Box Score

Get too excited about the Bucks, and they disappoint. Get too down on them, and they claw their way back to respectability.

It's been the pattern we've seen all year, and it continued in Cleveland on Wednesday with a gritty, often ugly, but ultimately satisfying overtime win over the shorthanded Cavs--the team that also happens to be chasing them for the East's final playoff spot. Perhaps just as importantly, Brandon Jennings put behind a turbulent week both on and off the court with a solid, aggressive night at the office (24 points, albeit on 23 shots, eight assists, five rebounds and just one turnover), looking less like the distracted, disengaged bystander he was earlier in the week and more like the assertive team leader he's been for most of the season.

Not that he didn't have help. Drew Gooden (18 of 19 points after halftime) and Shaun Livingston (11 of his 13 in fourth quarter and OT) carried the Bucks late, while Kyrie Irving's absence (concussion) and Anderson Varejao's departure (wrist) early in the second half also lowered the Bucks' degree of difficulty.

Continue reading this post »

On the Cavaliers: Fear the Sword / Cavs the Blog / Waiting For Next Year

The Bucks pay their first visit to Cleveland hoping to extend their half game lead on the Cavaliers in the "race" for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.

UPDATE: Kyrie Irving will indeed miss at least two more games following his concussion earlier this week.

Continue reading this post »

You know what they say about ostriches, right? Whenever faced with adversity, they don't run, nor do they fight. They simply shut out the world, and dive head-first into whatever soft ground they can find. Because nothing can hurt you if you don't see it coming, so just find that happy place and ignore anything else and la la la la I'm not listeniiiing...

Wikipedia has debunked this rumor, but I'd like them to debunk this one instead: according to ESPN's Chris Broussard, Brandon Jennings will be "strongly considering" leaving Milwaukee once his contract expires.

Excuse me while I go find some sand.

Continue reading this post »

The league has announced 2012 NBA All-Star Reserves for the Western and Eastern Conference, and Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings didn't quite make the cut. Instead, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson will represent the East as backup guards. Meh. An all-star berth would have been nice, but ultimately it doesn't define Jennings as a player. He's more than that label, just as Andrew Bogut is too. Milwaukee has been a hard place to gain national recognition, but Jennings has always embraced being the underdog. At least until Tuesday's game against the Phoenix Suns.

His emo sleepwalking routine in the last couple games certainly didn't do him any favors, but as a true sample size guy, I give more weight to the first 167 games of his career as a fiery competitor over his last two games as a disinterested bystander. Why he has completely eschewed his role as a playmaker -- which carries an obligation to create when not scoring -- just days before selections were announced invites too many depressing thoughts for Bucks fans to ponder.

Getting snubbed will always mean something different than playing like someone who deserves to be left off the roster. Whether he mentally blurred that distinction in a moment of weakness is beyond my pay grade, but his performance on the court has looked different recently. Hopefully this little blip ends up carrying even less meaning than the all-star label moving forward. After all, there is still much work to do. Let me explain.

Continue reading this post »

Brandon Jennings still didn't look himself, and managed just 11 points on 3-12 shooting to go with 4 assists and 3 turnovers, but the Milwaukee Bucks still ended a painful three-game losing streak by knocking off the Toronto Raptors, 105-99. The offense leaned on 48 percent three point shooting (12-25) to overcome a poor performance in the paint -- they were just 30 points on 15-31 shooting in the lane, with just 10 of those coming in the second half -- while the defense played well enough to win when it mattered most.

A win over the Bargnani-less Raptors isn't exactly a feat fit to override a recent string of disappointing losses to the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns, but any road win is worthy of praise in the NBA. That theory goes double for a Bucks team that improved to 4-10 away from the Bradley Center so far this season.

Continue reading this post »

On the Raptors: Raptors Republic / Raptors HQ / The Score- RaptorBlog / Toronto Star

Just a week removed from an impressive three-game winning streak, the Milwaukee Bucks are now mired in an equally unimpressive losing streak, suffering a letdown, a blowout, and a heartbreaker in order. Milwaukee will try to end the skid as they head to Toronto to take on the Raptors.

Continue reading this post »

Losing to Phoenix is nothing new. Shoot, losing is nothing new. But when your leading scorer and franchise cornerstone takes as many shots as there are quarters in an NBA game?

That's new, and I don't like it.

Continue reading this post »