It was ugly all the way around, but no one will be complaining with the Bucks' 79-74 win in Charlotte.  Richard Jefferson's three point play with two minutes remaining gave the Bucks a 77-70 lead, which they held onto in part thanks to the Bobcats' inability to finish inside five feet.

Three Bucks

• Ramon Sessions.  With no one able to score, Sessions again stepped up to fill the void with 18 points (4/11 fg, 10/10 ft) and four dimes, including the game-clinching free throws with 13 seconds left.  Not that Sessions was immune to the Bucks' wastefulness of course--he chalked up five turnovers himself.  But with Luke Ridnour exiting early with a sore knee, the door could be open for Sessions to claim the starting PG spot that he seems destined to claim anyway.  
  
• Charlie Villanueva.  After 20 points in 13 minutes last night, Villanueva couldn't keep his shot-making going with a 3/11 night in Charlotte.  Fortunately, he got to the line for an uncharacteristic eight free throws and connected on all of them en route to 15 points and eight boards in 27 minutes.  More impressive (and uncharacteristic)?  Villanueva's four blocks.
• Andrew Bogut.  Bogut couldn't prevent Emeka Okafor from having a very good night (16 pts, 18 boards) but he did keep up his rebounding tear with 17 boards and 12 points.  That's now an average of 18 rpg over the past three games, though unfortunately Bogut's free throw shooting also took another turn for the worse with a 2/7 night.

Three Numbers

• .370.  Let's just pretend it was an epic defensive struggle, OK?  The two teams each shot just 37%, in part due to some good defense but also owing a fair bit to their own ability to make open jumpers and finish around the hoop.
• 21.  Indicative of the game's ugliness, the Bucks complicated their night by turning it over 21 times, though the Bobs managed 18 of their own as well.  Fortunately for the Bucks, they edged the Bobs in points off turnovers 18-16.
• 43.  The Bucks got just 36 points from their starters, a paltry figure that would be impossible to overcome on most nights.  But Sessions and Villanueva filled in just well enough off the bench, contributing 33 of the bench's 43 total points.

Three Good

• Four down, three to go.  The Bucks now stand at 4-5 on the road, which is none too shabby for a team that was 7-34 away from the BC a year ago. 
  
• The defense doesn't rest.  A year ago the Bucks held opponents under 80 points twice in 82 tries; they've now matched that in their first 15 games.  The Bucks also came into the game ranked 10th in defensive efficiency, 20 spots better than they finished last year.  It might not be a fluke.
• Throw it down, big fella.  If you missed the game, be sure to check out the highlights to see Bogut's throw down on Okafor.  Nice dish from Tyronn Lue.

Three Bad

• Winning ugly.  Let's just say this game wouldn't have wowed anyone randomly flipping around on League Pass.  Skiles said it best after the game: "This game set the game of basketball back a ways."
• Ridnour's knee.  Ridnour hasn't made much of a case for keeping the starting job over Ramon Sessions, but that doesn't mean the Bucks can particularly afford to see him in street clothes.  He left in the first half with a sore knee, and at the moment it's unclear if it will cost him any time on the shelf.  Tyronn Lue had a couple nice moments but was far from confidence-inspiring down the stretch, most notably when he stepped on the baseline with 21 seconds left and the Bucks winning by three.
• The week ahead.  The Bucks took care of business against New York and Charlotte, providing them a small bit of momentum as they start perhaps their toughest stretch of the season.  Next week the Bucks get four playoff teams with visits to Orlando, Atlanta, and Detroit before getting a home date with the Cavs on Saturday.  The Bucks then get a little bit of a breather as they start December with the Bulls and Bobcats at home, before they play six out of seven on the road, including three in a row out West against the Lakers, Suns, and Warriors.

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After trading Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford earlier in the afternoon, the Knicks could barely field a team Friday night at the BC, opening the door for the Bucks to roll to an easy 104-87 win at the BC.  Coming off his 16 and 20 game in Utah, Andrew Bogut was again everywhere with 17 boards and 14 points (7/11 fg) in just 25 minutes while Charlie Villanueva returned from injury to score 20 (8/12 fg) in just 13 minutes. Ramon Sessions added his first double-double of the season with 15 points, 10 dimes, three steals and two turnovers.

