Pre-Season Game 4: Milwaukee Bucks 101, Washington Wizards 105 Notes & Reactions

Oct 17, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) reaches for a rebound against Washington Wizards center DeJuan Blair (45) in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Reactions: The Bad

• Any grumpy middle school basketball coach will stress the importance of free throws. So what then will a professional coach tell his team of NBA players after their 16-28 performance on Saturday night? I would imagine something along the lines of “You gotta make your free throws, guys” delivered in a classic Jason Kidd nonchalant tone. You won’t win many NBA games shooting 57.1% from the free throw line.

• The Bucks have had some trouble with opposing big men. They allowed Andre Drummond to have a bigger-than-it-should-be game last Saturday as he racked up 17 quick points. This week’s primary offender was Marcin Gortat. The big man scored 16 points on 7-8 shooting while playing just 24 minutes. There was some discussion this off-season about the defensive impact that adding Greg Monroe would have on the Bucks defense. Perhaps these big nights from opposing centers are just aberrations. More likely it’s something to keep an eye on once the regular season gets underway.

• A big thumbs down to the pre-season reffing. There’s just too many fouls being called. The Bucks and Wizards combined for 47 Saturday night. Oddly enough, Saturday’s 47 total fouls were the lowest of the pre-season, down from 59, 56, and 51 in the previous three contests. For preseason it feels like a little much.

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