Milwaukee’s Three-Point Shooting Sinks Hornets

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Published: November 17, 2012

Bucks shoot over 50% from deep to hold off a pesky Hornets squad

The scouting report for the Bucks said that you want to force them to shoot from the outside. It said that Mike Dunleavy was the only guy who could hurt you from deep. The Hornets read the scouting report and game planned accordingly, but unfortunately the Bucks felt like hitting their jumpers today. Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings decided that they wanted to be efficient scorers on this night and Tobias Harris and Beno Udrih did their best Toney Douglas impersonations, hitting 4 out of 7 from deep. The Hornets forced them to take the shots that the scouting report said they couldn’t make, but guess what, they made them tonight. So it goes.

Offensively, it was the same old story. The bigs were phoenomenial and the back court was cringe worthy. Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, Jason Smith, and Robin Lopez shot 65% from the floor and scored 64 points on just 37 shots. Meanwhile, the Hornets starting back court had as many turnovers as field goals made, as they went just 5 for 18 from the field. They got torched on the defensive end and just made too many mistakes late in quarters to win this game. A Brian Roberts errant pass led to two free throws with 1 second left in the first quarter. A missed rotation by Rivers led to a wide open three at the end of the second quarter, and Vasquez missed an opportunity to get the Hornets a two for one at the end of the fourth when they trailed by five.

Overall, there is a lot to be excited about after this game- namely, the return of Anthony Davis after a two game mini-hiatus. We also have seen the shift that we have all been screaming for as it looks like Monty is giving Anderson starter’s minutes. Lopez was solid in his 19 minutes, but his defensive rotations were way too slow for this up tempo Bucks team. Jason Smith, on the other hand, was fantastic in his rotations but he still doesn’t seem 100% health wise. A loss always hurts but this team is in phase one of a process, and when you look at the big picture, the future still seems incredibly bright.

Notes and Observations

– Al-Farouq Aminu has improved on the defensive end and in transition, but he is still a liability in the half court. He had the ball on the baseline twice and average passes would have led to two Anthony Davis dunks. Instead, he overthrows both and it leads to two turnovers and five points for Milwaukee. Two plays, 9 point swing.

– Teams are sitting on the pick and pop with Ryan Anderson. Monty needs to make a small adjustment. When Anderson rolls, have another player screen Anderson’s man and have him fade out to the corner.

– Schwan mocked me every time I mentioned Larry Sanders in my trade wish list these past few years. And to be fair, he had a right to laugh because Sanders has done nothing his first few seasons in the league. But as you saw tonight, he is now a legit difference maker. That is usually how these things work. 19 and 20 year old guys don’t usually come into a league where 80% of the rotation players are 24 or older and dominate. It takes a while to physically and mentally mature. I say this because it seems that people are frustrated with Austin Rivers play. This is how it should be. Guys 18 months out of high school should be horrible when compared to grown men.

– I am not the type to complain about refs. I have done it myself and it is so difficult. With that being said, have you ever seen a player get less respect than Ryan Anderson? 50-50 block/charge calls always go against him no matter what side of the ball he is on, he attacks the rim and doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt, and guys throw him down while he is tracking a rebound- no call, or call on him. It’s just stupid at this point.

– People argue over Brian Roberts, debating whether he is bad or solid. I will say this- both are right. It all depends on your personal NBA philosophy. If you think making shots is the be all, end all- Roberts is a solid player. If you think a point guards role is to set the offense up for others, then you probably think Roberts is a bad NBA player. Just depends on what you value.

 

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