The Bucks were once again dominant on the glass, outrebounding the Knicks 60-46 including 17-9 on the offensive end.  Luc Mbah a Moute matched Bogut with six offensive rebounds and finished with eight points and 13 rebounds.  Still, the Bucks allowed a double-digit lead early to shrink to just three at the half, before they finally put the Knicks away early in the third with a 7-0 run.  The short-handed Knicks could only watch as the Bucks then extended the lead to 21 later in the period.

While the Bucks had no excuses not to throttle the Knicks, they did just that and allowed Scott Skiles the luxury of resting his starters in the fourth.  Mbah a Moute led the Bucks with just 29 minutes, meaning the Bucks shouldn't be too tired when they take on the Bobcats in Charlotte tonight.

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Augustin's growing up fast. (via biddybb.com)

Bucks (6-8 3-5 road) @ Bobcats (3-8, 3-5 home)

Gametime: 6:00 p.m. central time

Injuries:

Bucks: Michael Redd (sprained ankle) has missed ten straight games.

Bobcats: Jason Richardson (knee surgery) is out.

07/08 Series:

Nov. 2: @Bobcats 102 Bucks 99

Dec. 22: @Bucks 103 Bobcats 99

Jan. 6: @Bobcats 93 Bucks 89

08/09 Advanced Stats:

Bucks: Offense: 23rd (103.0 points/100 possessions) Defense: 10th (104.2) Pace: 15th (91.3)

Bobcats: Offense: 26st (101.2 points/100 possessions) Defense: 23rd (107.4)  Pace: 28th (86.8)

Three points:

• Hey, D.J. Rookie point guard D.J. Augustin is coming off his two best games as a pro, averaging 23.5 points, 5.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.5 turnovers on 51.4 % shooting. He hit 7-11 from outside last night against the Hawks. He appears to be a pretty quick study after struggling early on. In his first two games in the NBA, Augustin averaged 8.0 points, 3.5 assists, 0.5 rebounds, and 4.0 turnovers on 33.3 % shooting.

• Slow 'cats. A day after holding the top-scoring team (minus its top two scorers) in the NBA to 87 points, the Bucks face the league's lowest-scoring unit. The Bobcats are 26th in offensive efficiency. They also contrast New York as one of the league's slowest teams (28th in pace) despite having some individuals who can run, like Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace, and Augustin.

• Weekend winners. The Bobcats are 0-7 from Sunday-Thursday but 3-1 on Friday-Saturday, with wins over the Heat, Hornets, and Jazz, all at home. They did lose in Atlanta last night.

Coverage:

Bucks.com / Queen City Hoops / Rufus on Fire

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Max Zaslofsky in his day. (via NBA Encyclopedia)

Knicks (6-5, 2-3 road) @ Bucks (5-8, 2-3 home)

Gametime: 7:30 p.m. central time

Injuries:

Knicks: Jared Jeffries (fractured fibula) is out and Danilo Gallinari (sore back) hasn't played in November.

Bucks: Michael Redd (sprained ankle) has missed nine straight games. Charlie Villanueva (hamstring) has missed four in a row.

07/08 Series:

Nov. 30: @Knicks 91 Bucks 88

Feb. 9: Knicks 99 @Bucks 98

April 1: @Bucks 119 Knicks 115 OT

08/09 Advanced Stats:

Knicks: Offense: 14th (106.2 points/100 possessions) Defense: 20th (106.9) Pace: 1st (98.2)

Bucks: Offense: 21st (103.0 points/100 possessions) Defense: 15th (105.7)  Pace: 18th (90.6)

Three points:

• The wrong stuff. Here is a list of players who are averaging more blocks per game than the Knicks as a team this season: Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, Marcus Camby, Greg Oden, Chris Kaman, Kendrick Perkins, Dwyane Wade, Ronny Turiaf, Spencer Hawes, Tyrus Thomas, Samuel Dalembert, Shawn Marion, Danny Granger, Rasheed Wallace, Tyson Chandler, Andrei Kirilenko, Al Jefferson, Emeka Okafor, Al Horford, Ben Wallace, Nene Hilario, Tim Duncan, Brandan Wright, Elton Brand, Jermaine O'Neal, Yao Ming, Andris Biedrins. The Knicks block 1.5 shots per game. The entire team. 1.5 per game... and that's rounding up. The Bucks average more than twice as many, 3.3, and the Bucks rank 28th in the NBA.

• Point's points. Guess who is the only Buck to score in double figures in each game played this season (not including Michael Redd, who has only played four games). It's not Richard Jefferson or Luke Ridnour. And it certainly isn't Andrew Bogut or even Luc Mbah a Moute. The answer is Ramon Sessions. If that doesn't surprise you, maybe this will: The assist king hasn't hit 10 assists even once this year.
  
