Bucksketball

Moving Day

2009-06-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

From henceforth you can find all your Bucksketball related material at our new location:

Bucksketball.com

Bucksketball is now Milwaukee's affiliate in the Truehoop Network of blogs. If you haven't checked out the other ones, you really should. A lot of great stuff in there.

More Workout Reports

2009-06-20T20:59:00.001-07:00

The Bucks brought in another group on Friday. This time there was more of a big man feel.

Jordan Hill - I’m coming around on the big man. There has to be a reason everyone is writing such nice things about him right now, right? I’ll bite the bullet and move him up to the top three.

B.J. Mullens – I’ve been fairly vocal with my distaste for Mullens, but with him I think it’s all about perspective. If a team drafts B.J. Mullens and expects him to be a very good player, then they have made a huge mistake. If they are drafting him with the expectation to be a good backup and energy guy, then they’ll probably be happy. The Bucks don’t really want that at number ten though. I hope.

Levance Fields – Fields got the job done at Pittsburgh. He had a scrappy style and took a lot of big shots. He was a little overweight and a little overrated, but when it really counted in the NCAA Tournament he hit the big shots. He has a commitment from Orlando apparently for a spot on their summer league team. I’m okay with that.

Slava Kravtsov – On his DraftExpress.com profile there is a note that says on offense Kravtsov “…looks very limited, not always looking ready or interested in catching passes…” That is something you don’t read everyday. He’s not interested in offense. Hm. Nevertheless he’s seven feet tall and stands a chance to be one of the last selections in the second round.

Buck Hits: 6/19

2009-06-19T15:39:00.001-07:00

If you say “Buck Hits” fast it sounds like buckets. I like that.

Some quick hits on the Bucks while I mull who to throw Bucksketball.com’s support to in next week’s draft.

Michael Hunt chimes in today with some words on the Bucks, the draft and their future. Some good and some bad in here. He wants the Bucks to dump Jefferson or Redd, but it takes two to tango. They tried as hard as they could to lose RJ at the deadline and no one was biting. He mentions the Wizards and their number five pick as something to shoot for, but the Wizards would never take on any additional salary right now. I love his thoughts on the importance of assets though. The NBA becomes more and more of an asset game every year. That’s what makes this draft important. Between Luc Richard, Joe Alexander and the two picks this year the Bucks should have a nice little haul. Assuming Alexander comes around that is. But between those four and the money coming off the books in two years, the semi-distant future doesn’t look as bleak. That’s why it is all about taking the best player available right now.

John Hollinger is not enthused about the Bucks chances of bringing back Charlie V. or Ramon Sessions.

It’s possible they could bring one of them back with a less dramatic overhaul, but even that will be difficult.

I think we all knew this for some time, but secretly hoped they’d find a way to save Sessions. No one really saw the Jefferson trade coming last year, so maybe John Hammond will pull of another shocker that will free up space. But even if he does, could Sessions play in the back-court with one of the point guards on the Bucks board? With the exception of Ty Lawson, all of the guys in play are below average shooters, would it even makes sense to keep Sessions then? Decisions decisions.

It sure feels like the Bucks are going point guard though. Gary Howard’s piece yesterday included a pretty clear statement from Hammond

“You would think, realistically, that one of them could be there for you,” Hammond said of the top five point guards in the draft, a group that likely includes Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Ricky Rubio, Flynn and Jennings. “If you talk about need vs. best player, because it is kind of heavy laden at the point guard spot, maybe we could fill both needs if the right player were there.”

Unusually strong words from him. He could still be playing possum, we’ll have to wait and see.

They Makin' Him Go To Rehab

2009-06-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

(Forgive my attempt to recapture the magic of Amy Winehouse in my title today.)

Despite our focus this month, the NBA draft is not the most important part of the Milwaukee Bucks off-season. And no, the decisions the Bucks face on the futures of Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions are not the most important factors into the Bucks having a winning season next year. For those who really want to see the Bucks playing past next April the buzz word this whole off season will be rehabilitation.

And I’m not talking about Michael Redd.

While it’s important Redd comes back fully healed from his ACL tear, his process is much more cut and dry than what Andrew Bogut is facing. With Bogut’s injury there have been pluses and minuses.

Bogut’s injury is not a simple snip snip rehab rehab and move on. Injuries that involve long periods of rest and then making sure things look okay usually are a little trickier to deal with. That is why the plan keeps changing on Bogut’s rehabilitation. Originally there was a chance he would be okay after eight weeks. Then it was mid May. Now it is June 15 and Bogut is saying a month from this week is the goal.

But the problem has been recognized and there has been progress. Bogut is not suffering from an incurable mystery ailment ala Tracy McGrady. Back spasms are a mysterious bunch and much harder to treat than are stress fractures. The Bucks and Andrew Bogut have had a concrete idea of what has been wrong with him and how to get him right since February. Maybe they didn’t think it would take this long, but the treatment and rest appear to be taking care of the fracture.

The Bucks and Bogut can feel good in knowing that this injury is not the type that has lingered in other players. In the last few years Mark Madsen, LaMarcus Aldridge, Pape Sow, Matt Bullard and Scott Pollard have all been afflicted with this injury and were able to bounce back without a problem. With the exception of Aldridge this injury appears to target unathletic big men, and often white ones at that. If I were Tyler Hansbrough, I’d be getting this checked on regularly.

Unfortunately, it took the Bucks a few tries to figure out what was wrong with Bogut and that could be more of a long term issue than the injury itself. Nothing is more important to the success of professional athletes than the health of their bodies. But they aren’t doctors. When something feels off, they have to get checked out. When they get checked out and the doctor says nothing is wrong, their instinct is to play through whatever pain they are feeling and write it off as soreness. Athletes are held to a high standard. We expect them to “play through the pain” and “gut it out.” We stamp players soft if they miss time with anything less than a leg amputation. This especially rings true with our big men. They have to show up and take their pounding every day.

In Bogut’s case he tried doing that. But he knew it was more than common soreness. He had to repeat this process three times before the Bucks finally caught the problem. So the next time Bogut feels injured and the Bucks tell him it’s nothing too bad what is he going to think? Can he trust the Bucks medical staff in the future? Bogut is one of the toughest guys the Bucks have had in years, but this could potentially cause him to pull himself out of the lineup in the future if he’s feeling worse than the Bucks tell him he feels. If it is any consolation, this appears to be more common with this type of injury than others. Take for example, Scott Pollard in 2002.

“He received an MRI test last week to try and determine the reason for his aching back. Results were inconclusive. After undergoing another MRI yesterday, it was revealed that he has a stress fracture of the sacrum, a bone just above the tailbone. Pollard never thought the backache was serious enough to cause him to miss any playing time. ‘I was thinking it was something I would be able to shoot up and play with,’ he said.”

In general this is a tough injury to diagnose. And Bogut is not by any means a soft man. It’s important for patience to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind when it comes to his rehabilitation. A lot of time and money are invested in Bogut. So if his body needs another month to heal up before he can start dribbling through cones and posting up chairs, so be it. Incompetence has run high in Milwaukee over the last eight years, but at this point it’s fairly safe to say the Bucks staff is competent. And that is something Andrew Bogut, and anyone else involved with the Bucks, can feel good about.

Draft Combine Video

2009-06-15T21:20:00.001-07:00

A lot of point guard talk on this video of the Chicago Combine from Bucks.com.

Back To School

2009-06-15T14:31:00.001-07:00

Players of note who have returned to college for (at least) one more year:

Greivis Vasquez
Gani Lawal
Mac Koshwal
Luke Harangody
Devan Downey
Damian James
Tasmin Mitchell
Scottie Reynolds
Tyler Smith
Jarvis Varnado
Nic Wise

Of the players on this list, the Bucks brought in Vasquez, Koshwal and Harangody for workouts. None were contenders for the Bucks number ten pick, but could have been considered were they there for the Bucks second pick.

In other news the Bucks worked out six today. All could be candidates for the Bucks second round pick, 41 overall.

Jeff Adrien - Adrien is a slimmer and shorter version of DeJuan Blair. He doesn't have the nastiness or rebounding prowess either. He was a productive scorer in his time at UConn, but battled injuries frequently. He's probably fighting an uphill battle to make a roster. But hey, Sasha Kaun got drafted last year, so anything can happen.

Nando de Colo - Hmm. A second workout for the French point guard. If he's French that means the Bucks may be able to stash him in Europe for a year or two and save some money. That may sound appealing for a team strapped for cash. Remember this name.

Kyle McAlarney - Big shooter. McAlarney would make even the most trigger happy pros blush when they watch his tapes from Notre Dame. That being said, he has great range and a great stroke. If Chris Quinn can make a roster then McAlarney should at least get some summer league looks. Maybe the Bucks will provide him that look.

Luke Zeller - Zeller was famously (in Marquette and the state of Indiana lore) picked over Dominic James as Indiana player of the year when they were seniors in high school. That may have been the high point of his basketball career though. Should have a good career in Europe.

Scott Vandermeer - Who? Well, he's 7'0. That's a plus.

Kleon Penn - Penn blocked a ton of shots at McNeese State. As I always say, there is usually a spot in the NBA for players who have one superior skill. We'll have to wait to find out whether or not his skill is superior.

Workout Reports

2009-06-14T18:38:00.001-07:00

Below are reports on prospects that have actually worked out with the Bucks. I will continue to update this list as more guys come in. I've also commented on how I feel about each player.

First Round Prospects

DeJuan Blair - The knocks on Blair are known; he's got some knee issues to match his relatively stumpy stature. But he was a productive college player and is tough as nails.

Jrue Holiday - People have been throwing around Gary Payton comparisons from time to time when discussing Holiday. He didn't have a great season at UCLA, but if you're going to struggle anywhere that is the place to struggle. They have a great track record when it comes to producing pros. Especially when the pros aren't named O'Bannon.

Eric Maynor - Maynor is a classic player; a four-year senior who got better every year and did everything right. He has good size but is not a sexy pick. Sexy isn't always a good thing though. Darko Milicic was "sexy."

Second Round Possibilities

Tyrese Rice - On ten separate occasions the fire department was called to Boston College games in Rice's career, only to find out that Rice was only metaphorically on fire and not literally flaming.

Jeff Pendergraph - Get To Know: Jeff Pendergraph. Hint: He loves waffles.

Jeremy Pargo - Pargo is like a Jonny Flynn Lite. Plus he has an NBA pedigree. He has proven that he can dunk on guys my size too.

Lester Hudson - I don't know who Lester Hudson is, but from what I've read about him I wouldn't doubt he'll find a way into the league. He's a great story and as mentally tough as anyone in this or any other draft.

Jerel McNeal - McNeal will go down as a legend in Marquette lore and a pleasant reminder of Sidney Moncreif in my dad's mind. The Bucks actually said he wasn't a good fit for them recently, but methinks that might be posturing. Why posture with a second round pick? I don't know, but I'm hoping that's what it was.

Greivis Vasquez - Greivis has enough swagger and poor shot selection to run his own AAU team. I don't know if that turns into a good NBA player though.

Luke Harangody - Harangody had a bad habit of fading away on his shots and not on his dinners in college. I've heard pretty positive things about him in his workouts though. But have you ever heard anything that wasn't positive on these workouts?

Bamba Fall - Dave Babcock: "He went to SMU, and I saw him play his sophomore year and I was very disappointed. He really had no game at all." Now you have heard something that wasn't positive. Actually please click the link on his name and read his quotes about his workout. They are the only ones that made me laugh, but they did a great job in doing so.

Josh Shipp - Injuries decimated most of his college career. NBADraft.net compares him to Ricky Pierce, which is pretty fun for older Bucks fans.

Josh Heytvelt - Heytvelt will most likely be remembered for a very strong 2006-07 season. Oh, and that whole mushroom thing. Should have a solid career in Europe.

