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| 2012/2013 NBA Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
vs. |  |
| March 4, 2013 | ||
| BMO Harris Bradley Center | Milwaukee, WI | ||
| 7:00 CT | ||
| FS Wisconsin | 620 WTMJ | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Earl Watson | PG | Brandon Jennings |
| Randy Foye | SG | Monta Ellis |
| Marvin Williams | SF | Luc Richard Mbah a Moute |
| Paul Millsap* | PF | Ersan Ilyasova |
| Derrick Favors | C | Larry Sanders |
| 2012/13 Advanced Stats | ||
| 91.2 (20th) | Pace | 94.5 (6th) |
| 106.8 (9th) | ORtg | 103.2 (23rd) |
| 106.9 (21st) | DRtg | 104.0 (10th) |
On the Jazz: SLC Dunk / Salt City Hoops / Salt Lake Tribune
Jazz update. The Bucks have seemingly had the benefit of facing opponents without their star players through much of the season, and tonight appears to be no exception. Starters Al Jefferson (ankle) and Jamaal Tinsley (personal matter) are both out, while Paul Millsap (ankle) is expected to be a game-time decision as well. And that's not even mentioning the injured Mo Williams (thumb surgery) and the out-of-favor Raja Bell. That should mean big minutes for young big men Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, while Earl Watson and Alec Burks figure to see their minutes bumped in the backcourt. The Jazz used their bulk down low to beat up the Bucks in Utah a month ago, cruising past the Bucks 100-86, so anything that weakens their front line should be of major help to the skinnier Bucks.
Plenty of good stuff from Jazz insider David Locke here, including reason to believe that the Jazz won't miss Jefferson as much as you might think:
Tyrone Corbin said he thinks Paul Millsap will play and start with Derrick Favors
— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) March 4, 2013
Jamaal Tinsley is not with the team he has been excused to attend to a family matter.He is expected to rejoin team in Cleveland
— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) March 4, 2013
If Jazz start Watson, Foye, Marvin, Millsap and Favors tonight that group has played in 1 game together for a total of 2 minutes.
— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) March 4, 2013
Jazz defensive rating this year with Al Jefferson off the floor is 96.8.In contrast it is 108.0 with him on the floor.
— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) March 4, 2013
Ouch. On a related note, I had a chance to grab dinner on Saturday night at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference with a handful of great NBA brains, and one of them argued that the price he'd pay for Al Jefferson in free agency would be zero. The same certainly isn't true of the 20-year-old Kanter, who piled up a monster 23 points and 22 rebounds in 44 minutes with Millsap unavailable in Charlotte on Friday. He'd likely start if Millsap sits.
Speaking of Friday, the Jazz snapped a three-game losing streak by thumping the Bobcats 98-68, leaving them .001 ahead of the Rockets for the seventh seed out West. That means the Jazz would avoid the league-leading Spurs and instead get a far more preferable matchup with....uh, the Oklahoma City Thunder? Yep, being in the 6th or 7th seed out West isn't quite as desirable as it is in the East, where the Knicks and Pacers are a rather large step behind the front-running Heat.
#MONTE. The NBA announced earlier today that Monta Ellis had claimed his second Eastern Conference player of the week honor of the season after leading the Bucks with 24.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 5.0 steals in three games (all wins of course) last week. That marks four times that a Buck has taken home the weekly honor this season (Brandon Jennings has the other two), trailing only the five awards racked up by the Heat and Thunder.
Hangin' with Ekpe. One more reason to dig the Bucks' most underrated big man.