• In the Knick of time. Mike D'Antoni has pushed the pace in New York so much that the Knicks are the fastest team in the NBA a season removed from finishing exactly in the middle of the league in pace. Streetball-oriented Jamal Crawford appears to be one of the chief beneficiaries of the new brand of basketball in the Big Apple; he leads the NBA with 35 three-pointers. He's a big part of an offense that leads the NBA in points per game (105.3) and three-pointers per game (10.8). While dangerous offensively, you won't mistake the current Knicks for the Suns of years past.  They rank a solid but unspectacular 14th in offensive efficiency.

Update: The Knicks traded away Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph (and Mardy Collins) in separate deals today. Al Harrington, Tim Thomas, and Cuttino Mobley are the newest Knicks.

Coverage:

Bucks.com / Posting and Toasting / Knickerblogger / The Knicks Blog

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Erstwhile Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd is "close" to suiting up and playing this weekend, Bucks coach Scott Skiles reported from Utah Wednesday, where the Bucks lost 104-95 to the Jazz.

"Michael is coming along, there's no question about it," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said before the game, referring to Redd. "He's able to go through shootarounds at speed, and he'll get a good shooting workout here (before the game), so he's close."

Or is he?  It sounds to me like Redd could have played against the Jazz and helped his teammates, who blew a ten-point lead in the 4th quarter. So what is Skiles saying?  Redd only does the shootarounds at speed but won't play or practice with the team since the injury? Why would you tell the media that the guy shoots "at speed", when we all know that's all Redd has done as a Buck - shoot?  Sounds like a slip-up to me, or an intentional knock. What am I saying here?

I think the cracks in the Redd front are showing. Redd's dogging Skiles. And he's dogging his teammates. This is last season, ACT II.  UPDATE: Redd out five more games.

The Jazz were playing without All-NBA point guard Deron Williams and Williams' backup, Brevin Knight -- remember him from the Bucks-Pacers playoff series' in 2000 the Cavs in the late 1990's (that was Travis Best with the Pacers). With Bogut getting 16 points and 20 rebs, this is a game that slipped away ... Playing their 2nd game in two nights, the Bucks simply ran out of gas in the 4th quarter.

But Redd didn't suit up and missed his ninth game since suffering a high ankle sprain against the Knicks Dec. 2. So on Thursday the Journal Sentinel reported that Redd could be out for "days" or a week ... or two, using Skiles qoutes from before the Bucks headed out to Denver and Utah. Seems Skiles shouldn't have said what he said to Charles Gardner in Utah about that shooting at speed thing.

Which is it?  We go now to Racine and Gery Woelfel, who surmised last week that Redd could be out as long as four weeks.

Nothing.  It's not Thanksgiving weekend yet, Gery. Hope everything's OK. I don't know if anybody hits these links but try the next one, it's good ...

Maybe Supersonicsoul knows something we don't know in Milwaukee. Sure enough, they do.  Seems attendance is down all throughout the land of Stern which suggests that maybe, just maybe, Stern was wrongfully picking on Seattle when those lyin' Cowboys were allowed to wrangle the Sonics to Oklahoma City. Supersonicsoul reveals that the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL are knockin' the 76ers teeth out at the ol' Philly Spectrum gate this season.

But nothing on Michael Redd.

Coach Skiles isn't too worried about it, though, and doesn't think there will be a problem working Redd back into the mix. This from the latest story at JSOnline:

“I don’t know how much longer its going to be,� said Skiles earlier this week. “If it’s another two weeks, then maybe…but I’m not real concerned about it. He obviously a very, very good player, a veteran player, he knows everything we’re trying to do so I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem.�

And from the same story, a hint that Skiles may bring him off the bench. 

Last season, Redd missed four games due to a thigh bruise, and later missed six games because of a knee strain.  After missing the four games, he came off the bench in one game before returning to the starting lineup. After missing the six games, he returned right away to the starting lineup.

It remains to be seen how the Bucks will handle this one.

“The high ankle sprain is a tricky injury,� said Skiles. “So we want to be smart about it.�

No coach. There's nothing tricky about ankle sprains, the most common and routine basketball injuries there are. Redd's $91 million contract, however, was tricky and it's too late for the organization to be smart about it. The trick is how Skiles is going to keep point guards Luke Ridnour and Ramon Session on the floor together with max contract Redd back expecting his 37 minutes per game and looking to play the way he always has?  Something has to give.

