The Bucks are back at it on a back-to-back
Finishing up the “hallway” series
The 38-17 Milwaukee Bucks take on the 31-27 Los Angeles Clippers at the Crypto Arena in Downtown LA on a Friday Night. Kawhi Leonard is out for LA; so are newly acquired players Eric Gordon, Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland. Jae Crowder, newly acquired as well, might show up but most likely will not play until Tuesday against Boston in Milwaukee.
Simply put, Milwaukee is rolling. Even when they have a down first half, like they seemed to have against the LA Lakers, they have the experience and will-power to still win. The Bucks have been the better team of late and more importantly, are playing like it.
Vegas has the Clippers as 2 point favorites with a 53% chance to win. It might simply come down to who plays.
This is the last time this season these two teams will play unless they meet again in the NBA Championship.
Related: Milwaukee Bucks defeat LA Lakers
The Keys to a Bucks Win
Get off to a better start
Milwaukee only managed 15 points in the first quarter against the Clippers in Milwaukee on Feb. 2nd. They also only managed fifty points in the first half against the Lakers. The Bucks need to start a little quicker in their game tonight.
Score over 118 points
Milwaukee eecked out a win on Thursday Feb. 2nd against these same Clippers by a point. They only managed 106 points but played some really good defense.
Milwaukee is on a nine game winning streak. Over the past four games the Bucks have averaged 117.75 points. This win streak is about as good as we’ve seen. It is NBA regular season basketball where defense can feel non-existent at times.
In this space we really have figured it out- the magic number is 118. Charlotte scores 115, we score more and win. In Milwaukee’s loss to Cleveland they held them to 114 points. So, had the Bucks managed to score 118 points they would have won. However, they only scored 102. That’s not 118.
Milwaukee averages 60 points in the first half in games at home. That’s 7th in the NBA. 118 is really starting to feel like a “magic number”.
“Move your feet”- don’t reach
The Bucks committed 17 personal fouls against the Clippers in game one. It kept the game close. In the win against Portland Milwaukee committed 27 fouls. That’s a lot.
Right now the Bucks average 19 ½ team fouls a game. Last year they only averaged 17.8. That does not seem like much but it may be why we are seeing such streaky play in the 4th quarter.
In the win against LA the Bucks still had 20 fouls. Against Charlotte a few weeks ago Milwaukee had 21 fouls. That kept the game closer than it needed to be. Do you see the trend?
When Milwaukee fouls less, they play better.
Related: Bucks trade Serge Ibaka to Pacers
The Opponent: The LA Clippers
LA was very active at the trade deadline. It’ll be worth watching to see if those moves pay off.
Paul George is a really good player. Averaging 23 a game, George is long and rangy. He’s a very balanced presence, averaging 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game as well. George is scoring above his career average (20.3 points per game).
Kawhi Leonard is also a really, really good player. However for this game he is already listed as out.
Bones Hyland is the Clippers new point guard, replacing John Wall and Reggie Jackson. If he plays against the Bucks, he’ll play well. He is quick and is good at distributing the ball. It is interesting why the Nuggets gave up on him. Rumors abound that it is about his personality and ego.
The rest of the Clippers are an interesting mix. The aforementioned Reggie Jackson is a possible buyout candidate for the Bucks.
Marcus Morris Sr. is having a good year, and again, plays small forward. Norman Powell is in the same boat. (16/3/2) And again, plays small forward.
Ivica Zubac really stands tall and out (7’0” Center). He seems Zubac is a brute of a player. He won’t shoot threes and he’ll bang around inside with Lopez and Giannis all game long.
Things to tell your buddies as you are watching the game
- The Bucks lead the All-Time Series 70-54.
- Valentine’s Day is coming up. (It’s next Tuesday.)
- The LA Lakers relocated from Minnesota in 1960. The LA Clippers relocated from San Diego in 1984.
- The series between the Lakers and Clippers is called the hallway series because they share the same stadium. That stadium is named the Cyrpto.com arena.
- Super Bowl Sunday is also coming up. The talk seems to be occurring again: should the day after the Super Bowl be a national holiday? According to some things I’ve read, it is the most “called in sick” day of the year.
Follow me on Twitter at @authorrudylb and check out my other writings at www.rudylb.com. Check out the cool I-Heart Radio Podcast Gyro Step Podcast here. Follow us at @WiSportsHeroics for all things Wisconsin sports. Also, check out our merch store for some amazing WSH merchandise!
