I had a chance to attend last
Friday’s Bucks game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It had
been a good five years since I had been to a pro
basketball game, so I was pretty excited. I wasn’t quite sure
what to expect as far as the crowd and theatrics went, but I had
a pretty good idea how the game would turn out. Either they’d
totally stink up the joint in the 1st half, mount a comeback in
the third quarter, only to come up short at the end of a game
thanks to a few defensive lapses. Or they’d jump out to an
early lead, then blow that lead at the end thanks to a few
defensive lapses. The Cavs’ 95-86 come-from-behind victory
proved the latter.
Now, obviously not every Bucks game results in a loss. They
are, after all, just one game under .500 (16-17) heading into
Monday night’s tilt with the Denver Nuggets. But there’s one
thing Bucks fans have come to accept in recent years: This team
just cannot seem to hold a lead. After the Cavs game, the Bucks
were 7-6 when leading at the half and 10-5 when leading going
into the fourth quarter. On the surface that doesn’t look too
bad for a .500 team. But compare that with Philly (9-24
overall) or Charlotte (9-23) who are both 6-6 when leading at
the half. Or look at Indiana (18-16) who is 14-4 when leading
after the third quarter. Suffice to say, the Bucks need to do a
better job holding onto a lead if they want to distance
themselves from the bottom of the Eastern Conference and keep
pace with the middle of the pack.
One of the main reasons for the Milwaukee’s apparent inability
to hold teams in check is obviously their poor, some might even
say lack thereof, defense. Milwaukee is in the top five in
opponents points allowed per game at just under 104, behind
Golden State (18-18), Washington (19-14) and Denver (16-15) and
ahead of the running Suns of Phoenix (25-8). The Bucks rank
dead last in blocks per game and 12th in steals. Bringing in
Ruben Patterson, who is good defender, has helped a little. On
the other hand, the continued absence of Bobby Simmons, who was
arguably the team’s best defender last season, has really hurt
the team. Aside from Charlie Bell’s hustle and smarts on
defense, none of the other Bucks regulars can be classified as
even a below average defender. They have played better recently
in their last 10 games in which they’re 7-3, though. Lucky for
them, they usually have the firepower on offense to augment
their dreadful defense.
Another reason the team struggles to hold onto the lead is that
this is a team of streaky jump shooters. Even the poor jump
shooters are still jump shooters. Up until last season and the
arrival of C Andrew Bogut, this team had lacked an inside
presence. They thought they might have had one in Jamaal
Magloire last season, but that experiment lasted barely a
season. Bogut is nowhere near dominating yet but he has improved
steadily. When the Bucks get a lead they aren’t able to seal it
by dumping the ball inside or slashing to the hoop. This is
akin to a football team not being able to grind it out and run
out the clock on the ground. So if their shooters go cold, the
Bucks are in trouble because missed shots lead to long rebounds
which lead to quick outlets and easy points. The pattern is
almost formulaic.
The final factor that the team has had to deal with is
injuries. Along with Simmons, the Bucks have been without
Charlie Villanueva (elbow/shoulder) for several games this
season. There is a chance that Villanueva’s shoulder could need
surgery. Also ailing is SG Michael Redd, who injured his knee
on a meaningless dunk late in the Cavs game. For a team with a
very weak bench, it’ll be interesting to see how they hold up
over the next week or so.
