Hawks - Bucks

[lethalweapon3]

With apologies to the vegans amonst us, it'll be hard to make venison out of the Bucks tonight, riding high after dispatching the Knicks and Heat on the road in the last four days. Milwaukee is just 6-4 with Andrew Bogut in the lineup, as he will be tonight, but just 0-5 without him. Brandon Jennings has been on a tear with his scoring, while Shaun Livingston, replacing "Stak Jak aka Stak5 aka Stephen Jackson" in the starting five a few days ago, has boosted the assists.

Hopefully the Bucks' arms are tired after lofting a whopping 30 three-point shots (making just 5) in their 9-point win in Miami yesterday. Jeff Teague and Joe Johnson have the ability to neutralize Milwaukee's guards from driving and trying to make their hay in the paint, and the Hawks' wings will need to help intercept dump-ins to Bogut, Jon Leuer, and Drew Gooden when their guards are forced to give up the ball. Keeping the pace low and keeping the quick Buck possessions to a minimum will be key, as Milwaukee is just 1-5 when dropping less than 90 points.

As always, the post players need to avoid ticky-tack foul calls, especially on offense against the masterful charge-drawer Bogut. Smoove, ever the villain in Milwaukee, loves playing heroball here and will have to stay focused throughout while suffering the jeers from the Squad 6 fan crew.

The Bucks have been pretty poor defensive rebounders so far, especially when Bogut sits, so a healthy dose of Zaza and Ivan crashing the boards will help keep them honest. T-Mac, Willie Green, and The Impaler can help match any 3-point production they get from Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Dunleavy.

Go Hawks!

~lw3

[MaceCase]

Jennings absolutely made Teague his b*tch in their matchup last season at Phillips, hoping Teague remembers that and has something a little special in store for the Rooster. Does Collins get the not so token start this evening versus Bogut? Not that Bogut's inside scoring needs much defending from outsiders.

[High5]

Jennings absolutely made Teague his b*tch in their matchup last season at Phillips, hoping Teague remembers that and has something a little special in store for the Rooster. Does Collins get the not so token start this evening versus Bogut? Not that Bogut's inside scoring needs much defending from outsiders.

You can't really make someone your "b*tch" when you're playing as bad or worse. They both had a miserable game at Phillips. But the Hawks won by 25.

[MaceCase]

You can't really make someone your "b*tch" when you're playing as bad or worse. They both had a miserable game at Phillips. But the Hawks won by 25.

I confused the time frame of the games, the first meeting at Phillips where Jennings dropped almost all of his 14 points that quarter at the end on Teague and was jawing at the bench.

[MaceCase]

MC tweeted that Z is starting. Why is LD so non-committal? A few days ago he claims the big lineup is the regular but the past two games it hasn't. This reminds me of LD claiming last year he was about to make lineup changes after a blowout and nothing happened.

Because he can't lie to himself anymore that Collins has no other use than being a punching bag for Dwight?

[Colin]

I am afraid Zaza might get in foul trouble. Or maybe he can get Bogut in foul trouble with his goofy spins and twirls... I hope Collins plays less than 3 minutes tonight.

[Bahamut]

I am afraid Zaza might get in foul trouble. Or maybe he can get Bogut in foul trouble with his goofy spins and twirls... I hope Collins plays less than 3 minutes tonight.

[Gray Mule]

With the words still vibrating in their heads after their last road game,

our Hawks must overcome the words from their coach "They quit."

Surely they will remember this. He was right there. He knew.

Please Hawks, don't do that any more. You're better than that.

[Alex]

Very bad second quarter. Got out hustled multiple times and shot very poorly.

[Gray Mule]

Well, here comes our 3rd quarter woes.

JJ can't

[Sothron]

Joe Johnson is once again a beast and the Hawks ride him to the victory. The lamentations of the Joe Haters Club must be outpouring tonight.

[Admin]

MC tweeted that Z is starting. Why is LD so non-committal? A few days ago he claims the big lineup is the regular but the past two games it hasn't. This reminds me of LD claiming last year he was about to make lineup changes after a blowout and nothing happened.

I'm more interested in LD being open to changing the lineup, despite what he has said, to make us a better club. Obviously at this point starting Zaza looks like a good move, although I was definitely behind why he was starting Collins at the time.

[lethalweapon3]

Don't forget The Jumpshot That Should Not Be Mentioned serving as the dagger tonight.

~lw3

[HawksFan87]

Yes THAT jumpshot and two ft's....

[AHF]

Don't forget The Jumpshot That Should Not Be Mentioned serving as the dagger tonight.

~lw3

I'm not sure about others, but I'll never take the argument that Josh can't win a game shooting open jumpers. My position is merely that he will win more games destroying teams in the paint and on the boards than by taking the wide open jumpers the opposition wants him to take. He will absolutely have games where he hits those shots. While I'd rather he wasn't intent on taking them, I am always much happier to see them go in.

[High5]

Joe was channeling his Game 4 against the Celtics. Fun to watch. Not fun to watch is Teague after the first quarter. He must have some conditioning issues, because he seems to do that a lot. Start strong and then he just goes flat. So flat he decides to pass up an open 3 for a Josh 3... worked out that time at least.

[Plainview1981]

Joe Johnson is once again a beast and the Hawks ride him to the victory. The lamentations of the Joe Haters Club must be outpouring tonight.

Joe played like crap most of last year and now of your sensationalist "haters club" stuff will change that. He's played well since Al went down. I hope he is prepared to do more of it.

Good win. The Bucks have some depth and not as bad as their record suggests. Good road win.

Edited January 24, 2012 by Hotlanta1981

[Joker]

I am sold that Scott Skiles has a two year run at most for most coaching jobs. After two seasons, he wears thin on his players.

[MaceCase]

I am sold that Scott Skiles has a two year run at most for most coaching jobs. After two seasons, he wears thin on his players.

He's a caretaker/teacher coach. Comes in, instills some principles and toughness but players get tired of the same old hard-*ss schtick every second to every minute to every hour of the day. If you don't win a championship in 2-3 years with Skiles you'd better be looking for a new coach before his players mutiny.

[Sothron]

Joe played like crap most of last year and now of your sensationalist "haters club" stuff will change that. He's played well since Al went down. I hope he is prepared to do more of it.

Good win. The Bucks have some depth and not as bad as their record suggests. Good road win.

You mean before he had his elbow surgery in season and then when he got hurt again late in the season? Amazing how that happens. In between that he had two great months when he was healthy. Just like now. He's flat out balling and I'm not surprised to see some people like this one just hating it.