Brew Hoop

Magic 99, Bucks 94: Video, Stats, Recaps, Reaction

2012-02-12T21:42:05Z

Magic 99, Bucks 94
The Bucks went into the fourth quarter up 73-72, but for the first time since a Jan. 12 blowout loss in Dallas, they lost the fourth quarter. Jason Richardson scored 28 points in the second half, which happened to be more points than he had scored in any full game this season. Richardson converted 9-11 three-pointers, and oddly shot 0-4 at the free throw line -- which reminded me of Bruce Bowen, who in 2002-03 led the NBA with a 44.1 3PT% but finished with a 40.4 FT%.

Box Scores: Basic / HoopData / Basketball Reference / Popcorn Machine Game Flow

Recaps: Brew Hoop / Bucksketball / Behind the Buck Pass / JS Online / Orlando Pinstriped Post / Orlando Sentinel

Notes: FS Wisconsin: Make no mistake, Jennings is living in the now / FS Wisconsin: 'Superman' expects to wear cape late in games

2012 NBA Power Rankings: Bulls Hit The Top, Jeremy Lin Props Up Knicks, Bobcats Are Terrible

2012-02-12T16:59:33Z

In this latest edition of 2012 NBA Power Rankings, the Chicago Bulls have finally jumped the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 1 overall spot, while undrafted point guard Jeremy Lin has taken over as the starter for the New York Knicks and has made an immediate impact. In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets have taken a hit since Danilo Gallinari suffered an ankle injury and George Karl's squad has dropped seven of their last nine games. The Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder have risen to the top of the conference in the meantime, while the San Antonio Spurs continue their ascent thanks to stellar play from point guard Tony Parker.

Younger teams like the Los Angeles Clippers and Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz have failed to sustain their impressive play from the previous weeks, but all three still find themselves within striking distance of premium playoffs seeds. Finally, for what seems like the umpteenth week in a row, the Milwaukee Bucks rank in the middle of the pack in nearly every listed category of advanced stats. To get a detailed look at the NBA landscape, check out the the current version of my NBA Power Rankings.

The Chicago Bulls Are King Of The Hill. I wrote this story about the Bulls on Friday, but it basically explains everything you need to know about why the Bulls are so good (and why they absolutely deserve the No. 1 spot despite facing the second-lowest strength of schedule in the entire NBA):

The Chicago Bulls haven't just been beating teams on the road recently, they have beendestroying them. In just the past week during their nine-game road trip, the Bulls (23-6) have beaten the Milwaukee Bucks by 23, the New Jersey Nets by 21, the New Orleans Hornets by 23 and the Charlotte Bobcats by 31 points. As it turns out, road dominance of that caliber in the NBA has never been seen before.

Elias Sports Bureau points out the the Bulls are the first team in NBA history to win four straight games on the road, all by 20 or more points. In fact, no other NBA team has even accomplish that feat for three games in a row, meaning the Bulls broke their own record with their blowout win over the Bobcats on Friday night.

The defensive prowess of Bulls is not exactly a secret around the NBA. Tom Thibodeau has his team playing with the highest defensive efficiency in the NBA for the season-to-date, and the unit forces opponents to take the highest percentage of long two-point attempts out of any defense in the league. Furthermore, Elias also points out that the Bulls are the first team to hold opponents under 70 points at least six times in a season since 2003-04, when Ben Wallace and the Detroit Pistons did so 11 times and Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs did so six times.

All hail the Bulls.

The Jeremy Lin Show. If you haven't heard by now, I assume you are in jail...or dead. The undrafted point guard from Harvard looked for all the world like a fringe NBA player. He had even been released by the Golden State Warriors to clear space for a successful run at Kwame Brown in the free agent market, for crying out loud. He managed to land on the Knicks' roster, but even New York considered dumping him before the Tuesday deadline where unguaranteed contracts vested in full. He's still sleeping on his brother's couch in NYC, but now he's the starting point guard for the Knicks, too.