Jack McClinton - McClinton was a sharpshooter at Miami. He recently told DraftExpress, "Down the road, if I really keep working hard at my game, I see myself as a Mo Williams or a player like that." Not sure how Milwaukee will feel about that Jack.

A.J. Abrams - Abrams was a lights out shooter at Texas. He's an awfully little guy, but could find a home in the league the way Eddie House did: annoying people and hitting threes.

Brandon Costner - He's a pretty decent actor. Maybe he could learn the art of the flop? He had a standout freshman year at North Carolina State, but then kind of fell off. He may have a future.

Joe Ingles - If the Bucks took Patty Mills in round one and Ingles in round two they might be able to finish in the top seven at the Olympics in 2012.

Marcus Landry - One thing working in Landry's favor is the great success of his brother, Carl, another over looked power forward who scraped and clawed his way into a steady rotation spot for a playoff team. One thing not working in Landry's favor is that he isn't as gifted a player as Carl.

Alonzo Gee - Alonzo Gee has a great name. That is all I got.

Alfred Aboya - Aboya is interested in politics and would one day like to be the president of Cameroon. He's also 6'9 245 and a non stop hustler. That sounds like a guy I'd like on my team.

Jeff Adrien - Adrien is a slimmer and shorter version of DeJuan Blair. He doesn't have the nastiness or rebounding prowess either. He was a productive scorer in his time at UConn, but battled injuries frequently. He's probably fighting an uphill battle to make a roster. But hey, Sasha Kaun got drafted last year, so anything can happen.

Nando de Colo - Hmm. A second workout for the French point guard. If he's French that means the Bucks may be able to stash him in Europe for a year or two and save some money. That may sound appealing for a team strapped for cash. Remember this name.

Kyle McAlarney - Big shooter. McAlarney would make even the most trigger happy pros blush when they watch his tapes from Notre Dame. That being said, he has great range and a great stroke. If Chris Quinn can make a roster then McAlarney should at least get some summer league looks. Maybe the Bucks will provide him that look.

Luke Zeller - Zeller was famously (in Marquette and the state of Indiana lore) picked over Dominic James as Indiana player of the year when they were seniors in high school. That may have been the high point of his basketball career though. Should have a good career in Europe.

Scott Vandermeer - Who? Well, he's 7'0. That's a plus.

Kleon Penn - Penn blocked a ton of shots at McNeese State. As I always say, there is usually a spot in the NBA for players who have one superior skill. We'll have to wait to find out whether or not his skill is superior.

Quick Draft Notes

2009-06-12T15:58:00.001-07:00

Some quick notes on possible Bucks targets today.

You know how when someone could be a problem or there is word there is something wrong with a guy they call it a red flag? Well Brandon Jennings may have, in the eyes of some, just raised his very own red flag.

Jennings: Well, put it like this: If he was in a workout with me, Jonny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, Stephen Curry, he wouldn't even probably be at the top.
Reporter: You think he's all hype?

Jennings: Yeah.

Reporter: Because?

Jennings: Because he played in the Olympics, he been playing pro ball since he been 14, so you know, there it is right there. And you know, his stats? 26 minutes, and he be having like 16 points, 7 assists [inaudible -- sounds like he says 900] steals? Come on. Twenty-six minutes, and you have all that? So I really don't know. I really don't know. I can't wait to play him, though. I'm just letting y'all know that now. I can't wait.

It goes on for some time like that.

Chad Ford has all kinds of goodies in his recent draft buzz column. One of the most ridiculous things?

Ohio State center B.J. Mullens was slated to appear but pulled out of the workout on Friday. His agent gave word to the Nets that he had a promise in the Top 16 and was shutting down workouts. We'll see if the agent is telling the truth on draft night

How could anyone be interested in B.J. Mullens? Of course he has upside, there is nothing but upside. He's currently without much ability. When you're at the bottom you can only go up. Let's pray this supposed promise is not at pick ten.

Dime has some thoughts on Jordan Hill.

Mock Draft Talk

2009-06-10T21:34:00.001-07:00

Chad Ford has released another version of his famous mock draft. I wonder if he and Mel Kiper ever hang out and toast to the spectacle drafts have become. They do such a terrific job covering their respective drafts that no one can doubt they would have success in whatever journalistic endeavors they would have pursued, but it seems as if destiny has called upon them to do what they do.

Ford has the Bucks landing the same player he had them landing during the last mock draft: Arizona's PF Jordan Hill. If you've read my recent post about Hill, you'll know I'm not so excited about it. But I'm trying to be more open to the idea. I have a friend who keeps insisting to me that Hill is going to be a terrific pro. His numbers look great on paper. He grabbed a lot of rebounds and didn't seem to disappear in big games.

I'll just have to avoid the youtube video of his ATTACK workout.

For a terrific mock draft database go here. They update at least once a week and have virtually every mock draft you need to see. For those keeping track, Draft Express still has the Bucks taking Jonny Flynn at ten, though they haven't updated this week. Dime (6/1) has Jordan Hill falling to the Bucks also.

He’s making a significant drop down the board only due to the needs of teams above this spot. The Bucks need a true PF and another tough guy in the paint.

Also I'd like to note that Dime has not typed a word about the Bucks since June 1. Sad.

The Ideas Of The Uninformed

2009-06-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

What I like most about the NBA Draft is that college basketball fans care about it. I’ve said being an NBA fan can be lonely, but this is the time of year that college fans and NBA fans can unite and talk about how the best players in college will fare in their new careers.

Most of my friends are casual NBA fans who love college basketball to death. We’ve all been following hoops for years upon years. We’ve devoured every piece of available information about Wisconsin and Marquette and kept our eyes on competitors from all over. Despite all that two things stand out to me about us as fans (and really about all fans out there in general)

A. We still don’t know very much.
B. We can’t agree on much (if anything at all).

So it came as no surprise to me when I threw out some Bucks related NBA draft questions that it spiraled out of control into a barrage of emails about college basketball. Fortunately at this time of year I’m able to relate it to the NBA. Today, I will use our emails to assist me in my breakdown of potential Bucks prospects.

The friends in question will henceforth be referred to as: Bucksketball (that is me obviously), The Obnoxious One, The Hothead and The Rational One.

This is a marathon post, so make sure you have some time or find a good spot to park at halfway through. Without further ado...

Who should the Bucks go with at number ten?

The Hothead: I think if they take Flynn the Bucks should send out a statement stating they want to be an average team for the next 10 years with him running point. I can’t see Johnny Flynn getting any team over the hump anytime soon. His ceiling is probably an average starting point guard to a really good backup.

The Obnoxious One: Who are you expecting to get here? They are picking 10th in a weak draft. You're not going to find a superstar there. Flynn would be a great pick at ten. He fills a need and will be a solid point guard. Think Jordan Farmar, Aaron Brooks, or Jameer Nelson level.

Bucksketball: Aaron Brooks is a little different player than the other two. I don't think he's (Johnny Flynn) anywhere near as polished now as Nelson was when he came out. I'm really starting to believe that Flynn will not be as good as Tyreke Evans or Jrue Holiday.

I think there is some Big East bias in effect here. (SIDE NOTE: The Big East dominates our usual topics of conversation. All four of us grew up in Milwaukee and at various points in our life followed Marquette religiously. I now follow them with less vigor. The Rational One and the Obnoxious One have gone on to graduate from Marquette. This leaves them, ahem, slightly biased when it comes to the Big East.)

Obnoxious: Of course he's (Flynn) not as good as Evans. That's why he'll be gone before the Bucks pick. I think Holiday is way overrated. He was the number three or four top scorer on a team that was not that good.

The Rational One: How many players over the years have been drafted on potential...and haven’t amounted to anything? The fact is, we have seen that Flynn, Evans and Eric Maynor can all play. Not so much with a guy like Holiday. He’s still very young and has a lot of growing/ maturing to do.

The draft is an in-exact science, but I will take a guy that has shown he can play, and lead his team, over a guy with "potential" any day of the week.

Bucksketball: The ultimate rule of any draft has long been take the best player available. So if Evans is available at ten, is he the pick?

He has the upside of a Jrue Holiday with actual college production backing it up. He's got great size for a combo guard and played successfully out of position for an entire year. Redd has two more years with the team, but could probably be traded during his last season. At that point Evans should be more than ready to fill in.

The list appears to be, in no certain order, Evans, Flynn, Blair, and Holiday. (SIDE NOTE: These emails took place before the recent "Jordan Hill is dropping" discussion.)

Obnoxious: I do like guys coming out of Calipari's system. Rose was ready to play right away after one year in college. I still really like Flynn and I think this is a year where the Bucks need to go with need. Again if they can resign Sessions then I don't think they need a PG.

I haven't really looked into it. Shouldn't they be able to keep at least one of Charlie V or Sessions? Is Luke Ridnour definitely gone?

Rational: If the NBA's off-season was like every other league's, this would be easier for the bucks to handle. In every other league, free agency comes before the draft. In the NBA, it comes after.

If it was before the draft, they could make a decision on CV/Sessions, and then draft accordingly. Instead, they have to draft, not knowing what will happen in free agency.

Bucksketball: The Bucks know what will happen with those two. It’s just a matter of whether or not they can make a deal to free up space to resign Sessions. Villanueva appears to be as good as gone. I think they would rather move in a different direction anyway. For all his offensive talents he’s probably never going to be the player the Bucks want defensively at that position. Power forward is a hugely important defensive position.

Hothead: On DraftExpress they did some research on Flynn and said he only finished like 48% of the time he went to the cup… they felt that might be a problem when he gets to the league since that was only against college front lines. I would take a gamble on Jennings if he was still there no doubt.

Rational: I wouldn’t be surprised if Jennings goes back to Europe if the Bucks draft him. Under Armour wants to position Jennings where he is going to get the most exposure for himself and the Under Armour brand.

Milwaukee isn’t the only place they don’t want him to go, but it's near the top of the list. Ideally, they want him in DC, New York, or New Jersey

Bucksketball: Jrue Holiday has worlds of upside - more than Flynn I'd say. Holiday played out of position in an offense that did not play to his strengths at UCLA. From what I've read he's very ready to come in and play right away, regardless of what happened at UCLA. He's also expected to develop into the type of guard that can guard both point guards and shooting guards with much effectiveness. Considering how important point guards have been in team’s offenses the past few years, how can anyone resist a potential lock down defender at that position?

Flynn does not have that defensive ceiling. His athleticism will keep him competitive with other point guards, but he'll always be battling to guard bigger points. He's so quick though that he should be able to hound guys coming up the court should his future team ever wish to deploy him in that type of manner.

What I like about Flynn is that he is ballsy as hell. It's an immeasurable trait, but one of the most important characteristics that a point guard can have. I feel like Flynn could step in from day one and be willing to take a last second shot with the game on the line. The problem is that he is kind of a jacker.

Hothead: What about Patty Mills? Too high to pick him?

Rational: Yawn. How often do mid-major players come in and have an impact in the NBA? (SIDE NOTE: As it turns out, not very often.)

Hothead: I think Holiday would be a better pick than Flynn though. Flynn makes a lot of careless plays, I think Holiday is more NBA ready to play right now.

Rational: That is quite a bold statement...what have you seen to make you think he is NBA ready?

Hothead: I just don’t think Johnny Flynn is ready. He takes a lot of bad shots. If those are the people we are discussing than my choice is Holiday.

Bucksketball: Well, what about Dejuan Blair? Sometimes I think he's going to be a beast. I'd rather have Blair than James Johnson. Blair is so complementary though. If we're keeping RJ then I want Blair. He'll just have to work and help Redd, Bogut and RJ. It'd be a perfect role for him.

Hothead: I like his toughness, it would work for the Bucks. He needs to improve his jumpshot though. If we draft him are we hoping he becomes Carlos Boozer?

