Behind the Buck Pass - A Milwaukee Bucks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinions and More

This photo sums up Drew Gooden's quirkiness perfectly. Saturday night, it worked for the Milwaukee Bucks.

No Jax, no Bogues, no problem.

Sweltering defense and transition scoring led the Milwaukee Bucks to a 100-89 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bucks were as close to perfect as they’ve been this season, fearlessly attacking the basket, making the most of Lakers slip ups, and exploiting the holes in Los Angeles’ aging, melancholy defense. Continue reading this post »

Bulls point guard Derrick Rose drives against Drew Gooden in the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

The Milwaukee Bucks put forth a game effort in Chicago but fell to the Bulls, 107-100.

The absence of Andrew Bogut loomed large against a team destined for a long playoff run. The Bulls pounded the Bucks on the offensive glass to the tune of 20 rebounds, including eight by Joakim Noah. And Derrick Rose, without the deterrence of a shot-blocker on the court, scored 34 points (14/24 FG), most of them from close range on his natural right-hand side.

The Bulls repeatedly ran a high pick-and-roll with Rose, with the screen set to free Rose to his right.  Chicago wasn’t particular about his partner, either.  They didn’t care who set the screen, just so long as he was guarded by Drew Gooden.  Once Jennings was caught on the screen, the Bucks had no choice but to switch, and Rose was free to go past/over/around Drew.

It was a strategy that would have failed with a healthy Bogut in the game.  Tonight, however, it worked to perfection.  Hopefully, other teams aren’t lying in wait to catch on, but they don’t necessarily have a Derrick Rose, either.

Brandon Jennings had another pleasant performance, scoring 25 points (on an efficient 10/22 FG), grabbing 7 rebounds, and distributing 3 assists. He does, however, have to Continue reading this post »

Mar 26, 2011; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Joakim Noah looks to shoot around Luc Richard Mbah a Moute during a game at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

In advance of tonight’s game at the United Center, I took a few moments to speak with Josh Hill of Pippen Ain’t Easy.  I asked him a few questions to get a better sense of the 2012 version of the Chicago Bulls.

1) How are the Bulls different when they use Rip Hamilton and Ronnie Brewer instead of Keith Bogans and Luol Deng?  

They’re 100 percent different. Deng isn’t the problem Bogans was, Deng is actually playing like an All-Star this year and there have been situations in games, most notably the Pacer game, where he was sorely missed. But in terms of Hamilton versus Bogans there’s not even a debate. Bogans was alright on defense but his offense was what needed to be upgraded. Hamilton is exactly that, with his 15,000th point being proof he can constantly score. Brewer is a nice change of pace guard when he comes in as he’s not the prolific scorer Hamilton can be but his defense is definitely appreciated. I’ve said this from the start, but when Hamilton will be most useful is in the playoffs when he can share his championship experience on the court. That was notably absent in last years run and for me, that’s where Rip is going to make or break his money.

Derrick Rose drives to the basket in a 2010 game while Brandon Jennings chases. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

The Milwaukee Bucks are 7-5 with Andrew Bogut in the lineup — a mark that isn’t going to be changing anytime soon. Bogut will be out indefinitely with a fractured ankle.

The Bucks, winless without Bogut this year (0-5), travel to Chicago to face Derrick Rose and the Bulls.

The Bulls are coming off a loss to the Pacers and travel to Miami to take on the Heat Sunday.  Derrick Rose didn’t take kindly to the Pacers’ gleeful win, either.

“I’ll never forget how they celebrated just from winning this game,” Rose said after the game. “I can’t wait to play them again.”

With any luck, the Bulls will have forgotten that they have a game with the Bucks tonight, and Derrick Rose won’t take his wrath out against Milwaukee.

If the season ended today, the two teams would meet in the first round of the playoffs, with the Bulls taking the number one spot in the East and the Bucks eking in with the final spot.   Continue reading this post »

Andrew Bogut will be sorely missed by the Bucks while he recovers from an ankle injury. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

MySynergySports.com:  When the season started, there was a lot of talk about the Milwaukee Bucks signing Joel Przybilla because they only had Bogut at center.  They needed a defensive anchor when Andrew wasn’t on the floor (which, sadly, will be all the time for a while.)

But in hindsight, perhaps Bogut was needed more as low-post threat on offense.  By my count, there are seven players on the Bucks roster who are best-suited to play power forward when on the court.  Isn’t it rather amazing then that none of them seem to be totally comfortable playing with their back to the basket?

Drew Gooden is a jump shooter. Ersan Ilyasova fills the same role and also crashes the offensive glass for good measure.  Luc, for all his defensive prowess, doesn’t add much of anything to the offense.  One could say the same for Sanders and Brockman, who don’t figure into the rotation anyway when Bogut is healthy.

