The point taken away from this game is that the Bucks are now somebody. Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut have made them relevant again. But they are also a balanced team getting contribution from John Salmons, Carlos Delfino, and surprisingly Ersan Ilyasova (15 points, 7 rebounds).
The revamped Bucks surprised everyone by making the playoffs last year but faded quickly with an injured Bogut. This year they are out to prove themselves. They are much better than their 1-4 record shows.
Now I'm not putting them in the Magic, Heat, and Celtics conversation. But they can be surprising: they just took the Celtics into overtime tonight. But I doubt they could keep this intensity for a best of seven series. Plus the Celtics were coming off a game against the Detroit Pistons last night and may or may not have been distracted by the alleged comments controversy surrounding Kevin Garnett.
Honestly, it is refreshing to see Midwest basketball becoming prominent again. The Chicago Bulls are energized with Derrick Rose (and awaiting Carlos Boozer's return). The Bucks are young and athletic (minus Drew Gooden). The Cavaliers are playing much better than most people thought post-Lebron (I attribute that to having an actual coach, Byron Scott). The Pacers...well, they're in the league too. With these competitive teams in the Midwest and the rising powerhouses of Boston, Orlando, and Miami, is it finally a return to the East being a better conference than the West?
Yeah, even people from the Midwest forget the Bucks exist. I always thought of them as the team Ray Allen used to play for, right?
ReplyDeleteBut they seem to be pretty legit now...minus Drew Gooden and his stupid facial hair.