Rational: I like Blair...he’s a beast, and will continue to be a beast. Brings a lot of toughness. (SIDE NOTE: Big East Bias alert. Also note how often we like to use the term beast to describe Blair. That has to be a good sign, right?)

Obnoxious: I think Blair would be a great pick for the Bucks if they can keep Sessions. If not, I think they have to go point guard (or maybe go with McSteal (SIDE NOTE: McSteal is the affection name given to former Marquette swing man Jerel McNeal.) in the second round? Think about it, a good defensive minded player for a defensive minded coach). Blair would be a great fit for the Bucks. He can fit the mold of a Kedrick Perkins or Big Baby or Ben Wallace. A lot of championship caliber teams seem to have that tough, hard working body banging at the four and it compliments the stars really well. That's exactly what Blair can fill. They don't need him to become as much a scorer as Boozer is.

Hothead: You just named guys that were 27th pick, 35th pick and undrafted. We should use a top ten pick and not except any offense from him?

Bucksketball: I hesitate to say this, but I think teams are more savvy to this type of player now. They know what to expect and they know how important he is. I don't think he has much offense aside from tip ins and dump plays. He could still average 10 a game just based off those types of plays alone though. I would never run one play for him, but the other things he’ll bring to the game make up for his likely scoring deficiencies. The NBA is figuring out that it’s not just about PPG and RPG. There is a lot that doesn’t show up in the box score that is crucial to wins and losses.

Obnoxious: I didn't say no offense. We don't need the offense Boozer provides and I don't think Blair can or ever will provide that. If you don't think that type of player warrants a number ten pick then the Bucks should not draft him. I think Blair is overvalued at ten, but I do think he would be a great fit for the Bucks and provides a major role they are missing.

Hothead: I think we will be able to get that type of player later on in the draft. Point guard will be a pressing need even if they keep Sessions. The Milwaukee Bucks will not win a championship with Ramon Sessions as the starting point guard

Obnoxious: I'll take Sessions for one year right now over Derek Fisher. The Lakers have a very good shot at a championship I don't think you can say that. (SIDE NOTE: This is where it’s clear this guy isn’t an ardent NBA fan. Fisher is at least an adequate three point shooter, a perfect guy to be playing with Kobe. Sessions appears to be not allowed to even consider a three point shot.)

Hothead: I don’t even know what that is suppose to mean. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant.

Bucksketball: I think its awfully early to rule out Sessions. I did it awhile back and regret that. The heat won it with a decrepit Gary Payton and molding chocolate version of Jason Williams running the show. They just need someone better next to him.

Hothead: When the Bucks get Kobe and Gasol or Shaq and Wade on the team come talk to me.

(I told you it was a marathon.)

And that is really what it’s all about. Superstars win titles. We all know that as we pile through scores of information, trying to outsmart each other and figure out who will be the breakout star of this draft. Will the Bucks get a superstar at ten this year? It’s unlikely. But we can hope right?

Making A Mountain Out Of A Jordan Hill

2009-06-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

Playing on the west coast offers some serious advantages to guys who aren’t great basketball players. Advantage the first? The weather. I live in Wisconsin, have all my life, and not a day goes by that I don’t think about moving West. I’ve had friends do it and they say it’s like living on a different planet; one that isn’t always either freezing or blazing. They have a temperature in the 70's from what I hear. As I write this, it's 58 degrees outside here in Wisconsin...on June 8. As nice as the weather can be in the West it’s not the biggest advantage to those who aren’t really all that good. No, that would be the anonymity of playing basketball while everyone else is asleep.

If you’re playing basketball and no one but other west coast people are watching you’ve just eliminated two thirds of the country. And we can remove half of the west coast too, you know, since it’s 75 and sunny all year there and everyone can just go to the beach. So pretty much the only people watching basketball players from places like Arizona are probably relatives, alumni and students of Arizona. Especially since Arizona has been sans Lute Olson and really any national interest for the past few years. And since no one is watching Arizona basketball anymore, everyone has to rely on words like “athletic,” “developing frame” and “length” to describe Jordan Hill. Scouts have all the tape they need I’m sure, but might get blinded by a few nice work outs and a 35-inch vertical leap.

Maybe I’d feel better if his games had been on television more last year. Or if he had played well on any of the occasions I was able to watch him. Or if he didn’t look like Mikki Moore’s younger brother. Actually I’d be perfectly fine with the Mikki Moore resemblance if Mikki Moore was a good basketball player. But he isn’t and it makes me worry.

I’ve worried enough about it that I decided to head over to Youtube and check out a video of Hill working at the famous ATTACK Athletics facility in Chicago. Surely this would be a terrific demonstration of his great athletic ability and make me feel good about the possibility of him slipping to the Bucks at ten or the Bucks making a move up to grab him. I did not feel better. What I saw was a moderately skilled big man who looks about as talented as anyone else. He isn’t sensational at anything and is a bit slight of mass to be planting himself down at the four every night.

Is it possible that enough scouts and websites saying he’s athletic and mobile have distorted the truth this bad? I don’t get it. Any time that I’ve seen Hill play I’ve never come away thinking, “wow that is a fluid basketball player.” It’s all disjointed movements and awkward looking post play. Aren't athleticism and smoothness something that should come through on a basketball court?

If he were Chris Bosh, I’d feel good about him. He does not appear to be Chris Bosh though. From what I’ve seen of Moore...ahh sorry...Hill, he looks more like Kwame Brown.

I don’t mean to be absurd or too dramatic when I say Kwame Brown. Brown has been an okay role player over the years. His hands aren’t dependable, actually his whole offensive game is unreliable, but he’s a big body and has filled out over the years. He can hold his ground, foul a guy and grab some rebounds as a backup big man. If he weren’t drafted at all, we’d be hailing him as a terrific journeyman center. Unfortunately for Kwame, he was the number one pick. MJ’s number one pick. So yeah, he’s been disappointing.

I don’t mean to imply that I think Hill has that similar a game to Brown or will end up being a back up center. I just don’t think this is the kind of guy who justifies a high selection and the scrutiny that comes with it. He’s had nobody watching him the last few years as he’s slowly developed into a serviceable college big man. I think he’ll be much better off in a place where he’ll be asked to come off the bench and be an energy guy. Someone who can run around and score on put backs and dunks around the rim. Milwaukee will be asking him to be a building block at the four spot from the get go.

I guess if he ends up in Milwaukee one thing will certainly be the same for him.

No one will be watching.

Weight A Minute

2009-06-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

For the most part there are two ways scouts seem to scout players. First, there is their body of work. Whether they played college ball, high school ball, AAU ball or foreign ball, every player applying for entry into the NBA draft has a large body of preparatory work to look at. Aside from that organizations spend hours and hours pouring over data regarding players heights, length measurements, leaping abilities and bench press numbers among other things. I'm not attempting the undermine the exhausting efforts and number of hours scouts put in. And I'm aware they do more than just watch games and go to combines. I'm just trying to keep things simple.

Speaking of combines...my least favorite thing about combine work is measurements of players without shoes on. How many games a year do guys play without shoes? If someone is 6'7 without shoes on and 6'8 with them on, can’t we just say the guy is 6'8? That is by far my least favorite thing about the month before the draft. But I’m not here to rant about that. I’m here for a far different reason today.

I'm here to talk about Dejuan Blair, one of the drafts great mysteries.

There is no shortage of ways to look at Dejuan Blair. One could start by simply looking at the man. Standing 6'6 and a half inch (and yes that is with shoes on) he doesn’t have the prototypical size for an NBA power forward. In large part he makes up for that with his massive seven foot plus reach and thick garbage can base. Looking at him conjures up images of a tree trunk. It’s not difficult to envision him steam rolling larger men on a box out with his super low center of gravity and incredible hunger for rebounds. Rebounds are usually what define men built like Blair and judging from his production, he is no different.

Blair had eight games last season with over 17 rebounds and cracked ten offensive rebounds four times. On the year he averaged over twelve rebounds a game in arguably the most talented college basketball conference in the country. In what was likely the most memorable sight most of us have of him Blair ragdolled the 7'2 Hasheem Thabeet on a particularly brutal example of a man just being strong with the ball. Blair plays with ferocity and toughness not always seen of a man his size. Uh-oh. Those words worry me.

A man his size. I never like to say "a man his size" in the context I'm right now saying it in. That sentence poses a problem that is far greater than his vertical challenge.

His horizontal challenge.

I’m all for eating right and being healthy, but when I hear that a man has lost 40 pounds in three weeks, I’m finding that a little curious. From what I understand, it is possible to safely lose that amount of weight over a multiple week period. Michael Dansinger from NBC’s The Biggest Loser says, “In theory, one could drop as much as 20 pounds in a week following a very ambitious eating and exercise plan, devoting more than seven hours per week to rigorous exercise, and under a physician's care like we do on the television program.” But on the television program they are dealing with, to be brutally honest, fat slobs who if not for the show would have relatively zero exercise.

They are not dealing with athletes who’ve been ardently working out for the better part of their life. So maybe Blair has cut out fried foods and sweets for the last month or so leading up to the draft. Maybe now he resembles a guy who is cut up and serious about keeping pounds off. What happens in January when the Bucks are ten games under .500, it’s negative five degrees out after a game and he’s looking for some food before he heads home after going out. Is he going to wait and eat the goodies he picked up from Whole Foods earlier in the day or stop at Pizza Shuttle to get his grub on? If Blair went through all of college at or near three hundred pounds while working out and playing basketball doesn’t it seem likely that his natural body weight is probably closer to that than it is to his current svelte 277?

I’m not saying Blair is doomed to eat his way out of the NBA. I love a lot about his game and think he could really be a great addition to a team. But I would wait before hoping he joins Big Baby Davis or Paul Millsap in the brotherhood of undersized power forwards. I’ve seen this Dejuan Blair movie before. And I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not talking about Tractor. I’m not going to rehash that old wound. I’m more recently reminded of Mike Sweetney.

Sweetney was a guy I was dying for the Bucks to take in the legendary 2003 draft had T.J. Ford not have been available. Sweetney seemed like the long-awaited answer to the Bucks power forward problems. With strong post-moves, rebounding ability and shot-blocking prowess, Sweetney seemed like a lock for a future NBA star despite his height deficiencies. But Sweetney would soon eat his way into his coaches dog houses. And one of those coaches? Scott Skiles. Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune wrote about him in 2006.

“Sweetney just never gets in shape quite enough and Skiles makes it clear if you don't perform, you don't play. Sweetney kept running out of gas a few minutes into every game, so Skiles sat him down until at least Sweetney could give a better effort, which he has."

So can Dejuan Blair be the guy the Bucks need next to Andrew Bogut? Is he a “Scott Skiles kind of guy?” I don't have the answers to these questions. No one does. I just hope the Bucks feel very confident in Blair's ability to control his weight if they decide to go with him. After all, we have enough fat people in Milwaukee.

Mid-Major to Main Man?

2009-05-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Mardy Collins
Sebastian Telfair
Jameer Nelson
Delonte West
Marcus Banks
Dan Dickau
Jerryl Sasser
Speedy Claxton
Andre Miller

This year Eric Maynor and Patty Mills are the en vogue mid-major points. Mills has the advantage of his brilliant run in the Olympic Games last year, while Maynor has thrown together several nice tournament performances to help his case. Maynor on the surface has appeared to be more of a fit in the traditional point guard role, while Mills quickness allows him to score easier. But for a team in need of a point guard like the Bucks (possibly), are either of them worth the risk?

The above list is first round mid-major point guard picks since 1999 (Excluding 2007 and 2008 drafts, it's just too early to tell). I included Telfair because he was facing mid-major competition in high school. Ten guys with varying results. Without question Andre Miller has had the most successful career of the aforementioned players with Jameer Nelson inching closer each year. There doesn’t seem to be a specific blueprint on what translates ones mid-major college success into prolonged NBA success. Miller has been one of the worst shooting point guards in the league since his entry, but has made up for that by looking exactly like Richard Pryor in addition to having great size and terrific vision.

