Bucks will try to pick up pace against winless Pelicans
St. Francis – Facing a winless team would appear to be an enjoyable task.
But the Milwaukee Bucks know better.
For the third time in the last 10 days, the Bucks (4-3) will be going against a winless squad when they play the New Orleans Pelicans (0-8) on Thursday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
They met the 0-3 Pelicans on Nov. 1 in New Orleans and prevailed in a close game, 117-113.
Then the Bucks went against a 0-5 Dallas Mavericks team on Sunday in Texas and dropped an 86-75 overtime decision.
The Pelicans are playing the final game of a three-game road swing and are coming off losses to Golden State and Sacramento. Although 23-year-old power forward Anthony Davis ranks fourth in the league in scoring (30.9 points per game), his teammates have given him little help on offense.
And New Orleans allowed an NBA single-game record 13 three-pointers to Warriors star Stephen Curry on Monday night.
“It’s all about mind-set and our approach to the game,” Bucks guard Jason Terry said after Wednesday’s practice session. “We can’t worry about another team’s record or what they’re going through.
“Our focus is, can we play our pace? Are we getting stops?
“Our pace (in Dallas) was not good the entire night. It was way too slow for what we’d like to do offensively. Defensively it was OK.”
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The Bucks still had a chance to win on the final possession in regulation, but Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a 21-footer just before the buzzer.
Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd thought his team did a decent defensive job against Davis last week, even though Davis finished with 35 points and 15 rebounds.
“He’s one of the best in the world,” Kidd said. “If he gets easy baskets, it just makes it a lot harder for you on the defensive end.
“Hopefully we can come up with the same game plan and crowd him and make him take tough shots.”
Bucks rookie Malcolm Brogdon already has seen how NBA teams react when they are in desperate search of a victory.
“They have an extra something to play for; they have a chip on their shoulder because they need that win,” Brogdon said.
“It’s hard to go in there and close out a close game against them. It just comes down to focus and energy and execution. We didn’t have that against Dallas and we did have it against the Pelicans.”
Antetokounmpo hit a clutch three-pointer late in the game in New Orleans, and the Bucks defended well in a scramble situation in the final seconds. But Antetokounmpo picked up two early fouls against Dallas that limited his minutes, and Milwaukee committed 27 turnovers in the loss.
“I’ve got to learn to play with foul trouble,” Antetokounmpo said. “Coach Kidd told me to keep playing hard, no matter if I have three fouls or four.
“In that situation, you try to play smart and it affects your game. You take a step back from your game. You don’t play as hard as you could play because you’re scared of the fouls.”
Not all of his fouls are coming on the defensive end. Teams are trying to draw charging fouls against him to put him in foul trouble earlier.
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Kidd shook up the lineups in practice the last two days, putting Antetokounmpo in with the second unit.
“I think it’s really good,” Antetokounmpo said. “I play a lot of minutes with the second unit, too, in the second quarter.
“So it’s good to know what’s going on, how they like to play and where my teammates like to get the ball.”
Antetokounmpo said the Bucks are wary of the Pelicans despite their league-worst record.
“You cannot go with the mind-set, ‘Oh, they’re 0-8,’ ” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s a game we have to get and we need to get.”
Middleton on hand: Khris Middleton is back in Milwaukee following surgery to repair a torn left hamstring. He has been taking some shots after practice but is months away from a return to the court.
“He’s just getting back into the swing of putting on his basketball shorts and tennis shoes,” Kidd said. “Very early stage.”
Kidd said he doesn’t know if Middleton will be able to return this season. The 6-7 Middleton was the Bucks’ leading scorer last season but was injured in an informal workout before training camp began.
“First he’s got to focus on his rehab. That (decision) is a long ways away,” Kidd said.
Middleton is enjoying being back with his teammates.
“His spirit is great,” Kidd said. “We have him in coaches’ meetings. It’s good for him. He gets to see the other side of it and understand what we’re trying to do as coaches to help the guys.”