Your 2015-16 Milwaukee Bucks

When they start knocking down jump shots with some consistency they are going to be a handful.  Vasquez is a much better shooter than he has shown so far.

Glad to see the Bucks winning, but they have been playing some of the worst teams in the entire league.

They haven't exactly faced murderers row that for sure but I think it's a good thing.  They have a lot of new pieces and it will take some time for them to mesh so while they are learning (and winning) it's OK with me.

No, that's true. But the came into the season needing to beat the beatable. That's happening now, so it's progress. Get healthy, start stacking wins.

What the hell was that performance??!!

 

I couldn't watch it, but going by the players and their stats, what business do the Bucks have losing to the Cletics 99-83?

 

It's not like the Celtics are some juggernaut.

 

Sloppy play that's why

They had nearly 20 turnovers and got beat on the glass

Not a good combination

Brought it back together last night and shot lights out. Too bad they missed getting the W by 1 point. They are coming together. Takes time.

 

After looking at the box, DEN went to the line 24 times to the Bucks 9. Figures.  That's without MCW, Parker and Mayo. Will be good to get those guys back.

 

Henson needs to play consistent good basketball. He is not. Same with Middleton. Lots of misses.

There are a couple things at work here. One, they've played 10 games in 14 days with a depleted roster. This is why they're falling apart on both ends in the 3rd q. Boston rips off a 16-0 run, Denver erases a 11 deficit to lead by 9. Their shooting goes to pot because they stop moving. And what this team needs so badly is a creator. Bayless scored 14 himself last night in the 4th to pull them back in the game. Against Boston, there wasn't anyone to do that.

And 10 games in, this much is readily apparent- they lack a creator. They were standing around last night in that 3rd waiting for someone to create space. Bayless finally did it, but you cannot play iso basketball if you don't have a creator. I question why Kidd insists on that set- if you dont have a shot creator, that's not going to result in sustained baskets.

And then as the frustration mounts, they come apart defensively. As predictable as the sunrise. Offense sputters, defense sags, other team goes on run.

Parker can create- iso basketball will suit him fine when he gets into things. Him and MCW in the p&r? Should help thwart these funks they go into.

But also concerning- STOP FOULING!!! Giannis, JOB, Middleton. Good grief! And get a flippin rebound! That cost them the game last night. Monroe is ok at this- he needs own it. You can't let Faried, whose only redeeming value is garbage points, get to the rim for o rebounds.

These guys are young, and not everyone's out there. But it's in there. You can see it. They're so young they don't get it yet, but this is a work in progress.

The defensive rebounding is a major problem and that really impacts their defense and limits their possessions on the other end. 

The other thing I am noticing is turnovers. They are turning it over way too often and they aren't turning over the opposing team nearly enough.  Again - it's about getting possessions or limiting opposing possessions.

You give other teams more looks at the basket and that's a problem and has been all season.

Bucks playing their best overall game of the year. Elevating their game against the Cavs. Playing the kind of D we should expect.

Parker with a couple highlight reel plays. MCW great on d tonight.

Must avoid the big drought.

Officiating is horrible in this game- Cavs big pushing and shoving every possession, no calls. Bucks breathe on someone, FTs...

Nice win. 

Yup- a good win. I like that Parker got time in OT. Bayless team MVP so far. MCW played some phenomenal defense tonight.

Gotta rebound, boys. Doing a lot of things better, but that almost cost you the game again...

Bayless is becoming an important spark plug offensively and he continues to impress. 

Huge win for the Bucks if for no other reason than it shows they can compete and beat one of the best teams in the league.  Given how they have started the season it's just what the doctor ordered from a confidence standpoint.

Stop friggin' fouling! 16 FTs already for the Wizards midway through the 1st half...

Still no defensive answers against the Wizards. Penetrate the lane at will, whoever gives help gives up an open 3.

Pathetic defense tonight...

Monroe is a walking turnover tonight- Henson sparked a run in the first half. Why keep playing Monroe?

Bucks cut it to 6, then Wizrads go on a 13-0 run to finish the 3rd. Formula? Drive kick, drive kick, drive, free throws, drive layup. Drive kick for open 3.

You cannot win if you can't stop the drive. The Wozards don't have a complicated game plan. They run after every make or miss, drive drive drive...

That was a brutal game to watch. Best to forget that one, and hopefully they learn.

Their on ball defense is atrocious. Their p&r defense hapless. You're not going beat anyone if all the other teams need to do is spread the floor and dribble drive past your Gs.

