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INJURY UPDATES: Pachulia and Ilyasova OUT; Knight IN per Kidd. Tarik Black starting for Jordan Hill (hip) for LAL, per Charles Gardner
If the Bucks' winning streak will expand to five tonight, they'll have to accomplish it with yet another injury.
All-around big guy Kenyon Martin is out for tonight's game against the Lakers with an ankle injury, meaning Milwaukee could be down to two actual big men in John Henson and Johnny O'Bryant. Ersan Ilyasova and Zaza Pachulia are both expected to dress for the game, but are unlikely to play, according to Greg Matzek of WTMJ.
That means more of Jared Dudley playing the four, which we've seen the last few outings, and Giannis Antetokounmpo all over the place. It's a complete mess, frankly, which could be compounded even more if Brandon Knight misses his second straight game with a quad injury. That would leave the Bucks with eight bodies. And yet...
...that was not an issue on Monday in Toronto, when the Bucks (26-22) pulled off arguably their most impressive win of the year against the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors. With O.J. Mayo ejected for arguing with an official, Milwaukee played the majority of the night with eight players, who managed to lock down the Raptors defensively, holding Toronto to their lowest-scoring output of the season.
But with only a Gosselin family at their disposal, the Bucks ran out of steam in the fourth quarter on the offense end, allowing the Raptors to wipe out a fifteen-point deficit and tie the game. A tip o' the hat to Dwayne Casey and his Pete Carroll-like decision to not play Jonas Valanciunas down the stretch, and the Bucks scratched out nine (!!!) points in the quarter to win the game.
With how thin the Bucks are up front again tonight, we look to guys like Carlos Boozer to take advantage for the Lakers (13-35). Remember how awesome this match-up could have been before the season started? Giannis guarding Kobe Bryant. Jabari Parker and Julius Randle. I hate this sport sometimes.
Los Angeles is in game two of their four game Grammys road trip. As a reminder, the Grammys are an event in which "musicians" who are currently "popular" "perform" their "songs" and "win" some "awards." It's hosted by LL Cool J, who is not at all irrelevant, and the show is at Staples Center on... Sunday? Yeah, let's go with Sunday.
The Bucks play six of the next seven at the BMOHBC. Open tryouts begin tomorrow.
| 14/15 NBA Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
vs. |  |
| February 4th, 2015 | ||
| BMO Harris Bradley Center | Milwaukee, WI |
||
| 7:00 CT | ||
| Fox Sports Wisconsin | 620 WTMJ | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Brandon Knight |
PG | Jordan Clarkson |
| Khris Middleton | SG | Wayne Ellington |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | SF | Ryan Kelly |
| Jared Dudley |
PF | Jordan Hill |
| John Henson | C | Robert Sacre |
| 2014/15 Advanced Stats | ||
| 96.4 (13th) |
Pace | 96.9 (10th) |
| 101.4 (t-17th) |
ORtg | 101.4 (t-17th) |
| 98.7 (2nd) |
DRtg | 107.9 (29th) |
Game Coverage: Lakers vs Bucks coverage
Opponent Coverage: Silver Screen and Roll | LA Times