Milwaukee Bucks Thread 2009–2010 (part 1)

[homer]

Even nicer they could rest most of their starters a lot of the second half. That game with Atlanta tomorrow is going to be tough.

[razzzorsharp]

Better to win today as opposed to tomorrow, than vice versa (if you have to pick one option).

[Outlander]

A FYI to those that are on a budget and want to see a Bucks game, go their website and fill out a survey to get tickets for $.75 a piece to Wednesday's game against the Wizards. The survey takes about 2 minutes and it truly is $.75 a ticket. I'm not sure what the limit is but I ordered three tickets for $2.25 total.

[monkeyman343434]

Sitting in 7th place currently, tied in the loss column but one win back of chicago for 6th, and only one full game out of 5th, toronto.

Will be a very exciting end of the season I think.

[patrickgpe]

I think 5th is a very reachable goal. Chicago worsened themselves before the trade deadline and Toronto sat on their hands. March is a very home heavy month for them so this is now the time to make a move upwards.

[patrickgpe]

thanks for the heads up outlander,they only let me get 2 but i can't complain for a buck and a half.

[dadofandrew]

5th would be dandy, as it takes a real optimist to think they could beat CLE, ORL, or BOS. However, as they showed the other night, they can play with ATL.

[Baldkin]

I don't know. I think that they'd have a better shot against old decrepit Boston than young and hungry ATL.

[LouisEly]

Salmons with 32 points, 8 boards, 4 assists in the loss. Looking like quite the trade so far.

 

Almost won three in a row on the road with a loss in OT at Atlanta. I think they are peaking very nicely now.

[Menotti80]

i loved seeing current john hollinger's playoff odds: bucks projected as the 5 seed, and given a 1.3& chance of winning it all!!

Eastern Conference
	ACTUAL		PROJECTED				ODDS (%)
TEAM	W	L	W	L	BEST	WORST	PLAYOFFS	DIV	NO.1	FINALS	CHAMP	LOTTERY*
Cleveland	48	14	62	20	68-14	54-28	100.0	100.0	94.7	40.9	24.5	0.0
Orlando	42	20	57	25	62-20	47-35	100.0	86.8	4.8	32.8	19.9	0.0
Atlanta	39	21	53	29	60-22	43-39	100.0	13.2	0.4	10.9	5.4	0.0
Boston	38	21	52	30	61-21	42-40	100.0	99.6	0.2	7.2	3.0	0.0
Milwaukee	31	29	43	39	52-30	33-49	93.6	0.0	0.0	3.8	1.3	0.0
Miami	30	31	43	39	51-31	34-48	89.1	0.0	0.0	2.7	1.1	0.0
Toronto	31	28	42	40	52-30	33-49	78.2	0.4	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.1
Chicago	31	29	41	41	53-29	31-51	71.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.2

[Invader3K]

So as it currently stands, they would play Boston? Sounds like a good matchup to me.

[trwi7]

So as it currently stands, they would play Boston?

Atlanta.

[carniesandrubes]

Looks like the Bucks are raising ticket prices for next year, single game and season tickets. Probably a good move for the team financially. All the discounts in the world aren't helping them fill more than half of the BC most games, so they might as well make some more $ off the people who do show up, and most of them will accept it since they are paying so little for tickets anyway.

[FVBrewerFan]

Is Brandon Jennings the future at PG? I realize stats don't tell the whole story, but his shooting percentage is about as awful as it gets. Especially if you take away the first couple weeks of the year. I refuse to believe much, or any, of that is due to teams playing him differently. He misses open jumpers, and seems to have lost any ability to finish when he takes it the rack.

 

Now, I understand he's a rookie. I also understand his electric start of the season brought with it unrealistic expectations. But even with all that said, I wonder if he can be the long term solution at PG. He will always be abused on the defensive end. I can live with that if he could shoot half way decently. For a guy who has the ball as often as he does, he almost needs to be at least the #3 scorer. 1 for 11 happens way too often. By all accounts, the kid is willing to listen and work hard. That's encouraging, but so far I see T.J. Ford. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying he's a lost cause. Way too early to tell. Just posing the question, because everyone seems to believe Bogut/Jennings is the future, and I'm not so sure that's a lock.

[yoshii8]

He's actually played some pretty good defense this season, I don't think he is getting abused by any measure.. I also think he has brought a lot to the table as a playmaker. I think he is the future at PG, and will be a very good player for years to come.

