As has been a tradition this season, the Sixers came into the BC and mauled the Bucks 119-97. The Sixers had seven men in double-figures, led by Thad Young's career-high 22, while the Bucks looked completely unprepared to play.
Three Bucks
- Andrew Bogut. Normally this section is reserved for the Bucks who stood out for good reasons, but Bogut (1 point, 0/4 fg, 2 rebounds in 27 minute) earns the first mention today for getting simply owned by Samuel Dalembert all day. A game after LaMarcus Aldridge outplayed him down the stretch, Bogut missed three chip shots early--don't give the Sixers too much credit there, every one of his shots was a great look--and then went into a shell for the rest of the day, giving the ball up at every turn (ironically chalking up seven assists in the process). An offensive no-show would have been bad enough, but he exacerbated the problem by bringing the same listlessness to the defensive end, where Dalembert (18 points on 8/11 fg, 10 rebs) outworked and outplayed him from the first minute. For much of the season, Bogut's effort on both ends has offered a welcome contrast to many of his teammates, but in a home game against a team that has twice demolished the Bucks this season, Bogut responded with his worst effort of the season. This is a game the Bucks should remember when they think about giving Bogut a long-term deal this summer.
- Charlie Villanueva. CV had a promising start to the game, scoring six in the opening minutes, but it was his 13 third quarter points that gave the Bucks a glimmer of hope by trimming the lead to 14 heading into the final quarter. CV continues to play well of late, finishing with 25 points (11/20 fg) and eight rebounds.
- Mike Redd. Redd was the lone Buck offering much in the first half, scoring 16 of his 19 points in the opening half. He's struggled from the line late in games recently, and tonight he even struggled when not under pressure, missing three of four attempts.
Three Numbers
- .603. The Sixers' field goal percentage speaks to defense-optional approach that has doomed the Bucks all year. While the Sixers made their share of tough shots, they had many more that were uncontested or barely so.
- 26. That was the Sixers' edge in transition baskets, as they throttled the Bucks in transition to the tune of 30-4.
- 13. The Bucks continue to extend their franchise record for 20+ point losses for the season, which is now at 13. Good times.
Three Good
- School is in Sessions. After 63 games we finally got a look at second round pick Ramon Sessions in a game that mattered (well, not at a time that mattered, but you get the drift). With four minutes remaining, Sessions came in...and immediately got lost on defense. He then turned it over on offense, but in the final minutes looked more comfortable, flashing his ability to get into the lane with a twisting layup and two assists. With the season lost and Royal Ivey little more than a stopgap solution, there's no doubt the Bucks' long term interests involve getting a better feel for what Sessions is capable of. Whether Larry Krystkowiak feels comfortable enough with his job to experiment with giving Sessions meaningful minutes is another issue.
- Bango's 30th. You know it's a good day when the mascot's birthday is one of the game's highlights from a Bucks' perspective.
- Pass. Let's not kid ourselves.
Three Bad
- Mailing it in. With the exception of some decent spells by Villanueva, Redd and Mason (12/7), the Bucks simply didn't compete. Bogut was the most obvious culprit, but even supposed defensive players like Bell and Ruffin were getting beaten backdoor for easy baskets. While it's no secret that the Bucks lack individual defenders, for most of the season the whole has been even less than the already small sum of its parts.
- Draft Do-Over?. While I'm not as ready to leap off the Yi Jianlian bandwagon as many seem to be, it's certainly worth questioning whether the Bucks made the right move in turning down the Sixers' offer of the 12th (Thad Young) and 21st picks (Daequan Cook) for Milwaukee's sixth overall. After a slow start, Young is now averaging 16.3 ppg in four March contests including his 22-point effort today. He made 8/11 fg including an alley-oop with one second left in the second quarter that served as a fitting exclamation point to the Sixers' explosive first half effort. More impressive than Young's raw numbers is his efficiency; he's shooting over 54% from the field. Considering the 19-year old was drafted more on potential than anything else, expect big things from Young in the coming years. Something tells me you'd have a hard time finding a Sixer fan who would be interested in swapping Yi for Young.
- Missing the point. While the Bucks can perhaps find some excuses in the fact that they were missing Mo Williams again, they were as miserable defensively with a "defensive specialist" starting as when they have Mo's matador act in the lineup. No one expects Ivey to outplay Andre Miller, but Ivey couldn't even slow down his Sixer counterpart, as Miller filled up the box score with 19 points, nine assists, five rebounds and just one turnover. The Sixers had such an easy time spreading the wealth offensively that they didn't even need Andre Iguoadala (15 points, 6/10 fg) to do his one-man wrecking crew act.