Who: <font color="teal">New Orleans Hornets</font> and <font color="purple">Milwaukee Bucks</font> Where: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin When: Saturday, April 10th Time: 7 pm Central Time, 8 pm EST TV:FSNW <u>Records:</u> <font color="teal">Hornets (39-40, 4th in Central)</font> <font color="purple">Bucks (41-38, 3rd in Central)</font> <u>Likely Starters</u> <u>Key Matchups</u> Joe knows, that when he gets hot, the Bucks do well. This former #1 overall pick has been far more disappointing than people expected, but in Milwaukee he's having a career year. Contrary to popular belief, P.J. will have to break out the skills that earned him spots on the all-Defensive squads in order to limit Smith's touches around the basket. These two bruisers will have a massive battle under the boards. Skinner will be overmatched, but that is to be expected. He really only needs to focus on the battle of rebounds, whereas Magloire has to focus on that as well as remain one of the Hornet's top scoring threats. Still, Magloire is an all-star, so expect him to dominate in the paint and have a solid game following on his monster 23-point, 17-rebound performance against the Celtics. <u>Keys to the Game</u> <font color="teal">Hornets</font> - Feed the ball to Jamaal. He's the Hornets' star right now, and David Wesley and Darrell Armstrong, their only other viable offensive threats right now, feed off of how well he's playing. They need another 20-10 performance from the big guy, and could very well get it with the matchups he'll be facing. He's too big for Skinner and too strong for Smith and Gadzuric, so this ought to be his game. - Force the ball out of Redd's hands. There's such a thing as letting one player try to beat you by themselves, which works with scorers who work with the ball in their hands like Iverson and McGrady. Redd actually would beat them using this strategy since he gets his points in the flow of the game. The other Bucks are far less confident shooting it, though Mason and Kukoc could get dangerously hot. <font color="purple">Bucks</font> - Get Redd going early. If the Hornets' double team, use high picks which give him the option of rolling high for the outside shot or threading the needle to go inside. - Feed the ball to Smith and Mason. Both of these athletic forwards can take it to the rack, and if they draw fouls then its even better. - Get Kukoc adequate minutes. This guy creates instant matchup problems: at almost 7 feet, he's too big for guards and small forwards to guard, but he's too quick for centers and most power forwards. Its a wonder that the Bucks don't use him more, but that's due more to his age than his ability. <font color="gold">Starman's Prediction:</font> The Hornets really need this game. There's little hope of catching Milwaukee in the standings, but they have a little chance of catching Miami, which may be more important. I've said all year that, with Baron and Mash healthy and in the lineup, the only East teams that can compete with New Orleans are Detroit and Indiana. It doesn't matter if the Bucks have homecourt advantage in the playoffs, the Bugs will win. But they've gotta face the Bucks for that to happen, and right now, in the 6 spot, they'll be facing Detroit, and perhaps another first round loss. Additionally, if they do indeed tie Milwaukee by the end of the year, this win will ensure the tiebreaker. Still, the bottom line is that they don't have Baron and Mash for the game, and thus they'll go down, though not without a fight. Bucks by 3.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Phreeze:</div><div class="quote_post">Shouldn't this be posted in the Bucks or Hornets forum?</div> It is.
Well, my prediction was wrong, fortunately for the Hornets. They won 92-87, with my prediction for Magloire coming true. He posted another 20-10 game, with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He's now averaging 24.5 ppg and 15 rpg over the past two games, both Hornets' wins. The Hornets also got a strong showing from Shammond Williams, who started at the point and posted a double double with 14 pts and 11 assists. The win moves the Hornets to 40-40 and drops the Bucks to 41-39. So the Bucks remain a game ahead of the Hornets with two games left in the season for both. With the Heat loss leaving them at 40-40 as well, there is still a fight for fourth place in the East.
I missed the preview, but the Hornets won. I really didn't think Miami would lose to a still paralyzed Hornets team but it happened. Shammond Williams really came in big in the game, and the smart thing we did was get the ball down low to our big men. PJ and Magloire combined for 45 points on 15-24 (62.5%) shooting, and 15-19 (78.9%) from the line. They also both pulled down 13 rebounds each, great game by P.J. and BigCat
