Fear The Deer -- Milwaukee Bucks Dynasty

[benrich315]

Clippers Get Their Revenge


Rivers and the Clippers came to play today

Milwakee Bucks at Los Angeles Clippers
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Milwakee (12-14)	22	31	21	27	101
Los Angeles (16-11)	20	28	34	42	124

Los Angeles, CA -- In the last matchup between the Bucks and Clippers, many LA fans were left asking the question, "what happened to lob city?". Well, here is your answer. Los Angeles showed why they are deserving of that nickname in this one, as they dominated the Bucks for the win.

Milwaukee started out strong, but never quite got into a groove. Leading by 8 early, LA turned it up and Griffin showed why he is a premier forward in the NBA.

CP3 and Griffin must've connected on nearly ten alley oops in this game, as it seemed Griffin's feet hardly touched the court in this one.

Strong play from Crawford and Reddick made it easy for Griffin to dominate the paint. The Bucks were unable to double because of the deep threat from the Clippers' guard play.

"They were all on tonight. When you play a team with this much talent, and they're all playing their best game, it's hard to win" said coach Jason Kidd in the post-game conference.

The Bucks were a dismal 37-91 from the field, and shot under 20% from three point range. LA also out rebounded the Bucks by almost 10 boards. Playing like this won't earn Milwaukee any wins, or respect for that matter.

Milwaukee looks to turn things around as they head home to take on the Hornets (15-12) for the second time this season, coming away with the victory in October 100-92.

Box Score

Bucks


Clippers



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[benrich315]

Update tomorrow. Played an epic game that I'm excited to write up.

[benrich315]

O.J. Mayo: A Good Fit For Milwaukee?

Milwaukee, WI -- What if I told you that O.J. Mayo averaged more points in his rookie season than Dwyane Wade, Anthony Davis, and Stephen Curry?

Why does this matter? Because high draft picks, like Mayo, come into the league with an increased set of expectations that many player don’t face. Going third overall in the 2008 NBA Draft put Mayo in a situation where he was destined to face these expectations head on.

He did not disappoint. Putting up 18.5ppg you rookie season will garner much attention, and it appeared that Mayo could handle it with ease. The transition from college ball to the NBA did not appear too difficult for the budding talent.


When you are playing at a level most veterans aren’t playing at, as well as creating a name for yourself at such a young age, what is there to worry about? O.J. Mayo did not have to face adversity yet, and so he could continue to sustain a high level of play without external problems becoming a hindrance.

But this is where the veterans like Curry and Wade separate themselves from Mayo. Anthony Davis is still young, but he too has separated himself from Mayo. All these players were able to do what Mayo could not; improve their game.


See, after his rookie season, O.J. Mayo has never been able to replicate his offensive fire power. The most he has averaged per game since being a rookie was the year after, when he averaged 17.5 ppg with the Memphis Grizzlies.

His tenure with the Grizzlies came to an end with a stat line that had Mayo appearing in less games, playing less minutes, and hovering around 12 ppg. It was time for Mayo to move on and possibly revitalize his career playing for somebody else.


After his time in Memphis came a stint in Dallas, and now, he's a Milwaukee Buck. Many fans question his drive and motivation. There was the drama in the 13-14 season in which Mayo stopped to tie his shoe, leaving his team to play 4-on-5. It's hard to support someone who makes it so easy to hate them.


Last season, his stat line was laughable. 11.7ppg, 2.2apg, and 2.4rpg will just not get it done in this league. As of now, O.J. seems to have made the choice to work hard and attempt to get back to the level of play he was at right out of college. Currently, he is averaging 13.9 ppg, 3.1apg, 2.9rpg, 1.0spg, and is shooting just under 50% from the field. Not a huge leap, but Mayo has a different presence on the court. He's not the out of shape, shoe tying, lazy player he was a few years ago.


"When I came to Milwaukee, my attitude was sour. Honestly, the past few years I've had my head in my a**. There's something about this team, that has made me want to be better. We've got a lot of great young talent, and I see these guys, and I see how hard they work, and honestly, it's made me step my game up. I figure, 'if they're busting their a** to be the best they can be, I gotta be doing the same'", said Mayo in a recent interview.


Hopefully it's a permanent change, as his teammates and coaching staff all agree that the Mayo of 2014 is not the Mayo he used to be.

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[benrich315]

Two More Losses For The Bucks
Record: (13-17)

December 23rd, 2014
vs.
L 115-119

MIL
Brandon Knight - 25pts, 4reb, 9ast.
K.J. McDaniels - 14pts, 5reb, 2ast.

CHA
Al Jefferson - 36pts, 8reb.
Lance Stephenson - 18pts, 7reb, 5ast.

December 26th, 2014
vs.
L 99-108

MIL
O.J. Mayo - 23pts, 7reb, 2ast, 1stl, 1blk.
Larry Sanders - 14pts, 9reb, 2blk.

ATL
Kyle Korver - 20pts (5-5 3pt), 2ast.
Al Horford - 19pts, 12reb, 5ast.