College teammates Nelson and Delonte West have thrived playing with incredible talents. West has taken well to spotting up outside the arc waiting for Lebron to dish to him and defending with great zeal at the other end. Nelson has taken a few years to develop but his defense has been catching up to his natural shooting ability. He was voted an all-star for the first time this year largely thanks to the open shots he gets by playing with Dwight Howard. While neither is a pure point guard they both fell into the right situations. West can play like a two for large portions of the game because Lebron handles the ball so much. Nelson is enough of a point guard to lob the ball up for Howard or keep it moving around the perimeter for Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, but if they really need a playmaker they can give it to Turkoglu and let Nelson move off the ball.

I would say the one thing that the more successful guys on this list had in common was above average athleticism or shooting ability. It sounds stupid to say, but a lot of times the key to sticking in the league and being successful is being really good at something. Yes, everyone in the NBA is really good at something, but if a player has a specific skill that they do better than most guys they have a great shot at sticking around. Miller has an incredible basketball IQ, Nelson is a very good shooter and from all accounts a great leader too. He gets the guys together every off-season in Philly to work-out and grow as players together. Speedy Claxton made a living off being speedy. Then he blew out his knee and none of his other skills were good enough.

Mardy Collins was a professional goon. That would explain his presence on the Clippers. Jerryl Sasser and Marcus Banks? They weren’t really good at anything. Actually disregard that. Banks had a nice half season with Minnesota and played that into a big contract to back-up Steve Nash, even though he wasn’t very good. So he was good at something: hiring the right agent. Sasser was just one of those mythical tall point guards that were all the rage for some time. He probably now hangs out with Reece Gaines and Julius Hodge wondering what went wrong.

So the question becomes then, are Maynor and Mills good at anything?

Maynor has shown incredible ball hawk and clutch shot prowess in his short stints on national television. His classic performance in the CAA tournament a few years ago was one that will not soon be forgotten by fans and GM’s alike. He did it again in the NCAA’s that year against Duke and nearly thrilled once more in this past year’s tournament against UCLA. So much for shriveling under pressure.

Meanwhile, Mills spent his summer last year blowing by Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Jason Kidd whenever he felt like it in the Olympics. Actually it was just in the exhibition game. The actual game that counted he was contained much better. Still impressive!

So both guys have some serious skill. I don’t think we’ll have any Jerryl Sasser or Sebastian Telfair problems here. Scouts and pundits alike seem to like Maynor more be it his polish, size or whatever the reason may be. He’s in contention at ten for the Bucks. Mills looks like he’ll find a place later in the first round, though he could move up if he shows something he wasn’t able to show at the end of the year after suffering an injury.

Regardless I’d look for both these guys to be productive for years to come. In a draft like this that might be something worth looking at with pick number ten.

Will Flynn Be In?

2009-05-26T02:55:00.000-07:00

There have been few Bucks draft picks I’ve been more excited about than Terrance Jerod Ford. The first time I saw him was during the 2001 McDonald’s All-American game. Ford was hitting step back threes, dropping dimes and running the show like a young John Stockton. The mechanics on his shot looked shaky, but he looked like he knew what he was doing. Over the next two years I watched him blossom at Texas. He would go on to win the Naismith Award as a sophomore and amaze me to no end with a tip dunk that I unfortunately cannot find on youtube. I’m legitimately surprised by that. This is probably the first time I’ve ever looked something up on youtube and been unsuccessful. Amazing.

Ford seemed to have had the athleticism and leadership skills necessary to be a great point guard for years to come and the Milwaukee Bucks answer there for at least the next ten years. Unfortunately he has a pencil for a spine and is lucky to even be playing anymore. Every time I hear an NBA player have his toughness called into question I always think back to Ford and hope no one ever dare to question his. But there are no guards that particularly remind me of the young, wide-eyed franchise point guard Ford I envisioned on draft day.

There is one that reminds me of the new T.J. Ford however.

Who is the new T.J. Ford? He’s that guy on the Pacers that thinks he’s a scorer. The one who is still quick, but still can’t shoot a lick. The one who has seen his assist numbers tumble like rocks down a mountain, while his turnovers have begun to pile like those same rocks on the ground. I don’t see a lot of Indiana Pacer games living in Wisconsin, but the ones I did see I usually saw T.J. shooting a whole lot more than he should have been. He lit the Bucks up a few times this year and they actually did win the games when he scored the most, but in the long run, how effective can a team be with a fragile 5'11 point guard taking 20 shots and handing it over more than he hands it out?

Whom does this new T.J. Ford remind me of? Former Syracuse jacker Jonny Flynn.

Flynn has serious leadership qualities and jaw dropping athleticism. In addition to that he has a strong looking body and no known spinal conditions. All of these characteristics are pluses. A problem with Jonny Flynn has been his propensity to shoot all the time. And a propensity to take shots that are Jacksonian (I just thought of Jacksonian. I frequently call guys who take bad shots or too many shots, jackers. One of the all-time biggest jackers is Stephen Jackson. He has patented the “rhythm shot” pull-up three point fastbreak jumper. Jackson is a jacker. Therefore I’ll be referring to out of control jacker shots as Jacksonian. I love it). It may have been he just got caught up in the madness of the Syracuse playground system and had too much freedom for a college kid and that is what caused his poor shot selection. I could see that. If I was playing with Eric Devendorf, Andy Rautins and Paul Harris I’d be getting mine up too.

But if he was a truly great point prospect wouldn’t we have seen him reign his team in more? There was not a good reason Syracuse failed to win the Big East regular season crown and a one seed in the tournament. They had a great run in the conference tournament and did well in the NCAA’s, but they made it way too difficult on themselves. Isn’t that the job of the point guard to make sure they buckle down during the year? Look at what Chauncey Billups did for the Nuggets this year. He gave them discipline and order that a coach couldn’t. They finally found a point guard and all of their great athletes fell into line. They got on a roll during the season and now here they are tied with the might mighty Lakers. So, yeah it bothers me a little that we didn’t see Flynn get them going.

I say all that and I think all that and then I keep coming back to the way he played against Marquette near the end of the regular season. I mean I had nightmares for a month. Marquette didn’t have Dom James, but they did have Jerel McNeal, who was supposedly as good a defensive player as there was in the Big East. It didn’t even matter to Flynn though. He was hitting him with stutter steps, crossovers and everything else he had in his repertoire; it was like a prize fight between Mike Tyson and Mike Myers. McNeal was just not ready for him.

And it’s that memory that keeps me thinking he’ll be okay. Maybe he doesn’t have the preternatural vision, but maybe in today’s NBA that’ll be okay. What he can do is get by everyone and get to the rim and that is what the NBA is all about these days. Maybe I’m comparing him to Ford to keep my hopes down if the Bucks do draft him. Maybe I just don’t want to get to thinking we’ve found the answer again, only to see that answer putting up twenty shots a game while his teammates stand around in confusion. We will see if he is the pick this June. And if he is? Let’s just keep Eric Devendorf far away.

The International Dilemma...Sort Of

2009-05-21T13:54:00.001-07:00

Figuring out which players in the draft will develop into rotation guys or stars is difficult. It gets even more difficult when players and their agents (mainly the agents) decide they are going to tell teams where they don't want to play. This problem is one that hits home in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee is not a big market. This is news to no one. It's the 33 (or so) largest market in the country, but that puts them into the bottom third of the NBA spectrum. So it is understandable why agents have reservations about sending their clients here. And from the players perspective, I could see why one would do whatever he could to avoid coming to Milwaukee. It is going to be freezing cold for virtually the entire season and pile about 100 inches of snow on that fact. The women of Milwaukee have been growing up eating brats and drinking beer since they turned 18 which has turned the large majority of them into...men. At least man sized. And the locals don't especially care for a bad NBA team. So not a lot of pluses.

That would explain the Yi Jianlian fiasco in 2006. The Bucks pretty much had to take Yi. They had to prove they would not be manipulated by agents or anyone else trying to pressure them into something. The market aspect combined with the lack of a large Chinese population was obviously a big deal then. Did it factor into Yi being traded? Probably. But it was a lot easier to trade Yi once the organization realized that he wasn't very good and was probably 25 years old without a lot of upside. (I'd like to make clear though that the Bucks were much better off making that trade than not. Without that deal the Bucks would have won 22 games last year and the culture in the locker room would still be terrible. There would once again be no hope for next season either. Charlie Villanueva would never have gotten better and it would likely have trickled down throughout the team. So yeah, it was a good basketball decision.) Would they have kept Yi if he were a good player? Tough to say. The Bucks could be faced with a similar situation this year.

In my second look at how past drafts could impact this year's draft for the Bucks I can't help but compare the Yi Jianlian fiasco to Brandon Jennings.

Most mock drafts I've looked at have Brandon Jennings falling anywhere from fourth to the Kings to seventh to Golden State. He'll likely be gone by the time the Bucks pick. But what if Jennings fell a little in workouts? What if character issues or injury concerns push him back and he's available at number ten? Would the Bucks take him? The folks at RealGM have Jennings dropping to the Bucks at ten, so who really knows what is going to happen.

But how would Team Jennings feel about dropping to Milwaukee? When I say Team Jennings I'm speaking primarily about Jennings agent and the folks at Under Armour. To say they have a lot invested in the career of Jennings would be an understatement. They have built their entire basketball related future on his career. The last thing Under Armour wants to have happen is for him to end up in Milwaukee. Sacramento? Probably not. Minnesota? Pass. They are looking for Golden State, D.C., or New York as the best case scenarios for teams in the top ten. New York would obviously be great from not only a media standpoint, but then he'd get to work with Mike D'Antoni, a European type coach who can transform point guards into point gods. The thing about Jennings is that he probably could just go back to Europe for another year or two, or at least hold it out there as a threat.

The problem for the small market teams is that Jennings might be really good. I mean REALLY good. The only time I've seen him play was at the McDonald's All-American game a couple years back and he looked like the next big thing at point guard. I realize that I was watching a glorified pick up game, but what struck me is that all he was concerned about was setting the assist record. Any time a point guard wants to be known as a passer it means one of two things, either he is a jacker trying to fool scouts and fans alike, or he really loves the feeling of setting other guys up. I'm leaning towards the latter, only because of how natural he looked in setting up his teammates.

As for the whole Italy thing, I'm into that too. To be a point guard you need to be ballsy. Moving to Europe when you can't get into college...that is ballsy. His European stats don't mean all that much to me. Talk about a period of adjustment, wow. He had so much going on that performing in games was probably pretty difficult. But he probably learned more in practicing every day over there like a professional than he ever could have wasting away with that clown of a coach they had at Arizona this year. He couldn't even get his guys to foul at the right time.

So while I'd love to have Brandon Jennings further develop himself as a star point guard and pitchman in Milwaukee, I'm realistic. The folks at Under Armour will probably not allow it. Hopefully for Jennings sake they steer him towards somewhere warm at least.

Ghosts of Drafts Past

2009-05-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

The Milwaukee Bucks would do well to listen to the wise words of Spanish-American author/philosopher George Santayana when preparing for next months draft. Lottery swings and misses have become part of the Bucks lore since their first foray into the lottery back in 1992. But they can learn from mishaps.

Players and their styles trickle on down through time as younger kids grow up watching older guys. That’s why everyone says Lebron plays like Magic. Or Kobe has a little MJ in his game. Or Trevor Ariza has Scottie Pippen’s arms. Or Big Baby Davis has Oliver Miller’s stomach. It just happens like that. So in this draft class I’ve picked up on a few things that I remember seeing a little bit in Bucks of years gone by.

Today is part one. And we’ll start with one that scares me on a more personal level. I invested a lot of time talking about today’s past Buck and I don’t want to revisit that part of my Buck life any time soon.

Earl Clark reminds me of Marcus Haislip.