The question is, what will it be?  At 29-years-old Redd's not the player he was at his peak in 2004. Maybe it's time he accept a reduced, more specialized role on the team and find his next life as an NBA player. This remains to be seen.

The reality here is that the Bucks are in no position to try the patience of the fans they have left, which makes these mixed signals about Redd's injury strange. The team has been competitive without Redd against some of the best the league has to offer and Redd's absence has allowed fans to see the young players, the new players and the new team at the BC for next to nothing. (Nearly all upper level tickets are $10, kids, for the rest of this month and next.)

One thing is almost certain: Charlie Villanueva, who's been out with a strained left hamstring for four games hopes the Jazz loss was the last game he'll miss and will probably play against the Knicks tonight (Friday). They'll need him -- big forward Zach Randolph is too powerful for rookies Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Joe Alexander. The Knicks play PF David Lee on the front line as well, another tough matchup for the Bucks rookies. Lee's had a lot of success against the Bucks in the past, though not so much in the last game, the Bucks easiest win of the season. That's the game where Redd left with his ankle injury as the Bucks ran up a 16-point lead on the Knicks in the 3rd quarter.

The Knicks are 6-5 but have played a soft schedule. The Bucks are 5-8 and have played a brutal schedule. This is a good early season test for the Bucks, Redd or no Redd (I'd bet no Redd).

UPDATE: Redd out five more games.

The Knicks are in Milwaukee for a 7:30PM tip-off at the BC.  Upper level tix are just $10. Bucks then head to Charlotte for a 6:00PM CST tip. It's the Bucks third of four straight Friday-Saturday back-to-backs on this ridiculously frontloaded schedule. The Bucks will play their 20th game to open December, with 4-and-a-half months left to play the final 62.

I just noticed that I have the basketball-reference stat page for Dan Gadzuric open on my desktop and I can't remember why I pulled it up. I can tell you this: Gadz was picked 5th in the 2nd round of the 2002 NBA draft (33rd taken overall) by the Bucks, thank you George Karl and Ernie Grunfeld. I can also tell you that you can sponsor the Dan Gadzuric page for just $10 a year to help basketball-reference pay for its service.

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This might be a new-look Bucks team, but the second half in Salt Lake City tonight looked eerily familiar to a year ago, when the Bucks allowed a promising third quarter lead dissolve into an 11-point loss.  This time the final margin was 105-94, as Utah's young perimeter players stepped up again in Deron Williams absence.  C.J. Miles tallied 25 and Ronnie Price 16, while old reliable Carlos Boozer had his usual 20/11 before departing late with a quad injury.

Three Bucks

• Andrew Bogut. Having played only 16 minutes last night, Bogut looked fresh in tallying 16 points (6/13 fg) and a season-high 20 boards while handling the unenviable task of marking Carlos Boozer.  Offensively he couldn't exploit his size advantage most of the night, but as usual the Bucks' guards didn't give him many easy buckets either (I'm looking at you, Luke Ridnour). 
  
• Richard Jefferson.  Jefferson's night seemed somewhat disappointing only because it started with such a bang.  Though RJ had just two points in the game's final 20 minutes, he had 23 in the first 28 minutes and was a crucial part of the Bucks' 29-6 run that stretched across the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters.  
• Charlie Bell.  Bell followed up his 25 point effort in Denver with 15 in Utah, the kind of numbers which would be even nicer if Bell was able to provide them off the bench.  Instead, Redd's absence continues to force Bell into major minutes, which to his credit he's made the most of the past two nights.

Three Numbers

• .514.  Aside from the middle portion of the game where they seemingly lost interest, the Jazz were by far the more active team, creating easy buckets by cutting, stealing, and getting out in transition.  It's no surprise then that they made a very healthy 51% of their shots compared to the Bucks' 44%.
• 10.  Aside from their number of dunks, the Jazz's activity level also shines through in the block department, where they killed the Bucks 10-1.  Most of the swatting was done by Paul Millsap (5) and Andrei Kirilenko (4)--not a bad pair to bring off the bench.
• 13.  The Bucks entered the final stanza in a strange position: they were winning.  However, the Bucks' two point edge was blown away by the 31-18 edge the Jazz built in the fourth.  Overall it was a game of lopsided quarters: the Jazz won the first by 10, the Bucks won the second by 12, and the Jazz took the fourth by 13.

