Milwaukee Bucks: O.J. Mayo Leading The Madness?

Are O.J. Mayo‘s actions in Minnesota mirrored in the shape much of the Milwaukee Bucks play has taken on this season?

When O.J. Mayo stood up to Draymond Green and stood up for his young Milwaukee Bucks teammates in Oakland, he was a hero.

When Mayo got into it with the hot-headed Markieff Morris in his very next game against the Phoenix Suns, most Bucks fans laughed. There he goes again. I guess somebody has to be this team’s veteran enforcer, right?

When Mayo lost all reason, picking up two technical fouls in quick succession, finding himself ejected without any real reason to be upset, and then decided it would be wise to aggressively pursue the referee; that’s the moment where everybody has to sit back and think for a second.

What if Draymond Green was never the problem? What if we can’t blame Markieff Morris? What if O.J. Mayo has been the initiator and the guilty party all along?

More from Bucks News

Coming to some of those conclusions may take a little bit of a leap, but Mayo and his brand of leadership now need to be put into context within the young team he’s a part of.

It couldn’t be any more widely publicized how the young Bucks thrived under the guidance of steady veteran influences like Jared Dudley, Zaza Pachulia and Ersan Ilyasova, so as a natural by-product should we be questioning the influence and role of Mayo in the way that this 2015-16 Bucks teams has played?

There are lines which should be crossed, and lines that should not be crossed.

When Mayo stood up for his teammates and spoke with reason and eloquence following the team’s defeat to the Warriors at Oracle Arena, it was clear that he’d picked his battle well. Mayo and the Bucks were the underdog, and he wasn’t going to let his teammates go quietly off the court, just like how they didn’t roll over without a fight on the court.

"I told [Green] he’s a heck of a player, but at the end of the day, that’s my teammate. Just respect my teammate as well as we respect you guys, and some things you shouldn’t say in the media. Show your class, you know.You talk about one guy’s class, and then you go the same route. Not a class act."

Mayo’s actions were deliberate, calculated, and most important of all, they didn’t impact on how his team was equipped to compete on the court. That’s a leader motivating his team, and making a point, after the job has been done.

What Mayo displayed in Minnesota on Saturday night was irresponsible and impetuous. At Mayo’s time of ejection, the Bucks trailed by 18-5, had yet to make a field goal, and Mayo, himself, had already committed two quick personal fouls.

If ever there was a time where a young team needed composure from one of their veterans to avoid implosion, it was now. It’s the sort of situation where young players need to be told to keep working, and to play through the swallowed whistles. It’s a time for leading by example.

That’s what Jerryd Bayless, another one of the Bucks more experienced players, did in the second quarter when he came in and let his play do the talking. Mayo on the other hand let his lips run loose at the referee, before losing all control over himself.

I’m not sure what Giannis Antetokounmpo will learn about winning from restraining a wild-eyed O.J. Mayo.

Jan 2, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard O.J. Mayo (3) is blocked from the referee after he was ejected from the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Target Center. The Bucks win 95-85. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /

In a post-game interview with Fox Sports North, rookie Rashad Vaughn was asked about whether the team used Mayo’s ejection as a motivator, and responded:

"Definitely. O.J. sparked it for us, you know, with just showing that passion and emotion, and I think that sparked us to pick up our energy."

In many ways that’s exactly the type of generic answer you’d expect from most players, careful of throwing a teammate under the bus, and therefore it’s hard to gauge the level of truth to it, but in many ways the impact Mayo’s ejection may or may not have had is irrelevant put up against the circumstances that made it necessary.

The Bucks have struggled against some of the league’s supposed lesser teams throughout the first half of the season, and if they need a reason to get going against teams like Minnesota, that in itself would be the biggest indictment of the leadership of Mayo and other experienced heads in the locker room.

What the Bucks needed to turn the game around on Saturday was composure, and to stay on an even keel. Eventually, via the words of Joe Prunty, and the play of the second unit that’s what they got.

More often than not, the team has appeared on edge throughout the season though, and that may be an example of the group taking on the personality of its leaders. Much like Mayo, the Bucks are all or nothing right now.

For an impressionable young group of players, it seems like now would be the time for them to witness a more measured approach.

Home/Bucks News