Every year Marcus Haislip and I would do the same dance. He would do outrageous dunks before games which would always tantalize me. I would be talking about him after the game like he actually got in, though he never did. This would go on for the season and then things would really heat up when summer league started. Haislip would go bonkers in every summer league game, once hitting seven threes to go along with his usual nasty dunks. I would go on and on about how much talent he had and then he would continue to rot on the bench.
I never got it. At the time I didn’t realize that guys like Haislip can’t just rely on their athleticism to get them by. I didn’t know they had to focus on defense and show effort to grab rebounds. This was always Haislip’s biggest problem. I’ll repeat myself: EFFORT was his biggest problem. Effort.

How hard is it to give effort? I don’t always work hard at my job, but when I’m given responsibility I see to it that it gets done. That is the kind of player that Milwaukee needs. Not another lackadaisical effort guy. We shipped out Tim Thomas years ago. We should have consulted Thomas way before picking Haislip anyway. “Hey Tim, does he remind you of you? He does? Okay, thanks.”

Now let me look through the dozens of scouting reports available about Earl Clark. I’ll start with his weaknesses as listed at DraftExpress.com, “doesn’t always play hard, high bust potential?, consistency, off-ball defense and mental toughness.” Yikes. Moving on to Collegehoopsnet.com, “he’s inconsistent. Needs to become more consistent.” Looks like they are concerned about his consistency. Chad Ford at ESPN.com has further concerns, stating simply that Clark “doesn’t have a great feel for the game,” and is “soft.” I don’t have the information from 2001, but I’d bet the fellow workout wonder Haislip had a lot of the same knocks on him coming out of college.

The best thing about Clark is that he was more productive in college than Haislip and may have the ability to move to the three. I also could be seduced by his productive tournament runs. Tournament runs are generally a good sign of things to come if my mind recalls correctly. I haven't actually looked that up though. Regardless, it’s still a risk not worth taking. There should be better players available. And if Clark emerges in a few years as Marcus Haislip, but with a good head on his shoulders, then some team will have gotten very VERY lucky.

Haislip seems to be holding his own in Europe though. This was from a couple years ago I believe.

Haiku Review Four

2009-05-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Francisco Elson
When much is given
much is expected. From Fran
we just asked too much.

When your team is asking Francisco Elson to log heavy minutes at the starting center position you know you've been hit by injuries. Fran did an admirable job and had one of the better "music clips" when he scored at the BC (Will Ferrell's Elf (Double parenthesis, thanks Bau) quote of "Francisco that's fun to say") but he's just another guy. The Bucks could have very well found someone younger and more exciting to be a crappy backup, and maybe that guy would have had some upside.

Keith Bogans
Dribbling adventures
were supposed to be offset
by shooting and d.

I had not seen a lot of Bogans before he came to Milwaukee. I knew he shot an okay three point percentage and had a reputation as an average to above average defender, but that's all. What I wasn't aware of was just how poor of a ball handler Bogans was. Yikes. This guy had more adventures dribbling the basketball than Bill and Ted did with their phone booth (Zing). He did do an okay job on defense, but his three point shooting was not what I expected. I honestly thought he would help propel the Bucks into the playoffs. Oh well. I'm sure we'll never hear from him again, but Keith, it was fun while it lasted kind sir.

Luke Ridnour
A surprising shot
blocker and game icer,
his days may be numbered.

He's not an intimidating anyone by any means and the numbers weren't actually very good, but I won't be quick to forget that Ridnour found a way to block three shots in one game this year. When friends of mine who don't like the NBA would watch the Bucks and see him they'd be confused as to why "that little white kid" was on the court, so for him to send three shots back from whist they came is pretty awesome. Ridnour also was absolute money at the end of games from the line. Too bad the Bucks rarely needed someone shooting free throws at the end of games. Conventional wisdom would suggest that Luke is one guy the Bucks are going to be peddling hard this summer, so we may be bidding him adieu right along with Bogans. Thanks for the drama of the fight for the last spot fellas.

NBA Players Don't Wait In Line

2009-05-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

I have multiple favorite moments from this short clip. In no particular order they are as follows

"I ain't wait in no line in ten years bro."
"Evidently the man don't have cable."
"Oh, Milwaukee. Ya'll known for beers that's right."

Haiku Review The Third

2009-05-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
More lawyer than Prince,
his tough defense never rests.
Offenders fear Luc.

There might have been no better situation for Mbah a Moute to step into in year one of his NBA career than the 2008-09 Milwaukee Bucks. After years of laziness on the defensive end, the Bucks went out and found a new general manager and coach that were commited to guys who would sell out on defense, even if they weren't proficient offensive players. Mbah a Moute fit his role perfectly and used his great athleticism and will to give offensive players of all shapes and sizes problems. Naturally a small forward, the rookie often found himself starting at the four guarding the likes of Chris Bosh and Dirk Nowitzki. He never took a night off and showed flashes of offensive ability that would compliment his defense nicely. If he can spend this off-season working on extending his range to become a three point marksman he could make a big splash next year.

Dan Gadzuric
Control and pace are
words meant for other men. Gadz
knows not of either.

Gadz had another not so great year, but this was one dotted with bright spots. The behind the back move against the Nets will not soon be forgotten. If Andrew Bogut would have stayed healthy all year it would have done wonders for Gadzuric. When he's able to play 15-20 minutes a game with all out energy and enthusiasm he can still be quite effective. When he's forced to play more than 25 minutes he runs into foul problems and shoots too many jump shots. By too many jump shots I mean any at all.

Ramon Sessions
Pinballs rely on
triggers to keep them going;
he uses free throws.

The only thing I don't like about Ramon Sessions game is his heavy reliance on free throws. As he continues to develop a jump shot it should open the lane up more for him resulting in more made baskets in the paint, but last season if he wasn't getting calls that led to him shooting two he ran into some problems. As he gets stronger with time he'll likely become a better finisher too, so this is not something that bothers me too much. His vision looked great last year and he's the most important part of the Bucks summer. What ends up happening with him will likely dictate how the rest of the summer goes. Pretty cool for a guy who was a second round pick.

Haiku Review Part Deux

2009-05-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

Charlie Villanueva
Charlie V.; sleek, smooth
moves about like leaves in wind.
Resting, yet he floats.

Charlie V. took steps to remove the tags chucker and inconsistent from his name and succeeded - to a degree. He's still shooting an awful lot of threes for someone his size. From January on he was a pretty consistent shooter and player. When he got consistent minutes he looked like a 20 point per night guy and was usually grabbing around ten rebounds. Ultimately, he still had lapses on defense and doesn't seem like the prototypical inside tough guy. Whether he can add that dimension to his game, like Dirk had to, is yet to be known. He definitely took steps this year though.

Charlie Bell
Bell drags along slow.
Father time has come calling.
Braces constrict knees.

Poor Charlie Bell. All he wanted to do a few years ago was go to Miami and play backup backup point and spend a little time along Dwyane Wade. Now he's stuck in what may be the coldest NBA town in all the land with two bad wheels and a crappy team. If he's in the league in three years I'd be shocked. Bell's biggest asset is his great character and leadership abilities (he was the Bucks player rep last year). I could see him coaching some day.

Michael Redd
The lefty will heal soon.
With time our hearts will too.
And we will love him.

It's very in style these days to not appreciate what Michael Redd has done as a Milwaukee Buck. I'm as guilty as anyone of taking him for granted these last few years. Redd can be a great player, and had his contract been about ten million dollars less he may be one of the more popular Bucks of all time. But it is what it is, and he'll likely have a hard time reclaiming the minds of Bucks fans for the duration of his stay here. But in ten years we will remember the better times and the sweet stroke and he'll be welcomed back with open arms and a jersey in the rafters.

Haiku Review

2009-05-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

And now for my review of the season...in Haiku form.

I'll throw a few of these up a day until I've covered the whole team. Just to keep you coming back and to keep myself going while I cry myself to sleep during the marathon known as the NBA playoffs.

Joe Alexander
Joe Alexander
A gazelle runs from lions;
he runs from Lebron.

In short, Alexander looked terrified often this year, but he's athletic as anything on Earth, I really think the kid has a bright future.

Damon Jones
Damon Jones on bench.
Excitement, like lightening,
can not be bottled.

We all know I'm in love with Jones' bench demeanor. I'm just sad it's not something you can buy at the store and give to next years scrubs. I hope he took Salim under his wing and the Bucks can bring him back as next years shooter de jour who gets excited.

Andrew Bogut
Meant to shine this year,
Bogut's star was put on hold,
but next year'll be bright.

Bogut was off to a great start this year when he was healthy. He was a walking double double, the problem was that he wasn't walking very often. Next year will be terrific, I can feel it for the Aussie.

The Off Season Part Three

2009-05-02T15:27:00.001-07:00

(My apologies for the lack of updates recently. I was battling some internet problems and some NBA playoff addiction. Here is the long awaited third part of my off-season preview.)

What We Hope For

What we hope for is really a funny question. Watching the playoffs each and every year has reminded me what I’ve been hoping for ever since 2001. I can’t honestly say that I’m hoping the Bucks can ever have a series like the Bulls and Celtics are having right now, because it’s just too special. And I can’t say that I’m hoping the Bucks get blown out and embarrassed by 58 points like the Hornets. I guess what I’m looking for lies somewhere in the middle.

I’d like for the Bucks to get in the playoffs and make noise next year, but to have an eye towards the future too. I don’t want to sell off the future while looking only toward the present like the Suns have been doing these last few years.

So what will accomplish those goals?

Get Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd Healthy

If these two are healthy the Bucks are a playoff team. Bogut is one of the better centers in the East and Redd is still one of the top shooters. The Bucks were done in by their lack of rebounding, defense and shooting at the end of last season, but they have in house solutions for those matters. Their role players can play minor roles with success, but for that to happen these guys need to be healthy.

The word is that Redd is making significant progress with his knee rehab and should definitely be ready for opening night. Bogut can look to the same people who healed Tracy Mcgrady’s back to heal his…or not. On his blog he says he’ll be getting an MRI in another two weeks to make sure he’s fully healed before he begins working out. It’s a positive sign that he’ll be healed with so much time left in the off-season, but you never know what’s going to happen with back injuries like this.

Keep Ramon Sessions and Draft Tyreke Evans

That I want the Bucks to keep Ramon Sessions is a statement that explains itself. Sessions was the best player on the Bucks for large parts of the season after not even playing in the first two games. He took a strong hold on the starting point guard position and showed the ability to be a real legitimate starter for years to come. Are there some guys in this year’s draft that could be better than him? Yes. Johnny Flynn in particular looks like he could be a real dynamo, but drafting young point guards screams four or five year wait.

By the time most of these guys get to be any good they’d already be off on another team. Chauncey Billups was drafted by Boston. Steve Nash was drafted by Phoenix and blossomed for Dallas before returning. Baron Davis was drafted by the Hornets before taking over the Bay Area. I know that there are Deron Williams’ and Chris Pauls, but there is not one of those guys in this draft at the ten spot -- even if NBADraft.net says Johnny Flynn is falling to the Bucks.

Evans has as much clear potential as anyone in this draft. He looked like a stud for damn near the entire season at Memphis and even played point guard for most of the year. I’m not saying he’s a future NBA point, but that shows he has some versatility and is more willing to help a team than going to Memphis and being a supposed street tough would indicate. The way Evans played in the NCAA tournament screamed future star. He got out there and put on a show when he needed to. Sometimes we put too much stake in stepping up in big moments, but I don’t think people are putting enough into him shining in Memphis last game against Missouri.

In the crapshoot known as a weak draft the only rule is to take the most talented player available.

Sorry Charlie

Charlie Villanueva really cannot return. I know the Bucks are going to be shopping Richard Jefferson, but that is not enough. They need a forceful defender at the four spot and Chuckie B. Shooting just isn’t going to cut it.