Next Up

Record: (15-14)

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[benrich315]

QUICK LINKS
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[benrich315]

Bucks Dig Deep In Win Over Atlanta


O.J. Mayo played his best game of the season

Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks
December 27th, 2014	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Milwakee (14-17)	27	29	18	31	105
Atlanta (15-15)	26	23	26	29	104

Milwaukee, WI -- With Jabari Parker out with an injury, and coming off a poor performance the night before in Atlanta, the Bucks were ready for vengeance.

Right from the opening tip, this game had the feel of a playoff matchup. The crowd was hyped up, the guys on the court played extremely hard basketball, and it was a nail biter all throughout.

The first quarter saw 10 lead changes, as both teams went back and forth, basket for basket. Atlanta's Demarre Carroll was on fire from downtown, sinking 3/6 of his 3pt shots in the first.

Heading into the second quarter, Milwaukee's Greek Freak would score 10 of his 12 pts on the night, helping Milwaukee get out to a 7 point lead heading into the second half.

At the half, reporter Doris Burke spoke with guard Jeff Teague of Atlanta, and he had this to say: "Last night, we saw a lot of gaps and holes in their defense. They must've spent their whole plane ride back planning for that, because we're not seeing the same team out there. They're playing hard, and we're not capitalizing on our opportunities."

In the second half, Teague and the Hawks would most definitely take advantage of those same soft spots they saw the night before.

They dominated defensively, holding Milwaukee to only 18 pts and 35% shooting in the third quarter. Both teams headed into the fourth quarter tied at 75.

The fourth quarter was one to remember. Both teams played great basketball, again going basket for basket. The last five minutes would have to be played without Larry Sanders as he picked up his sixth foul on a questionable call. With under three minutes remaining, Demarre Carroll would hit two straight three pointers, giving Atlanta a five point lead. O.J. Mayo and Brandon Knight, essentially carrying the offense up until this point, took over yet again.

They closed the gap to two points with under two minutes remaining. On Atlanta's next possession, Jeff Teague went around a screen from Horford, and launched a deep three pointer. The shot would clank off the rim, and Nerlens Noel, who grabbed a career high 16 rebounds, skied for the board.

Milwaukee brought the ball up court. K.J. McDaniels received a pass from Brandon Knight, and drove to the basket. He would be halted by the defense, and with great awareness, kicked it back to Brandon Knight outside the arc. He would drain the three pointer, his sole make for the game, giving Milwaukee the one point lead.

After a few more exchanges, Atlanta took a two point lead on an And-1 by Horford with under 20 seconds left.

Milwaukee brought the ball up, and gave it to O.J. Mayo, who had 27 points at this point in the game. He dribbled the clock down under 8 seconds, hit Kyle Korver with the crossover and drove to the hoop. Korver flopped over, and Millsap came over for the help defense.

Mayo took the hit, drew the foul, and was able to sink the CLUTCH layup to tie the game at 104. After his free throw, Milwaukee took the lead 105-104 with 4.5 seconds remaining.

Atlanta inbounded to Teague, he dribbled past the top of the key with Knight guarding him. He took a step back, put up the shot, and as the buzzer went off, the shot did too, bouncing off the back of the rim, giving Milwaukee the 105-104 victory in this thriller of a game.

"I'm proud of our guys. We were without Jabari, and they stepped up and made it happen" said head coach Jason Kidd after the game.

Milwaukee sits at 14-17, in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. They'll need a strong run of basketball if they have hopes of turning this slump around.

The Bucks head to Charlotte (17-14) to take on the Hornets for their final game in the three game series. It is currently tied 1-1 with Charlotte taking the last game, 115-119.

Box Score

Bucks


Hawks


Game Highlights


First: Knight three pointer to take lead late.
Second: OJ Mayo And-1 with 4.5 seconds left.
Third: Teague misses game winner.


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[benrich315]

Bucks Drop Two Of Three
Record: (15-19)

December 29th, 2014
vs.
L 71-80

MIL
Brandon Knight - 28pts, 2reb, 3ast.
Larry Sanders - 8pts, 7reb, 2blk.

CHA
Al Jefferson - 17pts, 6reb.
Kemba Walker - 12pts, 5ast.

December 31st, 2014
vs.
L 99-111

MIL
Larry Sanders - 24pts, 10reb, 3blk.
Brandon Knight - 24pts, 3reb, 6ast.

CLE
LeBron James - 24pts, 7reb, 10ast.
Kyrie Irving - 23pts, 3reb, 2ast.

January 2nd, 2015
vs.
W 102-85

MIL
O.J. Mayo - 20pts, 4reb, 3ast.
K.J. McDaniels - 18pts, 2ast, 2blk.

IND
Chris Copeland - 15pts, 6reb.
George Hill - 14pts, 5reb, 5ast, 3stl.

Next Up

Record: (15-20)

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[pfeifere1]

I liked that write-up on OJ Mayo! What a shame that he was never able to improve upon or even replicate that rookie season.