Wiz seek to snap skid vs. slumping Bucks
There was a time when Nick Young got shut out of Washington’s allocation of road tickets in Milwaukee by former Wizard and Racine native Caron Butler.
There also was a time when winning a road game wasn’t this difficult for the Wizards, and when Young wasn’t the clutch scorer he’s become of late.
But things have changed for Young, and he expects the same on Wednesday for the Wizards (12-27), who’ve been revived by a four-game streak of victories at home and are coming off back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
“[Butler] used to hog them when I was a rookie, it was tough for me,” Young said of the road tickets. “But I don’t think nobody got family out there so all the tickets go to me.”
| Up next |
| Wizards at Bucks |
| When » Wednesday, 8 p.m. |
| Where » Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wis. |
| TV » Comcast SportsNet |
| Radio » 106.7 FM |
Young, who was raised in Los Angeles even though much of his family hails from Wisconsin, will have a substantial contingent of backers watching him take on the Bucks (14-24). Support in the stands and a rivalry to remind him of his own hometown could be just the right mix to end his road scoring struggles and the Washington’s 0-19 record away from Verizon Center.
“Brandon Jennings grew up in my neighborhood,” said Young, who is averaging only 14.3 points per road game against 27.4 per contest at home this month. “So I’m going to be talking trash while he’s on the sideline.”
Jennings has missed the last 13 games after surgery to repair a fractured bone in his foot. Without him Milwaukee has lost eight of its last 10.
But besides the winless stretch on the road that reaches to the end of last season, Washington hasn’t won three games in a row since April 2008.
“I just think we’ve kind of lacked mental toughness at times here, especially on the road,” said Wizards guard Kirk Hinrich, who will face his former coach in Chicago, Scott Skiles. “It seems like we’re a little bit more confident, feel more comfortable at home, there’s always a point in every game where the possessions are magnified, coming down in the fourth quarter, and we haven’t been able to get the job done.”
But after four wins in six games, Young said the Wizards shouldn’t feel worried.
“I’m going to put it [in] people’s heads, ‘Don’t let this road trip thing mess up your mind because it can,'” Young said. “Once you get out there and things ain’t going right, you start to put your head down, so you’ve got to stay focused.”
