Rosen's Bucks Analysis

[Erick Blasco]

• Although he was out-sized by Mehmet Okur, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute never backed off.

• Carlos Delfino varied his defensive tactics to include ball-denial, fronting his man, and playing chest-to-chest.

• Ersan Ilyasova never stopped working, so much so, and to such good effect, that he’s become my latest favorite player.

Although scoring has been a problem for the Bucks all season long, they always made the extra pass, executed hard cuts, set some sturdy screens (especially Bogut), and put enough points on the scoreboard to make their fans smile.

 

The specifics in this category are as follows:

 

Bogut is their go-to point-maker, and he uses his body very effectively to keep his defender away from his shots. He has a terrific off hand, which is actually much better than his natural right hand. The 7-footer is also an alert and unselfish passer.

 

Delfino is a streak shooter who was off his game — 4-for-14 — against Utah, but registered a team-high eight assists and was instrumental in generating easy shots for his teammates.

 

John Salmons — 8-for-14 for 24 points — is Milwaukee’s most creative wing-scorer. In fact, Salmons is arguably the most productive of all the players involved in the most recent trades.

 

Ilyasova scored 14 points in 24 minutes, including a put-back that iced the game.

 

...

 

Overall, the Bucks did prove their mettle when they lost control of the game in the third quarter but eventually rallied to win going away. A gutsy win over a disciplined opponent.

 

This is a prototypical Skiles team that plays earnest defense and busts its butt to generally score just enough points to win. Kudos to Skiles for breathing life into a dying team and resurrecting them as a winner.

 

For the first time in recent memory, the Bucks now have a promising future.

 

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/bucks-finally-have-a-bright-future