| 2009/2010 NBA Season | ||
|---|---|---|
| @ |  | |
| 7-3 (4-2 road) | 5-2 (4-0 home) | |
| November 16th, 2009 | ||
| Bradley Center | ||
| 7:00 PM | ||
| Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: NBA TV | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Jason Kidd | PG | Brandon Jennings |
| Rodrigue Beaubois | SG | Charlie Bell |
| Shawn Marion | SF | Carlos Delfino |
| Dirk Nowitzki | PF | Hakim Warrick |
| Drew Gooden | C | Andrew Bogut |
| (15th) 106.6 - OFFENSE - 103.1 (22nd) | ||
| (4th) 99.1 - DEFENSE - 97.7 (1st) | ||
| (14th) 92.6 - PACE - 95.5 (6th) | ||
News/notes after the jump...
- Encore. It's pretty much impossible for Brandon Jennings to top his performance from Saturday, but the Bucks will probably need another big night from him to top Jason Kidd and the rock-solid Mavs. Fortunately, Dallas played a close game last night in Detroit, winning 95-90, so the Bucks will once again be better rested than their opponents. While most of the hype will be on Kidd vs. Jennings, watch for BJ3 to be matched up against fellow rookie Rodrigue Beaubois. The speedy Frenchman has been exceptional in limited minutes thus far, including a 14-point, 6/6 shooting night yesterday. The two previously faced off in the Bucks' Vegas opener.
Golden State and Denver were also on the second night of back-to-backs, which is a nice contrast to a year ago when the Bucks had a brutal early schedule featuring eight back-to-backs by the end of November. This year the Bucks have only three, with nine of their first 16 games at home as well. Moreover, the four-game road trip they start on Saturday features games against Memphis, New Orleans (sans Chris Paul) and Oklahoma City. And while the Spurs are the toughest opponent on the trip, the Bucks managed to sweep them a year ago. In other words, the winning is great, but if the Bucks are going to make the playoffs they kind of have to fatten up on this part of their schedule.
- Rebounds. The Bucks have been pounding teams on the glass of late, ranking 1st and 3rd in defensive and offensive rebound rates. But Dallas enters the game not too far behind--6th and 7th in terms of offensive and defensive rebound rates, respectively. However, the Mavs will be without their best rebounder tonight, as Erick Dampier stayed overnight in a Detroit hospital yesterday after complaining of dizziness shortly before tipoff.
Drew Gooden started in his place and could be used to draw Andrew Bogut towards the perimeter, but overall he's undersized for the pivot and should have trouble preventing Bogut from shooting over him. While Jennings has been getting all the hype, Bogut has been just as crucial to the Bucks' early success, averaging 19.4 ppg, 10.4 rpg and 2.0 bpg on 62% shooting this month.
- Delfino. It had been a bit of a mystery why Carlos Delfino didn't play on Saturday, but the JS finally reported today that it was due to a stomach ailment. No word on whether he'll play tonight, though Bucks.com lists Luc Mbah a Moute as the starting SF. We'll go with that for now, but don't be surprised if Delfino is back in the lineup.