Bucks Buzz: November 7

This should be pretty short as the Bucks have only played one game since our last Bucks Buzz and it came last night. 

Wednesday:

Short-Handed Bucks Hold On to Edge Cavaliers

The Bucks' threes were falling last night and that's really what allowed them to hold on over the Kyrie Irving-led Cleveland (Leaveland) Cavaliers. Bango shot 56.5 percent from beyond the arc, including 6 of 7 from OJ Mayo as he finally woke from his slumber and scored 28 points to the lead the Bucks. Nate Wolters or "Nate The Great" as his teammates call him, had another steady performance with nine points, six assists and eight boards. Zaza had another strong game as he also flirted with a triple double himself (14 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists). 

The Bucks also were able to correct to facets of basketball that were huge problems in Saturday's loss to Toronto: free throws and rebounding. On Saturday, the Bucks missed five of six free throws in key stretch late in the game and were dominated 60-38 on the glass. Last night, however, they were 24 of 26 from the stripe (Zaza was 10 for 10) and slightly outrebounded the Cavs 41-39. 

This was a nice win when you consider it came on the night Michael Redd officially announced his retirement from the NBA. He played 11 great seasons in Milwaukee and is among franchise leaders a boatload of categories.

Unfortunately, there were some negative themes surrounding this one as well. The Bucks were pretty shorthanded (Coach Drew kept a tight eight man rotation that included Ekpe Udoh who made his triumphant return from a knee operation he had back in October). This was because of Ersan Ilyasova not being able to go from his lingering ankle sprain, Brandon Knight still being out and lastly, Larry Sanders being out with a "sore right thumb". I put that in quotes because shortly before the game, news surfaced that Sanders was being investigated for his part in an altercation that had happened early Sunday morning at Milwaukee's self'-proclaimed "Celebrity Hangout" Apartment 720. 

I've been to this place once or twice and I can tell you that the clientele is a little, shall we say, full of themselves. The rhetorical question a lot of Bucks people have been asking themselves is "wouldn't you want to crack a bottle over some of these guys' heads?" For me, no, and I really don't want to condone this kind of violent behavior, especially from a professional athlete. I'm personally a little upset with Larry myself, not because he did this particular act but it's upsetting because it's been an ongoing battle with him to control his temper. This doesn't help that image at all. And now, he's probably alienated some people who were supporters of his. He's already been "grumbling" about not playing at all in the fourth quarter of Saturday night's game and then proceeds to go out and get into a fight. As they say, nothing good happens after midnight.

Appropriate YouTube video: We Are Douchebags

Links:

Here's a story on what happened with Sanders on Saturday night. 

Keep an eye on...

I'm going to have to say Larry Sanders again here. We don't know when Larry will return or what will happen but everyone is hoping he can get back on track sooner rather than later. We all love his unpredictable personality but he's got to reign it in a bit. 

This weekend for the Bucks:

Just one game once again for the Bucks this weekend. They are in the friendly confines of the BMO Harris Bradley Center as they'll take on the Dallas Mavericks. Monta Ellis makes his return to Milwaukee after turning down a huge contract extension. You can't avoid us forever Monta. 

@MR_Pratt on Twitter. Give me a shout.