Milwaukee Bucks Power Rankings: Week 3

Here are the Milwaukee Bucks Power Rankings for week 3 of the 2010 / 2011 season, we will update the list as all of the different outlets get their new power rankings published.

ESPN: Power Rankings: up to 13 from 19 - a nice jump on the 3 win week, they question if the Bucks are fixed and point out the NBA 2nd best defensive efficiency ranking.

We were hoping the points flood gates had sprung open last week, but that 79 to 72 victory over Golden State would be an all defensive affair to say the least.

Bucks Power Rankings: Week 2

The following are some of the Bucks Power Rankings around the internet for week 2.

ESPN down from 15 to 19.
Fox Sports up from 17 to 16, they say the Bucks have had a tough early schedule and some bad luck.
NBA.com down from 16 to 21, yikes they say the Bucks have regressed defensively, yep.
Hoopsworld.com down from 15 to 21.
CBS Sports down from 21 to 22.
Fanhouse.com at 22, they point out the sobering fact the Bucks managed to loose to the Twolves.

Of course these rankings will probably bounce up a little next week as the Bucks offense came out of hibernation against the Knicks and Hawks.

Bucks Offensive Stats, Still Offensive

About one tenth of the way into the season as we mentioned the Bucks Offensive stats are scary bad for a franchise that has been solid on offense for seemingly all of its existence. We have decided to include some early sobering stats to ponder.

The Bucks are 28th in field goal percentage at .425 ahead of the Thunder and Twolves.
27th in points at 93.6 ahead of the Pistons, Nets, and Bobcats.
Tied for 19th in three point percentage at .344.
Brandon Jennings leads the Bucks in points per game at 15.3 which places him 60th in the NBA, that means roughly every team has two players who are scoring more points per game than the Bucks.
The Bucks are 16th in free throws attempted at 25.3 per game and 17 in % made at .750.

So what is wrong with the Bucks offense, one is that they aren't exactly shooting the ball straight which is also being compounded by questionable shot selection. Shooting comes and goes, so hopefully this is just rust for a come of key contributers like Maggette and Bogut who had limited practice in the off-season.

Bucks on Roll?

The Bucks in getting off to a 4 and 5 start have been one of the early consensus flops in the NBA for the 2010/2011 season. Of course we know they were picked by most to finish atop the Central division and in the upper half of the Eastern Conference but things have looked pretty sad early and they have been dropping like a rock in the Power Rankings around the internet. The good news of course is that the season has barely started and in the last two game the Bucks have rung up big victories, in both games breaking the 100 point barrier and defeating the Knicks and Hawks by 27 and 19 points. Also in the good news column is that they are only still one game back in the not so impressive Central Division.

After the Bucks win over the Hawks Corey Maggette was quoted as that people should have expected them to start slow due to all of the players the Bucks have coming off of injuries which include himself, Bogut and Salmons. Maggette went off for 20 points from the bench in the Hawks win so hopefully with his comment and performance he feels that he has now turned the corner. You hate to see excuses for loosing but you know what we will give it to the Bucks it might be a little expected that they start off a little rusty and it isn't how you start the year it is how you finish it.

The Bucks have had one thing going for them all season and that is it appears this team now reflects the gritty defensive persona of it coach as it is 3rd in the NBA in points allowed, which is a shocking development for a franchise that didn't know the meaning of the word defense for seemingly decades. The bad has been that the offense has been stuck in neutral and is currently 27th in the league in points per game also a shocking development for the franchise. This team could be scary good if the offense turns around as you would expect it to with the firepower on the court, the Bucks don't have as much offense in year past but we expect it to finish the year still in the upper division of offense in the NBA. Defense wins championships which we believe the Bucks have found, so stay with us folks we think this is going to be an exciting season for the Bucks as things are starting to look healthy.