How good has Lin been? His 89 points through the first three starts of his NBA career is the most by any NBA player since the 1976-77 league merger, according to Elias. After a disastrous 8-15 start to the season, the Knicks have now won five straight games and are back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Lin's efficiency has been a huge reason for the sudden leap. He has scored 20+ points and dished out 7+ assists in each of the last five games, and is doing it all on 58.0% True Shooting. That's just plain bananas. If you haven't made time to seek out a Knicks game yet, be sure to do so. Lin's sudden rise is easily the best story in the NBA so far this season.

Magic 99, Bucks 94: Jason Richardson Is Magic Late In Milwaukee

2012-02-12T06:02:24Z

Box Score

MILWAUKEE -- The Bucks lost a fourth quarter for the first time in a month, yes, but they lost more than that.

Early in the fourth, Milwaukee made a 13-0 run -- all Drew Gooden and Beno Udrih -- to go up 88-78. The 10-point lead was the largest margin of the game for either team, and with 5:44 remaining in regulation it was a good time to secure the largest margin of the game.

But then Jason Richardson drilled in four three-pointers to key a 16-0 run for Orlando. In less than three minutes, that 10-point lead was a 6-point deficit. And while Gooden and Ersan Ilyasova -- the two best players of the night for Milwaukee -- renewed some hope with threes of their own, this game was lost already.

And so the Bucks lost track of Jason Richardson, lost the fourth quarter, lost the game, and also lost their handle on the eighth spot in the East, after another Jeremy-Lin-Knicks win.

The Bucks were 12-15 two years ago and found a way back into the playoffs. But tonight, there is not the same kind of Magic in the air.

Three Bucks

Ersan Ilyasova. Turkish Delight. The numbers -- 17 points on 7-10 shooting, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 0 turnovers -- paint a good picture. But the live performance was even better. Never has Ersan played a more assured game, honestly ruling the paint on a night when he shared the paint with Dwight Howard.

Ersan tipped rebounds to himself when he wasn't tipping rebounds to others, he alertly followed his own miss for a layup in the second quarter, he out-hustled and out-muscled four Magic players for a rebound at one point -- just lovely stuff.

Drew Gooden. During halftime, I watched him practice (just once) the infamous off-the-back-board-pass-to-himself. But for all of his charming and maddening basketball eccentricities, now is the time to seriously recognize Gooden as someone who has consistently stood out since Andrew Bogut went down -- on a team where everyone seems to blur together.

At one point, he stripped Howard on the defensive end and then called for the ball and spun around Ryan Anderson for a pretty basket on the offensive end. Another time, he sunk a jumper over Howard that may have caromed off the ceiling into the basket. And it is not like he was getting the benefit of calls against the NBA's only superstar center.

Gooden's defense on Howard (5-15 shooting for 11 points in 42 minutes) was one of the most impressive performances at the Bradley Center this season. That he had the leftover energy and skill to lead the team with 21 points along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists after all of his work on the defensive end only makes his night more monumental.

Mike Dunleavy. Personified the game for Milwaukee, for better and worse. Started fast with 8 points in the first quarter, and you wonder why he ever misses when he makes. But he ran out accuracy in the end, shooting 0-3 and not scoring while playing the entire fourth quarter.

Three Numbers

4-20. The starting backcourt of Brandon Jennings (3-14) and Shaun Livingston (1-6) combined to shoot 4-20 from the field.

17-9. The Bucks racked up 17 offensive rebounds compared to 9 for the Magic. Not bad, considering the Magic entered the game allowing opponents the lowest percentage of offensive rebounds in the NBA

28. Jason Richardson scored 28 points in the second half.

Three Good

Ersanator. This is exactly what I was thinking about when I used to spend a fair bit of time thinking about how Ersan could be an absolutely ideal player off the bench for a very, very good team. In Milwaukee.

Defending Howard. Gooden was aggressive from the start, and this was a team effort, but Gooden and Howard were both out there for 42 minutes. And Gooden got the best of him. Howard didn't scored until there was less than five minutes remaining in the first half, and even from there, never made a real impact offensively. This, after Howard came in with a long history of dominating Andrew Bogut and the Bucks.

