Bucks v. Blazers 9 p.m. FSNWI

[Newz]

Admirals got their asses kicked already. I'm hoping the Bucks can have the same happen.

I was listening to that in the car and it made me lulz... Only because I knew it would make you sad.

[Baddy Chuck]

Maybe a few people here will realise why Bayless wouldn't have been a bad draft choice after this game .

[AussieBuck]

Maybe a few people here will realise why Bayless wouldn't have been a bad draft choice after this game .

He's Sessions without the playmaking. We could've just kept the superior version.

[trwi7]

Admirals got their asses kicked already. I'm hoping the Bucks can have the same happen.

I was listening to that in the car and it made me lulz... Only because I knew it would make you sad.

I completely forgot the game started at like 11. That's the earliest start time I can remember a game starting and the early games are usually on Sunday.

So I go to the website, I see they have all the listen live and box score stuff up, I go down and look at the score and I see Wolves 7 Admirals 2 and I'm like ****.

Did you hear any goals either way? It's hilarious. If the Admirals goalie gives up a gimme Aaron goes. "How did that go in?!?! Come on boys, get it together."

If the Admirals score a goal when they're down like 7-1 like they were today he'll still get crazy excited about it that you'd think they were winning 7-1 when they scored again.

[StickeeFingaz]

Most likely add another tally in the loss column for the ol' Buckaroos. Our terrible shooting in general puts us at a disadvantage from the get-go. Playing on the road just makes it worse.

[-Jragon-]

We could win...

But the problem IMHO is that we don't play to our strengths. We have people that create turnovers (Bell, Luc, Jennings), People that can block/disrupt shots (Bogut, Ersan, Warrick), rebounders (Bogut, Ersan, Thomas), fast point guards, and fast players that can pass. We are built for running (especially without Redd who generally slows the ball and ball movement); yet we get sucked into slowing the ball down and running half-court sets and ending up with bad/defended jumpers or fadeaway/defended hooks.

Nash gets the ball in a nanosecond after his bigs rebound and is burning up court looking for slashers, wide open teammates, and trailers that take uncontested shots. Our bigs get the rebounds and wait for the other team to get down court before giving up the ball. It's almost like Bogut wants to go slow so that he can get more post up opportunities, but he actually is more consistantly effective as a trailer in fast break situations because he gets the ball moving toward the hoop. We need to RUN off of blocked shots, rebounds and turnovers all the time because we need as many easy looks as we can get (as opposed to the bad looks we get often in our sets). I think we are deep enough and have enough athletes to do this as well.

4 guards that can rotate in and out - Jennings, Bell, Meeks, Ridnour (all can make wide open shots when defender is lost or leaves them)
4 forwards to swap - Ersan, Luc, Delfino, Warrick (all can run, dunk, layup/even JA would fit this type of offense)
3 centers - Bogut can get to the hoop as a trailer, Thomas can shoot from the elbow as a trailer, and even Gadz could eventually get back in and dunk as a trailer.

RUN BUCKS RUN. Like you are being hunted, because you are. I remember playing the Nets when they had J.Kidd and all of the guys that created turnovers and ran with him. They would start the game running to a 25 - 8 lead with only layups and wide open shots off of fast breaks. Let us take the leash off of Jennings and have some fun playing/watching basketball THIS year. If we lose, let us go down swinging and developing Jennings, Meeks, Bogut, Luc, (Ridnour 6th man Ginobli?) and Ersan as defenders and offensive weapons.

Or... we can have a boring winter, watch slow basketball, and poor contested shots. What are we really waiting for? The Packers are done, the Brewers are going to suck with out pitching and this upcoming year's draft pick won't even be developed for two years. Let's have fun NOW. Who knows.. maybe we'll still lose my way and tankers can still be happy.

[BDUB_30]

Dennis Rodman is one of the better posters on this site, always worth the time reading. Thanks for taking the time.

[Stopshere2]

Bogut has been saving himself for this game but everyone else continues to shoot terribly on the road and we lose by 10. Or in other words ...

