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Without D, no title for Bucks
Patterson the star so far
By Curtis Claassen
If the old saying is true — that defense wins championships — the Milwaukee Bucks have a long way to go before they win one.
For that matter, the Bucks have a long way to go before they even make the playoffs again.
In 2001, the Bucks reached the Eastern Conference Finals but did not play very good defense. However, when you have three of the best scorers in the league at the time in Sam Cassell, Ray Allen and “Big Dog” Glenn Robinson, you can get by with giving up a lot but scoring a lot as well.
Fast-forward to 2006, where the Bucks have just one dynamic scorer in Michael Redd and don’t have a great offense or defense. This poses a problem.
The Bucks are currently 27th in the league in scoring defense, giving up an astounding 102.8 points per game, meaning only three teams have given up more points. The Bucks are also 28th in the league in opponents’ field goal percentage, as teams are shooting 48 percent from the field against Milwaukee.
To add to it, in the other big defensive category, the Bucks also rank at the bottom of the league in three-point percentage. Teams are shooting 37 percent from the three-point line against Milwaukee, which also ranks 28th in the league.
These are three areas that have doomed the Bucks all season long and may reflect on coach Terry Stotts. Defense is all about heart and if Stotts can’t motivate these guys enough to play a little defense, he may not be the right man for the job.
The only player that has played consistently good defense all season has been newly acquired Ruben Patterson. This guy is a bulldog out there. In three of the five Bucks wins so far, Patterson has made the defensive play at the end to seal the game.
Against Atlanta, Patterson stripped Joe Johnson on a last-second three-point attempt to preserve a two-point victory. Against Philadelphia, he did the same by bullying Kyle Korver and ripping the ball out of his hands with the game on the line.
The latest feat for the self- proclaimed “Kobe stopper” came against the man he called out, Kobe Bryant. Patterson lived up to his name on the last possession of the game with the Bucks up three. Patterson was all over Bryant, forcing him into an erratic three-point attempt, which missed badly and preserved the victory for the Bucks. So if it wasn’t for Patterson’s defensive plays at the end of a game, the Bucks could be close to winless this season.
Recently, the Bucks blew a 14-point lead in the third quarter and ended up losing by 16 to the lowly Boston Celtics at home. This is inexcusable and downright embarrassing. If the Bucks want any chance at the playoffs, someone besides Patterson must play defense.
The recent move of inserting Charlie Bell into the lineup may help the cause, since Bell is probably the second best defender on the team and actually shows some interest in the job.
The biggest disappointment this season has been Mo Williams, who has not shown any signs of defense and since Redd has never been known for his defense, the Bucks have been getting killed by opposing team’s backcourts.
If the trend continues, the Bucks may have to consider benching Williams and sliding Bell from small forward to point guard or even starting Steve Blake at point guard.
Stotts needs to keep considering changes if the lazy defensive trends continue, or Bucks fans are in for a very long season.
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