What’s up everyone…thanks for dropping by.
First Quarter:
*Agreed with Pete on turnovers…that’s been a huge problem all season. Here we go…
*Man, Micheal Redd has a sweet stroke…there’s not much you can do when the ball’s in his hands.
*Haha, since when did Craig Smith become our go-to player? But who am I to make fun…the Rhino’s playing stellar basketball as of late, as the coaching staff is finally giving him the minutes he deserves (it would kill me everytime I looked at the boxscore, and saw that Craig got 15-20 minutes). Keep feeding Craiggers!
*Anyone else really like the Wolves’ starting lineup? Jaric, Brew, Craig, Al, Bassy…that’s a young, energetic lineup that’ll play hard. That’s really what I’ve been waiting to see…forget the vets, let’s give the pups a chance for some serious minutes.
*Craig got the ball poked away, but I like the idea. Force a mismatch, and let Craig go to work. And Michael Redd continues to shoot the ball very well.
*I’m VERY interested to see how this lineup plays…McCants, Bassy, Craig, Richard, Al.
*Bassy got bailed out there…he was trying to do too much on that possession. I’d just keep feeding the hot hand…Craig Smith is making positive things happen when the ball’s in his hands.
*Ah…keep driving Corey. Those will start dropping eventually…keep being aggressive.
(Click "Read More" to continue)
*Craig leads all scorers with 12, and Redd leads the Bucks with eight.
*Nice surge at the end of the first half…Redd stopped making those cold-blooded jumpers at the end of the first, and you’ve gotta love the way Craig Smith’s playing.
Second Quarter:
*Corey is making huge progress…he’s a LOT more aggressive now than he was earlier in the season. Now, Corey just needs to get comfortable with his jumper, and he needs to start finishing his drives.
*I have no problem with Gerald Green not getting playing time…he’s been horrible. He’s making terrible decisions with the ball, and he’s been a "black hole" on offense…when he gets the ball, he’s shooting. Yeah, he got quite a few minutes last season, but he doesn’t deserve them this season. He’s been a huge disappointment, in my book.
*Ugh…another ridiculous shot from Redd.
*Where’s Craig? Besides Craig and Gomes, the team has really struggled. Get him back in, Witt…he’s been on the bench long enough.
*Gomes continues to be on fire…very glad to see Gomsey dropping some shots tonight, as I’ve been a bit disappointed in his play this season. Meanwhile, Al, who has been invisible thus far, drops the baby hook.
*Hmm…haven’t seen "Halftime Live" before. Hopefully they’ll show some of the halftime show from the arena. My top three halftime shows: The plate spinner, Rubber Boy, and Quick Change.
*Still no Craig? What gives, Witt?
*Man, what a great play by Bassy. Went coast-to-coast on the drive, drew contact, and still made the shot. Excellent play…man, that looked like a vet play, too.
*Redd and Craiggers lead all scorers with 12 points each…Gomes has 10, and Big Al and Bassing both have six.
*I give up on Wittman…Craig is inexplicably still on the bench (all right, just as I typed that, he came back in the game…still, I think he was on the bench for far too long).
*Excellent to see Brewer finally drop a jumper. No hesitation, sweet release…keep showing that increased confidence, Brew.
Halftime: Wolves 42, Bucks 40
*Corey Brewer’s apartment seems a bit modest for an NBA player…still an awesome looking place, though.
*They get the Globetrotters to perform at halftime in Milwaukee? Man, that’s cool…I used to love the Globetrotters when I was younger, went to see them a few times at the Xcel Center and Target Center. You know what job would really suck? Being a member of the Washington Generals.
*Just checked the Wikipedia page of the Generals…they’ve lost over 13,000 games, and have won only six.
Third Quarter:
*Whenever Yi’s matched up with Craig, I want Craig going to the rim. He has the strength to knock Yi around pretty good.
*God, Redd is ridiculous…when he’s hot, he’s an impossible guy to stop. Hopefully he’ll cool back down sooner rather than later.