Someone please pay attention to the playoffs. Al Horford, Kendrick Perkins, Tyrus Thomas, Udonis Haslem, Kenyon Martin…notice a theme? Tough guy power forwards who are willing to play hard defense and grab big rebounds are pretty important to winning games. Martin and bench buddy Chris Anderson destroyed the Hornets. Thomas has been running around pushing people like a crazy man and making big plays. Horford plays like he’s 33.

The closest thing to any of these guys in the draft is Dejuan Blair, and I don’t think he’s going to be a better player than Ty Evans. The Bucks are better off trying to dump Villanueva and plug a random in at the four while they continue to search for the future at that spot.

St. Louis Bucks?

2009-04-16T00:33:00.000-07:00

As a little side note I am in St. Louis right now, and if the Bucks did have to move in the next five years or so, I think this might be a cool place. This is undoubtedly a baseball and hockey town, but it looks like all the local places really throw their support behind their teams.

They have the Scottrade Center which held 22,000 some for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in 2007 which is pretty good. I'm not sure what the luxury suite situation in there, but that is a lot of seats. They also have great chicken wings everywhere you go. Delightful.

The Cardinals suck though.

The Off-Season Part Two

2009-04-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

The more I think about this off-season the more I think it’s going to be pretty unimportant. Every off-season is a big deal, but really the Bucks have a year or two before their regular or off-seasons really matter. They don’t have any important expiring contracts, the market is so bad that they shouldn’t face too much competition for resigning either of their (basically) restricted free agents, and they have what they likely believe is a solid core when healthy locked up for two more seasons together.

This summer screams of them finding ways to cut costs by auctioning their pick and/or Joe Alexander as Frank at Brewhoop has been pointing out lately. Regardless, I feel like these are some interesting questions they’ll be facing.

What We Aren’t Sure Of

Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson, where do they go from here?

At the most Redd and Jefferson will be the featured scorers on a resurgent Bucks team next year that makes a significant push for the sixth spot in the East. At the very least, one or both of them will be shipped off this summer for roughly half of their actual value. Their value is something that is up for debate though.

Both of them are still productive players at or just passed their primes. The obvious problem with both players is that they have contracts that are inflated and extensive. Both come up after the supposed glorious Summer of 2010, but given the extent that the ever worsening economy has affected the NBA who knows if that will even be as big of a deal as it was supposed to be. Nevertheless their contracts make them close to nuclear with regard to the trade market. The Bucks will likely have to take back pretty crappy players with abrasive contracts and/or attitude problems.

Of the two, Redd would likely have been more appealing this summer had his knee not exploded in January. Yes, he’ll be fine by the time the season starts, and yes he was never all that reliant on his explosion to begin with, but any time an aging shooting guard blows out his knee it’s never a good sign. When the Celtics acquired Ray Allen some people (Bill Simmons) were afraid of his ankles giving out, since he was an aging guard with bad ankles; a valid concern. The thing about Redd though, is that he has always been more of an arm shooter. He slings the ball up like an early Bart Simpson with a rock. This may keep his value at least at an acceptable level.

Jefferson lacks the one skill to make him all that attractive, but teams like the Blazers and Jazz who still need another piece may have renewed interest in him after likely playoff flame outs. Jefferson is even more overpaid than Redd, but he does make a little bit less. It’s likely that the Bucks will have to sweeten any deal with either of them with a young player or draft pick.

Who Is Joe Alexander?

What is this guy really capable of? Alexander reminds me of a baby tiger. He’s young and doesn’t really know what he’s doing yet. He has all this athleticism and speed but he’s usually running too fast for his own good and ends up stumbling over himself (so many silly turnovers). He picks on animals bigger than him and needs help defending himself (over matched on the defensive end). He can be a valuable member of the pack when coming over to help more established members during their battles (shot-blocking help from the weak side).

But near the end of the year Alexander has shown real signs of development. He’s not as hesitant to shoot when with the first team and isn’t rushing himself as often. He must be working hard in practice; otherwise Skiles would not have rewarded him with playing time over the past month.

Alexander compared this season to his freshman year in college. It has been all about adjusting and learning a whole new game. We often forget how different and intensified things are on the professional level. No one out there is a weak link and smaller things are so much more important due to the talent level. Missing a defensive rotation will result in a lay-up or easy basketball almost every time. There is no swinging to the crappy over matched freshman in the NBA, it’s swinging to another guy who can hit almost any shot and convert around the hoop.

Alexander certainly has a sweet looking stroke and upside. At this point I’d much rather have him than Yi Jianlian, so that means something right? Plus the more I look at him the more I feel like I’m watching Paul Reiser and Mad About You had good ratings and led to a successful career for Helen Hunt, so that’s a plus. I’m still hoping we have a Kerry Kittles after a growth spurt and some weight lifting on our hands.

Also, baby tigers grow into full grown killing machines eventually, keep that in mind.

What do you do with the 10/11 pick in a crappy draft?

This one I’ll handle separately as we get closer to draft day, but it boils down to a few choices. Keep the pick and hope the guy you get turns out, trade the pick alone or in a package, or trade Joe Alexander alone or in a package because what you’re getting with this pick will be better.

At this point I’d advocate trading this pick before jumping ship on Joey Dunks because he has a year under his belt and pretty good looking potential. Again, I’ll look back at this question throughout May and June, but it’s probably the key question in what may be a bland off-season.

The Off-Season Part One of Three

2009-04-15T00:25:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately the Bucks regular season has become the off season for the last few years. Fans have been much more interested in seeing if the Bucks can do anything good in the summer to possibly save themselves from the wreck fans are expecting each regular season. When Richard Jefferson was acquired last summer that was a bigger deal than any individual game the Bucks played this year. This is not a good thing.

Why did I not make note of these last two games this week? The last few games of a season of mediocrity is like the last few days of sixth grade. You’re about to go into a nondescript grade that is really not much to look forward to. The next few days really don’t matter and won’t be the party you’re hoping for because teachers want to pretend like there is still schoolwork to be done.

See the Bucks don’t appear to have a lot to look forward to this summer. Their draft pick is going to be middling in a draft that has been described as anywhere from less than stellar to a class that can be done without. Their two best young players are free agents (kind of) and their large contracts do not come off the books. In the cookbook of NBA success this is not the typical recipe.

But that does not preclude certain doom. I feel like we can break the Bucks off season plan up into three sections: What We Know, What We Aren’t Sure Of and What We Hope For.

What We Know

1. The Bucks are Bogut’s

Bogut emerged this year as a candidate for a double double every night. In his 35 games he averaged a double double and threw in a block a game for good measure. The blocks went down but his impact on the team’s defense was incredible. When Bogut was healthy the Bucks for the first time in years were a top ten defensive squad and the league’s best rebounding team. While down from the season previous, his PER of 16.23 was considerably more than either Dan Gadzuric’s 12.06 or Francisco Elson’s 10.33.

That alone explains Bogut’s incredible value to this team. Gadzuric and Elson will both be back next year as neither of their contracts expires and the production of each player does not merit the money they will be making. When a player has no suitable replacement it makes them that much more valuable. With Bogut in the lineup the Bucks were a team that could at the very least seriously contend for the last spot in the playoffs; without him they looked soft and vulnerable to anyone they were on the court with.

Bogut has the point guardian skill of making the Bucks players better. He also has the Arenasian skill of connecting well with the fans and having a pretty sneaky cool sense of humor. Bogut was on the cutting edge of the Twitter NBA boom and showed serious comedic chops when he busted out his Pitino White Suit.

When Bogut is in the game he opens up the middle for Ramon Sessions to drive. His defender need worry that he’ll finish a play if said defender steps in Ramon’s way because Bogut has such skill around the hoop. Bogut has the presence of space and fluidity that Gadzuric and Elson lack. When he is on the court you don’t see the awkward moves to the hoop and missed opportunities resulting in frustration for the rest of the players on the court. If Sessions knows that his well-intentioned messes inside will be cleaned up by a teammate he can feel significantly more confident on his many forays to the hoop.

2. A Parade of Average Role Players Will Return

The following players are under contract for next season at a cost exceeding their worth: Charlie Bell, Luke Ridnour, Malik Allen (Player Option), Francisco Elson (Player Option), and as always Dan Gadzuric. (I’m not going to say Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson. I’m not saying them because they are not role players, not because they are not seriously overpaid.) What’s unfortunate about this is that it will likely prevent them from taking a flier on a second round pick with promise. Each of these guys offers something with regard to being a veteran or skilled, but they are end of the bench guys, not the entire bench.

Of this group I’d say Ridnour is most likely to go straight up. Allen or Elson have smaller contracts and could be peddled in a bigger deal to match up payroll figures, but Ridnour has six and a half million dollar deal that could be seen as savings for another franchise. He still has value as a backup point guard or possibly a starter if a team is looking for a one year stop gap before someone younger develops. Ridnour showed a spark a few times this season and can be relied on as a free throw shooter and average long range gunner.

Hopefully other GM's leaguewide paid as much attention to the Bucks as the rest of America did and John Hammond can fool someone into taking Ridnour for something of value. He was in the conversation when they were talking about revamping Team USA a few years ago. Can we just promote that a whole bunch?

3. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Has A Future

Even more than Joe Alexander and Ramon Sessions the Prince will be a certainty for next year. It's likely the Bucks will find a way to bring back Sessions, but Mbah a Moute will be very undervalued for at least one more season, which is key for a franchise as cash strapped as the Bucks are. Mbah a Moute is the best perimeter defender Milwaukee has seen in years and someone for fans to be excited about.

The way he outplayed Alexander all year really created something of a dilemma around these parts. The second round pick was not suppose to look so much better than an athletically superior first rounder, even if he had more college seasoning. He and Alexander both play the same position ideally, but Mbah a Moute showed a lot of grit in being able to move up to the four to play.

Excitement has been rare on 4th street in these last few years, so this youngster's value is hard to measure. He's already a favorite of coach Scott Skiles and is probably the one guy I haven't heard anyone in Milwaukee disparage.

Mr. NBA Milwaukee

2009-04-10T17:36:00.001-07:00

Steve Haywood: NBA Fan.

This is what I've been saying for about two years now.

The Allure and Sadness of Opening Day

2009-04-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

Early April in Milwaukee is a wonderfully awful time.

The beloved Brewers retake the field and the sun begins to peak out from behind the clouds with an idea about how to eradicate snow from the ground. Thermometers begin to creep up over the 50 degree landmark and coats turn into hooded sweatshirts. Friends come back from spring break in much warmer places and complain about how much nicer it was there than here; at least until they have four beers in the parking lot at Miller Park and forget those problems.

And the Bucks, who teeter on the edge of importance in the minds of many all fall and winter, fall out of favor with local fans.

But in step one of a destroy and rebuild type plan that can be expected. The idea behind this season was the change the culture surrounding the team. Yes, the playoffs would have been nice but ultimately this has been a season of analysis. The Bucks now have an idea of who will work within the Scott Skiles defensive-minded system and who does not fit the plan going forward. The players in turn know what is expected from them every night regardless if they are Damon Jones or Richard Jefferson. Everyone will be held to the same standard.

A season wrought with injury may actually have been a blessing in the clever guise of heartache. Without the injuries to Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut it's possible that Charlie Villanueva is not rewarded with heavy minutes. He may still be floundering in a sixth man role, leaving his true potential and abilities a mystery. Now we know that he can fill it up on a fairly consistent basis, even if he isn't going to be a dominant defender and rebounder. Given his position next to a pretty good threat on the boards and defensive end the Bucks may opt to try harder to bring him back now. Combining him with Bogut would give them a potent offensive combo on the front line. Or they may have seene enough to know that they'll be better off with a Paul Millsap/Dejuan Blair type big man who will do all the dirty work to keep Bogut focused on the larger picture.

