Notes: Reflecting on game seven and a season of surprises

Jennings' signature play from game 89

What more can you say about the 09/10 Bucks?  A disappointing way to end the season, but in a general sense it was hard to feel too bad given how far they came.  In the next week we'll have a bunch more on the season that was and the summer ahead, but for now we'll start with a survey of what everyone else is saying.

Hunt: Playoff experience something Bucks can build on

As for next year and beyond, they will be so much better for the experience, particularly now that the rookie tag has officially been dislodged from Brandon Jennings. It had been for a while, but with the end of one season came the reality that Jennings is only going to take off from here.

"A game like today, they don't happen as much as people think they do, the seventh game," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "There are a lot of players who never get the chance to play in a Game 7. He has that experience now. I thought he did a nice job today. I thought overall he had a good series."

Basketball Prospectus: Executing to Win
Kevin Pelton reminds us that not making baskets is a bad thing.

To pull the upset, Milwaukee needed big efforts from its guards, and neither Brandon Jennings nor John Salmons provided that kind of play. Jennings shot 6-of-18 from the field, Salmons 5-of-18, and the Bucks went 4-of-19 as a team from beyond the arc. Even though Milwaukee turned it over just five times (the positive part of Jennings' game that gets little to no attention is his sure-handed play) and Ersan Ilyasova had six offensive rebounds, it's about impossible to win a game shooting a 34.9 percent effective field-goal percentage.

Courtside Analyst: Shades of 1980? Another decade of greatness?
Ty sees good things on the horizon--and not just next year.

We have a new decade in front of us now. It looks as though the Bucks will have started the decade by putting a big scare in one of the conference’s best teams.

With a crafty general manager and one of the best coaches in basketball on board, along with some good young talent, I think we can look forward to another successful run with this Milwaukee Bucks team. Maybe not the 80s, but something better than what we’ve had since then.

Peachtree Hoops: Survive and Advance
The gang over at Peachtree Hoops reflects on how their Hawks did in the Bucks.

With the lack of natural defenders cascading across the Atlanta roster, it takes a total team effort to accomplish the Hawks goals of keeping the Bucks from exposing the Hawks going to the hoop. In Game Seven, they found exactly that---teammates helping each other in a trusting way, not the "he's your issue" way they had in their three losses. The Hawks big men routinely affected shots on the inside and Brandon Jennings, John Salmons, and company were pushed to the outside, where they struggled to make tough shots.

How many times did you see a Buck hoisting an airball on the afternoon? My guess is way too many for Milwaukee fans to stomach. Tough way to end a season watching Luke Ridnour find nothing but the baseline on two occasions from long range. As The Namesake would say, "Someone keeps opening a door on this young man!"

BUCKS: 6th Fan Blogger on Game 7
Jake LeRoy reflects on game seven.

It hurts me to say this, but I think the better team won today. Atlanta’s scoring depth, athleticism and size advantages were just too much to overcome. The Hawks have six players who could score 20 points on any given night, a sizeable athleticism advantage and three legitimate big men. Those kind of advantages typically result in sweeps, but the Bucks weren’t about to let that happen. They gave Atlanta a fight I’m sure it wasn’t expecting. I think Orlando should be putting a thank-you card in the mail tomorrow thanking Milwaukee for putting the Hawks through a battle that will surely have an effect on their second-round play.

Bucksketball: Haiku Reviews
Head over to Bucksketball for Jeremy's second annual haiku reviews--he started with the centers yesterday. For the record, Primoz's is my favorite.