Bucks Buzz: Monday March 10th

Even though it has been a bad year for Milwaukee thus far, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler will provide you with a bi-weekly update on the Bucks ranging from recaps, links and other neat stuff.  

Hot Recap Takes

Thursday: Pelicans 112 Bucks 104  -  Spirted effort from Milwaukee's professional basketball team. They played the Pellies tough throughout the whole four quarters, but they could not get it done down in the Nola. A trend continued on Friday when Anthony Davis took Bucks' big man to the absolute woodshed with a 29 point, 14 rebound performance along with five assists and a couple blocks. He took full control inside plus they got a great game from Tyreke Evans with 25 points. Milwaukee got another great game from Jeff Adrien whom matched his career-high from the night before by having 20 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort. Adrien is playing at such a high level right now, which now means he will get overpaid by this franchise. John Henson deserves some love too as he started for Ersan Ilyasova and had 12 points with six rebounds, one of his better performances of late. O.J. Mayo decided he did not need to play this one after shoving former Wisconsin Badger Greg Stiemsma in the throat/face area which got him ejected

Saturday: Wizards 114 Bucks 107 - If Milwaukee would have came to play in the first half, this might have been a different game. They gave up 75 points digging a 22 point hole at the break. Milwaukee came back from half to hold Washington to only 10 points in the third quarter, but could not complete the comeback getting their 50th loss of the season. Trevor Ariza continued his hot stretch of late having 28 points with five threes including seven rebounds. Additionally, Washington got five more threes from Bradley Beal as he dropped 23 points. If John Wall beats you, that's okay, but to have the other players take you down is a little disappointing. As for Milwaukee, their backcourt had a nice game with Brandon Knight filling it up with 25 points on 9/20 shooting with Nasty Nate Wolters adding 10 points of his own along with a positive PER.

Bucks and Fox Sports Wisconsin, how can it be fixed?
As some Bucks fans learned on Saturday night, the game was not on television. This disappointed a lot of people including yours truly as it would have been fun to see Milwaukee take on the Wizards, one of the best young teams in basketball.  I do not understand why they chose home games to get the ax. I could totally get them not wanting to bring their cameras to New Orleans as that matchup does not really drive up the needle, but for whatever reason, they felt Saturday's game was less important than Friday. There needs to be a better plan in place for this sort of things. Look at some of the perceived worst teams, and when Milwaukee visits them, give them the ax. I realize we are not getting 82 games of Bucks basketball because that's how it works with FOX Sports, but let's try to figure out a better balance with these games.  

Links
Journal Sentinel had a nice write up about Henson's struggles in his second year. I met John on Saturday afternoon as we were at the same event. Good dude honesty. Down to earth guy who does not think he is better than anyone else.

Nice look from the people of Bucksetball looking at the Gary Neal trade after about a month later. Ramon Sessions and Adrien have been special.

What to watch
I would look for the Bucks durability. This sort of runs into the schedule, but the Bucks play five games in seven days. Luckily for Milwaukee, everyone is off suspension and healthy.

Upcoming schedule
They play Orlando tonight, a team they have beaten this year and then they travel to Minnesota on Tuesday night. Bucks could get one of two here. Doubt they would take both of them.

Charlie.

Tapping The Keg Podcast Episode 76

Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler get together for yet another edition of Tapping The Keg podcast. Most of the podcast involves us talking about the trade deadline for the NBA. Even though there were not many big deals, there were enough of them to talk about for 15-20 minutes. Milwaukee Bucks made a move dealing Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour to Charlotte for expiring contracts with Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien. Even Turner deal to Indiana is discussed at great length as well as a couple of the minor deals. Also in this podcast, how Tinder is changing the date game, getting you ready for the Olympics and Hank the Brewers mascot dog!

Charlie.

NBA Trade Deadline: A Series of Minor Moves

Another trade deadline comes and goes with a whimper. If you aren't an NBA aficionado, there's a chance you had no idea that the deadline was a 2 PM central time today.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, because of different provisions and rules, teams are reluctant to move expiring contracts and back contracts left and right.

The move with the biggest names involved happened between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers sent Danny Granger east for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen. This marks the official end of the Granger era in Indiana. It's kind of sad when you think about it. He's the main guy that got that franchise turned around from the aftermath of the 'Malice at the Palace' featuring the artist formerly known as Ron Artest, and now he's just an expiring contract after injuries derailed the All-Star's career.

Incidentally, the Pacers get a solid wing to bolster their bench and a guy they could perhaps count on in the playoffs if Lance Stephenson isn't playing well or gets banged up. Also, if Turner plays well for the Pacers, they may have a backup plan if Stephenson gets an offer he can't refuse in restricted free agency this offseason.