Redd going down opened up some time on the wings for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. He forced his way into the lineup earlier with his defense, but he looked even better on the wings than he did playing power forward. If he can learn how to hit a corner three he would be exciting on the court with Redd and Ramon Sessions.

Sessions himself benefited from injuries. Luke Ridnour going down at the start of March opened up the starting point guard spot that everyone was pining for him to take from the break of camp in October. Sessions proved he was a deft assist man and capable of putting up big points if the refs would allow him to get to the free throw line.

The question now lies with what to do with Villanueva, Richard Jefferson and Ridnour. Each man's fit and/or talent level has made them expendable to a degree. They all have value and with a draft pick could allow the Bucks some significant financial savings. Villanueva is the most likely to stay and most likely to leave given that he is a free agent. Teams will be awfully stingy with their cash this year and he may be better off signing a one year tender with the Bucks in hopes of a rebounding economy next year. Jefferson and Ridnour will be interesting to watch this off-season. The financial future of the Bucks lies squarely on the shoulder of those two, as they are productive and expensive. They have the most appeal of players the Bucks are likely to try and shop and very well could be gone on draft day.

Regardless of what happens, the Bucks will be doing everything this off-season with the idea of being relevant next April.

The Week Ahead April 5th-April 11th

2009-04-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

With four games left until the first season of the Scott Skiles era is over coach Skiles appears to want to make it clear that things will continue to be done his way. After a lethargic effort defensively and offensively in quarter two on Saturday Skiles pulled his favorite move out of his pocket: bench those not giving enough effort to satisfy.

Charlie Villanueva, Richard Jefferson and Ramon Sessions were the men who started half two on the bench. Skiles has been known throughout his career for being as hard as anyone on his guys and that held up Saturday. With the season having slipped away in the last few weeks perhaps this was Skiles letting his guys know that on his squads the players will play hard whether it is game one or game 81 and whether they are playing for playoff position or ping pong balls.

I once heard somewhere that the only thing a coach had at his expense to use for the purpose of teaching players lessons was playing time. This seems accurate. It may have been in David Shields “Black Planet”; largely about George Karl and the 1994-95 Sonics. Karl may have said that, I wish I could remember. Karl was constantly battling with Kendall Gill and used minutes as his weapon. Gill complained up and down about Karl. The next year Gill was gone and the Sonics gave the Jordan and Company a couple of games during the finals of the Greatest Season Ever from the Bulls.

What does this all mean with regard to the Bucks? Maybe nothing; maybe everything, we’ll see where we end up. Ultimately respect of your players is what matters. I think Skiles has that. But he always has that in year one. I’ll hold my judgement until the third and hopefully fourth year. By that time Skiles act has usually worn thin.

I’m banking on Skiles having learned from his past experiences though. Surely he won’t repeat his mistakes for a third time. Between that and the fact that most of the guys who are here now won’t be in three years, I’m really thinking that this whole Scott Skiles thing will have a positive ending.

April 8 vs. Atlanta (43-34)
The Hawks have taken a nice step forward this year. Think of how good they would be if they had an owner. If they had an owner they would probably have Josh Childress, who would fill in nicely over the likes of Mo Evans and Ronald Murray. Murray has been a pretty effective gunner this year. The Hawks might even advance to the second round of the playoffs this year. If Josh Smith can focus in and put it all together for a few weeks they could be a surprise team. The first round battle with Boston last year was the greatest thing that could have happened to this franchise. It seemed to have united them and given them a chip on their shoulder for this whole season. Too bad they don’t have an owner to guide them.

April 11 vs. Oklahoma City (21-54)
Kevin Durant is coming to Milwaukee. Kevin Durant is coming to Milwaukee. Kevin Durant is coming to Milwaukee. Kevin Durant is coming to Milwaukee. Kevin Durant is coming to Milwaukee. And they have Shaun Livingston This, my friends, is must-see TV.

Welcome to Milwaukee Salim Stoudamire

2009-04-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

"Who the hell is that dude with the crazy hair next to Bogut?"

That was my first reaction upon seeing last night's game. I obviously hadn't heard the big news. Sharpshooting Arizona guard Salim Stoudamire is a Buck. I love it. No, Salim isn't going to make a huge impact and he might be a bit of a flake, but the man has a skill. There is always room at the end of the bench for players who have a skill.

Be it a defensive specialist, a free throw shooter to ice games, an athlete for energy or a great shooter, if you have one incredible talent you can make an impact.

If you don't believe me watch Kyle Korver on the Jazz.

Stoudamire is a lights out shooter who has drifted around the league finding more problems with coaches than minutes with other players. Everyone deserves a clean slate though. The fact that the Bucks saw someone who had some talent out there and decided to take a shot is encouraging. Why waste the roster spots on the Eddie Gill's of the world when you can take a look at a guy who could fill a specific role on a good team?

Yet another encouraging sign that John Hammond knows what he is doing.

Thoughts During the Joe Alexander Revenge Tour

2009-04-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

The Joe Alexander Tour is what I've dubbed the rest of the season.

What is going on right now? I missed the start of the game and I tune in to see the Bucks up 11. It’s probably due to Joe Alexander. (Correction: It is not due to Alexander, but he just put in a nice dunk. RJ and the centers look like they’ve done well early.)

Pau Gasol’s beard makes me scratch my face. He looks like he smokes a pack of cigarettes while he’s at the club listening to techno. Not every European player has this feel, but he does. I love watching him play though, he has a Kukocian ability to make passing look fun.

Alexander is carrying himself with so much more certainty these days and it is paying off. He’s already hit a jumper and took it strong for a dunk.

DJ Mbenga has the biggest head in the NBA and if you don’t believe me get NBA 2K9 and look at his picture.

So far Milwaukee has had as much energy as they’ve had at any point in the last month. I have a hard time believing that they weren’t bringing it because they weren’t playing the Lakers or Celtics every night, I mean they’ve been in the thick of a playoff race all month. What is responsible for the sudden burst in energy the last two games?

Whatever it is that’s gotten into the Bucks it has gotten into them in a major way. Case in point: Charlie Villanueva just took a charge.

Kobe Bryant just held Luc Mbah a Moute’s arm blatantly in front of a ref – to the point both of them were looking at the ref wondering who would get the call – then caught the ball, traveled and hit a fall away jump shot. Fun.

It feels like the wheels are loosening. Seven straight from Odom and Kobe have the Lake show within three. It seems like the Bucks don’t have the necessary tools to get easy shots to continue to drop all game. Today they got off to a good start and were finishing but here we are in quarter two and some of the bunnies aren’t going down. Another question to think about: Is it a lack of talent or fatigue with a lack of depth that keeps them from consistency on the easy shots?

RJ just got fouled and they didn’t call it a shooting foul – despite the fact that it obviously was – and Skiles dropped two or three non-muffled F bombs for the cameras. He’s not afraid to voice his opinion.

57-55 in favor of the Green Guys after one half. I’ll take it. Kobe hasn’t missed yet by the way, 7-7.

Alexander with 11 first half minutes is especially pleasing. I haven’t seen anything out of him lately that makes me think he won’t be a serviceable plus NBA player; I’m thinking a Kerry Kittles type career. With that I’d be okay.

Gadz just picked up his first foul by walking onto the court at the 12:00 mark of the third quarter. He has four. Energy has been the theme in the past two games and Gadz plays a big role in the Bucks energy game. If he misses most of the second half it’ll be all bad for the Bucks.

Kobe finally misses and Gadz gets another dunk on the other end. I’m surprised Skiles has Gadz in there with four fouls. He’s usually an ardent subscriber to the foul trouble removal theory. I guess with Gadzuric he figures let him stay in there and foul out. After Gadz hits a jumper he attempts some sort of spinorama move and makes everyone cringe. To his credit he then runs the floor and gets a lay-up. That’s three straight shots out of Gadzilla.

Bucks pull back out to a six point lead after a breakaway lay-up for Ramon Sessions. Opening back up a mini-lead like that is nice after a battle right before halftime.

The Bucks aren’t giving away this lead easily; every time the Lakers crawl back the Bucks extend things back out to five or six. And I just realized Charlie Bell does not have a knee brace on today. Like no brace at all. Nada. How is that possible? He was wearing a bionic leg earlier this year! He does seem frisky on Kobe, maybe he’s feeling his best. By the time I finished typing that mini-paragraph the Lakers turned a three point deficit into a one point lead.

Elson went down off camera and no one can really say why he went down or what is wrong. Let’s hope the big man is okay.

Bucks are back ahead after a great cut and finish by Sessions and pass by Bell after Alexander did some bumbling. Sessions grabs a rebound before the quarter ends and he’s sitting at 14 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds. Bucks up 81-80 at the end of three.

Alexander starts the fourth with a three as I look up Kerry Kittles stats. Before I finish typing Kittles at basketballreference.com he puts up a near air ball on his next three point attempt. Oh well.

Kittles: 14 points and four rebounds per game. That seems about right, give or take a few points and rebounds. I think Alexander will be more active as a shot blocker and perhaps less with regard to steals.

Another charge taken by Charlie V. Milwaukee is fired up. Unfortunately Elson has been escorted to the locker room with what Jim is calling a knee injury. Gadz is in serious foul trouble and so is Charlie V., this could be trouble in the making.

Case in point: Mbah a Moute gets absolutely DUSTED on a spin by Gasol and then fouls him on his dunk. The Lake show is up one after the throw. Gasol takes it back in on the next possession this time against Villanueva resulting in another basket.

Ugh. Kobe gets a lay-up on an inbounds play and gets fouled for the three point play, Lakers are now up six.

Gasol is abusing everyone the Bucks put on him. Gadz came back in and stopped him once but he can only do so much against Gasol. Gasol has got a plethora of post moves and is trying to foul out Gadzuric ASAP.

Kobe takes care of it on a plus one to put the Lakers up 10 with just under four minutes to go. The Lakers have noticeably turned it up on the defensive end and look like they’ve got this one wrapped up.

John and Jim are ecstatic about Sessions triple double. As they should be.

No complaints here. The Bucks played their asses off and had a lead into the fourth quarter. Against a team as good as the Lakers that is all you can ask for at this point. Alexander looked good and bad at the same time usually. Sessions popped his triple double cherry and seems to have found at least some sort of happy medium between shooting jumpers and penetrating.

The Week Ahead March 29th-April 4th

2009-03-30T14:07:00.001-07:00

Forgive me if I’m getting repetitive, but the Bucks had another rough March week. Fortunately the road trip ends Monday, but things get no easier with four tough games this week.

No one can be too surprised that things have gotten away from the Bucks lately, but we can all be a little dismayed. The past two years I’d be getting ready for Tankapalooza the rest of the way but no need to worry about that this year. Professionalism and pride have been restored in Milwaukee and (semi)competitive basketball will continue the rest of the year. I have only one message for Coach Skiles...

Free Joe Alexander!

He looked frisky in his early stint against the Heat. If he’s feeling comfortable with the first and second teams he’ll do even better. He looks hesitant to shoot unless he’s playing garbage time, so maybe this is a chance for him to put aside his hesitancy.

March 30 @ New Jersey (30-43)
In a battle of playoff pretenders Milwaukee and New Jersey reunite. The key for the Bucks will be defending the three tonight. The Nets have killed them from beyond the arc all year hitting 10 and nine threes in their last two battles. Ryan Anderson specifically lit up the Bucks at the BC not missing a shot all night and giving Marquette fans flashbacks to another 6'10 shooter who used to call the Bradley Center home. The Devin Harris Is Amazing bandwagon hasn’t been as loud lately, but he’s averaging almost 10 assists a game in March. Not bad. He’s making my earlier Ramon Sessions comparisons seem silly.

