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MILWAUKEE – A coach can't watch his team lose seven straight without at least contemplating change.
The change coach Larry Brown flirted with, following the Charlotte Bobcats' 95-88 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, is starting Flip Murray at point guard.
"I thought our offense was more efficient with Flip in,'' Brown said, when asked about potential changes. "So I don't know'' what happens next.
The numbers back up Brown's impression. Murray, a free-agent combo guard, hasn't started regularly since five seasons ago when he was with the then-Seattle Supersonics. Friday he finished with 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and one turnover.
The two primary point guards – starter Raymond Felton and backup D.J. Augustin – combined Friday for four points, two assists, two rebounds and four turnovers. Worse yet, Felton and Augustin were a combined 1-of-8 shooting from the field.
"We just can't put the ball in the hole,'' Felton said. "I can't hit a shot.''
That made it particularly hard to keep up with Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings, a rookie sensation who finished with 29 points and seven assists. Jennings did most of his damage in the first quarter (17 points, mostly versus Felton). He shot 4-of-13 in the second half for a relatively quiet nine points.
"We switched more,'' Bobcats guard Stephen Jackson (22 points) said of the second-half strategy on Jennings. "That made him have to come over one of us. You have to make him do more than just come off screens and shoot.''
There were numerous reasons the 3-9 Bobcats lost Friday. But consider these at the top of the list:
(bullet) They missed 17 free throws, going just 61 percent from the foul line. Jackson was particularly shaky, going 4-of-9.
(bullet) They made only two of 14 3-point attempts. Jackson made both of those. Meanwhile, the Bucks went 10-of-28 from the arc.
(bullet) Milwaukee had 14 offensive rebounds to Charlotte's two (both by rookie Derrick Brown). That made for an absurd Bucks advantage in second-chance points (18-2).
Add all that up and the question becomes how they kept it close, rather than how they extended the losing streak.
"That free-throw shooting really hurt us,'' Jackson concluded.
"If we played like we played in the fourth quarter (72 percent shooting, 28-19 scoring advantage) the whole game, we win.''
