The Great Milwaukee Bucks Mashup of 2010 - Part II

Bucks at Mavericks
On Saturday, I attempted to mastermind the greatest fictional mashup in the history of professional sports. That mashup began with the starters for your Milwaukee Bucks and it continues tonight with the reserves... Read Full Article

Bucks Coach Scott Skiles

(On the game…) “We didn’t play very well early on and struggled. We were searching for a lineup that could get something going for us. Right near the end of the first half, we got back in the game. We started a different lineup in the third quarter and those guys got us going. We battled back. CDR got us going with some driving to the basket and we started knocking down some shots. It was a gutsy win, we played really hard tonight.”

“They came out late in the game when our execution wasn’t as sharp as we would like it to be. But we made big plays. Bogut took a big charge, we had a couple of really nice offensive possessions when we needed to at least build the lead up to the point they had to play catch up.”

(On extending the lead to 8 or 9 late in the fourth) “They have so many offensive weapons. We were trying to focus on Dirk a little bit, and we turn our heads and Jason bangs a three. You need that cushion against this team. We were able to make just enough plays at the end. We got a little scary with the ball a couple of times, but we made enough good plays to win.”

(Was this a signature victory on the road?) “Yeah. Look that’s a great team. We have a lot of respect, especially when we didn’t play well early, it would have been very easy to hang our heads and figure ‘hey they’re a great club.’ We battled back and we were trying to get it into single digits at halftime. We came out in the third quarter with some really nice juice. As I said, CDR kind of opened some things up for us with some drives to the basket. We were able to get some easy ones in the paint, took the burden off our jumpshots, and inevitably as it happens, we started knocking down some jump shots after that.”

Bucks Center Andrew Bogut

“I thought in the 2nd half it was just shoot the ball, man. If we make it we make it, if we miss we miss. If you’re open shoot the ball. Whatever comes out of it, comes out of it. There’s not point stressing about it. We’re down, we’re underdogs already at halftime, the open shooter take your shot, it’s the only way we’re going to make a run and thankfully we started hitting shots. Everything went well after that.”

(What an effort by Douglas-Roberts and Dooling off the bench…) – “Definitely, our bench has been key for us, especially the last game. Everybody that got in really contributed if you look at rebounds, and assists, points, and free throws. And it was a huge, huge win for us. Obviously they’re one of the best teams, we have a lot of respect for them, they’ve done a lot of great things and one of the best teams in the NBA, and probably the hottest team at the moment along with the Spurs who we face next. So, it was a great win for us.”

(You knew Dirk was going to get some shots at you…) – “He got a good look at it [at the end]. He got a good look and thankfully he missed. He owed us one. He knocked down the game winner in Milwaukee [last season] that probably shouldn’t have gone in, it rattled home somehow at the buzzer, so he owed us one and we’ll take it.”

(This last week you said you guys have been playing better and then you get this on top of it…) – “Definitely, we’re starting to play better basketball. We’re starting to buy into what the coaches want us to do, what we need to do to win games. It’s nice to have that feel after a game like this and win a game on the road. And I think good teams build character by – you can go out bowling and do all that – but winning games on the road, that builds character and brings camaraderie.”

Bucks Guard Brandon Jennings

(What was the difference in the 2nd half to you?) – “I think our intensity. At one point we were down 20 in the 1st half and then with the bench playing and us [starters] just picking up before the half we were down 9. We came out in the 2nd half with a lot of intensity and we were able to catch the lead.”

(You guys were struggling with the Mavs zone in the 1st, but in the 2nd half it seemed like you guys got into a rhythm…) – “Well, the bench played really good for us. CDR [Douglas-Roberts] came off the bench and hit some big shots for us, Ersan Ilyasova, and also Keyon Dooling. So, the thing is we made shots in the 2nd half.”

(What about just getting a signature win?) – “They were on a winning streak, 12 games in a row, so to come in here and get a win is really big. But we’ve got another tough one – we’ve got to go into San Antonio and take care of business, too. We can’t just be too happy about this; we’ve just got to keep it going.”

15/5/5=W – The formula for a Bucks win continued to hold true Friday night. In each of the team's nine wins, at least one player has had at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists or blocks. Brandon Jennings leads the team with five of these games, Andrew Bogut and John Salmons each have two, and Ersan Ilyasova has chipped in with one. On Friday, Bogut had 24 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks, and Salmons had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists.

BIG MAN'S BIG GAME – Andrew Bogut had another big game against the Rockets Friday, recording 24 points, 22 rebounds and, for the second consecutive game, five blocks. Bogut is the only NBA player to record at least 20 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks in a game this season, and his 24-point, 20-rebound, five-block game on Feb. 22, 2010 was the only 20/20/5 performance of the 2009-10 season. Bogut's 20-20 game on Friday was the fourth of his career. He is one of just five Bucks players (Ervin Johnson, Dan Gadzuric, Terry Cummings, Vin Baker) to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game since the 1986-87 season.

DAUNTING DECEMBER – Welcome to December, where 11 of the 13 Bucks games this month feature opponents with records of .500 or better. Earlier this month, the Bucks went 2-2 in a four-game stretch against teams with a combined 48-27 record. Tonight's game begins a five-game span against teams that are currently .500 or better. The Mavericks, Spurs, Jazz, Trail Blazers and Lakers combine for an 85-34 record (.714).

SECOND CHANCES – The Bucks are allowing their opponents just 10.8 second-chance points per game, which is second-lowest in the NBA, while averaging 13.7 second-chance points, good for ninth in the league, themselves. The Bucks have outscored their foes in this category in 14 of the team's 22 games thus far.

NEARING NUMBERS – A few personal milestones were reached on Friday and a few more are on the way for Bucks players. Andrew Bogut (497) passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (495) with his five blocks against Houston and is now fourth in franchise history. Bogut (347) is also three games from 350 for his career. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute collected his 1,000th career rebound on Friday and now has 1,001. Ersan Ilyasova needs one 3-pointer (currently at 149) to reach 150. Carlos Delfino (249) is one steal away from 250 for his career and (346) needs four threes to reach 350. Drew Gooden (445) is five steals away from 450, (596) four games away from 600 and (394) six blocks away from 400. The Bucks franchise (1,799) is one win from 1,800.

• Tonight, the Bucks face the Dallas Mavericks in the second of three consecutive contests against Southwest Division teams. The Bucks defeated the Houston Rockets at home on Friday, and will face the Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday.
  
  
• On Friday, the Bucks defeated the Rockets 97-91 at the Bradley Center to close out their four-game homestand with a 3-1 record.
  
  
• Andrew Bogut is averaging 20.8 points, 16.0 rebounds and 3.6 blocks in his four games since returning from back spasms (missed five games).
  
  
• Ersan Ilyasova has been solid off the bench for the Bucks in their past two games, averaging 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from the field.
  
  
• The Bucks are fourth in the league by grabbing 43.3 rebounds per game and lead the league by snagging 78.1 percent of the available defensive rebounds. The Bucks are averaging 12.3 offensive rebounds (eighth in the NBA) and are holding their opponents to a league-low 8.7 offensive boards.