[nate82]

I'm not comparing Chris Paul and Brandon Jennings here but their rookie lines are somewhat close to each other.

 

Chris Paul

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
05-06	NOK	78	78	36.0	0.430	0.282	0.847	0.8	4.3	5.1	7.8	2.2	0.1	2.35	2.79	16.1

Brandon Jennings

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3p%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
09-10	MIL	60	60	33.2	0.366	0.375	0.806	0.6	3.0	3.6	6.0	1.3	0.3	2.5	2.3	15.9

And another PG that people seem to love and their Rookie year

Deron Williams

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
05-06	UTA	80	47	28.8	0.421	0.416	0.704	0.4	2.0	2.4	4.5	0.8	0.2	1.81	2.91	10.8

So yeah Jennings does have to improve with his percentage and that will come in time. But Jennings shouldn't really be the main option or even the #3 option as far as scoring goes. Jennings should be the guy that is dishing the ball and setting up opportunities for his teammates to score like Bogut and others.

[Gobias Industries]

Jennings has been consistently bad since that hot start, but I still like his chances at becoming a good player. He should definitely be given the keys for the next few years, at least. He needs to work on bulking up, shooting, and working the pick and roll. He's the worst passer I've ever seen out of it. If he doesn't improve his shooting, he won't be long for this league.

 

I know the above probably sounds bleak, but I'm not too worried yet. He's a good floor general overall, and as someone else mentioned, he's an okay defender at this point. WIth skiles at the helm, he should only get better.

[bbrauch2000]

Are we forgetting the Jennings isnt even old enough to drink and he's playing 30+ minutes for a playoff team? He's one of 6 rookies playing 25+ minutes a game. His turnovers have been in a decline every month while his assists have remained consistant. For him to be a very good point guard in this league, he just needs to shoot in the low 40%s. I think we should be considering the fact he may have hit the rookie wall and is running on fumes. The not long for this league comments are pretty outlandish at this point

[Diskono]

I think his jump shooting is mostly fine for a rookie - not saying its good, but about where I would expect. He just needs to get A LOT better at the rim. Bulking up will help that, and experience certainly can't hurt. He'll be fine.

[Baldkin]

According to HoopData.com Jennings field goal percentage “at the rim” is

39.7%. That is last on the Bucks, and well below the NBA average of

60.0%.

 

Really, his stats aren't that out of line from other PG's who were handed the keys their rookie year, to expound on nate82's post and add one more name:

 

Jason Kidd FG%: 38.5%, 3pt%: 27%, 11.7ppg, 7.7 apg.

[davego]

For being 20 years old and having 1+ years beyond HS basketball...I'll take my chances with him.

[yount19.u]

Jennings has already played more basketball this year than he has the previous two. I don't expect his shooting to get much better this season as a result, but he is still doing a nice job of helping his team win, and I think Bogut is much better with Jennings on the floor. The two seem to have a nice chemistry. I think with another couple of years of conditioning and being coached by Skiles, Jennings will be a staple at the All Star game.

[Mr QL]

I'm not too worried about Jennings shooting %. He's got a good shot. He just has to get stronger so he can finish better. Being a rook, he isn't getting many calls so hopefully that will come in time too but he plays in Milwaukee so who knows. Part of it is, I think, despite our teams defensive prowess they struggle sometimes offensively and BJ ends up taking a bad shot at the end of the shot clock. Something he likes doing is putting a shot up on the rim and letting Bogut or whoever get it on the put back. He'll throw up the occasional heat check too but for the most part, all his shots are with in the offense in my opinion.

 

He's beyond his years as a playmaker and as a defender(needs to get stronger so he cant fight through those screens) in my opinion tho and while I think he gained a lot by going to Italy after high school, you gotta remember he didn't get too see much time on the court. Scott Skiles is a perfect teacher for him and I still think he can be an elite PG in this league.

[homer]

Cleveland just said that James isn't playing tonight. No excuses now - Bucks should win.

[Buckylovesbeer]

Its almost halftime vs. the Cavs....... after reading up on this thread, I have made it a point to watch Jennings on the pick and role. He moves very well through it, but really struggles on when he should pass vs. dribble it out again. vs shoot it. Its frustrating........You can tell he is trying, but he has a lot to learn.

 

Having said that, I agree 100% tonights game should be a win without LeBron......

 

--------

 

Well they did win, and had a very nice second half