Fear the Deer

[mogrovejo]

Meh, now it's easy to join the bandwagon.

02-04-2009 (more than one year ago):

Unlucky season for the Bucks, there go their playoffs chances.

Bogut gas became one of the most underrated big men in the league. Easily a top5 defensive big man at this point of his career.

11-07-2009

1. The Bucks are wildly underrated. They are going to be one of the best defensive and rebounding teams in the league. Most fans are sucked into scoring, so...

11-15-2009

It's a shame that in the middle of all this hype for Jennings, Bogut, the main responsible for the Bucks record, doesn't get the props he deserves. It didn't happen this season: he started turning it around in the last half of 07/08 when clueless ballhog Mo Williams went down and was having a tremendous season last year till he fell down to injury himself. This season he's just carrying over.

Bogut is, above everything, a terrific defender and rebounder - I never see this coming till 2 seasons ago. He doesn't make flashy plays defensively, but, IMO, only an in-form Garnett and Howard are better/more impact-full defensive players in the league right now. He's very smart closing driving lanes, moving his feet to contest shots, a great communicator, very quick moving his feet around... just a clever defender who anticipates what the offence is going to do very well and reacts smartly and quickly. Solid scored that forces a double every time, great passer, especially from the high post - his biggest flaws are FT and the lack of range.

Yeah, I find it odd that people in this forum are always talking about Bynum and Oden as the next big things when Bogut isn't much older than them and a way better player - Oden is a marginally better rebounder and shot-blocker, Bynum has a more refined touch, but Bogut is way ahead on everything else and not far behind on those things. Easily one of the top centers in the league for years to come and yet I can see the guy missing the ASG and the All-Defense teams.

People say they love defence, but they don't really follow the great defensive teams and players in the league till everybody else does because it became too obvious.

[mogrovejo]

Bucks for sure is my surprise team of the year. I thought losing , Sessions, Redd( for most of the year), and Charlie would make them a 15 win team.

Why? Sessions was wildly overrated - he doesn't defend and is extremely ball dominant. Villanueva is addition by subtraction - shot-hog who's incredibly inconsistent with his offense and a terrible, soft, defender. Redd is the definition of a ball-stopper who makes impossible for an offence to flow and a sub-par defender. And Jefferson... well, by now you already know how good Jefferson really is.

They're better without those 4 guys.

But you're correct, most ESPN experts predicted the Bucks to finish last in the Eastern Conference. Pathetic ers, they're as clueless as most regular fans like you.

[mogrovejo]

True. But I think a year in Europe really helped him. He wasn't tearing up Toronto, either.

He's exactly the same player, just better used than in Detroit or Toronto. Delfino's problem has always been his terrible shot-selection and inconsistent decision-making, but Skiles has done a great job teaching him to play within his role.

[timtonymanu]

Why? Sessions was wildly overrated - he doesn't defend and is extremely ball dominant. Villanueva is addition by subtraction - shot-hog who's incredibly inconsistent with his offense and a terrible, soft, defender. Redd is the definition of a ball-stopper who makes impossible for an offence to flow and a sub-par defender. And Jefferson... well, by now you already know how good Jefferson really is.

They're better without those 4 guys.

But you're correct, most ESPN experts predicted the Bucks to finish last in the Eastern Conference. Pathetic ers, they're as clueless as most regular fans like you.

Because I dont follow the Bucks, I'm clueless. LMAO get a life.

[John Hollinger]

Milwaukee is the clear favorite in the East. Their record against Eastern Conference teams two days after playing their 3rd Western Conference foe on the second Thursday of every month is staggering. The only other team that performs in that capacity as well as Milwaukee does is Utah. That's why Bucks-Jazz clearly has a 97.586948% chance of being the NBA Finals matchup.

[duncan228]

Fear the Deer? Bucks looking like winners
By Chris Jenkins

As far as the Milwaukee Bucks can tell, it may have started with a one-liner from an ESPN anchor.

Today, it’s a rallying cry seen on fan signs at the Bradley Center and an electronic billboard by the highway near downtown Milwaukee. It’s even a hashtag on Twitter.

Fear the Deer.

“I love the little ‘Fear the Deer’ thing,” rookie guard Brandon Jennings said. “It’s pretty awesome.”

It has been quite a while since the Bucks have struck anything approaching fear in their opponents. After making the playoffs in 2005-06, they didn’t win more than 34 games in any of the next three seasons.

