[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Click here for cumulative DC Council 3-star ratings over the course of the season. Game 62 contributors: Dan Diamond (@ddiamond), Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis) and John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend).]

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[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Click here for cumulative DC Council 3-star ratings over the course of the season. Game 53 contributors: Rashad Mobley (@Rashad20) with on-hand coverage at the Verizon Center and Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) from behind the television screen.]

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The Washington Wizards lost for the 41st time in 53 attempts last night in a 112-98 contest against the Milwaukee Bucks; the result also marked the 219th loss in the last 299 attempts for the Wiz. TAI’s Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie are here with their reaction.

M.V.P.

-Rashad Mobley

Brandon Jennings. The Wizards (led by John Wall, who hit four free throws) began the second half on 5-0 run to pull within two points. The Bucks then went on a 12-2 run that Jennings owned with eight points and two assists. He played all 12 minutes of the third quarter, ended up with 17 points during that time (19 total on the night to go with seven assists and six rebounds), and the Bucks stretched their lead from eight to 14 points.  Meanwhile, Wall scored just one more bucket for the rest of the night after his four free-throws in the first 75 seconds of the third.

L.V.P.(s)

-Kyle Weidie

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Once again the Wizards will understandably be without the services of Nene and Trevor Booker tonight against Milwaukee; the timing of their unavailability due to plantar fasciitis with the consideration of lottery balls in mind while Kentucky’s Anthony Davis squares off against Kansas’ Thomas Robinson in tonight’s men’s NCAA basketball championship game could not be more impeccable. Otherwise, the Wizards are playing for pride and the Bucks are playing for the playoffs (they are 2.5 games behind the Knicks for the eighth playoff spot in the East). For tonight’s 3-on-3 we have Jeremy Schmidt from the ESPN TrueHoop Milwaukee Bucks blog, Bucksketball, Michael Sykes from the hoops blog, What’s Left on The Floor, along with yours truly, TAI’s Kyle Weidie. Three questions, three answers starts now…

#1) Since Monta Ellis arrived in Milwaukee, the Bucks are 5-4 and averaging 105.2 points per game; before he arrived the Bucks were 19-24 and averaging 97 points per game. The Wizards, on the other end, have struggled to score as of late, especially without Nene in the lineup (they are likely to be without him again on Monday night). WIth guards like John Wall and Jordan Crawford perfectly willing, yet skillfully unable, to duel with the likes of Brandon Jennings and Ellis, how quickly could this game get out of hand for Washington?

SCHMIDT: Jennings and Ellis mean a lot less to the Bucks offense working well than guys like Ersan Ilyasova, Mike Dunleavy, Beno Udrih and Drew Gooden. Jennings and Ellis take a lot of shots and occasionally score a lot of points, but the offense works best when those other guys are leading the team and moving the ball. Ellis has cracked 20 points once since the trade. But Milwaukee has been putting the league’s bottom feeders out pretty quick lately, and they could do the same to the Wizards.

SYKES: The game could be out of Washington’s reach by the end of the first half. Ellis and Jennings are both guards who play their best when hot. If the Wizards’ backcourt tandem of Wall and Crawford allow this to happen, the game will almost certainly slip through the cracks. The Bucks are deadly in the first half, averaging 51.1 first half points throughout the season and 59.9 in their last three games according to Teamrankings.com. The Wizards must play defense without gambling to prevent open looks for Ellis and Jennings.

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[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Click here for cumulative DC Council 3-star ratings over the course of the season. Game 34 contributors: Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis), Sam Permutt and Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It).]

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The Washington Wizards start the second half of their season to nowhere with the ol’ road-home back-to-back. Tonight they’re in Milwaukee, where they lost their third game in as many at the beginning of the season to the Bucks 102-81 (where Roger Mason Jr. also played without being eligible), and tomorrow night they return to D.C. to take on Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. Want to check out some key Wizards mid-season stats? Click here. Otherwise, tonight’s 3-on-3 features Kevin Chouinard (@AnaheimAmigos) of Behind The Buck Pass, along with TAI’s Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis) and Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It). Three questions, three answers starts now…

#1) Bucks PF Ersan Ilyasova is averaging 19.2 points and 10.2 rebounds over his last five games, highlighted by 29 points and 25 rebounds in a recent win over the New Jersey Nets. Washington starting PF Trevor Booker has emerged as a key performer for the Wizards and is averaging 10.6 points, 6.9 rebounds over his last 14 games. Which player will come out on top in their match up?