Bench. For the second game in a row, Milwaukee's bench bested Milwaukee's starters, as reserves Ersan Ilyasova, Mike Dunleavy, and Beno Udrih were three of the four best players of the game for the Bucks.

Three Bad

Playoffs Off. The Knicks won again tonight, beating the Timberwolves in Minnesota -- without Amare Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony or Baron Davis. And so even after an unspeakably disastrous start to the season in the Big Apple, the Bucks are percentage points behind New York for the final playoff spot. Worst of all, the Bucks appear very much fitted into the ninth spot, clearly not cut from the same cloth as even lower-tier playoff teams like Orlando or Boston, but also quite clearly better than teams like Cleveland and Toronto. So that leaves the Knicks and Bucks to battle for the final playoff spot. Does anyone feel good about that right now?

Development. Those two young players in the photo at the top? Did not play. They joined Harris on the DNP-CD list -- Harris has played two minutes since he scored 18 points and was the only good player on the team in the Bulls game. Everyone off the bench -- save Stephen Jackson -- played well, so you can understand why the three young forwards did not make it in... but losing is only more difficult when the draft picks of the last couple years are the only players to not play.

Pressing. Brandon Jennings and Stephen Jackson have stayed in the headlines this season, but not all press is good press. And lately, neither has attracted attention for the best of reasons. Jennings shot 3-14 from the field, 0-5 on threes, and scored just 7 points in 30 minutes, making it four below-average games out of the last five. Scott Skiles subbed out an in-form Beno Udrih for Jennings for the final 3:42 of the game, but Jennings went on only to miss a couple threes.

Meanwhile, Stephen Jackson shot 2-8 from the field, 0-4 on threes, and scored just 4 points in 19 minutes, and was subbed for good out early in the fourth quarter after an uneven night all-around.

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Magic vs. Bucks Preview: Dwight Howard Visits Bradley Center

2012-02-11T23:29:12Z

2011/2012 NBA Season
	vs.
16-11 (7-5 away)		12-14 (7-4 home)
February 11, 2012
Bradley Center
8:00 PM CT
Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: FSN Wisconsin
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Brandon Jennings
Jason Richardson	SG	Shaun Livingston
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Carlos Delfino
Ryan Anderson	PF	Luc Mbah a Moute
Dwight Howard	C	Drew Gooden

(16th) 102.8 - OFFENSE - 102.8 (15th)
(12th) 101.4 - DEFENSE - 103.8 (19th)
(26th) 89.2 - PACE - 92.6 (10th)

On the Magic: Orlando Pinsriped Post / Magic Basketball / Orlando Sentinel

Following two wins in a row on the road, the Bucks start a three-game homestand by going for a third straight win overall when they host the Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.

Orland-over-and-over-and-over-and... This marks the first of four meetings between the Bucks and Magic within three weeks. After tonight, the Bucks play in Orlando next Friday on Feb. 17, host the Magic again on Feb. 20, and then travel to Orlando again for a game on March 3.

Magic Acts. The Magic have won 10 of 12 against the Bucks. And in those two losses, Dwight Howard did not play, via Stats Inc. So, Andrew Bogut or not, the Bucks have always had just about an impossible time stopping Howard, who is far and away the best center in the world. Indeed, in 14 career head-to-head matchups, Howard has consistently crushed Bogut and the Bucks, averaging 17.5 points on 57.9 FG%, 12.7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks compared to Bogut's 7.3 points on 42.5 FG%, 6.6 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks.

Gooden's Defense... And In Gooden's Defense. Then again, the team would still be much better suited to have Bogut in the lineup, because while Gooden continues to impress offensively, at last look opposing centers had racked up a 21.5 PER against him. For reference, here are the PERs of some centers: Dwight Howard (25.0), Andrew Bynum (21.9) Tim Duncan (21.5), Al Jefferson (21.5), Marc Gasol (19.7), Roy Hibbert (18.8). So, essentially opposing centers turn into something between Andrew Bynum and Marc Gasol when they face Gooden. In Gooden's defense, he is a power forward playing center.

