Sacramento makes the trip to balmy Milwaukee in hopes of spoiling both Nate Wolters poster night and the Bucks' hopes of winning two games in a row.
| 2013/2014 NBA Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 | vs. |  |
| March 5th, 2014 | ||
| BMO Harris Bradley Center | Milwaukee, WI | ||
| 7:00 CT | ||
| FS Wisconsin | 620 WTMJ | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Isaiah Thomas | PG | Brandon Knight |
| Ben McLemore | SG | Nate Wolters |
| Rudy Gay | SF | Khris Middleton |
| Jason Thompson | PF | Ersan Ilyasova |
| DeMarcus Cousins | C | Zaza Pachulia |
| 2013/14 Advanced Stats | ||
| 94.4 (14th) | Pace | 91.7 (26th) |
| 106.6 (12th) | ORtg | 101.0 (29th) |
| 109.1 (24th) | DRtg | 109.7 (28th) |
On the Kings:Sactown Royalty | Cowbell Kingdom | A Royal Pain
The Kings are finding themselves in a spot Bucks fans are all too familiar with: not awful enough to be competing for a high pick in the upcoming draft, but not good enough (yet) to be a consistent playoff visitor. A 21-39 record would normally suggest that they are closer to the former rather than the latter, but wins in the brutal Western Conference are extremely hard to come by, even with good-to-very-good pieces in Isaiah Thomas, Rudy Gay, and DeMarcus Cousins. So as tempting as it might be to lock in a winning streak prediction, you may want to tread lightly.
Effort is Contagious. Much like the discussion surrounding the acquisition of Jeff Adrien and Ramon Sessions by the Bucks, the Kings are hoping that the recently-acquired Reggie Evans and Quincy Acy along with a more prominently-featured Ray McCallum (Evans and Acy via trade, McCallum getting more playing time with the Marcus Thornton departure) can rub some of their energy and enthusiasm off on the more tenured guys. Peep this excerpt from the Sactown Royalty article:
For McCallum, the story of his opportunity is the payoff from a season-long effort of watching film, learning from teammates and focusing on what the team needs.
For Evans, it's the same story, different channel - this is what he does. Evans is a blue-collar type of worker and has been that over his decade-plus career with seven different teams.
Head coach Michael Malone said in the postgame press conference that he hopes the energy of guys like McCallum, Evans and Quincy Acy rubs off on the rest of the team, including the starters. There's no doubt that a team full of players with the determination that Evans and McCallum have shown in their short time with extended minutes would be advantageous.
Sound a little familiar?
The Bucks haven't been that awful lately! Our own Dan Sinclair took a look at the Bucks recent ''hot streak.'' Climbing out of the cellar by a small margin isn't much to puff your chest out about, but maybe the tiny uptick in ratings is at least a little bit encouraging? Maybe it isn't? The point is, the article is very good and has cool charts and you should check it out.
Speaking of sad stuff, Steve von Horn recently broke down the ugly lineup stats on the Bucks this year. It shouldn't come as a surprise, but very few players came out positively in either offensive or defensive net ratings.
Poster Boys. Tonight is the fourth and final installment in the Bucks poster giveaway series, with the final edition being a terrific "Naters Gonna Nate" Nate Wolters joint. The posters, but more importantly the Bucks Marketing team, have been one of the few parts of the organization that have stayed consistently excellent the whole year. So many, many props to them.
4 posters. 5 players. 0 over the age of 25. #GrowBucksGrowpic.twitter.com/KTbupqKaRU
— Dustin Godsey (@dgodz) February 28, 2014That's good, but...
Boogie With Us Tonight! Preview - http://t.co/EJGWP8y04B#MILvSACpic.twitter.com/rfHC6HVaP6
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 5, 2014Boogie with us? For shame, Bucks. FOR SHAME.