog Milwaukee Bucks team in 2009-10 that caught some teams unaware and ran over others when they were fully prepared.

Problem is, in 2010-11, the rest of the NBA -- and the basketball gods in general -- are locked, loaded and wearing blaze orange.

Oh deer.

Thirty games into a season of such high hopes, such elevated expectations, the Bucks are 12-18. Their offense is broken (a dead-last 90.3 points per game), too many of their players have been broken (114 player-games lost to injuries already, compared to 152 all of last season) and from the looks and sounds of it in their 90-77 loss to the Chicago Bulls at United Center Tuesday night, their spirit might be broken, too.

The postgame dressing room was full of dreary explanations and downcast eyes but there was a sameness to it as well, a getting-too-used-to-these-outcomes tone that made it all seem a little hollow. Center Andrew Bogut -- who shot 2-of-12, grabbed 16 rebounds and rarely challenged Bulls forward Carlos Boozer defensively -- was asked how the Bucks are fitting in their many new players so far.

Chris Douglas-Roberts -- one of those new guys, not happy with his role -- chuckled in the next stall.

Then Corey Maggette, acquired from Golden State to create offense for a team that is scoring seven points less than it did last year, summed up his Bucks experience thusly: "If I had to grade it, I'd grade it 'F,' " the veteran wing player said. "So far it's an 'F.' I've got to be honest."

Deer in the headlights right now, this team is at a crossroads. Can they become the Bucks of last season? Or are they the Bucks of a lost season?

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves," forward Luc Mbah a Moute said. "We've got to go out there and play. That's what we're paid to do. We've got to go out there and win games.

"We've got to find a way. Whether that's guys getting more alert defensively and doing what they can. Or guys staying out and working on their shots so we can make more shots, or whatever. We've got to do a little extra and start playing better."

Mbah a Moute said any excuses centered on a roster full of new faces are gone. And while coach Scott Skiles reminded reporters that Milwaukee hasn't had one practice yet -- not one! -- in which its full roster has been healthy and available, we know Skiles isn't prone to excuse-making. Or excuse-taking.

"What does that have to do with putting it all out there?" he had asked before tipoff. "That may have to do with our win-loss record -- the fact that you don't have everybody healthy -- but it shouldn't have anything to do with the overall effort and energy the guys play with."

The Bucks had a nice blend of old and new in absentia Tuesday. No point guard Brandon Jennings, still weeks away, recovering from a broken bone in his foot. No Earl Boykins, a late scratch because of a one-game suspension levied for his ref bump Monday. No Carlos Delfino, Drew Gooden or Michael Redd, each in various states of disrepair. (Redd, by the way, probably has played his last game in a Milwaukee uniform and only his $18.3 million expiring contract is considered an asset to the franchise anymore.)

Undermanned even against a Bulls team missing Joakim Noah, the Bucks stayed close on free throws (25 of them), on rebounds (51) and on second-chance points (18 through three quarters). They were down just 71-68 with nine minutes left. But their spotty shooting had them down 83-70 with 3:41 left and, after whole quarters of 15 and 17 points, there was no way the Bucks were digging out of a 13-point hole in less than four minutes.

Even their little magic-number approach this season betrayed them. They had gone 9-6 when allowing fewer than 92 points. Except this time, they gave up 90 -- and lost.

"Look, you've got to shoot better than the low 30s if you hope to win," Skiles said, before veering toward what sure sounded like sarcasm.

Asked about his players' confidence after missing some simple shots, the Bucks coach said: "At some point, we'd like to make some basic plays. We'd like to make some shots around the basket, we'd like to make open 15-footers. When we have 2-on-1's, we'd like to convert 'em. Just make some basic NBA plays. It is demoralizing for the guys not to come up with, at this level, what are very easy plays to make. At some point we need to make 'em -- that will make the guys feel a lot better."

Last season, Milwaukee averaged 97.7 points while giving up 96.0. And that was before the many offseason enhancements made by general manager John Hammond, from adding Maggette, Douglas-Roberts, Drew Gooden and Keyon Dooling to locking up shooting guard John Salmons (5-of-17 vs. the Bulls) for the long haul. Bogut was presumably back and healthy, too, after his nasty spill late last season.