Late-ly. After outscoring Cleveland 25-17 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, the Bucks are now the third best fourth quarter team in the NBA, with a +1.8 per game differential.

On The Rebound. Orlando (read: Dwight Howard) allows opponents the lowest percentage of offensive rebounds in the NBA, while Milwaukee allows opponents the fourth highest percentage of offensive rebounds in the NBA (this is bad).

Logos via SportsLogos.net.

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Bucks 113, Cavs 112 (OT): Video, Stats, Recaps, Reaction

2012-02-11T17:22:28Z

Bucks 113, Cavaliers 112
The Bucks fell behind early and squandered a series of chances late, but they still managed to scrape out a crucial overtime win against the shorthanded Cavaliers in Cleveland on Friday. Drew Gooden and Shaun Livingston made big plays down the stretch, while Antawn Jamison scored a season-high 34 for Cleveland.

Notes, video, reaction, and analysis:

Box Scores: Basic / HoopData / Basketball Reference / Popcorn Machine Game Flow

Recaps: Brew Hoop / Bucksketball / Behind the Buck Pass / JS Online / Cavs the Blog

Notes: Bucks.com Gameday / JS: Hammond reacts to Jennings comments

Video after the jump.

Bucks 113, Cavaliers 112: Drew Gooden And Shaun Livingston Spark Milwaukee Comeback

2012-02-11T06:15:31Z

Box Score

Get too excited about the Bucks, and they disappoint. Get too down on them, and they claw their way back to respectability.

It's been the pattern we've seen all year, and it continued in Cleveland on Wednesday with a gritty, often ugly, but ultimately satisfying overtime win over the shorthanded Cavs--the team that also happens to be chasing them for the East's final playoff spot. Perhaps just as importantly, Brandon Jennings put behind a turbulent week both on and off the court with a solid, aggressive night at the office (24 points, albeit on 23 shots, eight assists, five rebounds and just one turnover), looking less like the distracted, disengaged bystander he was earlier in the week and more like the assertive team leader he's been for most of the season.

Not that he didn't have help. Drew Gooden (18 of 19 points after halftime) and Shaun Livingston (11 of his 13 in fourth quarter and OT) carried the Bucks late, while Kyrie Irving's absence (concussion) and Anderson Varejao's departure (wrist) early in the second half also lowered the Bucks' degree of difficulty.

Then again, you wouldn't have known it from the game's opening five minutes, which saw Cleveland blitz the Bucks with a 17-2 run to start the game. It was hardly the start Scott Skiles was looking for after a less than convincing win in Toronto on Wednesday, but the Bucks' depth--namely Mike Dunleavy, Ersan Ilyasova and Stephen Jackson--again helped them weather the storm and finish the first period on a 20-3 run.

Of course, just when it appeared the Bucks might be able to open up a decent lead, their energy levels hit another lull in the second quarter, needing a buzzer-beating three from Carlos Delfino to scrape back to within four at the intermission. There would be no breakthrough for the visitors in the third either, primarily because they had no answers for Antawn Jamison (34 pts, 14/21 fg). Showing off his obnoxiously effective mixture of jump shots and random post scoop and flip shots, the veteran destroyed Ilyasova (who started the third over Luc Mbah a Moute) and Jon Brockman to the tune of 18 points in the period. Why Skiles refused to deploy Mbah a Moute against Jamison was anyone's guess, but it wouldn't be up to him for long, as Skiles collected two quick technicals late in the third after a pair of questionable (though it appeared correct) calls went against the Bucks.

With Cleveland taking an 85-77 edge into the fourth, acting head coach Jim Boylan went big in the backcourt and small up front with Livingston, Delfino, Jackson, Mbah a Moute and Ilyasova, and it began to pay immediate dividends. Cleveland's small guards had difficulty handling the bigger Bucks, while Mbah a Moute and Ilyasova were surprisingly effective containing the Cavs up front. Mbah a Moute's thunderous drive and dunk (his first points of the night) tied the game at 93 with just under six minutes left, and the Prince uncharacteristically added the Bucks' final five points of regulation with a key three point play and two clutch free throws with less than a minute remaining. By the way, did anyone else notice Luc is shooting 83% from the foul line? Me neither.