And Monroe gets beat WAAAAAYYYY too often on the defensive boards. How can a team with this length be the worst rebounding team in the NBA???

Long way to go, and they have a long way to go...

Mozgoff takes a swing at MCW's head... gets away with banging Monroe while he shoots.. Never gets a call.

Same sh*t different game- don't defend the 3, give up too many offensive rebounds, turn the ball over, and can't stop a dribble drive.

See? Play a little D and get some rebounds and you get back in the game!

Giannis played well, Parker showing glimpses, but the g play was terrible tonight. All of them. Turnovers, piss poor shots, terrible defense... Missing layups, giving up 3s.

It's frustrating, but you see glimpses of what they can be. But against good teams they're being exposed as young and lackadaisical.

If Jason Kidd doesn't figure out how to get this team to defend like a professional basketball team, this season is going to get away from them in a hurry. Pacers make 15 3s and shot 50%?

The Way of the NBA today is to get penetration with a spread out floor and rotate the basketball to an open 3 point shooter. Game after game after game... Penetrate, kick, kick, drive, open 3.

The book on the Bucks is their on ball defense sucks. You get get in the lane any time you want to. Then just rotate the ball to an open shooter or take it all the way in to either score, get fouled, or both. This is Popovich basketball.

So is Kidd being exposed? Is his lack of coaching acumen being exploited? If every team is beating you the exact same way, and you don't have a counter, does that mean your team or your coaching flawed? The other interesting part- the Bucks came into the season knowing that they needed to be able to shoot better. What we didn't talk about is rebounding. They are the worst defensive rebounding team in the NBA, meaning they give up the second most O rebounds, but they also are in the bottom 10 in their own O rebounds, which makes them the worst total rebounding team in the NBA.

And on that shooting- they've actually improved, if you can believe that. They're 6th in 3 pt shooting % and 12 in overall shooting %. But the numbers that really jump out at you are 25th in attempts and makes of all FGs, and 23rd in 3 pt makes and 26th in 3pt attempts. What does that say? Their inability to rebound is killing their ability to get comparable shots to their opponents- they allow too many extended possessions. That explains their low ranking in opponents fts attempted/made, 3rd worst 2pt FG % allowed, and 4th worst overall FG % allowed.

Rebound the ball and you improve all over the place. The Bucks should be a dangerous transition basketball team, but they suck at rebounding. Can't transition if you don't rebound...

Nice to get a win last night in a blowout over Detroit. And this time, they rebounded much better (though Drummond has 9 o rebounds at halftime ). But they also shot better, turned it over less, and generally played a solid game against an equally up and down opponent.

 

 

It's game day Milwaukee!! pic.twitter.com/ewx2Xz51ua

— Bucks Dancers (@BucksDancers) November 25, 2015

 

Another bad loss to a mediocre Kings team

6-9 now after 13 games.  That's the third worst record in the Easf

This team simply does not rebound or play good D.  Unless they change the personnel I am not sure it's going to improve

Frustrating team to watch..

The first quarter last night was horrible to watch.  Surrendering 40 points to the Kings allowing them to shoot 75% from the field?  Are you kidding me?

Hammonds better start working the phones to find someone that can rebound or defend the paint and perimeter or this team is toast.

I think they go another month, but they need perimeter defense and rebounding.

They just gave Henson $40M to be a rebounder and rim protector. Would be nice if that investment would pay off, yeah?

It's not just Henson

OJ Mayo looks awful and Vasquez is missing a lot of shots.

They had 20+ turnovers again against a crappy Orlando team and only had 20 assists.  

Bayless and Giannis are the only two guys playing worth a damn. 

They need to start thinking about making changes to the roster

MCW is problem 1. This guy needs to start playing ball or the Bucks management should be fired for this egregious error in judgement. I bought into the idea that MCW was the better long term option. That he can learn to shoot, and is the superior defense. Meanwhile, Brandon Knight is having a career year in Phoenix, and MCW is none of these things...

The Bucks didn't want to pay him, so they paid Henson instead? To play 20 minutes a game? This team is loaded at the F position, but so long as the Fs have to help the Gs defend, they'll never be that good. And it all starts at PG...

Well, it looks line MCW was sent a message today.  He didn't start and his minutes were limited.

Bucks did a much better job rebounding today but their perimeter D was atrocious (Charlotte shot 50% from 3pt range) and they only shot 57% from the charity stripe.  In a 5 point game (loss) those factors are huge.

Oh - and can someone tell me why the **** this team took 28 3pt shot attempts?!?  Who do they think they are Golden State?