As far as Philly, it's basically a lateral move. They trade Turner who was going to be a restricted free agent for an expiring in Granger. We'll see if they keep Granger after this season on a reasonable contract. The Sixers are in full on tank/rebuild mode and will give the Bucks a run for worst record this year.

Part of that tank for the Sixers was trading C Spencer Hawes to Cleveland for Earl Clark and a few second round picks. Hawes is a C that can step out a knock down a three or two...or two. He'll spread the floor nicely for Tristan Thompson to work in the paint.

For the Bucks, the deadline went about as well as we expected to. Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour both went to the Charlotte Bobcats for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien. We knew that those two were going to get dealt, it was just a matter of where they were going.

You can put me in the fan club of this deal. They moved a few of the redundant veterans on this team for a few expiring contracts in Sessions and Adrien. I'm mainly a fan of this move because it rids us of Neal's $3.25 million that the Bucks were on the hook for next year. Also, because Gary Neal just wasn't really all that fun to watch. I'm sure we'll be having an official Sportandfashion-news Gary Neal Trade Potluck at some point in the near future. That's definitely going to be BYOB.

All jokes aside, Neal wasn't really happy here (even though he signed on the dotted line) and wanted to go to a contender...so Hammond sent him to the Bobcats. I do respect Neal for being a professional while falling out of the rotation for most of the year.

Bon voyage, Gary, I hear the grass is typically greener in Charlotte this time of year.

Here's a list of the other minor moves in the NBA this week:

• Marcus Thornton to Brooklyn for Jason Terry and Reggie Evans.
• Steve Blake to Golden State for MarShon Brooks and Kent Bazemore.
• Andre Miller to Washington, Jan Vesely to Denver, Eric Maynor and picks to Philadelphia.
• Aaron Brooks to Denver for Jordan Hamilton.
• Antawn Jamison to the Hawks for the rights to Cenk Aykol who was drafted by Atlanta in 2005.
• Clippers send Byron Mullens and second round pick to Philadelphia for a second round pick.
• Austin Daye from Toronto to San Antonio for Nando De Colo
• The Heat basically gave Roger Mason to the Kings for nothing.

That's it. You're up to date on the deadline that was in the NBA.

Bucks Buzz: Monday February 10th

Even though it has been a bad year for Milwaukee thus far, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler will provide you with a bi-weekly update on the Bucks ranging from recaps, links and other neat stuff.  

Hot Recap Takes

Saturday: Rockets 101 Bucks 95 -  A rather competitive effort from Milwaukee's professional basketball team. A bad second quarter plagued Milwaukee, and that's a microcosm of the season where Milwaukee has one bad quarter screwing up everything else. Houston received a big game from Dwight Howard with 27 points and 13 rebounds continuing the trend of big men having huge games against Milwaukee. Jeremy Lin had a great game with 18 points on 8/15 shooting with a +9 PER. As for Milwaukee, they had double-doubles from John Henson in his second game back from an injury, and Zaza Pachulia had 12 and 10 off the bench. Quite possibly the most encouraging performance came from Nate Wolters. He started again with a career high 19 points with 9/15 shooting with seven rebounds and only two turnovers. Granted, Houston's perimeter defense cannot guard a gargoyle, but still maybe this will jumpstart Wolters' confidence to be more of a shooter. Even though the Bucks lost, I am happy they put up a decent effort at home for the fans on Saturday night.

Cool thing Bucks did on Saturday was put their MVP season ticket holders on the center line. I like that move a ton.

As part of @BucksMVP Appreciation Night, MVP season ticket holder names were placed on center line at tonight's game pic.twitter.com/zIyFyKtuOb
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) February 9, 2014

Revisiting the Bucks trade block 
We are about a week and half away from the trading deadline. Gary Neal did nothing for his trade prospects, but I have to believe he gets move at some point. Ersan Ilyasova bothered by a bad back, but still there is a chance he might get moved with two years and 15 million dollars left on his contract. Caron Butler is beloved by some people in Milwaukee, but he is another piece that could be on the move. I doubt Milwaukee moves Larry Sanders or Zaza. Additionally, I think no one wants the albatross contract of O.J. Mayo although I am sure no Bucks fans would be sad to see him go elsewhere. Ilyasova would probably gain back the most stuff for Milwaukee, but I doubt any of their pieces will gain them an extra first-round draft pick.

Links
There were multiple Giannis Antetokounmpo articles out there this week. Scoop Jackson wrote one for ESPN about how much he truly enjoys the game of basketball.

