While much of their early-season success has come without Michael Redd, it's been built on a soft schedule. Seven of their first 10 games were played at the Bradley Center, and the combined winning percentage of their opponents as of today is .288 (30-74). A four-game road trip through the south-central U.S., without Redd and now without Andrew Bogut, ought to tell us a little more about this team.
They must prove they can win on the road, and win without two of their top three scorers. The road trip kicked off well Saturday night with Milwaukee's 103-98 victory in Memphis. Playing without Bogut and Luc Mbah a Moute, Bucks coach Scott Skiles went small for long stretches, including a three-guard lineup in the fourth quarter with Jennings, Luke Ridnour and Charlie Bell. That was a wise move as the Bucks didn't have the horses to combat Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Bell (19 points) filled some of the scoring void, while Jennings went wild in the second half (24 of his 26 points) and Ridnour (12 assists) handled the ball distribution. Kurt Thomas and Ersan Ilyasova completed Milwaukee's small ball lineup. Playing in Europe the last two years has done wonders for Ilyasova's game. He's not going to create offense, but he can spot up when Jennings is getting double teamed and is a prolific rebounder with multi-position capability. And the Bucks could really use Hakim Warrick to give them something to get through this stretch. I think Warrick is worth a start for fantasy teams this week.
The Bucks travel to San Antonio on Monday night. The Spurs are 5-2 at home and have Tony Parker back in the lineup. Parker had 17 points and eight assists in a win over Washington on Saturday. Tim Duncan will give the Bucks a matchup problem without Bogut. And though the oft-injured Manu Ginobili is out, the Spurs have Richard Jefferson on hand to pick up that scoring slack.
Wednesday night, the Bucks head to New Orleans. It's been a volatile season for the Hornets, who will be without Chris Paul, but they have played good ball in the last four games with home wins over Phoenix and Atlanta before losing a close one on the road to Miami Sunday night. Since general manager Jeff Bower took over the head coaching duties from the fired Byron Scott, he benched non-producers Morris Peterson and Julian Wright, giving playing time instead to 2009 draft-night acquisitions Darren Collison (21st overall) and Marcus Thornton (43rd overall, from Miami). The two rookies have ignited a mini-resurgence in New Orleans, having won three in row before the Miami loss. Thornton's averaging 18 points per game since the coaching change. Collison is averaging 14.0 points and 6.4 assists since taking over for Paul. And the exasperating Peja Stojakovic is giving the Hornets a long-range threat to open the floor for Collison's forays to the hoop. He has five double-digit scoring games in a row with 20 3-pointers in that time. A Hornets team that looked lost at 3-8 has averaged 103 points in the last five games.
Friday night brings what may be my favorite game of the week, in Oklahoma City against the young and exciting Thunder. Both these teams have been playing defense, but the reason to watch are for the explosive offensive performers. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green should be a good test for the Bucks' defense. Milwaukee finishes out the week back home on Saturday for the second of a back-to-back set against Orlando.