*Things are kind of starting to fall apart…Redd is shooting extremely well, the Wolves aren’t taking care of the basketball, and there’s been some confusion on defense as Milwaukee’s getting free on the interior.
*Redd, by the way, has 17 points.
*Al Jefferson…a great run-stopper. Give Al the rock in the post, and the opposition’s run will come to an end.
*Great dish by Bassy…he’s really made some great passes on the drive tonight.
*Craig may be creating a lot of high-percentage shots for himself, but that first free throw was really ugly. He’s gotta work on that stroke from the line…he has a very soft touch, so I know he can become a better free throw shooter.
*21 for the Rhino!
*Man, Corey. When you don’t even contest a Michael Redd shot, you’re screwed. Get a hand in his face, Brew!
*What a dish by Corey Brewer…the guards are doing an excellent job of giving Craig plenty of high-percentage looks, and Craig is delivering. He has 25.
*Wow…since when is Craig unstoppable on the dribble drive? He faced up Scalabrene one-on-one, and wasn’t going to be slowed down on the drive.
*HOW DO YOU LET REDD GET OPEN ON THE PERIMETER? Jesus, we did a decent job of defending him in the first half, but we’re just not getting bodies on him, and we’re not contesting his shots. He’s absolutely killing us, right now.
Fourth Quarter:
*The less shots McCants takes, the better. He’s been horrible, today.
*That was such an old-school move from Al. One of my favorite players in the league to watch…such a fundamentally-sound guy, obviously pays a lot of attention to past post players.
*The Wolves are a +5 with Gomsey in the game…glad to see him coming back in, after the timeout.
*Amazing spin move by Brewer…nice job taking advantage of the mismatch. Brewer’s going to get around Yi 10 out of 10 times.
*For most of the country, "Yi" [as in "E"] is a vowel, but here, he’s a rookie on the rise…yes, Hanny really said that. And I want to punch him for saying it.
*That Michael Redd three just put us on life support.
*The Wolves continue to have problems on transition defense…after that Rashad three, our guards were sluggish in getting back, and Mo Williams took advantage with the easy lay-in.
*Well, it ain’t looking good for our squad…down 10 with three minutes remaining, and we haven’t been the most dangerous team down the stretch, to say the least.
*How about this? They’re proving me wrong…a quick 8-0 run, cutting the lead to two.
*OK, so we’ve got a two possession game with 1:10 remaining. Plenty of time remaining, but we absolutely must get a stop on this possession. Get a stop, and anything can happen.
*EXCELLENT job at the free throw line by Craig Smith…that was the definition of clutchness. It’s anyone’s ballgame…plenty of time left for the Wolves.
*What can you do there? It was the right decision for Bassy to get on Redd, but that split second that he turned towards Redd allowed Williams to get an open look. I can’t really fault the defensive effort there…it was just a clutch shot by Williams.
*Well, that miss by Rashad should do it. With the loss, the Wolves will drop to 3-19, while the Bucks improve to 10-13.
*Loved the effort from Craig Smith…he’s shown some ability on the drive, and the guards did a great job of finding Craig for an endless amount of high-percentage shots.
*Also liked to see Corey Brewer continuing to show increased confidence. Now, he just needs to start making shots, and that will come in time.
*But the defensive effort on the perimeter was lacking in the second half. Michael Redd and Mo Williams had way too many open looks, and you’ve gotta be contesting their shots…they’ll murder you if you don’t get a hand in their face.
*I have major problems with Craig Smith getting 30 minutes…and I absolutely cannot understand him not playing a good portion of the second quarter. He was absolutely the hot hand for the Wolves, and yet Wittman kept him on the bench for too long.
*Good to see Gomes back on the right track…he’s been a disappointment this season, but tonight he delivered, with 15 points and 6-10 shooting.
*Bassy played at a very high level, penetrating and dishing (he constantly found Craig Smith, and deserves a ton of credit for the Rhino’s 30 points). He really did an excellent job of orchestrating the offense.