The other Giannis article I speak of is a Q and A with a Greek reporter. The biggest thing discovered in here is Milwaukee needs a Souvlaki spot.

What to watch
Milwaukee started a lineup of Wolters, Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton, Henson and Sanders. That seems like a dream lineup for Milwaukee fans, and if Sanders is fully recovered from his blurred vision as he got an elbow to the eye early in the game. It would be interesting to see it play out for a full game versus the first four minutes of the game.

Upcoming schedule
Before the All-Star Break, Milwaukee has two home games this week against Boston tonight and New Orleans on Wednesday night. Maybe they could grab one to get to double-digits before the break.

Charlie. 

Bucks Buzz: Monday February 3rd

Even though it has been a bad year for Milwaukee thus far, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler will provide you with a bi-weekly update on the Bucks ranging from recaps, links and other neat stuff.  

Hot Recap Takes
Friday: Magic 113 Bucks 102 - Nice fight from Milwaukee as they were down by 21 at half and started to march back in the second with a great effort from the bench from some of the unhappiest Bucks. Gary Neal whose somehow still on this basketball team had a productive night with 13 points going 50 percent from the field.  Caron Butler had 20 points with 7 of 12 shooting. It is nice to see like a white whale that Neal and Butler can come up with big performances every now and again. Also off the bench, Giannis Antetokounmpo had a big night with 15 points with seven rebounds shooting efficiently from the field. He also had a massive dunk in the fourth quarter during the Bucks comeback. Negatives, they missed 10 free throws and allowed Orlando to shoot over 50 percent from the field including a nice game from Arron Afflalo whose developing into a Bucks killer with a 21 points with five rebounds and a PER of +18.

Giannis' unreal slam. Gotta think he is in the dunk contest in under five years. (Full highlights of his night, dunk comes .57 secs in).



Saturday: Grizzlies 99 Bucks 90 - Man, the Bucks had a lead for most of the game until a bad late third quarter into an early fourth quarter. Nick Calathes fills in for an injured Mike Conley and goes for a career-high 22 points which seems ridiculous Milwaukee let happen but we will get to that in a second. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for 42 points and 16 rebounds inside which does not surprise me in the slightest with how bad they have been defending good big men. Good night from Ersan Ilyasova with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Brandon Knight had a nice night at the two guard position with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists on 8/19 shooting. Bucks struggled with Memphis defense shooting way too many threes, shot 23 of them and they only shot 39 percent from the field. They could only compete with Memphis for about three and half quarters, and that feels just about right.

Best part of the night... Larry threw up the thumbs up again! (H/T @AnaheimAmigos) 



Nasty Nate's re-emergence as Bucks point guard
Calling a guy that looks like 'I like turtles' kid, 'Nasty' is absolutely perfect. Nate Wolters played a great deal early on in the season, and then Larry Drew sort of placed him on the bench forgetting about him as he only averaged about 13 minutes a game in January. He played well against Atlanta in a blowout, played solid against Phoenix then nearly filled up a triple-double against Orlando with eight points, nine assists and seven rebounds. It almost feels like Milwaukee needs to keep exploring the idea of having Wolters at the one and Knight at the two because that's their natural positions. Knight is not a point guard at this point of his career, and he needs to admit that to himself.  Additionally in Wolters two starts this weekend, he had one total turnover. My only worry with him is the lack of defense because Wolters is putrid at defending almost all point guards in the league.

Links
I do not have any links this week. I am sure there is good stuff out there, but nothing worth talking about it.

What to watch
Let's see if the Wolters-Knight experiment continues and what's up with John Henson's wrist as well as the return of Zaza Pachuila.

Upcoming schedule
Weird schedule for Milwaukee in the next two weeks before heading into All-Star Break. Milwaukee takes on New York at home tonight before heading to Denver for a one-game road trip on Wednesday.

Bucks Buzz: Monday January 20th

Even though it has been a bad year for Milwaukee thus far, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler will provide you with a bi-weekly update on the Bucks ranging from recaps, links and other neat stuff.  

Hot Recap Takes
Saturday: Rockets 114 Bucks 104 - I probably sound like a broken record here, but I keep talking about how big men tear up the Bucks despite all their size. Bucks hoped things might change with Larry Sanders back in the fold. It has not. Terrence Jones had 36 points and 11 rebounds. Not Dwight Howard, but Jones had a breakout game in his second year with a monster first half where he had 25 points. Houston also had 20 plus effort from Dwight Howard and James Harden which was all they really needed to win this game. Bucks had cut the lead to six in the third quarter, but Rockets dashed their dreams going on run combined with some Bucks turnovers giving Houston a 16-point lead putting Milwaukee to bed. The defensive effort was not all there, but John Henson had a big game with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Brandon Knight played in control with 26 points on only 16 shots. Khris Middleton did not have a great day going three of nine missing all four of his threes only resulting in eight points.

