Game 7: Winner to Florida, loser to offseason

by Alex Boeder on May 2, 2010 2:01 AM CDT in Previews

2009/2010 NBA Playoffs - Round One

56-32 (36-8 home)	vs.	49-39 (19-25 road)
May 2, 2010
Philips Arena
12:00 PM
Radio: WTMJ AM 620 TV: FSN Wisconsin/ABC
Probable starters:
Mike Bibby	PG	Brandon Jennings
Joe Johnson	SG	John Salmons
Marvin Williams	SF	Carlos Delfino
Josh Smith	PF	Luc Mbah a Moute
Al Horford	C	Kurt Thomas

Series: Tied 3-3

Hawks Linkage

Peachtree Hoops / Hoopinion / Hawks Str8Talk / Atlanta Journal Constitution

Sevens are wild. The Bucks are one of the final nine NBA teams still playing here in May, as this is the only Game 7 of the first round.

Salmoff. John Salmons missed all four shot attempts at the rim and was blocked three times in Game 6, and that will just not suffice. Salmons is the team's best and often only hope going to the hoop, he shot 57.6 % at the in the regular season for Milwaukee, and when he can't score inside and or outside (1-4 from 16-23 feet and 0-3 on threes), well you have Game 6. (Alex)

Kelly Dywer: Brandon Jennings and Milwaukee's miserable offense

He's a dogged player, an exhilarating talent and a competitor worth admiring, but viewed through the prism of his 55-point game from last November, Jennings' offense was massively overrated for most of his rookie year. Even if the 55-point game wasn't mentioned, observers seemed to prefer focusing on Jennings' potential rather than a season-long 37 percent clip from the field.

And once defenders learned to try and sneak over screens set for Jennings (as opposed to what Golden State's C.J. Watson did, going under, in the 55-point performance from last fall), Brandon was effectively taken out of most games. The efficient, solid-shooting night was a rarity, an occasional perk alongside his more consistent attributes (ball distribution, defense, fantastic screen-and-roll chemistry on both ends with Andrew Bogut).

So what is Skiles supposed to expect in Game 7? After a regular season of shooting poorly more often than not, Jennings has actually alternated good and bad outings in the postseason, shooting 42 percent through six games. And though he's hardly the most to blame for Milwaukee's miserable offensive output, he will have the ball in his hands the most and he's clearly the most adept at creating his own shot.

In odd-numbered games this series, Jennings is averaging 24.0 points on 48.2 % shooting compared to 14.7 points on 34.8 % shooting in even-numbered games. So I guess that's encouraging. And I think there is a tendency in a playoff series to look at how teams fared in the previous matchup, but every game is its own game, and consecutive ones rarely seem related or similar.

In the Game 6 preview, Frank wrote about how Milwaukee's offense had strangely stayed afloat since Bogut went down. I think the last game was what we all rightfully feared could happen (but hadn't) when Bogut got hurt. Lots of jumpers, lots of missed jumpers, and not a lot else. Almost seemed bound to happen, just maybe not on that scale, on that stage. (Alex)

JS: Bucks hope to take advantage of one more chance
As much as the Bucks can blame themselves for Friday's momentum-crushing defeat, you can't help but give the Hawks credit for their defense. I thought their blanket coverage on Salmons--crowding him on the perimeter, staying with him on every drive--was excellent and seemed to take him out of the game from the opening tip. Considering Salmons is not only the Bucks' main scoring option but also their best initiator of offense, slowing Salmons down is hugely disruptive to the Bucks' offensive rhythm. Via Charles Gardner, Scott Skiles is naturally focusing on what the Bucks can do better. (Frank)

"They (the Hawks) tried to stay home with some guys on the perimeter a little bit, but we still had plenty of opportunities to score," Skiles said. "During that stretch in the third where we didn't score, we had several wide-open looks and just couldn't make them.
"Right from the beginning of the game, our balance was poor and we were jerking our follow-throughs, all the signs of a 12-foot birdie putt to win the Masters and shooting it about 6 feet past."

NBA.com: Jennings a unanimous all-rookie pick
In case you missed it, Brandon Jennings as expected was named to the all-rookie first team, joining Tyreke Evans and Steph Curry as the only unanimous selections. The main headscratcher is Taj Gibson, who somehow beat out the vastly better DeJuan Blair to be the team's only non-guard. Actually, it's probably not that surprising given how high efficiency guys always seem to be ignored in favor of players who play more minutes and score more points. How else to explain Al Thornton and Jeff Green making it over Carl Landry and Thad Young in 2008 or Kevin Love not making the first team last year? (Frank)

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Keep the FAITH.....its time to shine

Most fans like myself are down after game 6 and have conceded the series, but we can do this. They have proved us wrong all year so why not one more time? BJ and Fish cant play any worse than last game along with team shooting as a whole. Stay positive, see you at DisneyWorld.

by 808bucks on May 2, 2010 9:28 AM CDT reply actions

Helping the Bucks with a pessimistic prediction...

I don’t think the game 6 flop has much bearing on game 7. Except to highlight something we already knew – that this team can shoot really, really bad. But I think the game 6 pressure was much more difficult for the young Bucks than game 7’s will be. Game 6 was the new pressure to do what you’re supposed to do, in the playoffs!. In game 7, they’ll be back to playing the role of the team expected to lose. I think they can generate more “game” as over-achievers than as “achievers.” If that makes any sense.

IWhat will happen today? Wide range of possibilities, I’d say. We might dominate enough that the Hawks quit. The Hawks may feel the same mojo they felt in the first two games and dispense with us handily. Or somewhere in the middle. Most likely, I’d say, is that we play significantly better than game 6 but that the 6 debacle has taken the big pressure off the Hawks. They make shots. They continue to make offense hard for us. They win.

(In games one and two I established a strong record of being wrong in my predictions. So making a prediction here is my contribution to the Bucks cause…)

by unklchuk on May 2, 2010 11:04 AM CDT reply actions

Agreed

My main source of hope is that after game six I had no hope, and my hope has a high negative correlation with the Bucks’ success :)

And totally agree with the pressure question. My main question going into the last game was how they deal with the pressure of expectations rather than just the pressure of survival. Obviously not well. They like having a chip on their shoulders, and they have it back now.

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Game 7: Winner to Florida, loser to offseason

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