Some good in this Bucks loss

Last night against the Indiana Pacers, the Bucks did a lot of things right. They featured a balanced attack on offense (six Bucks in double figures). They won the turnover battle (they've been doing a good job in this area all year). They outshot the Pacers, and defended well, holding Indiana to 42% shooting from the field. They were somewhat competitive on the boards (which is actually an achievement when you are the worst rebounding team in the Association). And they even got some decent contributions from their bench. But they still lost.

Thus, I can't decide if last night's 102-100 loss was disheartening or encouraging. I'm actually leaning toward the latter. Primarily because of some improved individual play. Andrew Bogut came back to life, both as a scorer and a rebounder. He was aggressive on both ends of the court. Ersan Ilyasova had a very good game, too, rediscovering his shooting touch in an impressive debut as a starter. Mo Williams looked like a point guard. He still shot too much, but he was also generous with the pass, recording 11 assists. We need more of that. Brian Skinner and Charlie Bell actually produced a little off the bench. And Ruben Patterson continued his upward ascent toward the productivity level we thought we were getting when we traded for him. But they still lost.

I guess that is the bottom line. For now, I'm okay with it. Obviously, they need to start converting these near losses into actual wins. But I was so starved for some sign of hope that since I got it I am willing to cut the team slack.