Sunday: Spurs 110 Bucks 82 - Milwaukee did not stand a chance in this one. They were completely beaten down in this one. It was one of those games where you say 'Hey maybe San Antonio is napping in this one and the Bucks can steal this one.' NOPE. Milwaukee trailed 29-16 at the end of the first quarter, and it was all downhill from there.  San Antonio had seven players in double figures with Patty Mills of all people leading the charge with 20 points. Mills has only 20- point efforts in three games in the last two years so there is that. Milwaukee gave Gary Neal a chance after Luke Rindour went out with a wrist injury and he failed to step up to the occasion going 1/8 in a horrendous effort. Speaking of bad effort, O.J. Mayo did not even register a point in 19 minutes of play. The only Buck player whom did decently on Sunday night was Larry Sanders with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Links
This is a fun fan fiction of Giannis Anteokounmpo meaning that we are at 15 straight Buck Buzz's with at least one Giannis mention. Gotta keep the streak alive.

Not a link, but Gary Neal cried all over Instagram on Friday



What to watch
I want to know if someone gets on the move this week. Caron Butler and  Neal seem like they are having a bad time regarding both their negative comments in public in the last couple of weeks. Milwaukee is waiting for some team to get desperate but I just feel like the longer these guys are on the team the worst they are making things.

Upcoming schedule
Couple days off for Milwaukee after a week featuring four games in seven days. They take on Detroit at home Wednesday night.

Charlie.

Bucks Buzz: January 9 - Free K-Midd

Even though it has been a bad year for Milwaukee thus far, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler will provide you with a bi-weekly update on the Bucks ranging from recaps, links and other neat stuff.  

Quick Recap:

Tuesday vs. Golden State: Warriors 101 Bucks 80

Another night, another double-digit loss. The Bucks are now 7-27 on the season and after reports of a fight/shouting match going on between Larry Sanders and Gary Neal happening on Saturday night after their loss in Phoenix, the Bucks have ostensibly hit rock bottom. I'm going to withhold judgement on whether I think it's "rock bottom" or not because I think it can definitely get worse than it already is. 

Gary Neal is apparently being shopped now for any taker. Thank you, John Hammond and Herb Kohl. Some of us were worried that the Bucks would see all this bad PR from Larry Sanders and try to make him the scapegoat and move him. I applaud Larry trying to be a leader and beaking a veteran "leader" for being a chucker and just looking for his shot. Unfortunately, the Bucks are losing night in and night out so this looks really bad. Again, the timing for Sanders is bad as well so people are going to pile on him some more. I think he just wants the team to play cohesively and that hasn't happened hardly at all this year. 

As far as the game, it was your typical Bucks game this season. They hung around for the most part into the third quarter but before you know it, they're down by 15-20 points in the fourth quarter and it's suddenly game over. David Lee had a big night offensively but again showed me why that call him "Avid Lee" (no D) while trying to defend Ersan Ilyasova. 'Sova is anything but athletic and he was getting around Lee and getting to the basket. It was fairly entertaining. Ironically, watching Illy defend Lee was also a nightmare and probably set the game of basketball back a few days. Our boy Giannis had a nice night dishing the ball (five assists) but there's some concern that he's a little too passive when it comes to getting/taking shots. I wouldn't worry as he's young and still figuring things out but it's something to watch I suppose.

The Dubs had a really balanced effort overall and Steph Curry put on his show for the Milwaukee faithful. He makes some incredibly tough shots and really leaves you nearly speechless at times. Good to see the Warriors get back to playing good basketball, though. They were hanging back around the nine seed in the West before this epic road trip that the Warriors went on. They lost last night in Brooklyn, forfeiting their chance to be the first team to achieve a 7-0 road trip in NBA history. Now, after a 6-1 road trip, they're comfortably back in that six seed in the Western conference. 

Appropriate YouTube video: "Warrior Mentality"

This video isn't necessarily pertinent to the game itself but it's one of my all-time YouTube faves. These guys name off all the obscure Warriors' players that were on the team between playoff appearances. If you're a fan of randon trivia, it gets good. Trust me.

Links 

Here's a link to a story about the above mentioned argument between Sanders and Neal.

There's a SaveOurBucks.com t-shirt handout at Loaded Slate before the game on Friday against the Chicago Bulls. These are typically home games for the Bulls but maybe if word gets out about these free t-shirts, we can take back the Bradley Center from the FIBs and "Bulls fans". Just scroll down and read the OP's post for details. 

