Bucks Record First Quality Win since Christmas

The Milwaukee Bucks victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, 88-78, on Saturday night was important for many different reasons. It was Joe Smith's first game back. It kept the team above .500. It was mainly a defensive victory. But most of all, it was important because the Bucks defeated a team with a winning record for the first time since December 23, 2005, a span of 43 days. The Bucks lost the previous nine times they played a team with a winning record. They were getting desperate for some validation. They got it with a hard fought victory over a pretty good team.

Bucks Feeding on the Weak, But Not to the Maximum Extent

The Bucks are beating the weak teams and losing to the strong teams. At least that's what it seems like. I totaled the winning percentages of all the teams the Bucks defeated this season and it averaged out to .478. I did the same for the teams that have defeated the Bucks and that averaged out to a robust .557. But that doesn't mean the Bucks have completely dominated the bad teams, and it doesn't mean they haven't had some success with the really good teams. The Bucks have 9 "bad" losses (losses to teams with losing records) and they have 5 "big" wins (wins over teams with better winning percentages and more victories than the Bucks). While they win the majority of games against teams with losing records, they can do better. That should be their goal. If they really take care of business against the NBA's weak sisters, and avoid any unnecessary slip-ups in the second half, they need only pick off an elite team here and there in order to finish with an outstanding record.

Bucks Usually Playing From Behind

According to a new survey done by 82games.com, the Bucks have been trailing their opponent 54.8% of the time this season. That's atrocious. In fact, its seventh worst in the entire Association. The scary thing is, with the exception of the Bucks and the Timberwolves, the teams that are ahead the most win the most, with Detroit at the top of their list followed by the other usual suspects: San Antonio, Dallas, and Phoenix. If you look at it, the list almost mirrors the typical NBA power rankings. Is this more evidence that the Bucks are a fraud?

TJ Always Cold; Why Not Try Bogut?

TJ Ford is shooting 40% from the field and has made less than 50% of the field goals he has attempted in 33 of the 41 games he has played in this year. By contrast, rookie center Andrew Bogut is shooting 53.2% from the field, and has made less than 50% of the field goals he has attempted in only 17 of the 45 games he has played this year. Yet Ford has the second highest field goal attempt per game average among the Bucks regular starters at 11.2/game, while Bogut has the lowest field goal attempt per game average among the Bucks regular starters at 7.1/game. Shouldn't this incongruous relationship get fixed?