Three Good

• Bogut's back.  Still no signs of greatness in the post (we can dream, right?) but it's difficult to complain when your big man drops a 16/20 line.  The Australian anchor looked at home in the state where he played his college ball and once again helped the Bucks win the rebounding battle, 41-37.
• Coming back.  It looked like the road weary Bucks were on their way to getting blown out when they trailed by 16 early in the second, but as we've seen a number of times this season they didn't back down.  Sessions, Bell, Jefferson, Mbah a Moute and Bogut helped the Bucks climb out of their hole and then some, keying a 29-6 run that turned a 45-30 deficit with 6:54 left in the second into a 59-51 lead with 9:32 left in the third.  What happened next?  I'll direct you to the "Three Bad" portion below.
• Home cooking.  The best part about the Bucks' back-to-back out West?  It's over.  The Bucks now have a crucial--but very winnable--game Friday against New York at the BC, before heading out on the road again.

Three Bad

• Going cold.  Basically, the Jazz won because they remembered what they were doing at the outset of the game.  Price, Brewer, and Kirilenko dared the Bucks to keep up with them and the Bucks couldn't match the their intensity and athleticism.  Instead the Bucks took a lot of jumpshots and couldn't grab quite enough offensive rebounds to make up for their crooked shooting.
  
• Ridnour.  Ridnour couldn't get much going offensively (eight points, six assists, three turnovers) but his bigger problem was that Jazz fill-in Ronnie Price easily outplayed him with 16 points (7/13) and six dimes.  Price caused problems with his quickness and generally seemed the more lively of the two starting points.
• Laying off.  Fouls have been an issue for the Bucks all season, and they again outfouled their opponent tonight by a margin of 27-20.  It's hard to criticize the Bucks for being more aggressive defensively than in the past, but one thing that always gets me is how a Buck defender will often get right up on a man on the perimeter and make himself vulnerable to a dribble drive, even when the offensive player is a much better driver than shooter.  While it looks very intense and ball-hawkish, most of the time it just opens up the defender (Richard Jefferson, Charlie Bell, Joe Alexander, to name a few) to allowing a successful drive to the hoop or a foul.  Hey guys, sometimes it's OK to dare a mediocre shooter into taking an 18-footer.

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Bogut brought the thunder last time in Utah; last night not so much.

Bucks (5-7, 3-4 road) @ Jazz (7-4, 5-0 home)

Gametime: 8:00 p.m. central time (FSN-W)

Injuries:

Bucks: Michael Redd (sprained ankle) has missed eight straight games. Charlie Villanueva (hamstring) has missed three in a row.

Jazz: Deron Williams (sprained ankle) is unlikely to play.  Mehmet Okur (strained back) has said he is likely to play. Brevin Knight (groin) is also doubtful.

07/08 Series:

Mar 12: JJazz 114, @Bucks 110

Jan 14: @Jazz 98, Bucks 87

08/09 Advanced Stats:

Bucks: Offense: 24th (103.2 points/100 possessions) Defense: 14th (105.1) Pace: 19th (90.4)

Jazz: Offense: 8th (108.3 points/100 possessions) Defense: 11th (103.8)  Pace: 24th (90.0)

Three points:

• Everybody hurts.  We all know the Bucks' injury troubles, but the Jazz have actually had it worse--making their 7-4 start all the more impressive.  Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, and Brevin Knight have all been banged up lately and their continued absence would be a major boost for a Bucks team playing yet another back-to-back.  Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Trib writes that Williams should miss out again tonight while Okur and Kirilenko should be a go.  For the Bucks, it looks like Michael Redd will be out for a ninth consecutive game while Charlie Villanueva continues to be a question mark as well.  

• Empty the bench.  Well if you were wondering what the Bucks' reserves looked like, wonder no longer.  In last night's loss to Denver, Austin Croshere dusted himself off for his first real action of the year and looked damn solid, going for 17 points and six boards in just 18 minutes.  Joe Alexander also made the most of early and prolonged action when Carmelo Anthony single-handedly put the entire Bucks' starting lineup in foul trouble.  Alexander went for a career-high 14 points (5/12 fg, 2/5 threes) along with four boards, three blocks, two steals and just one turnover in 31 minutes.  Ramon Sessions had 10/6/6 but those kinds of numbers are becoming rather pedestrian for him.

