MILWAUKEE - Brandon Jennings took one shot in the first half of the Milwaukee Bucks' game Saturday night against Golden State and didn't score. When was the last time in recent memory that Jennings registered a donut in one half of basketball at home or on the road?
To his credit, Jennings rebounded nicely in the second half to help the Bucks beat the Warriors, 109-102. His 20 points was enough to soldier on and try to forget that he was left off the All-Star reserve team, despite the Bucks having a winning record.
"Brandon likes to play, so I knew that he was going to come out and do something," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "He got himself going. He's a competitor. He was trying to move the ball in the first half, but we need him to score. So he came out in the second half and do what he needed to do for our team."
If Jennings doesn't show in his non-verbal actions of his disappointment of not being an all-star, then the next best thing for him is to showcase his talents and his all-around game to remind the all-star coaching staff what they missed.
"It can be a motivation for you," Boylan said of Jennings using the snub to turn the corner. "To me, I think the most important thing is that you win. Winning is more important than the individual glories of an all-star game. That's why I always believed that if you're going to be voted on a all-star team, you should come from a winning program.
"When Brandon and Monta (Ellis) weren't selected, it was a little disappointing because a couple of guys are on teams right now that aren't winning teams and non-playoff teams. I thought that was a slight. You need to respond and look at (Golden State's) Steph Curry. He came out and he responded well (26 points). He played like the guy who was left off the all-star team and Brandon came out in the second half and showed what he can do."
So the only way that Jennings can shut up the critics and get over being left off the team is to play out of his mind and lead the Bucks to the playoffs. The rest will take care of himself. Who knows? Maybe he will get the nod next year either for this team or another team if the Bucks decide to keep him or let him go as a restricted free agent after the season.
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