Only it hasn't worked out that way. The Bucks remain a bin of parts, nowhere close to being a whole. They sit right where they were a year ago -- 12-18 before going 8-7 in January, 10-4 in February and 11-4 in March -- but are disjointed, lack firepower and won't be sneaking up on anyone this time. Last year's 34-18 finish, if that's what it takes again, will be much tougher now.

Hard to know what has hurt Milwaukee more: the injuries or the inconsistency. Skiles' defensive demands have jerked around minutes for some players accustomed to getting by on scoring skills, such as Maggette and Douglas-Roberts. Then there are others, like Salmons and Gooden, who never have been reliable night in, night out. Jennings hadn't yet taken a major step forward in his second season before getting hurt. Bogut doesn't expect to be fully recovered from his hand, wrist and arm injuries all season. They even miss free-agent departee Luke Ridnour, now more than ever.

The comings and goings from the rotation are an easy target.

"It's kind of a situation where everyone is a rookie," Maggette said. "You know how they treat rookies -- one day you're up, the next day you're down, one day you're up, the next day you're down. So it's tough. You've just got to stay positive. That's how I look at it. Just stay positive. Do the same [things], enjoy life. This is a great game. This is a great opportunity."

Problem is, Maggette sounded too Teflon, maybe even a little Kevlar as he said that. The only thing worse for the Bucks than having things boil over would be to have them smooth over in a mental check-out.

Maybe the Bucks can yet turn things around. Maybe they start to make the basic plays that they're blowing now. Maybe the trading deadline is a way out.

Whatever, they need to do something, and soon. Because even on Central (Division) time, it's getting late fast.

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA for 25 years. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.

[CKR13]

The Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams which are plagued by injuries of key personnel. Bogut is still not 100% at the moment and perhaps not this season. Jennings, Delfino and Gooden are also reeling from injuries as well. Redd and Maggette are not expected until February.

Just when the Bucks are all healthy by then, there is still the challenge of re-gaining their cohesion on-court.

[Saskibaloia]

Milwaukee's former NBA Draft Lottery Pick: Joe Alexander ...

What ever happened to Milwaukee's former NBA Draft Lottery Pick: Joe Alexander?

I was just watching the top 10 plays of the week of the D-League and one of the plays included Milwaukee's former NBA Draft Lottery Pick: Joe Alexander.

I didn't realise that he's still down in the D-League as I thought he'd be at least in the bench of an NBA team.

Why do you think he wasn't able to make a break through during his time with the Bucks?

Do you think he'll ever come back to the NBA?

[CKR13]

Why do you think he wasn't able to make a break through during his time with the Bucks?

Do you think he'll ever come back to the NBA?

From what I understood, Alexander did struggle on the defensive end for the Milwaukee Bucks and the system of head coach Scott Skiles. Despite Alexander having moderate success with some playing time and more often scoring in double figures, in the following stretch of games, Alexander would not play in certain games and when he does play, he would struggle.

Could be one of the reasons why the Bucks have not exercised his rookie option for the third year of his contract.

Moving forward, I look for Alexander to improve his defense and array of offensive options during his stint in the current D-League season and perhaps get a call up from the NBA.

[CKR13]

Carlos Delfino, who was sidelined for 2 months due to a concussion, has been given a two week timetable of return.

[giljr]

Bucks plays good in this season even if they are the team with many injuries they still manage to win against good teams like Dallas and other teams. I hope that Jennings and their injured teammate will play sooner.

[CKR13]

NBA 2010-2011 Postponed Games

The Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks game was postponed due to a winter storm. This is the second game postponed so far this season as the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic game was also postponed earlier in the season due to safety concerns on the Madison Square Garden arena.

[CKR13]

Milwaukee Bucks 100 Washington Wizards 87

Veteran point guard Keyon Dooling scored a season high 23 points and Corey Maggette also with a season high of 21 points.

[CKR13]

Milwaukee Bucks 102 Cleveland Cavaliers 88

Andrew Bogut scored 23 points while Corey Maggette added 21 points. Maggette is averaging 20 points on the past 2 games.