TJ makes the Bucks pay

If any of the Milwaukee Bucks were under the delusion that there was something meaningful left to fight for this season, someone obviously disabused them of that notion.

Not even the sight of their former teammate TJ Ford could get them motivated to compete hard at the Bradley Center last night. They came out flat and let the Raptors absolutely dominate the action early. Once the Bucks woke up in the second half, it was too late.

They also let Ford show them up all night long, as I'm sure he was aiming to do (he harbors some bitterness regarding the trade). He had a very good all-around game, providing the Raptors with a high degree of efficiency and productivity. He was what I used to call "Good TJ". If he had more nights like that when he was in a Bucks uniform, he would still be a Buck.

Ford on all cylinders early

While the Bucks came out sleeping, TJ came out smoking. He scored 12 points, dished out six assists, and even had a block in the first quarter. That action helped the Raptors build a 13 point lead at the end of one that ballooned into a 16 point lead at the half. It was pretty much 'Good Night Bucks' from there. Sure, Milwaukee had some runs at the Raptors in the second half, but they were nothing more than 'its-the-NBA-everybody-makes-a-run' runs. Toronto had little trouble fending them off.

Nobody really had an exceptional game for the Bucks. Charlie Bell was pretty good, everybody else was either okay or below par. And don't be fooled by Michael Redd's gaudy scoring numbers. He had a very poor game. His 29 points came over 44 minutes of action, and were coupled with 7 turnovers and only 3 rebounds and a 1 measly assist.

Focus on the Wheel of Fortune, Antlerheads

On the plus side, the Bucks have moved into a tie for the third worst record in the NBA, and have increased their chances of getting the top pick to 13.4%.

I'll play 20 spins of the lottery generator Tuesday morning. Look for the results in a noontime posting.

Bucks Diary Eff48 Boxscore

93
Bell.......................................................26.18
Patterson................................................23.17
Williams..................................................22.90
Bogut.....................................................20.57
Redd......................................................15.65
Skinner...................................................13.44

108
Ford........................................................39.99
Bosh........................................................35.36
Nesterovic.................................................27.13
Peterson...................................................25.14
Dixon.......................................................24.00
Calderon...................................................21.33
Bargnani...................................................07.99
Parker......................................................05.48

Photo Credit: AP/Morry Gash