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10/29/08
It’s funny how things can change so fast overnight. Twenty Four hours after being embarrassed by the Chicago Bulls, the Milwaukee Bucks came out strong right from the opening tip off. Although they won by only twelve points, the game didn’t appear to be that close. From the first possession the Bucks executed like the offense had been playing together for years, although it’s only been a few short weeks. Andrew Bogut was the centerpiece for the offense, which seemed to work quite well when the mediocre Johan Petro is defending him. Three plays in a row the Bucks converted, running each play through Bogut. Andrew either went up strong with the ball or dished to the open man for the bucket. My personal opinion was proved last night, and that the Bucks are successful when running the offense through Bogut and working the in and out game.
This was the first regular season game for the “new” Oklahoma City Thunder, which in recent years were the Seattle Supersonics. The Thunder are a fresh, young team who looks to be promising in the future. The “star” of OKC is Kevin Durant, last year’s 2nd round draft pick, and reigning Rookie of the Year. Known for his great mid range game, and having the ability to play with his back to the basket, I didn’t feel comfortable seeing Michael Redd defending him from the get go. To my surprise, Redd played his ass off on both ends of the floor, putting up 20 points and holding Durant to 12 points on 5 of 14 shooting.
Richard Jefferson, playing his second regular season game as a Buck put up a solid game also. Jefferson, who was acquired on draft day by the Bucks was an outstanding small forward for the New Jersey Nets. He put up a career high in points last season (24ppg) while being a veteran leader on the court. Jefferson also chipped in 20 points, and collected 8 rebounds. Richard also led the offense early in the game by knocking down some open jumpers, and attacking the basket at will, occasionally drawing contact and getting to the free throw line.
Prior to the opening tip Tuesday night, Bucks fans were unsure of who would be our starting power forward. Charlie Villanueva filled that role the past two games, and bounced back from a poor performance on opening night. Big Smooth was easily the player of the game, with the most impressive stat line of the evening: 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Villanueva, who is known to most Bucks fans as a defensive liability, was the complete opposite last night. Charlie hustled on both ends of the floor, and did a superb job boxing his man out to pull down all those rebounds. If he can continue this, it will take a lot more pressure off of Redd and Jefferson.
In conclusion, it was nice to see the Bucks play basketball not only on the offensive side, but on the defensive as well. That is something that I have not seen in years, and that would be because of our coach, and former Bucks player Scott Skiles. Congrats on the first victory as the new head coach, and hopefully there will be many to come. Stay tuned…
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Play of the game: Forward Charlie Villanueva split defenders with a nice pass to center Andrew Bogut for the one handed dunk early in the first quarter.
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Keywords: Basketball, Bucks, Milwaukee, NBA, Oklahoma City, Thunder
