July 18, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward John Henson (31) knocks the ball from Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) during the second half of the game at Cox Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Bucks are halfway through their preseason schedule following Thursday’s three-point loss to the Grizzlies in La Crosse. Milwaukee returns to the BMO Harris Bradley Center tonight with a 2-2 record. Normally, I’d insert a mediocrity joke here, but I’ll save it until the games actually count (in 13 days!).

The Bucks will battle the Wizards, 1-4, tonight (7:30 pm CT) in the annual MACC Fund game. If you’re not aware of the MACC Fund, or its very real impact, check out this excellent article by Howie Magner.

Although the Bucks have been dealing with their fair share of injury woes, it pales in comparison to the Wizards. John Wall, Nene and Kevin Seraphin didn’t make the trip to Milwaukee. Wall will be on the sidelines for at least another month with a stress injury in his left knee. Nene could also miss the start of the regular season, as he deals with lingering plantar fasciitis in his left foot, and Seraphin is still recovering from a left calf strain. As a result, the Wizards trotted out a starting lineup of A.J. Price, Jordan Crawford, Martell Webster, Jan Vesely and Emeka Okafor on Wednesday. How many wins does that starting lineup spur during an 82-game regular season? I’ll set the over/under at 25.

Milwaukee will again be without rookies Doron Lamb (left elbow strain) and John Henson (left knee sprain). Ekpe Udoh returned from a knee sprain of his own on Thursday and played 21 minutes.

A few things to look out for tonight:

Ellis vs. Beal: Bradley Beal, the third pick in June’s draft, is off to a decent start this preseason. The 6’3 guard is averaging 14.2 points in nearly 27 minutes per game. He’s shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Monta Ellis has produced similar numbers – 13.5 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting – but has struggled to get into rhythm on both ends of the court. With Wall, Nene and Seraphin out tonight, the combo guard matchup will be something to keep a close eye on.

Rebounding: We know the Bucks’ frontcourt can block shots, but can they rebound? If you put much stock into the preseason, the answer would be a resounding ‘no.’ The Grizzlies manhandled the Bucks on the glass in the last game. That wouldn’t have been overly surprising if Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph were manning the paint, but they were not. Memphis – led by the likes Marreese Speights, Jerome Jordan, Hamed Haddadi and Ronald Dupree (!) — grabbed 15 offensive rebounds en route to a 47-39 rebounding advantage. The lack of rebounding last season was a big factor in the Bucks trading for Samuel Dalembert and signing Joel Przybilla. If Larry Sanders and Udoh can’t correct their well-documented rebounding shortfalls, Skiles could become inclined to play the veterans extended minutes this season. With Nene and Seraphin out, this game is a fine opportunity for the Bucks to show some improvement in this area.

Party like it’s 2010: Earl Barron makes his highly-anticipated return to the [BMO Harris] Bradley Center. For those of you who don’t remember his brief tenure in Milwaukee, the Bucks signed the 7-footer to a pair of 10-days contract in the 2010-11 season – the year that also featured Garrett Temple and Brian Skinner. Barron averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in seven underwhelming appearances. He did display a respectable – dare I say Gooden-ish – midrange jumper, so there’s that. The 31-year-old, who signed a non-guaranteed contract this offseason, is shooting 27.8 percent from the floor in 15.0 minutes per game this preseason.

Oct 13, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Scott Skiles applauds his players during a timeout during the game against the Detroit Pistons at the Bradley Center. The Bucks beat the Pistons 108-91. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

It’s quite cliché to say that preseason games mean nothing, and yet, after getting overwhelmingly thumped 4-0 in the regular season by Chicago last season, it’s almost as if the Bucks need this game to get a leg up on the mental hurdle of beating their nearest neighbor.  (7:00 PM CT, Radio: WTMJ 620, Away TV: Comcast Sportsnet Chicago).  Doing so would keep them undefeated for the preseason.  The Bulls enter tonight’s game with a mark of 1-2, including losses to Minnesota and Cleveland in their two most recent games.

Projected Lineups:

Chicago: Kirk Hinrich, Richard Hamilton, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah
Milwaukee:  Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Tobias Harris, Ersan Ilyasova, Samuel Dalembert/Larry Sanders

Luol Deng (groin injury) and Richard Hamilton return to the Bulls lineup after missing their last game.  In Deng’s absence, Coach Tom Thibodeau used small forward Jimmy Butler for all 48 minutes of a preseason game — so he really did plug him into Luol’s role.  Newcomer Marco Belinelli filled in for Hamilton, but his transition to the defensive-minded Bulls has flummoxed his coach at times..

Oct 13, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Marco Belinelli (8) dribbles during the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. The Timberwolves defeated the Bulls 82-75. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Crazy Rotations, Small Sample Sizes — It’s Time for Fun with Almost Meaningless Preseason Stats!

The Bucks currently feature four of the league’s top 11 shotblockers.

Among the league’s best assist tossers, Brandon Jennings sits fourth. He is only one assist per game behind the league leader, Deron Williams.  Even though Jennings has been shaky with turnovers early in games, the Bucks have done a marvelous job, only turning the ball over a league-low 14.0 times per game.

The Bucks have both the seventh-highest scoring offense and the fourth-stingiest defense.  As a team, they are second in assists per game which, if it were a meaningful statistic in any way, would be a continuation of the smooth passing offense they discovered after the Monta trade.

As for the Bulls, they clearly miss Derrick Rose.  With almost-Buck Kirk Hinrich replacing Rose, the Bucks are averaging 15 assists per game through four games — a mark that puts them 30th among 30 teams in the preseason.

It has nothing to do with either Bulls or the Bucks, but DeMarcus Cousins is the league’s top scorer. I want this for the regular season.

UniWatch:  The NBA’s plan to put advertising patches on jerseys is dead, at least for the time being.

Racine Journal Times:  John Henson doesn’t consider his weight (220 pounds) to be an issue, and the Bucks hired a yoga instructor from San Diego to be their equipment manager.

Fox Sports Wisconsin:  Scott Skiles praises Ersan Ilyasova for learning the virtue of patience.

NBA.com:  The Bucks’ slogan for the year is ‘Your Ticket to Amazing’, with possible variations on that theme of the form “Your Ticket to ______.” If they win, it could be fun.  But the fill-in-the-blank exercise will be all too easy if they struggle.

Basketball Reference:  Happy 44th Anniversary!  On this day in 1968, the Bucks played the first game in the history of the franchise.  Jon McGlocklin (or McGl’klin, if you like) scored 8 points.

But the Bucks lost — wouldn’t you know it — to the Bulls.  Egad.