The Bucks rushed out to a 77-60 lead after three quarters which was enough of a cushion for them to win. John Salmons led the way for the Bucks last night with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Ersan Ilyasova was tough around the basket finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Andrew Bogut pitched in with 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocked shots last night. The Bucks are now 31-29 on the season.

Don’t believe any of the talk hyping point guard Brandon Jennings as a Rookie of the Year candidate as it is a two horse race between Stephen Curry of the Warriors and Tyreke Evans of the Kings. Jennings is only shooting 37% from the floor and that is just terrible. Jennings has played in 55 games (all starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 33.5 minutes, 16.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Bucks would be a better basketball team if they could just convince Brandon Jennings to pass more and shoot less.

The Bucks are happy with the new players they acquired at the trade deadline so far. John Salmons is now in the starting lineup after playing solid ball off the bench for the Bucks. Salmons has played in 3 games (1 start) for the Bucks so far and he is averaging 37.0 minutes, 17.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. But Salmons is only shooting 37.5% from the floor for the Bucks and they hope he will improve on that soon. Royal Ivey has played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Bucks so far and he is averaging 4.0 minutes, 1.0 point, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Primoz Brezec has yet to play in a game for the Bucks. The Bucks will need Salmons to keep playing well if they are going to nab one of the last spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs this season.

The Bucks have traded 22-year old SG Jodie Meeks and 33-year old center Francisco Elson to the 76ers for 28-year old guard Royal Ivey, 30-year old center Primoz Brezec and a 2nd round pick. Meeks played in 41 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Bucks this season and he averaged 11.9 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Francisco Elson played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he was averaging 5.6 minutes, 0.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

Royal Ivey has played in 26 games (0 starts) for the Sixers this season and he averaged 9.1 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists per game. He has now played in 360 games (109 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 13.5 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Brezec only played in 7 games (0 starts) for the 76ers this year and he was averaging 5.1 minutes, 0.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He has now played in 328 games (214 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 18.7 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

To be truthfully honest about this trade it probably doesn’t help either team.

The Bucks have acquired 30-year old SG/SF John Salmons from the rival Chicago Bulls for 27-year old forward Hakim Warrick and 23-year old forward Joe Alexander . Salmons has played in 51 games (28 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 33.2 minutes, 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Salmons has now played in 571 games (219 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 25.3 minutes, 9.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Warrick played in 48 games (6 starts) for the Bucks this season and he averaged 21.3 minutes, 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Joe Alexander has not played this season for the Bucks. He played in 59 games (0 starts) last year as a rookie and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. This was a solid trade for the Bucks as Salmons is the best player involved in this deal.