By Jim Owczarski Sports Editor Published Feb 23, 2015 at 1:04 PM Photography: David Bernacchi

My bad. My bad.

Tyler Ennis tapped his chest. More often than he’d like, honestly.

My bad.

There was the entry pass to Zaza Pachulia in the high post that may have gotten to its target in the Atlantic Coast Conference, or in the NBA Developmental League, but was easily stolen by Denver Nuggets big man JJ Hickson.

There was ball exposure, that again, that may have previously gone unchallenged, but led to the ball being picked from his possession.

Twice.

First, it was backup Denver guard Erick Green, who turned it into a layup.

"The turnovers, we’ve all been picked once or twice," Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd said. "I told him once …"

Then it was center Jusuf Nurkic, who turned his steal into a basket for Wilson Chandler. Kidd pulled the rookie a minute later, with the game still in doubt at 83-79 and 3 minutes, 26 seconds left.

"... but you know, the second time can’t happen," the coach continued, without hint of anger, admonishment or humor. "He understood."

In the locker room, Ennis couldn’t help but smile sheepishly.

To a point guard he said, it was the equivalent of a big man being posterized. He was embarrassed. His fault.

"Basically this is my first real game in the NBA, playing that many minutes," Ennis admitted.

This was his introduction, the 20-year-old’s first impression upon his new teammates in Milwaukee. He had been traded for – along with Michael Carter-Williams and Miles Plumlee – just over 24 hours earlier, had been introduced to his teammates Friday afternoon, met the media in the early evening, and twas told to run the offense Friday night against Denver in an 89-81 Bucks victory.

"For his first night out, with barely any practice, I thought he did a great job from being in the D-League to now playing in a meaningful game," Kidd said. "I give him credit for being professional and doing everything possible to help his team win."

Ennis received a playbook, and a crash course in the offense just hours before tip, but there was no way he was going to understand it all, let alone run it smoothly.

Despite that knowledge, that the offense would sputter, and the fact that a well-liked, and much-respected leader in Brandon Knight was sent away, Ennis’ new teammates said they’d take him and the other new players in, surround them with understanding, and open up the brotherhood.

"It means a lot," Ennis said. "First, just to have the guys around. Making a few mistakes, the guys just saying forget about it, move on, and just telling me to be confident and make plays. I just had to go out there and do it. And for coach leaving me out there in big moments in the game shows he has some trust. I think as I continue to make plays and show what I can do, I think that will just grow."

Trust, many times, has to be earned.

This group, however, freely gives it – but expects you to keep it.

"I could see a group of guys that like being around each other. They like playing," said Carter-Williams, who witnessed it from a unique perspective by dressing on Friday and Sunday, but not playing and just observing as he recovers from a toe injury.

"They’re very welcoming. They have a lot of trust in their teammates. That’s what Tyler and I and (Miles) Plumlee are going to learn so that’s what we’re going to have to (do), come in and trust each other and our teammates and participate in a positive way."

It’s not "chemistry," per se. That can be fleeting. How can you create something that can only be described in the metaphorical sense, that can only be felt, rather than conjured?

"The old thing about chemistry: You don’t know how you got the chemistry, and then you don’t know what happened when you lost it, where it went," Bucks general manager John Hammond said before the deal was made. "Sometimes they just fit. And I think that’s the case with this group. I think this group has actually fit extremely well together. I think they care for each other, play hard for each other and compete for each other."

So, no, what’s happening in the Bucks locker room isn’t science. At least not of the physical nature.

Rather, Ennis’ introduction to the team was public evidence of the new Bucks anthropology.

When Jared Dudley, O.J. Mayo, Jerryd Bayless and Pachulia ran to Ennis to talk to him after his turnovers, or if he wasn’t in the right spot in the offense, it wasn’t just about picking up a teammate.

It was evidence of the culture shift.

Since training camp began, the ubiquitous hymn sung throughout the halls of the BMO Harris Bradley Center and the Orthopeaedic Hospitals of Wisconsin Training Center is "Trust," a single syllable that carries the weight of canon.

"We’re a tight group. You can see it on the court. Off the court …" Middleton said, and then he hesitated, and realized it goes beyond just the 48 minutes of court action on public display.

"Well, you guys can’t see it as much (off) but we’re always around each other, talking to each other. We built great chemistry and these three guys that we have, we have to involve them in everything now and bring them into our family."

The family shows it daily, from Bayless rubbing the sweat off his shaved head onto Kidd’s shoulder during a practice, to Mayo, Dudley and Bayless congregating in the corner of a locker room just before tipoff laughing, joking. It’s Giannis Antetokounmpo giving the video coordinator just enough of a belief that he can stop the 6-11 forward in a brief game of one-on-one, only to playfully rain baskets over him, eliciting laughter by everyone watching.

The public, of course, cannot see this.

They see what happened Friday night, with 18 minutes of action for a rookie point guard.

"We are brothers here. We are family," Middleton said. "We take care of each other no matter what, especially with a guy being thrown into the fire like that. It’s important for us to surround him and embrace him and let him know we’re here for him and we’ve go this back."

Prior to his arrival in Milwaukee, Ennis had played all of 58 NBA minutes, over eight games.

Middleton was legitimately surprised to learn those numbers, as the usually staid sharpshooter had his head snap back and his slumping eyelids jump to attention.

"We definitely threw him in the fire," he said. "He played well. He definitely got us going, not knowing the complete offense and what we run here, what guys like to do, but he definitely did a great job stepping in, filling in, and did a good job out there for us."

Kidd, and every teammate, talked about the jumper Ennis hit Friday night – down to its location from the right elbow – as being an important basket to them. To Kidd, the fact Ennis’ new teammates fed him in that spot was evidence enough that this would work, that the culture he is crafting is strong just months into its construction.

"That’s what we’ve been doing since day one," Pachulia said. "That’s why, hopefully, you guys see the chemistry is great. Not only the new guys, even us as guys who’s been here since day one, we’re talking to each other because we need to get better as well. Talking is the key. Communication is huge. And when you’re talking about little things it’s going to put you situations to win the game, honestly."

And sometimes, those little things are just words.

At the other end of the locker room, which spans the length of two NBA stanchions (if that), veteran guard Mayo did just that Friday night. As he buttoned his shirt, his bass easily carried over the heads of the reporters standing around him.

"Obviously communicating is a big thing. And don’t be scared. You’re a hooper. We definitely respect you as a hooper," he said as Ennis slipped on his backpack. "You’re rolling with Milwaukee now and we’re ready for whatever you have to offer to get better.

"Hey, c’mon with it. Whatever you know, c’mon with it. We’re with you."

For the players and Kidd, talking leads to action. It’s a key tenet of the canon of Trust.

And it’s what brought Ennis, Carter-Williams and Plumlee to the team in the first place.

Earlier in the day Friday, Hammond said that since Wes Edens and Marc Lasry purchased the team, and when Kidd was acquired, that the organization talked about changing the culture, about building a team that could contend for a championship in three or four years.

"If we’re going to talk about it," Hammond said. "We gotta walk the walk also."

Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.

A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.

To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.

Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.

In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.

Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.