The Milwaukee Bucks haven’t won a road game yet this season in eight tries, and things didn’t go too well in their last home date either.
After previously being undefeated in their first four chances at home, the Bucks lost in Milwaukee on Tuesday to the visiting Denver Nuggets 105-95. In that loss, Shooting Guard Stephen Jackson was required to sit on the bench during the entire second half.
If you think you hear a ticking sound off in the Wisconsin distance though, you might be wrong about that. Or maybe the timer on your microwave is on still.
While “Captain Jax” certainly does have a history of being a bit fiery in response to situations like that, he didn’t quite explode as a result of this most recent one. In fact he took the Skiles benching it in stride kinda, at least with respect to what you might expect.
He offered only the following after that game in reaction to the coaching decision, this according to the Journal Sentinel:
Bucks coach Scott Skiles shook up his lineup in the second half, benching shooting guard Stephen Jackson for the entire half and using starting center Andrew Bogut for just 7 minutes before replacing him with backup Larry Sanders.
“If they want to blame it on somebody, I’ll take the blame,” said Jackson, who finished with two points on 0-of-6 shooting in 17 minutes.
“I guess they expected me to spaz out and go crazy, but it’s too late in the game for that. I don’t know what they were trying to prove. When he (Skiles) didn’t play me, my thoughts were to support the young fellas and support everybody out there and try to get this win.
“If they want to make it personal, they can. I’m used to it.”
Skiles went on to say that he thought Jackson looked “fatigued” out there, and that’s why he made the move. One can also argue that Jackson’s numbers looked a bit fatigued overall on the season too. While he did break past the twenty point plateau twice this season so far, to finish one game with 24 and another with 35, he’s also played in six of the team’s other thirteen without being able to finish in double figure points for the game.
He’s shooting under thirty seven percent from the floor overall (36.8%) and under thirty percent from three point range (29%) on the season too. The 13.7 points per game Jackson is currently averaging is also his lowest total in twelve seasons, so he might not exactly be the player the Bucks had been hoping for heading into this 2011-12 campaign.
Even as frustration mounts though, Jackson added that he won’t let the benching get to him.
“This ain’t the first time it happened,” Jackson said. “I’m a pro. I’ve been around a long time.
“I know how to go out there and play for my teammates. I love to play the game. But at the end of the day, he’s the coach and he puts the guys that he wants to be out there and you’ve got to respect that.”
It probably won’t be the last time it happens either, especially if he keeps trending the way he has been while he has been on the floor lately. Skiles sat him down after going 0-6 in 17 minutes on Tuesday, and that performance comes right off of two previous games where he went a combined 6 of 20 for 7 and 9 points respectively over the course of 68 minutes of work.
So he’s not playing too good, but at least he’s at a point in his career where he’s willing to own that. At least as much as you could hope a guy like Jackson would.