In any case, both teams had chances to win in the final minute of regulation but came up agonizingly empty. With the game tied at 92 and five seconds remaining, Jennings' clean look from the right side caromed to Jamison, who appeared to call timeout with 3.7 seconds left. That would have been bad enough, but after a moment of confusion it was determined that the outside official had whistled Gooden for an over-the-back foul, sending Jamison to the line with a chance to win it. In truth, it did appear that Gooden got a piece of Jamison from behind, but why make the call in that situation when Jamison easily came away with the ball?

Thankfully, the basketball gods seem to have a sense of justice. After drilling shot after shot from every spot on the court, Jamison uncharacteristically bricked both free throws, gifting the Bucks another golden opportunity to steal a win. But just four days after failing to get a shot off on the final play of Tuesday's loss to the Suns, the Bucks again couldn't muster a shot. Livingston took a handoff at the top of the key and looked primed to raise for a runner as time expired, but he instead tried to hit Mbah a Moute crashing in along the baseline. The horn sounded as Mbah a Moute rose for the layup, and he missed it for good measure. Here we go again?

Mericfully...no. Gooden scored on the Bucks' first two possessions of overtime while Livingston and Jennings each slashed for layups thereafter, as the Bucks played from the front for the entirety of overtime. Playing against the team he once helped to the NBA FInals, Gooden owned the final minute as well, earning a questionable charge call against Daniel Gibson and then hitting two free throws that clinched the game with four seconds left.

Three Bucks

Drew Gooden. Gooden was a non-factor early, but he came out gunning in the second half (two threes?!?), pouring in 18 of his 19 points after the intermission. Gooden was mostly content to fire up jumpers--3/6 long twos and 2/3 triples--but he hit them when they mattered most and also swatted an uncharacteristic pair of shots. Kudos, Drew.

Brandon Jennings.Not a great shooting night for Jennings, but more importantly it was an aggressive Jennings who led the Bucks in scoring and dishing while also adding five rebounds and turning it over just once. Jennings gave the Bucks a spark midway through the third with a pair of driving layups and a long three, and he added another quick five points when he returned early in the fourth. But his legs looked tired down the stretch, missing five straight to close regulation.

Defensively, Jennings looked a bit more eager in the early going against Sessions (4/16 fg, 12 pts, 16 ast, 5 to) but had a couple breakdowns marking Gibson late in the game. Perhaps a bit understandable given the importance of riding Gibson off the three point line, but still. In discussing Jennings' behavior against Phoenix earlier this week on WSSP, Boylan brought up the need for improved defensive efforts from the team's point guards, which seemed like a strong hint at Jennings' inconsistencies on that end thus far this season.

Shaun Livingston. Claiming a starting spot hasn't translated into many late-game opportunities for Livingston, but Boylan rode him in the fourth quarter and OT and was repaid for his faith with 13 points down the stretch. Two backdoor cuts led to Livingston dunks early in the fourth, and he kept it going with his customary assortment of drives and pull-ups from mid-range.

Three Numbers

65% / 37%. The Bucks couldn't contain the Cavs in the first half, surrendering a blistering 65% shooting while making just 37% of their own attempts from the field. Thankfully, an 8-0 edge on the offensive boards kept the Bucks in it long enough for the Cavs to cool off from the field.

36. The bench scored 36 of the Bucks' 53 first half points, helping Milwaukee overcome deficits in both the first and fourth quarters.

16. The Bucks were rewarded for going under screens and containing Sessions' scoring (4/16 fg, 12 pts, 5 to), but he was still a handful as a creator, netting 16 of Cleveland's 33 dimes on the night.

Three Good

The Old Brandon. Well, maybe we should say the new old Brandon. Despite his poor shooting line and difficult finish (1/8 fg to close the game), Jennings finally seemed to have his confidence back--and if we know anything about Jennings, it's that he's not much without his swagger. He also moved to diffuse some of the chatter that followed from his curiously timed "I'm keeping my options open" remarks the previous day (h/t CanadaBucks).

