Robinson started in place of Kirk Hinrich, who's nursing a thumb injury. Even though the fans at the United Center tonight paid a bunch for a game that doesn't count, Robinson made the price of admission worth it. A 35-foot shot at the buzzer to end the first quarter went in, signaling the beginning of an amazing night from him. A jumper here, a highlight dunk there, and before it was over, Robinson was the MVP of tonight's 100-94 victory.
You'd think Derrick Rose was transmitting good vibes to Robinson. Who knows? It could be why he recorded a double-double of 24 points and 13 assists. That performance can only give fans good vibes for a bench that's been struggling to make a name for itself this preseason. Maybe this will show Marco Belinelli that yes, he can have games like this too (he made just one field goal tonight). Equally impressive was Rip Hamilton scoring 23. He made the first shot of the game and never looked back. Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer joined Robinson in the double-double club with respective points/rebounds ratios of 16:12 and 10:10. Nazr Mohammed has been the most consistent player on the new Bench Mob and he led that club again tonight with nine points.
Definitely a sold effort tonight. I'll overlook Luol Deng's five-point performance because he'll have games like this throughout the course of the season. Nice job by everybody else though. This was about what we'd expect from the three of the regular starters who played. Hamilton regrettably won't be scoring 20+ every time he steps out on the floor, but I'll settled for around 13 per game. Boozer needs to have more games like this to silence the amnesty talk that's likely to continue this year if he doesn't. And even though Robinson is not about to usurp Taj Gibson's sixth-man role, games like this show he belongs in the regular rotation. His game will be frustrating at times over the course of the year, but he showed the Bucks what he can do when he gets in a zone. That'll be exciting to watch.
Friday's contest will feature a rematch with the Minnesota Timberwolves just six days after the teams faced off at the Target Center. No, Jimmy Butler won't play all 48 minutes again unless Tom Thibodeau decides to act a little crazy. Still, I don't expect a lethargic effort like last time against this team. By now, Thibodeau has made it clear he wants nothing less than an all-out effort. Maybe that's a bit unreasonable for this time of year, but that's just how he is.
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