Bucks at Bobcats
As bad as the NBA's Eastern Conference has been so far this season, the Milwaukee Bucks have reached a whole new level of ineptitude. The Bucks look to halt a 10-game losing streak Friday night as they visit the Charlotte Bobcats. Milwaukee fell to 2-12 on the season with a 100-92 overtime loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, while the Bobcats fell behind early against powerhouse Indiana and couldn't recover en route to a 99-74 home loss.
Frustration is mounting in Milwaukee, where the Bucks find themselves near the bottom of the league in just about every offensive category. That fact doesn't surprise head coach Larry Drew, who seems more disappointed in his team's inability to defend the opposition. "As I told them when I first took this job, we're not going to outscore people," he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "We're not built like that. We have to come out and defend."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), SportSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (2-12): Drew says the Bucks need "to find an identity" - but that has proven difficult with forward Larry Sanders on the sidelines and starting point guard Brandon Knight returning to the lineup this week for the first time since the season opener. The challenge moving forward will be combining the skills of the young players with those of the veterans. "We're still trying to find ourselves with a consistent flow to the offense, a consistent (starting) five and rotation players," forward John Henson said. "You can't get down on yourself."
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (7-9): Charlotte's run to respectability during the early part of the season has been fueled by timely offensive contributions and a solid defense. But the Bobcats had no answer for the red-hot Pacers at either end of the floor, getting torched for 39 fourth-quarter points while shooting less than 32 percent from the field. Charlotte did find a way to make things difficult for Indiana's starting five, holding it to 20-for-58 shooting from the field and 2-for-12 from beyond the arc.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Charlotte trounced Milwaukee 96-72 in their previous encounter last week.
2. Bobcats scoring leader Kemba Walker averages 17.3 points in eight career games against the Bucks.
3. Milwaukee has exceeded 100 points just once during its losing streak.