It's only the preseason...it's only the preseason...
The Bucks kicked off the 2011 schedule with what might generously be described as a clunker, falling by a wide margin to the Timberwolves
in Minnesota. After a reasonably competitive first quarter, things got
out of hand fast, thanks largely to an incredible first half of
three-point shooting by the Wolves, who started the game 10-11 from
behind the arc. The Bucks couldn't answer and they couldn't stop it; the
defense looked surprisingly shabby. To be fair, playing time was
generously divvied up among players, particularly the newcomers, so the
team never got a chance to really settle into a groove. Whatever the
case, the Bucks finished with a shockingly bad 127.2 defensive rating.
Kevin Love and Michael Beasley
led the way for Minnesota with 21 points each. Love did his damage from
the three-point line, Beasley at the stripe. Second-overall pick Derrick Williams
and newcomer JJ Barea chipped in 14 apiece, including another trio of
treys from Williams. And the much anticipated debut of a certain Spanish
point guard went reasonably well. Flashy passes will be commonplace in
Minnesota, even if they don't always find their way to the bottom of the
net.
You never want to overreact to a preseason game. While tonight's
results were hardly encouraging, especially against a Minnesota team
that isn't expected to be too good, it's still just one game. The Bucks'
defense won't be this bad and the Wolves' offense won't be this good.
There's a long list of mitigating circumstances: the Bucks were without Stephen Jackson, they've had precious little time to practice as a full unit, and so on. Still, things definitely could have gone better.
More on some of the individual performances after the jump.
The Vets
We'll start with Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut
for two reasons: they're still the two most important players on the
team and, after tonight, we want to get this over with quickly. It was
an utterly forgettable night for both, sloppy from the outset and too
short to remedy. Bogut's timing and footwork in the post were off, and
the imposing figure of Darko Milicic
had him flummoxed (never something you want to hear). Jennings
attempted and missed 6 shots in the first half. He showed off what is
undoubtedly his most frustrating feature: the guy can get to the basket
in a variety of ways, but the last part where the ball goes through the
rim continues to elude him. He had a couple of nice assists, including a
dump-off under the basket and a slick bounce-pass in transition and was
able to knock down all three of his second-half shots, but you'd have a
hard time calling his night anything more than "uneven".
Carlos Delfino (11 points on 8 shots) played well in limited time, hitting a pair of threes and dishing a pair of dimes. Drew Gooden, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Ersan Ilyasova were essentially also-rans, though Gooden did finish with 3 offensive rebounds. Jon Brockman grabbed 4 boards, but looked downright Sanders-ian as a number of passes went right through his hands.
The n00bs
Here's the good news: the newest members of the Milwaukee Bucks looked good.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. opened the game with a straight-on three and had
three steals in the first few minutes (box score only gives him two, but
he was definitely involved in at least three live-ball turnovers by the
T-Wolves). He was active on defense, crisp on offense, and looked like
an absolute steal for what it cost to sign him.
Shaun Livingston
also impressed, particularly with his explosive drives to the basket in
the first half. Livingston drove baseline and went up high for a dunk
to draw a foul, then threw down again a few minutes later. He also
displayed how useful he can be on defense thanks to his size and length.
Looks like another solid pickup. Darington Hobson got 17 minutes of burn and contributed a 4/3/2 line, while Beno Udrih's
crooked 4-13 shooting line could've fooled anyone into thinking he'd
been with Milwaukee for years. Tobias Harris played only seven minutes,
but did earn a highlight with a nice reverse layup in transition.
And then there was one.
There's a very real possibility this will be the best game of Jon Leuer's
rookie season. It came against a team not known for defense in a
contest that nobody really cared about winning. But nobody from
Milwaukee surpassed expectations more pleasantly than Leuer, who led the
Bucks with 18 points off the bench. Surprisingly, none of those points
came from the three-point line, where Jon was expected to earn his keep.
Instead, Leuer was able to draw a few fouls and sink 6 of his 7
free-throws. He'll definitely struggle defending the more physical
players in the NBA, as shown by him getting a bit roughed-up at the
hands of Derrick Williams. But I'm not listening to you naysayers!
The Final Word
So things didn't go as well as Bucks fans might have hoped. Don't
panic. Things will get ironed out. They'll have to get ironed out
quickly, but they will. The Bucks might not make enormous strides this
year, but if this game showed us anything, it's that the new additions
have come ready to play.
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Source : http://www.brewhoop.com/2011/12/18/2643742/milwaukee-bucks-96--minnesota-timberwolves-117-preseason-recap
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