• Wherefore art thou, Richard and Andrew?  Following his best offensive game of the season Saturday against Boston, Bogut took a knock to his knee early in Denver and never looked involved afterwards.  He tallied four fouls and four turnovers in 16 minutes, making his only shot and grabbing four boards.  Especially with two of the Bucks' best scorers already out, Bogut can't afford to be such a spectator.  The same can be said of Richard Jefferson, who was hardly a factor after picking up three fouls in four minutes against Carmelo Anthony. Jefferson ended up playing only 23 minutes, bringing his totals for the past two games to 26 points, six boards, and five dimes in 59 total minutes.
  

Coverage:

SLC Dunk / True Blue Jazz

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The Bucks may have headed west, but their play went mostly southward in a 114-105 loss in Denver. They performed like an overmatched team missing key parts in a tough environment against a very good team, which should probably be expected since that was precisely their predicament.

Not all was negative though, as Joe Alexander (14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 2-4 on three-pointers) led the Bucks in minutes and delivered his finest game as a pro, proving first-round picks can succeed in Milwaukee too. Andrew Bogut however, (2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls) didn't represent the first overall pick contingent very proudly.

Three Bucks

• Joe Alexander.  Buried not too far down in the rubble that was the Bucks tonight was this shiny nugget of goodness. The rookie harnessed some excess athleticism and energy with three mighty blocks in the first half. Alexander showed off a series of offensive moves too, swishing a pair of jumpers on consecutive plays in the second quarter. The forced airball three with the Bucks down by nine with just over a minute left looked a bit "rookie," but he's most certainly growing.
  
• Charlie Bell. Bell carried the Bucks in spurts, particularly during a slow, sloppy second quarter in which he scored 13 points. He filled in at starting shoot guard again with a pretty nice, Michael Redd-ish 25/3/2 and 3-6 from outside.
  
• Austin Croshere. He equaled Carmelo Anthony's 17 points in just 17 minutes off the bench, mostly in "garbage time" that turned briefly into a real game thanks in part to Croshere's strong play.
  

Three Numbers

• +2. Joe Alexander's differential in 31 minutes.
  
• 48. The Bucks hacked the Nuggets into 48 free throws attempts, 26 in the first half alone. The fouls not only gave Denver easy points, but kept important Bucks sidelined. Linas Kleiza made 13-15 from the line himself.
  
• 27. Dahntay Jones finished with the most minutes among Denver's starters, with 27. That's indicative of how easily the Nuggets cruised to victory.
  

Three Good

• Getting closer. You might recall that the Bucks got blown out a lot last year. And while all losses count the same, it is refreshing to see the Bucks playing competitively even in losses. Their opening-night loss in Chicago by 13 remains their worst result and the only other double-digit loss was in Boston by 12. This game seemed very lost for a very long time, but then the scoreboard showed 110-100 with three and change to play, providing at least a few moments of hope down the stretch.
  
• The bench. Austin Croshere, nice. It was largely a battle of the benches for much of the second half when the Bucks outscored the Nuggets by five. If the likes of Alexander and Croshere can contribute to some extent when Michael Redd and Charlie Villanueva return, the bench might not be such a sore spot after all.
• No average Joe. Alexander quadrupled his season block total and doubled his season steal total. He also showed some nice two-way potential, elevating not only on the shot blocks but on his pretty jumper.
  

Three Bad

• Rocky start. The Bucks descended on Denver in good form, but the starters struggled early on. Consider: Luke Ridnour had two fouls and two turnovers before his first assist. Charlie Bell opened a quick 1-5 from the field, including a straightaway airball three-pointer. Richard Jefferson managed to pick up three fouls in under four minutes. Luc Mbah a Moute was solid until he also picked up two early fouls, forcing him to the bench. Andrew Bogut meanwhile knocked knees with Nene, sidelining him before taking a shot. The rocky start saw the second unit  playing major minutes, and Bucks behind early.
• A foul showing. Somehow no Buck fouled out, but the team amassed an absurd 38 fouls, a sure recipe for disaster. Andrew Bogut continued a sort of crumbly early campaign by picking up bad fouls high and low, scoring two points in 16 minutes, while being thoroughly outplayed by Nene Hilario (13 points on 6-8 and six rebounds in 21 minutes). Bogut's performance against the Celtics feels like a lot longer than three days ago.
  
• We've got the Jazz. Home is probably feeling like even more than 1,043 miles away for the Bucks. And they don't move in the right compass direction from Denver either. The Bucks head to Salt Lake City to face another Western power on Wednesday night in yet another back-to-back. To make matters worse, they face the Jazz, who are undefeated at home.
  

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