Yep, not a misprint. The Bucks were dominated physically, spiritually and metaphysically in their 114-69 loss in Detroit (recap / video). No Mo Williams, but let's not kid ourselves, it didn't really matter. Strangely, this loss actually seemed somehow less insulting than the 125-105 loss in Denver last week, since at least there was same vague effort by the starters before the Pistons ran away and hid kept mercilessly pounding the Bucks when the second (and third units) came in.
Game Highlights
- There shouldn't be any shortage of poor performances in a 45-point loss, but I'll single out the Bucks' guards for this one. Ivey and Bell were tasked with staying with Rip Hamilton and gave up way too many open looks for guys purportedly in there to defend. Hamilton has been on fire of late, but 9/10 fg for 22 points lets you know he didn't have to work too hard. Neither Bell nor Ivey looked much like an NBA player, as they combined for 2-16 fg and generally looked out of sorts leading an offense.
- Redd meanwhile led the Bucks with 18 in 31 minutes, but couldn't keep Chauncey Billups in front of him. CB finished with 12 points, 13 assists and 0 turnovers, proving again why he's such a brilliant floor general. The Pistons have now won 16 of 18.
- Watching Yi Jianlian is one of the few worthwhile activities in games like this, and he had some nice moves here and there, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds.
- Fundamental things like "passing" and "not standing out of bounds" seem like a struggle for the Bucks right now, as only a ton of offensive rebounds (16 in total) kept the Bucks from being down more than 19 at halftime.
Game Story
- The Bucks turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter and, as the Pistons also shot 55% compared to 39% from the Bucks to take a 28-15 lead after one.
- The big lineup of Villanueva, Gadzuric and Voskuhl used a 7-0 run early in the second to make it 35-26, but the Pistons responded with eight in a row to extend the lead to 43-26 as Maxiell buried a couple pretty turnarounds. But the Bucks' sloppiness continued as the Pistons led 56-37 at halftime in large part due to a 19-4 edge in points off turnovers. Shooting 58% didn't hurt either. Rasheed Wallace didn't score a point, and it didn't matter.
- The Pistons really killed it off in the third, outscoring the Bucks by 10 to lead 86-57 by the end of the quarter. Hamilton and Billups unloaded a flurry of threes as the Pistons patiently worked the ball around for open looks. The perfect microcosm of the game came when Wallace hit a three, Ivey stepped on the baseline while inbounding, and Hamilton buried a corner jumper off the Pistons' ensuing inbounds play. Though the Bucks were absolutely run off the court defensively, they at least showed a better approach offensively, sending Bogut down to the block and sharing the ball a bit as Yi and Simmons also got some good looks. And yet the still scored only 20 in the quarter. Man, my standards have really fallen.
- In the fourth scrubs were in; Detroit's scrubs are vastly superior to the Bucks' scrubs. The Bucks didn't seem to have any idea who was guarding who, leaving plenty of open looks and unchecked bodies. Walter Herrmann and Amir Johnson got in on the fun as the Bucks were outscored 28-12 to make the final margin 114-69.