But with Sunday’s victory over Indiana, Milwaukee now has won six straight games and 12 of its last 13 - including a recent defeat of a Cleveland team playing without LeBron James, followed by legitimate wins over Boston and Utah.

At 36-29, the Bucks have already won two more games than they did last season. If the NBA playoffs started today, they’d be the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.

What in the name of Oscar Robertson is going on here?

“Everybody’s confidence is real high right now,” Jennings said. “I know a lot of people doubted us at the beginning of the season, had us almost (finishing) last. But we’re here, too. We’re fighting for a spot in the playoffs, too. So don’t forget about us.”

Jennings has been the Bucks’ flashiest addition this year - “a franchise changer,” as Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said.

The rookie was seen as a risk when Bucks general manager John Hammond made him the No. 10 overall pick in the draft. After a standout high school career, he went to Italy instead of playing in college. And he didn’t play very much when he got there.

Could he shoot? Was he mature enough?

Then he scored 55 points in a Nov. 14 game against Golden State, making him an instant national phenomenon. And, as Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, perhaps creating an incorrect perception about him.

“Jennings doesn’t play like that 50-point game,” Rivers said. “He’s a point guard. He’s running the team extremely well with unbelievable composure. But I think people who don’t see the Bucks play think he’s a scoring point guard that’s trying to shoot. He’s the exact opposite, in my opinion, of that. And that’s what’s been so impressive.”

For all the hype surrounding Jennings, the main reason behind Milwaukee’s improvement might be the evolution of center Andrew Bogut, who finally seems healthy and has progressed on both ends of the court.

On Monday, the NBA named Bogut the Eastern Conference’s player of the week.

“They’ve got the big guy back there that gives you a security blanket back there,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “If you get beat, he’s got the ability to block shots, and teams and players know that, so that takes away a little bit of what you like to do.”

Then there’s the addition of John Salmons, Hammond’s trade deadline acquisition from Chicago. His scoring has helped make up for the absence of Michael Redd, whose season has been ended by a severe knee injury for the second year in a row.

“That’s what we were missing - a scorer,” Jennings said. “When Mike Redd went down, we were looking for somebody to take over, and John Salmons, he’s our guy now.”

Bucks coach Scott Skiles also points to better decision-making by his guards, resulting in a more fluid transition game and better ball movement.

“If we get bogged down in a halfcourt game, that’s not really our style right now,” Skiles said. “We’ve got a couple of guys that can create their shots, but we don’t have that just one bailout guy you can just give the ball to with six left on the clock and he can go get you a basket.”

Skiles is praising his team’s preparation and effort on defense. And that’s significant, given Skiles’ high standards for effort and previous Bucks teams’ laughable at ude toward defending.

As for increased expectations, Skiles says the Bucks must be mature enough to ignore them.

“Hopefully, they understand that those are the same people who picked us to be last in the East that are now saying, ‘Hey, they’re pretty good,”’ Skiles said. “If you factor that in, you probably shouldn’t have gotten caught up in it either way.”

Jennings said recent wins over marquee teams showed that the Bucks are playing hard and with confidence. But like the rest of the team, he’s guarding against complacency.

“Everybody’s still fighting for a playoff spot, and we’ve got to keep going,” Jennings said. “Can’t get comfortable now.”

Despite their improbable rise in the standings, Bogut says the Bucks are staying grounded.

“We still have a long way to go as a franchise,” Bogut said. “We haven’t achieved anything yet.”

[mogrovejo]

Because I dont follow the Bucks, I'm clueless. LMAO get a life.

Well, you were clueless about the Bucks; but that's no big deal. I'm also more or less clueless about some teams. But are you paid to not be clueless about NBA teams or something? Because experts are.

[DAF86]

True. But I think a year in Europe really helped him. He wasn't tearing up Toronto, either.

Yes, he was. Well, maybe not tearing it up but playing at more or less the same level he's playing right now.

[SomeCallMeTim]

[SomeCallMeTim]

Milwaukee is the clear favorite in the East. Their record against Eastern Conference teams two days after playing their 3rd Western Conference foe on the second Thursday of every month is staggering. The only other team that performs in that capacity as well as Milwaukee does is Utah. That's why Bucks-Jazz clearly has a 97.586948% chance of being the NBA Finals matchup.

I like this John Hollinger troll.

BTW, is there a bigger nightmare matchup for the NBA than Bucks-Jazz? The ratings for that Finals would make Spurs-Cavs 07 look like the Super Bowl.