If there is one thing that has been true for the Milwaukee Bucks over my life span it is that they are really amazing at missing golden opportunities. It is incredibly frustrating but it just seems like the case so often that when we have the chance to grab hold and step up, we fall. Whether it was when we were up 3-2 against Atlanta in 2010 or this past game against the Knicks, when we get a chance to take control we usually end up doing the opposite.

Monday's game against the Knicks is just another example of this but to have thrown away the golden opportunity to take the final playoff spot away from New York is so frustrating it is not even funny. When the game was on the line it was just brick after brick. I really thought when Brandon Jennings had a look at that 3 pointer in the last 30 seconds of that game that we were finally going to see a real riveting moment of his career with the net barely moving. Instead it was met with a clang as it ricocheted off the rim.

I gotta admit that I am loving this combination in the front court of Jennings and Ellis though. They are so fast and work together so well that it has me saying Andrew Who? We have a real team identity now and that is speed. Extremely quick hands and even quicker feet have this guard combination doing things we haven't seen in many years as Bucks fans. I hope we decide to keep them together for the considerable future because if we could add a true 7 foot Center in the mix we really would have the ability to compete for a title.

They did not lose to the Knicks because of a lack of heart, I will completely give them that. They wanted it bad, so bad that it may have affected their ability to make open shots in fact. All I know is that it didn't matter in the end because the final result of the game was what we are far too used to. Times are changing, I can really feel it, but that doesn't stop me from being incredibly disappointed with the finish to that game. I have seen too many losses like this where it just wasn't quite enough. The season isn't over yet, but it sure got a whole lot harder after missing this golden opportunity.

FSN has announced an Alternate channel for Monday's games.

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My buddy and I were talking at $1 beer night in Madison (thank you god for Wisconsin) about Brandon Jennings on Thursday and here is what we came up with.

The worst thing to happen to BJ was his 55 pt game. It gave his game unfounded equity. All of the sudden with virtually no NBA experience Young Buck was the King of Milwaukee. It completely distorted people's perceptions of him. It still does. IMO It distorted his own opinion of himself.

The Theory: Brandon is like a guy in a poker tournament who wins a huge pot early. After knocking out two players on a monster hand he is sitting there with a gigantic stack, most likely 3-4 times everyone else at the table. This stack is not a testament to how good of a poker player he is, but rather the fact that he had ONE great hand However, everyone else watching the tournament believes that he is the best player (fans, media) because he is leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else in money.

As his chip stack dwindles and he starts to creep towards the middle of the pack, everyone claims the poker player (BJ) is just in a little slump even though his success vs failures are decidedly heavy on the latter, but perception continues to be that he is great because memory will keep going back to that early pot (55 pt-30pt back-to-back). When he fails to win the tournament (finally erase the memory of the 55+30) he is labeled a huge disappointment despite the fact that expectations shouldn't have been that high to begin with.

So how good is Brandon? It is safe to say he is well shy of the D Rose/CP3/ D-WIll level and probably shy of the Westbrook/Rondo plateau as well. So where does he lie? If you take away that improbably hot start to his career you find out that Brandon really reminds one of Mo Williams. Check out each of their first three seasons with MIL. Brandon is years R-3 and Mo is years 2-4 in their careers.

Mo years 2-4: 30 mpg, %s: 43.5/35/85. 13ppg, 5.5apg/ 3.5rpg

BJ years R-3: 34mpg, %s: 39/34.5/81 16.6ppg, 5.4apg, 3.5rpg

A few notes on those splits:

1. Mo beats Brandon in percentages across the board every year (except BJ rookie 3pt%).

2. Brandon has played over 32.5 mpg every year, Mo played 26, 28, and a ridiculous 36.4 in his 3rd year as a Buck.

3. BJ had a half steal more than Mo in every season and about 83 more total.

4. Somebody find me some advance stats to back me up/ refute me. Without advance stats half of you won't find this comparison validated. And of course I am desperate for acceptance and validation.

Anyways, I like that BJ has been going to the rim more often as of late, and that he has taken a step back (literally) to shoot a few more threes than deep twos, but it would appear he is a slightly above average point guard who shoots a little too much and sets-up a little too infrequently which is pretty much how I would describe good ol' Mo Williams.