[-Jragon-]

Thanks BDub

[Jez2983]

I'm not predicting anything, as the opposite of what I say happens.

Still, epic loss.

[lawrybeard]

I'm actually pretty excited about the game (low standards I know). As DennisRodman posted yesterday, go back and watch quarters 2-4 of the Phoenix game. There were signs of the "Redd-less" team that started the season.

I agree with this. When Redd returned, we saw a significant drop off from a few of our players. Without checking, I'd say they were Ridnour, Delfino & Ersan.

We had a ridiculously bad first quarter against the Suns, but just like prior to Redd's return we still found a way to get back into the game.

[Dobber-16]

Bucks cover the spread, could win straight-up. I like our chances. Close game, great effort tonight.
Portland is hurting, Aldridge and Webster are non-factors.

[Ayt]

This is a bad match up (put this on repeat for every game thread the rest of the year).

[LUKE23]

I expect another moral victory and actual loss.

[rrravenred]

Some quick stats. In wins, the Bucks:

* shoot 45% from the field, and 35% from 3
* average a rebounding advantage of 4.1
* allow the opposition to shoot 42% FG and 28% from 3

In losses, the Bucks:

* shoot 40% from the field and 33% from 3
* get spanked on the boards by 5.8
* give the opposition 48% from the field and 43% (!) from 3

All commonsense stuff. The big one for me was the 3P FG%. League average is 35%, so a good Bucks game is where we don't get punished much from downtown. Defend the perimeter and thus goeth the game. Blazers average 36% from 3 (tenth in the league). If we can keep them to that or below...

[bayrdbandit]

Guys, just a heads up, Rudy may be coming back tonight, but there's no guarantee. These are two tough teams. Portland's making the best of a tough situation, but they've lost 3 of the last 4. The Bucks lost Redd, but if the early season is any indication, you guys are just fine without him. It should be interesting to see a matchup of two rising stars in Roy and Jennings. Both of these guys have a knack for taking over games. Roy is mr. consistent while Jennings has been slightly less consistent, but both players are unstoppable when they're hitting shots.

If Jennings has been SLIGHTLY less consistent than Roy, then Roy must be extremely inconsistent.

Good luck.

Go Bucks.

[ZedgetRedd]

I want to see a good team effort and game especially from Jennings, win or loss doesnt really matter too much anymore, lets get a stud in the draft.

[emunney]

There were signs of the "Redd-less" team that started the season.

Signs of a Redd-less team, or the honeymoon effect created by the loss of perceived key player that causes a team's members to play especially motivated and together, only to be replaced by a normal energy level and selfishness at a later point. They actually had a double honeymoon effect going with Skiles being sidelined also. Portland won @ Dallas, @ San Antonio, and against Denver; in their first 3 games where both Oden and Przy were absent. Now they've lost 3 of 4, since the realities of playing with Juwan Howard as their center has set in. Did winning initially without Oden and Przy mean they were a better team without those two guys? Honeymoon effect is a very real and prevalent phenomenon. Now, Redd was no Oden/Przy to our team, but the reality is we're going nowhere with this crap talent squad. We likely won't be able to even take advantage of the honeymoon effect because of the caliber of opponents in combination with playing on the road.

I don't think it was a 'honeymoon effect' so much as it was Redd being catastrophically bad 70-80% of the time when he was on the floor. I'm not talking about the collateral damage on other players that some here are asserting -- as if it's some sort of situation where Redd's getting his at the expense of others -- I'm talking about, regardless of what's happening with the rest of the team, Redd not getting his and getting schooled on the other end. Most of the time he was a liability on both ends of the court.

If you have a situation where a good player leaves and the team plays moderately better after he leaves for a short period of time, that's an unqualified honeymoon effect and I agree with you that it does exist and somebody has probably measured it. When you're talking about removing a bad player, though, I'm not sure if the same rules apply.

[worthlessBucks]

Must win Supreme?

[emunney]

This is a bad match up (put this on repeat for every game thread the rest of the year).

I know you're joking, but I actually think Portland is a good matchup for us. Ersan is going to have to figure out something to do about Aldridge, though, as he killed us last time.