Heat vs. Bucks Preview: Milwaukee Hoping For Improbable Season Sweep of LeBron & Co.

by Frank Madden on Feb 13, 2012 7:01 AM CST in Previews

2011/2012 NBA Season
	vs.
12-15 (7-5 home)		21-7 (9-5 road)
February 13, 2012
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
7:00 PM CT
Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: FSN Wisconsin
Probable starters:
Brandon Jennings	PG	Mario Chalmers
Shaun Livingston	SG	Dwyane Wade
Carlos Delfino	SF	LeBron James
Luc Mbah a Moute	PF	Chris Bosh
Drew Gooden	C	Joel Anthony

(16th) 102.9 - OFFENSE - 108.2 (3rd)
(19th) 104.0 - DEFENSE - 100.3 (10th)
(11th) 92.4 - PACE - 93.3 (5th)

On the Heat: Hot Hot Hoops / Peninsula is Mightier / ESPN Heat Index / South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Twelve days after shocking the Heat for the second time this season, the Bucks host Miami again with the hope of pulling off an improbable three-game season sweep of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Heat check. Miami has won 13 of their last 16 games, including a comfortable 107-87 win in Atlanta on Sunday. The funny/weird part is of course that two of those three losses have come to the Bucks, who are 2-0 against the Heat and 10-15 against everyone else. Miami's only other loss in that span came against their upstate rivals in Orlando, who also knocked off the Bucks on Saturday behind Jason Richardson's three point deluge (9/11 from deep). Meanwhile, the Bucks have largely been treading water over the past few weeks, offsetting big wins (two wins over the Heat, road win over the Rockets, home win over the Lakers) with disappointing performances (road losses in Detroit, home loss to Phoenix, blowing a late double-digit lead to Orlando) and off-court distractions.

After dropping 24 first quarter points and 40 in total against the Bucks in Milwaukee two weeks ago, LeBron has dropped off a fair bit from his usual stratospheric standards, hitting just 1/10 threes over the past six games and scoring a measly 21.8 ppg in that span. In spite of that, for the season he's still putting up career-best shooting splits of 53.8% from the field, 36.7% from deep, and 61.3% in true shooting terms. Meanwhile, Wade is averaging 26.2 ppg on 58% shooting over the last five games, though his assists (3.8 apg) and rebounds (3.2 rpg) are down over that span.

Three lives to live. Shaun Livingston buried a corner three on Saturday night, which is kind of a big deal when you consider that coming into the game he had been 1/11 in the last five years from three point range. Livingston also took (and badly short-armed) a long corner two in Cleveland on Friday, and judging by the lack of hesitation he showed in taking his triple against Orlando, this could be something he's trying to do more proactively. It also wouldn't be the first time that Scott Skiles has encouraged someone to start taking shots they haven't previously been comfortable with--see Skiles' encouraging Drew Gooden to shoot more threes and Andrew Bogut to shoot more jump shots.

Gooden plenty. Love him or hate him, it's tough to expect more from Drew Gooden at the moment. Over his last five games, Gooden is averaging 21.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.2 apg and 1.2 bpg on 49.4% shooting, and he's even provided some good minutes defensively of late. Gooden held his own on the block against Dwight Howard on Saturday and made a number of key plays defensively in Friday's OT win over Cleveland, including a late charge on Daniel Gibson and a strip on Tristan Thompson late in regulation (also worth noting: he appeared to be the guy who fractured Andy Varejao's wrist). More rebounding would be nice, but in the grand scheme of things Gooden is probably the least of the Bucks' problems right now.

Is he Andrew Bogut? No, of course not. But he's also been the Bucks' most stable offensive contributor since Bogut went down, and he deserves a big chunk of the credit for the Bucks' solid 6-5 record in Bogut's absence. Wait, did I just refer to Drew Gooden as stable?

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Comments

Don't look forward to this one...

Ain’t just the improbability aspect. It’s also that, in a narrow sense, what’s to be gained? If they get whipped, as talent would suggest, well, we already know that. And enjoying LeBron’s superlatives is not a favorite activity for me. Context is king, and I don’t like the King’s context.

And if Ripley’s Believe It Or Not leaves its sepulcher to walk the land again in company with a Buck’s victory, well, that will probably not be cause for my personal jubilation. I will think that a team capable of playing so well against the Heat should not in several other games have appeared quite so incompetent. I want my team to have an identity that I can identify with — without having to take meds to make myself manic depressive.

It seems likely I’ll be glad when Monday is history.

by unklchuk on Feb 13, 2012 8:07 AM CST reply actions

can't afford to share your feelings

I’m going to the game tonight. Was not at the last Miami game. I want to enjoy myself, get my money’s worth. I want to feel thrilled if we win, and prepare to enjoy seeing NBA play upclose and in person even if we don’t win [which is way more likely].
It’s hard to envision going to this game after feeling numb for the last 5 minutes of the Orlando game.
And somehow the fact that we beat Miami twice makes it harder to look forward to this game, takes away the pleasure of the impossible challenge. Maybe that’s what you’re feeling too, just able to afford to express it in more directly negative way since you don’t have to be there.
My biggest luxury in life is the outlay I make for expensive seats for Bucks games. I’m afraid that makes me unable to be disinterested observer. On the other hand, it is a source of real highs. Last game I attended was the Lakers game and I was floating for days from the energy it gave me.

by JaneG on Feb 13, 2012 8:26 AM CST up reply actions

Strikes me you thoughts and attitude are wholly appropriate. And, yes, your situation sitting in the stands (enjoy those seats) is different than mine 100 miles north of the BC.

I meant what I said — but as you perhaps suggested, it isn’t the whole story. There isn’t room (in this forum nor in life) to tell the whole story. Tried to concentrate on what felt different about this game…

by unklchuk on Feb 13, 2012 9:10 AM CST up reply actions

Transcending winning and losing....

“For the Love of the Game”.

When a ‘fan’ is placed in a physical environment in which losing is the norm that guides the team to no post play, and thus leaves fandom wanting more, then the collective conscious can take on a hopeless/and hapless feeling. I’ve been weaned on chicago cubs baseball so I know of what I speak.

And yet, somehow, when attending the games themselves, divorced from the techno world a special, almost surreal feeling transcends ones being. Time lost. Space altered. "W"’s and
"L"s measured differently today, or tonight.

Strollling up the concrete to the ‘gateway to heaven’ that is Wrigley, or walking down the corridor to find your seat at the Bradley Center is the beginning of what, for the next few hours, will release you from all things you.

“FLOAT AWAY” Jane.

by ks13and1 on Feb 13, 2012 11:44 AM CST up reply actions

thanks

this is lovely and right on, and I’ll be there

by JaneG on Feb 13, 2012 12:03 PM CST up reply actions

I agree

If anything, I care about the very, very short stint of national notariaty victory will bring. Our team is better than we’ve played recently, but I’m afraid something is come over Jennings that’s changed this teams course. It’s quite deflating as a fan to watch this locker room in turmoil pretend on game day. The only reason to root for victory at this point is for the brief satisfaction of victory itself, I’m just rooting for harmony and change.

by FearTheDeer on Feb 13, 2012 10:30 AM CST up reply actions