KEVIN CHOUINARD: Amazingly, both Ilyasova and Booker are 24 years old, even though Ersan debuted in the NBA back in 2006. Among qualified players, Ilyasova has the sixth-best rebounding percentage. He’s relentless at tipping the ball until he gets it. Ersan is also the Bucks’ best and savviest interior defender with Andrew Bogut out. On the other hand, Booker has a chance to develop in the ways that Ersan hasn’t. Booker is assertive in traffic; Ilyasova pump-fakes himself out of rhythm. He can’t catch the ball on the move, and he has zero post game. It’s all tip-ins and jump shots for Ersan.

ADAM McGINNIS: Both Ilyasova and Booker are playing some of the best basketball of their professional careers in the past month so this should be a key one-on-one battle. Ilyasova is a tough guard because he can scrap down low and has ability to knock down 3-pointers, shooting just under 39-percent from long range. Booker’s low-post game has improved; he is able to get shots off effectively with both hands and he is shooting a respectable 50-percent from 10-15 feet.  The key will be if Booker can stay out of foul trouble, as this plagued him in the Sacramento loss before the All-Star break and rendered him ineffective. Ilyasova will get his points but Booker will make him work for it, and Trevor will have a bounce back offensive back game.

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[The DC Council -- After each Wizards game: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is over the table. Game 3 contributors: Rashad Mobley, Arish Narayen and John Converse Townsend.]

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The Wizards started their first two games of this season with less effort, more selfishness and more frustration expressed from the players than should be accepted. No matter how much the team owner wants to use age as an excuse, these are not good signs that the franchise is successfully establishing “new traditions,” the message printed on t-shirts given to fans on opening night. Some mistakes are okay, but the aspects shown thus far by the team are not what you want infiltrating a young, impressionable team. But, alas, each next game is a chance for the Wizards to turn it around, we think. Tonight they take on the Bucks in Milwaukee at 8:30 PM ET. For 3-on-3 today, we have Jeremy Schmidt from the ESPN TrueHoop Network Bucks blog Bucksketball, TAI’s Rashad Mobley, and myself, Kyle Weidie. Here we go…

Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: Is Andray Blatche going to crush Milwaukee’s power forwards on the block in an effort to show how mature he is?

MOBLEY: Let’s see, after the first game, Blatche calls out everyone who passes him the ball for not getting him the ball in the post — a place he has routinely eschewed during his career. He repeats this anger via Twitter later that night, backtracks via Twitter the next day, and this amidst Flip Saunders having a pre-practice meeting with him to sort things out.  The next game, he started off shooting 0-for-7 en route to a 2-for-13, seven point performance. He may crush Milwaukee’s forwards, and he may think he’s showing maturity, but given his track record, it’ll all come undone soon enough.

SCHMIDT: He certainly has the talent. He’s a bad matchup for the Bucks: Too quick for Andrew Bogut, too strong for most of their power forwards. But he’s as much of a threat to remove himself from the game mentally as anyone it would seem. I know there was some noise about him being grouchy already, but I think if he’s demanding more post touches, ultimately, that’s a wonderful thing for Washington.

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[Editor's Note: TAI's Adam McGinnis takes us back to his photos from 'Under the Hoop' when the Milwaukee Bucks were in D.C. on March 8.]

The Opening Tip.

Bucks Warm Up.

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Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis transparently concedes rebuilds are messy and painful, as he asks fans for patience and faith while the roster is retooled for the future.  He forgot to mention the word that immediately came to mind after witnessing the Milwaukee Bucks 95-76 destruction of the Wizards on Tuesday night at the Verizon Center: Embarrassing. Those partaking in Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras festivities were better served than fans suffering through another demoralizing defeat.

Flip Saunders was disappointed that his backcourt did not respond to the challenge, Trevor Booker questioned the team’s heart, and John Wall admitted to playing terrible.

The Bucks, who the Wizards hammered just a few weeks prior, blew open a tight game in the second quarter and never were seriously challenged again. They toyed with the Wizards and were able to get any shot they wanted. Milwaukee has struggled with scoring all season, yet, they appeared to be high offensive juggernaut versus Wizards hapless defensive resistance.

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