"It's nothing to be worried about," said Jennings, who is under contract through next season. "It kind of got blown out of proportion a little bit. I never said I was leaving. After being in this a couple years, I understand the business of basketball.

"I'm still going to be here playing hard every night and my focus is to get into the playoffs."

Alright Brandon, you've said your piece. Now let's move on.

Living Good. Drew Gooden's entire basketball existence is a double-edged sword, but there's no denying the big plays he made on both ends late in the game. Not to be outdone, Livingston also saved his best for crunch time, proving he's just as capable late as he is early. How about seeing more of that?

Bench. The Bucks' reserves outscored their Cleveland counterparts 45-30 and were essential to helping the Bucks' erase an early double-digit deficit. Though Boylan mostly went with the Bucks' starters down the stretch, Jackson was again involved early and often (10 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast) while Dunleavy and Ilyasova each added 12 points and six rebounds.

And how about Boylan himself? The Bucks trailed 83-73 when Skiles was tossed late in the third, but Boylan quickly found some lineups that worked and earned a crucial win in the process.

Three Bad

Energy deficit. With Bogut on the shelf and the undersized/spatially-challenged Gooden in the pivot, we know the Bucks will often struggle to contain opponents defensively, but that doesn't make it any less troubling to see the Bucks so frequently come out looking flat and uninspired to start games.

No rookies. Given the end result, I can't say I'm that broken up about Jon Leuer (five points in six minutes) and Tobias Harris (DNP-CD) playing sparingly, but my official stance remains that the Bucks would be well-served to more regularly see what both can bring to the rotation.

Windy City North. As of today, the Bucks would face the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. And considering what happened at the BC the last time Chicago "visited," that's not a scenario I'm particularly eager to see play out.

Bucks vs. Cavaliers Preview: Kyrie Irving/Brandon Jennings Matchup In Doubt

2012-02-10T14:00:45Z

2011/2012 NBA Season
	vs.
11-14 (4-10 away)		10-14 (5-5 home)
February 9, 2012
Quicken Loans Arena
6:30 PM CT
Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: FSN Wisconsin
Probable starters:
Brandon Jennings	PG	Ramon Sessions
Shaun Livingston	SG	Daniel Gibson
Carlos Delfino	SF	Omri Casspi
Luc Mbah a Moute	PF	Antawn Jamison
Drew Gooden	C	Anderson Varejao

(17th) 102.6 - OFFENSE - 96.8 (28th)
(19th) 103.7 - DEFENSE - 103.7 (19th)
(11th) 92.4 - PACE - 89.6 (24th)

On the Cavaliers: Fear the Sword / Cavs the Blog / Waiting For Next Year

The Bucks pay their first visit to Cleveland hoping to extend their half game lead on the Cavaliers in the "race" for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.

UPDATE: Kyrie Irving will indeed miss at least two more games following his concussion earlier this week.

The start of something? Brandon Jennings has had an interesting week, hasn't he? Nine days ago he had the city of Milwaukee finally caring about NBA basketball again after his scintillating 31-point effort in a comeback win over the Heat; since then he's had his worst three-game stretch of the season, virtually mailed in a game against the Suns, seen his all-star hopes justifiably go up in smoke, and capped it off by having Chris Broussard inform the world on his behalf that he'll consider leaving Milwaukee for a big market when his rookie contract is up.

"It has nothing to do with the city of Milwaukee or anything like that because that's where I started my career,'' Jennings said. "They've been nothing but good to me. (Coach) Scott Skiles and (general manager) John Hammond have been good to me. It's just that I'm understanding the business of basketball now.''

Jennings has been careful not to say anything inflammatory, but the timing of it all is still rather, shall we say, curious. Jennings will be eligible for an extension this summer and would otherwise become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2013, so there's nothing really for either side to do in the short term. But there's also nothing accidental about Broussard's story; it's there because Jennings wanted it to be known. Perhaps that's Jennings' way of signaling his lack of happiness with the Bucks, or perhaps it's his way of putting pressure on the Bucks to lock him up this summer. Either way, it only adds another layer of intrigue (or annoyance) to a complicated situation that has seen the normally fiery Jennings look disinterested for long stretches on the court.

