Milwaukee Bucks’ rookie Brandon Jennings has been playing very well for a rookie this season, but his shot has been struggling for quite some time now.  Jennings still has a game every now and then where he will light it up, but his shot has been far from consistent and opposing teams are starting to take note.  On the season he is averaging 17.7 points, 6.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on 38% shooting.  He is shooting 39% from three on the season, but he only hit 32% in December and 35% in January.  That is not too bad for three point shooting, but it is his overall FG percentage that is cause for concern, as it keeps getting worse.  He shot 42% in November, 38% in December, and 32% in January.  It looks like the 6’1″, 170 lbs. rookie has been hitting a wall.  Jennings is still a good playmaker for the Bucks, and is one of the top rookies in the league, but he really needs to start shooting at a better percentage.

The Bucks have signed 35-year old shooting guard Jerry Stackhouse to a contract through the end of the year. He played in 10 games (1 start) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 16.2 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Stackhouse has now played in 854 games (563 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 33.4 minutes, 18.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He is on the downside of his career but this was the type of signing that playoff teams make.

The Bucks have lost 30-year old shooting guard Michael Redd for the year due to a torn left ACL+MCL. Redd played in 18 games (12 starts) for the Bucks this season and he averaged 27.3 minutes, 11.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals. Redd never seemed really right this season as he only shot 35.2% form the floor this year. Redd’s career could be in jeopardy due to this injury and that is a shame because he is such a talented basketball player. Redd has played in 568 games (427 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 33.8 minutes, 20.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. The bottom line is that the Bucks will miss Michael Redd a lot the rest of the year.

Andrew Bogut played great for the Milwaukee Bucks (12-14) last night, leading them to victory over the Indiana Pacers (9-17).  Bogut had a career-high 31 points and added 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.  He hit 14-19 shots, but Bogut did get some help from his star rookie Brandon Jennings.  Jennings had a streaky night from the field, going 7-19, but he hit a clutch baseline jumper with 28 seconds left to put the Bucks up 5 and seal it.  Jennings finished with 16 points, 6 assists (2 TO), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.  The Bucks played strong defense, holding the Pacers to 36% from the field.  The Bucks hit only 42%, so they needed a strong defensive effort.  Roy Hibbert led the Pacers with 16 points and 7 rebounds.

The Milwaukee Bucks (11-12) could not contain Los Angeles Lakers’ (20-4) star Kobe Bryant, and he beat the buzzer in OT with a game-winning fadeaway.  The Bucks were able to stop Kobe from hitting nearly an identical shot at the end of regulation, but they should not have given him the same opportunity in overtime.  Kobe dropped 39 points on them and they couldn’t keep Pau Gasol off the glass.  Gasol had 22 rebounds along with 26 points, helping the Lakers out-rebound the Bucks 47-38.  Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Brandon Jennings had a bad game in his first outing against Kobe and the Lakers.  He hit only 4-11 shots, finishing with 11 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds.  Michael Redd had a nice game off the bench and is looking healthy again.  He had 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.  It looks like its about time to put Redd back in the starting line-up.

Brandon Jennings has been exciting to watch all season and has been playing great, especially for a rookie.  Whether it is Jennings stroking a three or setting up a nice dunk with a great dime, Jennings has been arguably the best rookie in the NBA this season.   Many did not see this coming, as Jennings was surpassed in the draft by six other guards before being taken at the 10th spot.  Jennings shot has been streaky as of late though, so is he still atop the rookie rankings?  See if he held off the Sacramento Kings’ Tyreke Evans in my list of Top Rookies in the NBA so far.

The Milwaukee Bucks (9-7) fell just short against the Washington Wizards last night, as Wizards’ guard Earl Boykins hit two free-throws with a second left to win the game.  The Bucks were finding themselves out of position defensively all night, including the last play where Brandon Jennings fell for the 5’5″ Boykins’ shot fake and fouled him.  The Bucks had 27 fouls as a team, something the Wizards took advantage of by hitting 25 free throws compared to just 9 for the Bucks.  None of the starters played very well for the Bucks, but they did get good games from Luke Ridnour and Hakim Warrick off the bench.  Both had 20 points and Warrick had 4 rebounds while Ridnour added 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal.  The Bucks need better production from their starters than what they got last night.

The Milwaukee Bucks (9-7) have really been missing center Andrew Bogut, but he returned Monday night against the Chicago Bulls (6-9) in great fashion.  Bogut was a force on both ends of the court, getting 22 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.  Two of Boguts’ blocks were huge plays down the stretch for the Bucks, and were the main reason they were able to edge out the win.  Brandon Jennings had an off night shooting (5-15), but still put up 15 points, 8 assists, and 2 rebounds while holding his own against last year’s Rookie of the Year, Derrick Rose.  Rose slightly outplayed Jennings with 19 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, but Jennings came out with the win.  This was a good win for the Bucks and they are much better team with Bogut back in the lineup.  One thing they need to do a much better job at is knocking down their free throws, as they went 11-21 (52%) from the line and it almost cost them the game.

A lot of hype has surrounded Brandon Jennings ever since the point guard decided not to go to college last year and instead, played professionally in Italy.  There were a lot of Jennings critics when he made this move, most notably college analysts like Dick Vitale.  As much as I love the college game, is the 1-year rule really in the best interests of the players?  I say no, as these talented players are not getting an “education” and are still treated like superstars on campus for one year before they jump to the pros.  His leadership has been questioned and he has gotten into some trouble for his “tweets” on Twitter, but this kid can play!  It looks like a year of professional basketball in Europe (which seemed to hurt his draft stock) better prepared Jennings for the NBA than any of the one-and-done players from college.  Jennings has been the best rookie by far this season, averaging 24.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steal while shooting 46% from the field and 48% from behind the arc.  Jennings is the reason the Bucks are 8-4 and he made headlines on November 14th when he dropped an astounding 55 points on the Golden State Warriors, a Bucks rookie record and the third highest for a rookie in NBA history.

The Milwaukee Bucks (8-4) were looking for their 4th straight win Monday night, but they fell short against the San Antonio Spurs.  They did not have an answer for Tim Duncan, who had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists.  It is acceptable for Duncan to have a big night, but it should not be acceptable for the Bucks to let Matt Bonner light them up.  Bonner came off the bench and had 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.  If the Bucks would have contained Bonner, they probably would have won this game.  They were also outrebounded 46-29, so they were not hitting the glass hard enough.  Ersan Ilyasova had a very good game for the Bucks and led them in scoring with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals.  Hakim Warrick was great off the bench and scored 15 points in only 19 minutes.  The Bucks need to do a better job rebounding the ball, or they will find themselves on the losing end too often.