From Bucksketball: An article about OJ Mayo possibly going a little heavy on the mayo since he's been in Milwaukee. I recently questioned OJ's heart on twitter and the fact that he's plumped up a bit basically confirms my questioning. He was publicly called out by Rick Carlisle last year so this shouldn't surprise anyone.

What to watch

Obviously, be on the lookout for a Gary Neal trade sooner rather than later (good riddance) and as I touched on above, keep an on Giannis perhaps being more aggressive offensively. 

Also, can we get Khris Middleton back in the starting lineup? Jesus Martha. This guy clearly should be starting for the Bucks but Larry Drew has been starting Luke Ridnour instead. We've got nothing to lose at this point. He's been reduced to playing with the bench mob that typically consists of the likes of Mayo and Caron Butler. Yikes.

This isn't directly related to the Bucks but keep an eye on whether or not Jabari Parker, who is Mormon, goes on a two-year LDS mission trip after being drafted. I'd be on suicide watch if the Bucks took him and then he went on a mission. Who's a Mormon anyway?

What's next?

The Bucks take on the Bulls at the BC on Friday, get out there and show you're SaveOurBucks support. The Bulls will, once again, be trying to out-tank us so expect to see Joakim Noah and any other impact players sitting out this one.

Then, they'll travel to Oklahoma City on Saturday to get destroyed by Kevin Durant and the Thunder. I needn't say much else. The tank rolls on.

-Big Money

Bucks Buzz: Monday January 6th

Even though it has been a bad year for Milwaukee thus far, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler will provide you with a bi-weekly update on the Bucks ranging from recaps, links and other neat stuff.  

Hot Recap Takes
Thursday: Jazz 96 Bucks 87 - BATTLE OF THE TANK. I had no idea how bad Milwaukee has been in Utah in the last 24 years as the Bucks have only won three of their last 24 games in Salt Lake City. It did not get any better last Thursday as Bucks fall rather easily to Utah. Once again, Milwaukee gave up a big stat line to a big man with Derrick Favors having a double-double with 22 points and eleven rebounds. Gordan Hayward had a big day as well going for 22 and on an efficient 8/16 shooting. He has really turned into a good player for the Jazz. On Milwaukee's side of things, the good was Larry Sanders having his first big game since coming back from injury with 16 points, eight rebounds and going seven for seven from the field. The bad was Brandon Knight going 3 for 12 with only eight points. These games are evidence when people call Knight a 'shoot-first' point guard.

Saturday: Suns 116 Bucks 100 - Phoenix was without Eric Bledsoe, but that did not matter in this one as they rolled Milwaukee on Saturday night. Milwaukee had a season-high 26 turnovers, and to think with how bad the season has been, I am surprised they have not hit 30 this season. Gerald Green of all people had a great day against the Bucks going for 24 points and five steals. I know I bang on this point consistently, but another big man enjoyed a nice day with Channing Frye with 22 points and seven rebounds. Milwaukee did have some good performances out there with Knight having 25 points on 8/12 shooting and O.J. Mayo had his first good night from the bench going for 20 points with 7/11 shooting. Negative side of things we saw a rookie game from Giannis Anetokounmpo. An with him being shutout in a game for the first time since his DNP against Washington in late November. Hopefully this does not deter Larry Drew from starting him.

BEEF WATCH: Sanders vs. Neal
What's been surprising is Milwaukee really has yet to have any team issues with their bad record. Usually by this time, someone would be in trouble for punching a teammate. After a bad outing by Sanders, Gary Neal made a comment about 'earning his money.' This is an absurd thing to Neal to say to Sanders. He earns bench contract sure, but it is not like he is scorching the earth right now. I mean this is not like Neal is the team leader here. There is really no basis to call out Sanders. Personally, I think Larry knows he needs to step up and be a leader of this team. I really do not believe he needs any reminders. To me, it sounds like jealousy from Neal.

Links

Great post from K.L. Chounaird about Giannis and his nicknames. I agree about 'Greek Freak' being an offensive nickname, same goes with The Alphabet. K.L. includes a cool story about his Nigerian name. (Bucksetball) 

What to Watch
I would watch Knight's shooting selection. There are rumblings among Bucks faithful that he is shooting too much with the basketball as a point guard. I am not sure if I am in that camp yet. As it has been noted here before, he is only 22 years young. Still lots of time to figure it out.  

What's Next for Milwaukee

Welp they play Golden State at home on Tuesday which will probably be billed as the return of Andrew Bogut. Milwaukee might give up 140 points in regulation.

Charlie.