About two weeks ago Milwaukee Bucks fans were ready to bring back the “Fear the Deer” slogan. Now, after five consecutive losses at home, many fans are pleading for management to “blow it up.”
A home loss to the 6-23 Hornets put the Bucks’ record at 12-17, the first time Milwaukee has been five games under .500 this season. To make matters worse, the Bucks are falling victim to “Linsanity” as the surging Knicks appear more likely to hold on to one of the final playoff spots in the East. The Bucks are now 2.5 games out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
In what is becoming a regular theme this year, drama in the locker room persists and speculation about the job securities of Scott Skiles and General Manager John Hammond is growing.
Some sort of shakeup will likely happen to the Bucks as the All-Star break and trading deadline quickly approach. Whether it is a firing, a large trade involving Stephen Jackson or a small trade involving expiring contracts – Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova – something seems imminent. The last thing the Bucks can afford is another 9th or 10th place finish in the Eastern Conference, which would result in missing the playoffs and receiving mid-round draft pick.
Making a win-now trade or “tanking” for a higher draft pick would, at the very least, give the franchise a sense of direction. Not doing anything would probably result in the Bucks missing out on the playoffs and still not receiving a top draft pick. Many know that position as “NBA Hell” – a recurring cycle of mediocrity.
So as we wait patiently for something to happen, here is a closer look at Milwaukee’s last four games.
Bucks (113) at Cavaliers (112) OT – Friday (2/10/12)
The Good: The Bucks won for the second consecutive game. It was their first overtime game of the season, and they outscored the Cavs 11-7 in the extra period before Cleveland’s point guard Daniel Gibson made an irrelevant three-pointer at the buzzer.
The Bad: The Bucks barely won this game even though the Cavs were missing, arguably, their two best players. Kyrie Irving, the first overall pick in last year’s draft, was out for the game with a concussion. Irving is Cleveland’s leading scorer, averaging 18 points per game. In addition, Anderson Varejao missed most of the game after fracturing his shooting wrist. The center, who is expected to miss at least six weeks of action, is averaging 10.8 points per game and 11.5 rebounds this season.
The Ugly: Carlos Delfino shot 2-12 for the game. The Bucks won despite shooting 40.8% from the field while allowing the Cavs to shoot 48.9%.
Bucks (94) vs. Magic (99) – Saturday (2/11/12)
The Good: The Bucks held Dwight Howard to 11 points, on 5-15 shooting, and 14 rebounds. That is a rather impressive feat considering Howard is averaging over 20 points and 15 rebounds per game and the Bucks don’t have a true center without Bogut.
The Bad: Instead of Dwight Howard dominating the paint as many predicted, Jason Richardson stole the show by catching fire in the second half. Richardson shot 9-11 from the three-point range en route to 31-point performance, 28 of which came in the second half. It was a career high in three-pointers and a season high in points for Richardson.
The Ugly: The Bucks had a 10-point lead with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter. They lost the game by five. I’ll leave the math to you.
Bucks (96) vs. Heat (114) – Monday (2/13/12)
The Good: The Bucks were going for an improbable three-game sweep of the Heat this year. Predictably, the Heat did not let that happen. The Bucks did keep the game close in the first half, trailing by only five heading into intermission, before they fell apart in the second half. Nonetheless, winning two out of three games against the Heat, and three of the last four overall, is pretty remarkable.
The Bad: Brandon Jennings continued his recent slump scoring just 12 points on 4-10 shooting while turning the ball over three times.
The Ugly: This article. Evidently, Brandon Jennings is “doing his homework on big market teams.” There are two interpretations that can be taken from it: A) he wants to leave Milwaukee or B) he is simply keeping his options open like every professional athlete. Jennings later tweeted he never said for sure he is leaving Milwaukee, but the timing of the article – combined with his recent disinterested play – is curious.
John Hammond didn’t exactly give Jennings resounding support after the article came out. Here are some “highlights”:
“I’d like to say how much respect we as an organization have for Brandon and how much we appreciate what he’s done for us since he’s been a Milwaukee Buck,” Hammond said.
“But what Brandon has done is put the cart before the horse, so to speak,” Hammond continued. “The five guys mentioned all signed rookie extensions and all had player options at the end of those extensions. That’s the case with Dwight Howard right now.”
“I know Brandon’s name was mentioned in the all-star discussion, which is a real honor to him,” Hammond said. “But when Brandon mentions himself with such players, while I appreciate his comments, I will be excited if some day other people around the NBA are also mentioning Brandon’s name with Chris Paul and Dwight Howard.”
Bucks (89) vs. Hornets (92) — Wednesday (2/15/12)
The Good: There isn’t much good that can come out of a loss to the second-worst NBA team at home. Bucks’ forward Ersan Ilyasova continued his impressive play by scoring 23 points and collecting seven rebounds. Unfortunately for the Bucks, Ilyasova is an unrestricted free agent after this year, and he has already let it be known he will go to any team that pays him the most money -whether that is in the U.S. or Europe.
“Financially, whoever pays me more will be the team that I decide to sign with,” Ilyasova said.
The Bad: If there’s one thing the Bucks have provided lately, besides losses, it’s been worrying quotes. Brandon Jennings offered this personal assessment after the game:
“I need to come out with a lot more energy, and I need to play harder,” Jennings said. “I can’t say I’ve been playing hard the last couple games because I really haven’t. I need to look in the mirror and ask myself, `Is this something that I’m up for?'”
I’ll let you interpret that.
The Ugly: There was perhaps one thing uglier than the Bucks’ loss to 6-23 Hornets – New Orleans’ jerseys. They are not easy on the eyes.
A Look Ahead: By all indications, from performances on the court and dialogue off the court, the Bucks are a bit of a mess at the moment. The Bucks’ schedule doesn’t get any easier either. Before the upcoming All-Star break, they play the Magic and Nets on the road, return to Milwaukee to play the Magic again and face the Bulls in Chicago. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks as the March 15 trading deadline looms – there could soon be some new faces in a Bucks uniform.