A different take from last night's game...

[Diesel]

Playing down to foe's level

Loss is second in a row to a sub-.500 opponent

By TOM ENLUND

tenlund@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Nov. 28, 2007

Atlanta - Earlier this week, as the Milwaukee Bucks were preparing to embark on this stretch of four games in five nights, center Andrew Bogut called it a "very, very dangerous" period.

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Photo/AP

Mo Williams jumps between two Hawks defenders to dish off a pass.

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Game report: Wednesday at a glance

Box score: Hawks 96, Bucks 80

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"Did I?" Bogut asked after the Bucks laid another egg in a 96-80 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night at Phillips Arena.

The Bucks suffered a lackluster home loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday night, and the back-to-back defeats dropped their record to 7-6 and have taken some of the luster off Milwaukee's fast start.

All along, coach Larry Krystkowiak cautioned that the Bucks weren't as bad as they seemed when they were 2-4, and they weren't as good as they seemed when they were 7-4, and it appears that he was right.

The Bucks' last three victories were against upper-echelon teams; the last two losses have been against teams with losing records.

Are we detecting a pattern here?

"Without giving anyone bulletin board material or calling guys out or anything, it's just a problem that we're having with the franchise since I've been here," said Bogut, in his third season, after Wednesday's loss. "I think we play to the level of the opponent sometimes. And no disrespect to Atlanta or Philadelphia - they came in and gave it to us both games - but with Dallas or L.A. we prepare differently because it's a big-name team. We kind of feel more pumped up. The arena is full.

"But then like (Tuesday at the Bradley Center), they're 5,000 people there and it's quiet. Same as tonight. . . and it hurts us. My rookie year, and especially last year (the same thing). Hopefully we can fix it up in New York (Friday night)."

While Tuesday night, it was the starters that dug the Bucks into an early hole, against Atlanta it was the bench that was unproductive. Atlanta scored 12 straight points to start the second quarter against the Milwaukee reserves to take a 48-32 lead, and the Bucks were playing catch-up the rest of the night.

Milwaukee took several runs at the Hawks, the last when it closed to within four early in the fourth quarter. But Atlanta ran off 10 straight to take an 88-74 lead with 5 minutes 6 seconds left and held on.

Michael Redd scored 24 points for Milwaukee. Mo Williams made all nine of his shots - one a three-pointer - and all four of his free throws for 23 points, and had nine assists.

"It's no time to panic," said Williams. "It's no time to panic at all. When we were 2-4, I said it's not time to panic and we ran off five straight (victories), and now it's the same thing. It's still early."

Said Krystkowiak, "We were pretty competitive in the first and third quarters, but not in the second and fourth. We made a couple of runs throughout the game but we just couldn't get over the hump."

The Bucks close out the week with games at New York on Friday and at home against Detroit on Saturday, and there won't be anything easy about either.

Not the way the Bucks are playing.

"We need to respect these opponents," said Bogut, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds. "We haven't accomplished anything at all. We were 7-4, now we're 7-6. If we'd win these games, we'd be in a great position, but obviously we're taking things for granted. All that hard work we've done beating Dallas and beating the Lakers and Cleveland in Cleveland.

"I don't know what it is. We just need to come in more energized and be ready to play from the start against teams that we're supposed to beat. It's an Achilles' heel."

[Diesel]

One thing the broadcast team from Milwaukee kept saying is that "it's hard to play in front of such a small crowd".

"if you look closely, they have cardboard cut outs of fans".

[coachx]

The good news for the Bucks.

They play the Knicks Friday night. The Garden will be full and the Knicks suck so maybe they won't have any more excuses.

A legitimate excuse is having 2 staters miss the game (Mavin and Law).

An excuse maker is Bogut and the Buck's announcer crying about an arena not being packed on a Wed night.

So the sucks have one 7 footer who is a whiner and another 7 hooter who shoots jumpers and gets bullied in the paint.

To have all these 7 footers and 6'11'' guys they sure do seem to lack toughnes.

[Peoriabird]

Aren't the Bucs 1-1 against us? So his logic makes no sense!

[Sothron]

How many arenas are usually full on a mid week game though?

[bfwolf]

Quote:

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One thing the broadcast team from Milwaukee kept saying is that "it's hard to play in front of such a small crowd".

"if you look closely, they have cardboard cut outs of fans".

---

While I enjoyed the Bucks broadcast team and thought they were more entertaining and more informed than 90% of the opposing broadcasts we hear on League Pass, I did find that explanation bizarre...that the Hawks home court advantage was due to being used to playing in front of a small crowd while the Bucks weren't used to that. Doesn't every NBA team play in front of a small (non-existent) crowd during practice everyday? I don't buy it...

[Diesel]

No, there was just an unexplainable Hawks Jumping on that a-- moment!