In fact, here are the numbers for those five players in the low post (according to Synergy):

Continue reading this post »

Check a few streaks off the Bucks-ket list.

Playing without star center Andrew Bogut for the final three and a half quarters (sprained ankle), the Milwaukee Bucks caught fire from beyond the arc (14-29, 48%) and rode a hot bench (68 of 102 points) and a couple key runs to a 105-99 victory over the Houston Rockets. The win extinguished Houston’s seven-game winning streak, gave Milwaukee three straight road wins, and snapped the Bucks’ string of misfortune in Houston dating back to 1999. Continue reading this post »

The Houston Rockets are like the Minnesota Twins of the NBA; a model for consistent regular season success.

From spots 1 through 12, the Rockets’ rotation lives its philosophy of understanding their role, playing within their strengths, and ceding to the better man when necessary. They now have a seven game winning streak and a 7-1 home record to show for it.

The Milwaukee Bucks need that level of cohesiveness for their no-superstar system to work. For the most part, the Bucks have been the anti-Rockets, heavily reliant on defensive stops and undergoing constant lineup renovations that threaten to derail a season that’s just begun. Continue reading this post »

The Bucks fell flat with Drew Gooden as their late-game center. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Joe Johnson scored 28 points — 14 in the fourth quarter  – as the Atlanta Hawks finished the game on an 18-9 run to vanquish the Bucks, 97-92, at the Bradley Center.

Scott Skiles elected to start the fourth quarter with a quintet of Brandon Jennings (the lone starter), Mike Dunleavy, Stephen Jackson, Ersan Ilyasova, and Drew Gooden.  They pulled out to a pair of four-point, fourth quarter leads:  one at the 7:10 mark on a pair of Gooden free throws, and another at the 3:30 mark when Ilyasova and Dunleavy coverted a two-man, three-point play (Ersan was fouled away from the ball).

At neither time did Skiles bring back his starters.  In fact, for the entire duration of the fourth quarter, Skiles went with the same five players.

“We were getting a little bit of a hold on the game”, Skiles commented after the loss. “And if you wait so long, and you bring other guys in, it’s kind of unfair to them at that point. I thought we were doing a reasonably good job of defending Joe (Johnson).”

Problem is, the Bucks weren’t doing a good job defending Joe Johnson.  While it’s true that Stephen Jackson played physically and stayed with Johnson, from a team defensive standpoint, it was a mess.

When the Hawks went to the pick-and-roll late, the Bucks scheme fell apart.  Too often, Milwaukee had both pick-and-roll-defenders chasing the ballhandler from behind, with Gooden coming up halfheartedly from the front.  In reality, three men guarding the ball was as good as zero; none were close enough to impact the play.

Drew Gooden also giftwrapped the Hawks two technical free throws on a pair of defensive three-second calls.  Atlanta converted both opportunities.

The motivation for milking an entire quarter from Stephen Jackson and Mike Dunleavy is also an unexplained mystery.  Despite savvy offensive play, Dunleavy struggled with his shot (3/9 FG in the 4th quarter), the athleticism of the Hawks (couldn’t defend without fouling), and a lack of conditioning after missing three weeks with groin injury.

For his part, Jackson gave a game effort on defense, but if his role in the offense is going to amount to passing the ball on the perimeter, then Luc Mbah a Moute should have been in the game wearing Joe Johnson like a mink fun shawl.

MVP: Ersan Ilyasova

Ersan in the Bucks’ ugly gray minivan.

Continue reading this post »

If these are the healthy 2011-12 Milwaukee Bucks, a certain “Fear The Deer” towel may need a trip through the wash.

Without question, the Bucks’ 91-82 win over the Miami Heat was their most significant road victory since 2010’s Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks pushed through 19 lead changes, sealed off the interior on defense, and closed the game on an 8-2 run that sent Jon McGlocklin and Jim Paschke into Hatter/March Hare jubilation. Continue reading this post »

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

For all their troubles this season, the Milwaukee Bucks sit just a half game back in the standings for the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed.

Brandon Jennings scored 36 points, passed out 5 assists, and continued his 2012 trend toward efficiency, hitting 15 of 26 field goal attempts.  He also hit a long, late-game 3-pointer that clinched the victory with 1:33 left, drawing the ire of Carmelo Anthony (35 points, 5 rebounds).  Anthony’s jawing antics earned him a second technical foul and the requisite ejection.

By beating the Knicks — the current holder of the eighth spot — the Bucks picked up their first road win of the season.

Stephen Jackson was inactive for the game after missing the pregame shootaround.  His replacement in the starting lineup, Shaun Livingston, scored 18 points.  Livingston established his favorite shot early Continue reading this post »