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Jennings Looks for Answers

There are only five teams that average fewer possessions per game than the Bucks, which makes Milwaukee one of the slowest teams in the NBA.

Coach Scott Skiles’ teams, after all, strive for efficiency rather than volume. The Bucks want to force opponents into low-percentage shots at the defensive end, take the rebound and properly run through their offensive sets. Every movement is deliberate, methodical and seemingly at odds with their lightening-quick point guard Brandon Jennings.

“Of course you’d like to push it,” Jennings told HOOPSWORLD. “I’ve been pushing the ball since I’ve been in high school, my whole life. I think we play better when we push it and we’re just out there making plays for each other.”

After a rookie season that included 55-point outburst against the Warriors and a 46 wins, Jennings and the Bucks were expected to take the next step in 2010-2011. The team added Corey Maggette—who specializes in getting to the free throw line—to help the offense, but things only got worse for Milwaukee.

The Bucks averaged 102 points per 100 possessions last season (23rd in the NBA) and now average only 98.7 (29th) thanks to a league-low 50.9 true shooting percentage. 

The Bucks had arguably the best defense in the league over the last two seasons, but for this team to get back into the playoff picture (they currently trail the Pacers by two games for the eighth seed) someone is going to have to make a shot.

Presumably Jennings would be the perfect candidate, but his 3-point accuracy and free throw accuracy have each taken a significant hit in his second season.

“Right now I can’t really work on anything too much,” he said. “I am trying to get my three game going like it was last year. Right now I’m just trying to find a way to win. We’re still in the playoff hunt… and I’m trying to do what I can to help the team win.”

And this is where Jennings faces a dilemma: He’s a speedy, high-volume shooter trying to push this tortoise into the playoffs. Should he put more of the onus of scoring on himself, or should he continue to play within the offense?

For Jennings, who battled through foot problems for much of the season, it may be time to play his game.

“I don’t think I take advantage of [my speed] like I did last year,” he said. “Last year I had [the ball] in my hands a lot and I was really taking advantage of that. This year, I’ve been more kind of standbackish, so a lot of it is on me. I’m not being as aggressive as I was last year.”

Fortunately, Jennings is more physically prepared for the end of this season than he was last year. The former Oak Hill and Lottomattica Roma star saw his numbers dip in February and March of 2010, but he’s currently finishing a month in which he’s bested his career averages by scoring 16.9 PPG and shooting 41.4% from the field.

“My first year, I didn’t know anything about 82 games,” he said. “But now I know back to backs and all that.”

Jennings may have had his best game of the season against the Knicks on Friday when he scored 37 points on 13-of-25 shooting in a 102-96 win. However he’ll need to come up with a similar performance if he’s to save the season because there isn’t much time to punch Milwaukee’s playoff ticket. Including tonight’s game against Charlotte—another team battling for the eighth seed in the East—the Bucks have 10 more games to overcome the Pacers.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Howard and Kobe Named ‘Players of the Week’

Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week respectively.

The former helped push Orlando to a 3-0 week thanks to 14.3 RPG average (tops in the NBA last week) and a remarkable 71.1% shooting mark from the field. He also pushed his double-double streak to 30 games and has led the Magic in scoring 50 times and rebounding 65 times this season.

Bryant, meanwhile, averaged 36.3 PPG last week as the Lakers went 3-0, pushing their win streak to seven games. He had a season-high 42 points in a triple-OT win over the Suns, which gives him 107 40-point games for his career.

Memphis’ Tony Allen and Zach Randolph were each considered for the Western conference award while Miami’s Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were nominated for the Eastern Conference award.

James Returns to Cleveland… again.

Is there a bigger fan of the Cleveland Indians or the NFL Draft than LeBron James?

The last time Akron’s favorite son returned to Ohio to face the Cavaliers, the locals didn’t have much in the way of distractions. The Browns were 4-7 and baseball was still many months away, so without anything else on their sports plate, Clevelanders directed years of frustration at the man who spurned them for South Beach. They held up signs that read “Quitness” and chanted “Akron hates you,” but James still managed to score 38 points on 15-of-25 shooting. 

“What can I expect on Tuesday?” James told the South Florida Sun Sentinel‘s Ira Winderman among other reporters Monday morning.  “I don’t know. I know it can’t get no worse than December 2nd. I know that for a fact.

“For a team, for myself individually, we’re going in there with the same mind state to just try and get another win,” he continued. “December 2nd, that was huge step for us because after that game, we took off. Right now we’re still trying to play great basketball and finish the regular season the right way. This is another big game for us.”

The Dec. 2nd victory was the third in a stretch that had Miami winning 21 of 22 games. This time around the HEAT will be looking for their ninth win in 10 games while James looks for some QT back in Akron.

“The best thing about last time is the back to back,” he said. “This time, we get in a day early so I get an opportunity to go back and spend some time with my kids, spend some time with my friends and family who I haven’t seen back home in awhile. That’ll be good.”

The Cavs and HEAT tip-off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.

FYI—My Twitter handle has changed to @alexraskinNBA.





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