As a result, the message the Bucks should be sending back to Jennings is rather simple: just play the game.

Kyrie's concussion. First overall pick Kyrie Irving has been living up to all the hype thus far, leading all rookies in PER (note that Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer are #4/5) while playing in a scoring point guard role somewhat reminiscent of Brandon Jennings. Irving's raw numbers (18.0 ppg, 5.1 apg) are depressed somewhat by the fact that his minutes have only recently crept closer to 30 mpg, but his shooting splits (.492/.413/.830 and 57.7% true shooting) are terrific for any PG, much less a 19-year-old who entered the NBA with less than half a season of college hoops under his belt.

However, we may have to wait a bit longer for our first look at a Jennings/Irving matchup on the court. Irving suffered a concussion against Miami on Tuesday and subsequently missed Wednesday's game against the Clippers, with further evaluation yesterday offering little clarification of his immediate status. The Bucks know as well as any team that concussions are not to be taken lightly, so hopefully Irving's day-to-day listing doesn't turn into anything more.

Memo. Remember that old nickname for Ramon Sessions? The former Buck stepped up in Irving's absence to drop 24/13 in a 99-92 win over Chris Paul and the Clippers on Wednesday, and he'll be starting again if Irving is forced to sit out for the second straight game.

Everybody Panic! Brandon Jennings "Keeping His Options Open"

2012-02-10T11:44:45Z

You know what they say about ostriches, right? Whenever faced with adversity, they don't run, nor do they fight. They simply shut out the world, and dive head-first into whatever soft ground they can find. Because nothing can hurt you if you don't see it coming, so just find that happy place and ignore anything else and la la la la I'm not listeniiiing...

Wikipedia has debunked this rumor, but I'd like them to debunk this one instead: according to ESPN's Chris Broussard, Brandon Jennings will be "strongly considering" leaving Milwaukee once his contract expires.

Excuse me while I go find some sand.

Here are the facts: since being drafted in 2009, Brandon Jennings has been the Bucks' most promising player, as well as the most compelling. Some of us love him, some of us hate him (just kidding, Steve!), and the rest of us have no idea what to make of him, but one thing is for sure: as he goes, so do the Milwaukee Bucks.

We've rehashed how disinterested and detached he seemed during the Phoenix game, and his post-game statements that night were as worrisome as they were vague. We've also made note of how much Jennings is hanging out with Stephen Jackson, who has had some run-ins with Milwaukee management of his own.

But here's the heart of the issue: John Hammond brought in Stephen Jackson to help mentor Brandon Jennings. It was a calculated risk, bringing in someone with as volatile a personality as Cap'n Jack (especially in the same locker room as Scott Skiles). And lo and behold, mentor is exactly what Jackson has done.

Jackson wants out of Milwaukee, that much is clear. He simply doesn't like it here. But with Jennings under his wing, not to mention their lockers side-by-side, can we really say that we expected this to end well? Here's the operative quote from the Broussard article:

"It has nothing to do with the city of Milwaukee or anything like that because that's where I started my career,'' Jennings said. "They've been nothing but good to me. (Coach) Scott Skiles and (general manager) John Hammond have been good to me. It's just that I'm understanding the business of basketball now.''

"Understanding the business of basketball now," means "I've figured out that I can go where I want." In my view, Jennings will only go where he feels he's wanted. Now, if you're him, and you see that Milwaukee brought you in to pair up with a center that can't stay healthy, in a system that doesn't fit his strengths, for a authoritarian coach with minimal offensive acumen and creativity, a GM that is forced to find journeymen to fill out the team, and an owner who is actively (but not effectively) shopping the franchise?

If you're Brandon Jennings, does that sound like a good environment for you to stay in?

I can't say what the right answer to this problem is, but I can say this: Losing Brandon Jennings would be the worst yet in a long string of disappointments coming from the Milwaukee Bucks. If there's any way to fix this, John Hammond, fix it, and do so quickly.