The Bucks lost at Chicago last night 83-81, a good recap  of the game is given here at BrewHoop.

The Bucks did show fight in the loss, due to an 18 point lead the Bucks achieved in the third quarter this actually became a disappointing loss.  The Bucks only had that 18 point lead for virtually seconds as Pargo hit a three, and a couple more quick scores drove the lead down to 11.

Here are some random thoughts for the game.

Jennings Deserves his Hype

Brandon Jennings is getting a ton of hype after his two opening performances, and continued the hot start against the Bulls.  He had a good stat line with 25pts, 4 assists, and 2 steals, but his quickness allowed him to get to some loose balls and create some other turnovers that do not show up in the stats. 

Kirk Heinrich played Jennings for the majority of the game so this game was very little Rose vs Jennings.  Heinrich is a very good defender of quick guards so this was a great test for Jennings and he responded well.  Jennings is very deserved of all the ROY hype he is getting and is outperforming any expectations the most optimistic Buck fan could have had.  He is very fun to watch.

Ridnour is Not Good

Maybe I am too hard on Luke, but I just do not see why he is liked by Skiles.  I feel he is barely at an NBA level.  He is too small, too slow and too weak.  He should at least be able to make free throws, but he missed a pair after doing a good job drawing a foul.  The Bulls made the majority of their run in the 3rd when Ridnour was in at point.  He cannot beat anyone off the dribble to force the defense to collapse leaving him as a game manager at best. 

I just do not see anything positive when he is on the floor other than Jennings getting some rest.

I still Hate the Amir Johnson Trade

I already mentioned that Ridnour didn’t look good, so why didn’t Ukic get more time?  I assume it is because Skiles feels he is worse than Ridnour.  In addition, I didn’t see a ton from Delfino tonight, at least not enough to warrant the Johnson trade.  Johnson would at least been able to keep Deng off the boards a little better than what the Bucks had tonight.

They are Better With Redd

There were rumblings that the Bucks would be better without Redd.  Maybe with a little more depth or if Meeks develops that could be true, but without Redd the only scoring options are Jennings, Bogut, and Warrick.  And the only consistent option of the three is Jennings.  Warrick has played well, but his points seem to be based on match-up, which is not to lay a negative on him.  It is what it is.  The Bucks really needed another scorer to halt the run the Bulls made late in the third going into the fourth quarter.

End of Game Coaching

I didn’t really have a problem with the second to last possession where Jennings got blocked.  It was an iso for Jennings and Rose made a good play.  I have a major issue with the final possession.  If the goal was to get a three, run a Pick n Roll with Jennings and keep some shooters on the wings.  If they concede anything to Jennings, let him take the two.  The play looked disjointed and seeing how they had really two different chances to get the two points, I thought the plays looked very weak.