Regardless, the rest of this season is going to be fun and all the ups and downs have been worth it purely for the entertainment value. Finishing over .500 this season would be encouraging. Final parallel: Mo left Milwaukee after his fourth year in Brew City and ended up in more "Lebron"er pastures. It fairly easy to see BJ taking his talents elsewhere after next year as well.

First let me say that I think Skiles has done a really impressive job this season,

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Bucks took care of business tonight against Wash. Continuing a trend of beating the worst teams in the league, the Bucks have a favorable schedule to chase down the Knicks and the 8th spot. Also working in their favor is Linsanity's new injury. With Baron Davis now leading the Knicks, Bucks' chances only get better. Read more how the chase for the 8th spot shapes up down the home stretch: http://wp.me/p29VCs-6W

With 15 games left in this lockout damaged condensed season, Milwaukee has a 24-27 record. Normally, a marginal, possible playoff team with a near .500 record struggles severely on the road and takes advantage of their home games. The year Don Nelson took over for Larry Costello, 1976-77, is a great example and they were not even close to being a playoff team. They finished 30-52 with a 24-17 home record which means they were 6-35 away from home. So far this season, they are 12-16 on the road, which isn't great, but very respectable for a team of their caliber and suggests that they should have a winning season. But their 12-11 home record is what is going to keep them from making the playoffs or having a higher seed if they manage to squeak in. Tonight they play Memphis at BC and this is a great opportunity for them to reverse this trend. Memphis is a slightly better, close to equal match that should result in a win. But unless the trend is reversed, this game has loss written all over it.

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Even though the Bucks are still fighting hard for their playoff life, I continue to think about the upcoming draft and which players the Bucks might come to select. We have talked about it at various times on some other threads but I thought I would create this one to keep a running chat going. Feel free to post any draft hopes, hypes or no-nos that you wish and feel free to vote on some of the players I've included that may be there when we draft.

I can't find one on the NBA store, but I would like to get one. A t-shirt would be nice too, even better actually. Thanks.

I'll delete this when someone tells me or if its been up for a while and no one knows.

Ignore: sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sd fsdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf sdf dsf sfsd

Drew Gooden named Eastern Conference Player of the Week! Wow, that's two Bucks players in a row now.

Link: http://www.nba.com/bucks/release/gooden_pow_120219.html

Who will win it next week? Mike Dunleavy? Haha. Anyway, read the link and then scroll down below to vote on my off topic poll (With Monta Ellis now in Milwaukee, and Bogut out, who is the Buck's best player? Besides Kwame Brown obviously... lol).

BTW, Does anyone know where I can find a Monta Ellis Bucks jersey? I can't find it in the NBA Store. On twitter, someone asked when they would be available and they said they are now but I can't find them. Thank you and I'm sorry for the confusing post with too many topics haha.

Poll

Off Topic Poll: Who is the Bucks' best player now?

34%

Brandon Jennings

9 votes

53%

Monta Ellis

14 votes

11%

Other (Specify in Comments)

3 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

Hello Brew Hoop community. I happened to be online last night posting comments and carrying a conversation with several other readers (tommyr, CanadaBucks, MonstaEllis, FearTheDeer, victor s, and more), and it was fun to be able to advance the conversation and expand the topics in real-time.

Here is my proposal: Let's try to set up a time once per week (to start, and more if it catches on) where people would like to come to the site, and I can start an open thread where we all can get a huge conversation going about Bucks, NBA, or anything. Thoughts on this? It would be simple to do, and because some people can't make the live game threads, it might be a weekend type thing to try.

If you like the idea, please suggest some possible times in the comments. Use Central Standard Time just to keep things streamlined, and if people want to do this we can try it. If nobody likes the idea, we just keep things moving. Let me know.

Poll

Everyone is welcome to visit for open thread conversations, so if you plan on trying to participate, make sure you answer the following poll question. What times would for best for you (using Central Standard Time as our guide)?

62%

Thursday or Tuesday from 8-10 p.m. CST + Sunday from 8-10 p.m. CST

15 votes

25%

Thursday or Tuesday from 7-9 p.m. CST + Sunday from 7-9 p.m. CST

6 votes

12%

Some other combination of the above options

3 votes

0%

New dates and times (explain below)

0 votes

24 votes | Poll has closed