It’s been status quo for the Milwaukee Bucks this past week–play hard, beat the really bad teams and lose to everyone else. With a win against the Nets and losses to the Magic and Bulls, the Bucks limp to the All-Star break with a 13-20 record. They drop to seven games below .500 for the first time this season and are 10th place in the East–two and a half games behind the Celtics for the 8th seed.
Interestingly enough, the low point of the 2009-2010 season, the “Fear the Deer” year, also occurred when the team sat at seven games below .500. The Bucks finished that season on a 29-12 run and clinched the 6th seed with a 46-36 record. Unfortunately for this year’s team, it’s a shortened season and John Salmons–the 2010 version–is not walking through that door anytime soon. Milwaukee desperately needs a dynamic scoring wing and an adequate center, to replace the injured Andrew Bogut and make a legitimate playoff run. In order to make those acquisitions, General Manager John Hammond would likely have to mortgage part of the future by offering draft picks and young players. However, the front office may opt to wave the white flag, trade a few veterans and attempt build through the draft. Both options are far from ideal, and Milwaukee’s management will have some big decisions to make as the March 15 trade deadline looms.
With the All-Star break upon us–and a week hiatus of regular season basketball–here is a recap of the Bucks’ last three games:
Bucks (92) at Nets (85) – Sunday (2/19/12)
The Good: Forget “Linsanity,” it was all “Ersanity” Sunday evening. In what was a relatively lackluster game, Ersan Ilyasova dropped 29 points and grabbed 25 rebounds in only 36 minutes. He took his stat-stuffing performance to a new level when he fouled out at the end of the game. It was by far the most impressive single-game performance for any Bucks player this season, and the only other NBA player to score 29+ points and collect 25+ this season is Kevin Love. Ilyasova’s performance also put him in elite company in Bucks history; only Ilyasova, Swen Nater and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (nine times) have had over 29 points and 25 rebound games for Milwaukee.
The Bad: Drew Gooden, who has assumed the center position since Bogut fractured his ankle, did not make the road trip. It turns out Gooden has been playing through a partially torn ligament in his shooting wrist. He has not played in the last four games, but hopes to avoid surgery and be ready to play after the All-Star break. This is especially bad news for the Bucks as he had been putting up impressive, though arguably superficial, numbers before he got hurt. Now, it may prove harder to shed his contract–a 5-year $32 million deal he signed before last season–before the trading deadline.
The Ugly: The entire game–sans Ilyasova’s outburst–was rather unexciting. Both teams shot under 40% from the field and combined for only 177 total points.
Magic (93) at Bucks (90) – Monday (2/20/12)
The Good: Dwight Howard got his 28 points and 16 rebounds, but he was forced to work for most of those stats due to second-year player Larry Sanders. Sanders, who has played sparingly this season, played 27 minutes and posted his first double-double of the season–13 points and 12 rebounds. His defense on Dwight Howard in the fourth quarter was particularly impressive, as he shut down the All-Star center on a few key possessions down the stretch.
The Bad: This loss marked the sixth straight at home–a disappointing development considering the Bucks started the season 4-0 at home.
The Ugly: D?j? vu. The Bucks played the Magic for the third time in 10 days. For the third time in 10 days, the Bucks held a lead against the Magic in the fourth quarter and still lost the game. This time the Bucks had a two-point lead with 31.2 seconds left and quickly gave up a three-pointer off of an offensive rebound. The Bucks, down three with 12.2 seconds left in the game, still had two chances to tie the game, but they failed to get off a three-pointer both times. The beat goes on.
Bucks (91) at Bulls (110) – Wednesday (2/22/12)
The Good: There wasn’t much good to come out of this game for the Bucks. While watching this game, something dawned on me. Roughly 18 months ago, before last season, many “experts” predicted the Bucks to win the Central Division. Since then, John Salmons mailed it in, Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut regressed, locker room cancers (note plural) prevailed, and injuries mounted. Oh, and Derrick rose turned into a superstar for the Bulls. Nonetheless, given the current state of both franchises, it’s amazing to think about.
The Bad: With the 19-point thrashing, the Bucks mercifully head to the All-Star break in hopes of a better, healthier second half of the season. The odds are certainly stacked against them with Bogut potentially out for the year and several malcontents still in the locker room.
The Ugly: The Bucks allowed Joakim Noah to notch his first career triple-double–12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in less than 30 minutes. Need anything else be said?
A Look Ahead: The Bucks won’t play again until next Tuesday when they host the Washington Wizards. After that, they face six straight teams who would be in the playoffs if the season started today in the Celtics, Hawks, Magic, 76ers, Bulls and Knicks. Things could certainly get worse before they get better.