Bucks barely escape total humiliation

There were only a couple of teams in the entire Association I thought the Bucks were better than. Going into last night's game, Portland was one of them. After last night's game, I'm not so sure.

The Bucks barely escaped at home against the abysmal Blazers. Barely. They needed overtime to avert what would have been one of the lowest points in the past few years for the Milwaukee franchise, without a doubt. Playing one of the worst teams in the Association at home, this was a barometer game for sure. And based on the outcome, it looks like a very low pressure system has descended on Milwaukee and will linger for some time to come.

And if you think the Memphis game is going to provide any relief, then to quote DeLonda Brice (from The Wire), "You bett-ah thank ah-gin!"

Other non sequiturs about the Bucks

...I told you all Bobby Simmons was going to be out for a long, long time. Never trust the initial injury report. Never. Always read between the lines on those. If you did it in the case of Simmons, well, let's just say the tea leaves looked pretty brown.

...Simmons is a bigger loss than I would have imagined at the start of training camp. They really have zero depth at the 3 now. And he brings a certain dimension to the offense that, let's face it, is gone.

...I love Michael Redd, and Mo Williams is okay alot of times, but the two of them absolutely have to start playing some defense. Where is there pride? When we're so short-handed up front, they can't be letting two stiffs like Jarret Jack and Martell Webster get off on them like they did last night. They ought to be embarrassed. They may be able to fill it up on offense, but on defense they look like a pair of Gumps.

...I'm starting to get very bearish on Andrew Bogut's future. His ceiling is starting to look like it belongs in a cheap apartment... its showing signs of being pretty low. Its his second season of regular playing time and he can't seem to bust out of the low 20s in Eff48 scoring, and that's mediocre. I'll put more statistical numbers and historical comparisons behind my latest "I hope I'm wrong about Bogut" argument in a couple of days.

...A lot of our off-season acquisitions have done far less than expected, but not Ruben Patterson. He's a man's man. He's playing some excellent basketball right now, and the Bucks really need it. After a slow start, he's strung together some very productive basketball games. Last night he accumulated 26 efficiency points in 45 grueling minutes of action for a very respectable Eff48 of 27.73.

...Again, nothing at all from the bench. Nothing. And don't be fooled by Blake's ten points. He combined that with 3 turnovers, 4 missed FGs, 0 steals, 1 rebound, and only 1 measly assist in 25 minutes of action. That equates to an Eff48 of 9.6, which is terrible.

...When I'm done writing this sentence, I'm going to go call the Milwaukee PD and file a missing person's report on Brian Skinner.