April 1 vs. LA Lakers (58-15)
At least we get to see Kobe. The Bucks will not soon think fondly back on their time in LA earlier this year when they were throttled and embarrassed in a 105-92 loss. The Lakers are an NBA blue blood. I just wanted to say that because I am so tired of hearing analysts call these Final Four teams blue bloods. Anyway, Kobe will likely give Mbah a Moute and Keith Bogans fits in a rough one in Milwaukee. The Bucks have surprised the Celtics once (almost twice!) so maybe they’ll put on a show against the Lakers. I won’t hold my breath. It’ll be nice to see Lamar Odom too, he’s always been one of my favorites and makes for a great passage in FreeDarko’s Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac.

April 2 @ Philadelphia (37-35)
Of all the teams that fired their coach immediately upon starting this season Philly has come out looking best. It makes sense, they had the most talent and most continuity from last season with regard to their roster. Philly got back to running and ran away from the bottom feeders in the East. I just hope we aren’t subjected to more three-point-shooting from Royal Ivey and Andre Miller. I still haven’t gotten over the shots they hit back in January to beat the Bucks.

April 4 vs. Memphis (18-54)
Hey this one could be a win. I saw Memphis on NBATV at a bar the other night and I remarked to my friends that I hadn’t seen Memphis on TV all year. As a matter of fact I don’t remember seeing them on TV since they last made the playoffs in 2003 or whenever it was. I’m looking forward to this though. Memphis has a lot of young talent and should be fun to watch. If they get Blake Griffin next year watch out. Matter of fact, watch out for whatever team gets Blake Griffin, he’s a phenom and will average a double double next year in the league.

More Recapaction

2009-03-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

I've done another recap over at Brewhoop.

And it was another frustrating Bucks loss.

2008-09 Bucks Obituary

2009-03-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

(If you don't think this is an attempt to reverse jinx the Bucks then you just don't know me very well.)

The 2008-09 Milwaukee Bucks were a plucky group that made us remember why we love basketball in Milwaukee. They took the cue from their new defensive minded leader Scott Skiles and scrapped and clawed their way through each game. When the injury bug continuously reared its ugly head they refused to make excuses, they just worked harder.

The Bucks were unable to channel a consistency to their newfound defensive prowess however, which provided us with high highs (wins over the Celtics and Spurs) and low lows (losses at home to the Knicks and T’Wolves).

Unfortunately the hard work would not be enough as the Bucks playoff hopes were laid to rest Saturday March 21st in Milwaukee. The cause of death was believed to be related to a past lack of fiscal responsibility and draft talent deficiency. The combination of the two is commonly known as LarrHarrasia.

Injuries wasted no time with the Bucks this year, claiming Michael Redd for a 14 game stretch in November and Andrew Bogut for three more at the end of the same month.

The Bucks stumbled to a 3-5 record out of the gate, but showed promise in losses to the Raptors and Cavaliers. By game 10 they would crawl up to .500 behind emerging point guard Ramon Sessions. Sessions was a mysterious DNP-CD in the Bucks first two games after a scorching finish to the season before. He wasted no time when reinserted into the rotation averaging over 17 points and eight assists in his first three games.

More surprising than the solid play of Sessions was the quickly blossoming second round pick Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Coming out of UCLA Mbah a Moute was thought of as a pretty strong defensive player, but no one in their wildest dreams thought he would instantly be the Bucks best defender. Injuries played a role in Mbah a Moute becoming a starter in mid-November, but no matter who was healthy it was clear that he needed to be playing 25 minutes plus already.

The Bucks finished November 6-11 against a very difficult schedule. A healthy Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd tandem provided the fans with some hope in December as they rolled to an 8-6 month. Things turned frustrating beginning on December 23rd as they went through a 14 game stretch where no two games resulted in consecutive wins or losses. It’s likely that this was the result of Bogut being benched again by a bad back for the early part of the new year.

It was around this time that Milwaukee fans realized just how important the Aussie was. Seeing the team struggle so much defensively and on the boards gave us all an appreciation of just how far Andrew Bogut had come as a starting center in the NBA. Either that or it shows us just how bad things can be when your backup big men are Dan Gadzuric and Francisco Elson.

You’ll notice that I have yet to mention key off-season acquisition Richard Jefferson. Well, that is because Jefferson did not do a whole lot to earn that key before off-season acquisition for the first few months of the season. Sure he’d occasionally lead them in scoring, but it seemed like when the Bucks needed a big hoop or stop RJ was nowhere to be found. That changed in February.

With the Bucks season quickly spiraling out of control after a 2-5 stretch near the end of January RJ got it going. He averaged over 23 points a game in February and shot 50 percent from long range. Between he, Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions, it seemed like the Bucks might just pull this thing out after all.

Villanueva saw a minute increase when Michael Redd went down for the season near the end of January and rewarded the Bucks with the most consistent offensive stretch of his career, averaging over 20 points in February. Sessions took the reigns as the starting point guard thanks to an injury to Luke Ridnour (even though we all know he should have been there from day one) and the three of them led the Bucks to over 106 points per game in February.

The Bucks lack of talented depth and difficult March schedule left them for dead as the cold Wisconsin winter began to defrost. After making it through most of the season in the eighth and final playoff spot the Bucks began to lose their footing starting with losses to the Nets and Bulls in the opening week of March and continued that trend through most of the month. A surprising victory over the defending champion Celtics allowed for a brief ray of hope, but subsequent losses to Orlando and Portland left them two games back against a very difficult remaining schedule.

These Bucks have little to apologize for though. They fought through injuries, rumors and inexperience to make for the most successful season in three years. They gave the fans a taste of the playoff race and provided the youngsters an experience of what the chase feels like. For guys like Sessions, Mbah a Moute and Villanueva, this was their first experience with any modicum of success.

A few days back in the Journal Sentinel, columnist Michael Hunt had this to say about these Bucks and their season:

But then came 1999, when the Bucks just squeezed in. Indiana swept them. The next year, they pushed the Pacers to the max in the first round. With all that postseason experience behind them, the Bucks came within 48 minutes of the Finals the following season.

There's no substitute for going through the process, Skiles said.

There is no better way, then, for the Bucks to expunge these last few miserable seasons than by exposing their long-term players to it right now. That first step gets you that much closer to changing the culture. You do it right now because deferring anything to an uncertain future by means of the lottery or any other rationale is a defeatist approach for a franchise that cannot afford to put off anything approaching progress.

I agree wholeheartedly with his sentiments. I can only hope that some of the lessons learned through the process of the race will be applied next year.

In addition to coach Skiles, the Bucks will be survived by Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, Dan Gadzuric, Francisco Elson, Luke Ridnour, Charlie Bell, Joe Alexander, Malik Allen, possibly Richard Jefferson (I hear more trade rumors already) and maybe Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions (it’ll be an interesting off-season).

Memorial services will be held at Fourth and State on April 1st, 4th, 8th, 11th, and 13th.

The Week Ahead (March 22nd-28th)

2009-03-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

It turns out home was not very sweet for the Bucks. The Bucks end their six game home stand with two wins and four losses. Not exactly a playoff springboard. We knew this wouldn’t be a walk in the park home stand, but I was hoping for at least .500. The loss to the Knicks was a killer. At the time Frank at Brewhoop wrote:

Still, there's no way to sugarcoat this game--it was a huge, huge loss that we may very look back on as the decisive game of the season.

I’m ready to say it was that decisive game.

Now the Bucks have a difficult three game road stretch as time starts to run out on their playoff hopes and the gap between them and that final spot continues to grow.

March 25th @ Toronto(25-45)
Chris Bosh likely has April 15th circled on his schedule for two reasons.

It’s tax day here in America.
The Raptors nightmare season will finally come to an end.

No team started the season with more realistically high expectations that went unfulfilled. I mean we were talking about the Raptors as a team that could contend for a playoff spot in the four range. The free fall hasn’t ended even as the team has come together from a health standpoint. The Chris Bosh Watch started before the season and has only intensified as things have spun out of control. There is a better chance that the Bucks will have a title by 2011 than the Raps will have Chris Bosh. Here is the Bucks best shot at picking up a much needed win on this road trip. Good thing it's first, it could set the tone and maybe spur one last shot.

March 27th @ Orlando (51-18)
Must we do this again? Last game was more reminiscent of bugs hitting a car than actual basketball. Bucks were flying off the mighty Dwight Howard and balls were flying into innocent spectators. I still believe at some point in his career the NBA’s answer to Godzilla will cause the explosion of a basketball with his right hand. Earlier this year I thought the Magic were the likeliest of this year’s top teams to go out early in the playoffs, but now I’m having second thoughts on that. They have surrounded Howard perfectly and play crazy defense. I can’t wait to see them go up against the Cavs or Celtics in round two, that will be fun.

March 28th @ Miami (37-32)
D-Wade is making a historic MVP push right now averaging over 35 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds in March. What’s crazy is that even with that legendary type run he hasn’t secured pole position on the road to the MVP vote. That is as good a reason as any that Lebron should be MVP. MVP or not Wade will likely be more than enough to put the Bucks away in South Beach which is a phenomenal home court. The fans aren’t great but if I were a millionaire under 30 in South Beach I’d probably be a little preoccupied with my before and after game plans.

Things I've Done Right...Things I've Done Wrong

2009-03-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'll be updating this list on and off for the next few days with how things are going in my NCAA Tournament Fan Experience.

(Updated 9:15 PM 3/22)

Things I Have NOT Enjoyed

Howie Long. He stands out alone here. I don't ever want to see another commercial involving Howie Long. Enough. I don't care what you have to say you smug bastard. If I had a truck I'd make sure it had that man-step just to spite you and your boxy haircut.

Things I've Enjoyed

Greg Gumble. Gumble worked up a sweat on Friday night throwing it back and forth between the Siena and Wisconsin games. Kudos to you Greg on a job well done. Speaking of the games they were terrific. I've been notably hard on Wisconsin before but that was a very gutsy and impressive performance. I've taken to calling Keaton Nankivil "The Anvil," I hope it sticks.
The Early Circle. My friend Chris decided to circle Wake as a winner about 10 minutes before the game even tipped off. Naturally Cleveland State proceeded to run off nine straight points to start the game and never looked back from there. The Basketball Gods do not like those who tell them what to do my friend.
Mormon Ball. I shouldn't really say I've enjoyed this, but I'd like to note that things did not go as planned for the Mormons these last two days. BYU, Utah State and Utah all fell. Street Toughs-1 Scrappers-0.
Dominic James. The game hasn't started but he's already a winner. He's like a chameleon, cut his foot off and it just grows right back.
The State of Wisconsin. Really impressive scrappy efforts from both state teams. Neither of them advanced, but they both put on shows and played their hearts out. They put some Madness into March and that's all you can ask for in the tournament.

Things I've Done Right

Gonzaga. The Bulldogs look feisty in the second half of their opener. In the opening night Jeremy Pargo may have had the dunk of the tournament over Froto on Akron. I'm feeling them as a Final Four team after round one considering Lawson's toe issue for UNC.
Flight Wright. A double double in round one looked nice for the high flier from Dayton. Best put by one Brian Bau, "The Wright Stuff is killing my bracket." Should have heeded my advice friend.
Greivis. Any time a player airballs a shot, gets heckled, steals a pass, drives for a lay-up and then puts his finger to his lips to hush the previously jeering crowd, then he's officially made a hell of an impression on me.

Things I've Done Wrong

North Dakota St. The dream was over before it began. They did give it their all though. It'll be fun to see Dayton beat Kansas I guess.
Illinois and Minnesota. Why did I pick Illinois and Minnesota? For years I've heard about how the Big 10 gets it done in the tournament. They play tough d, they don't turn it over, they make their free throws, blah blah blah. I should have known better than to trust a conference where they use medicine balls instead of basketballs.
Tennessee. Bruce you failed me. I thought for sure the Tennessee fun show would move into at least the weekend.
Memphis. I know they pulled it out in the end and there is plenty of time to recover, but yikes. A rather inauspicious start for the Tigers. Those free throw woes reared their ugly head again. I'm hoping they'll be able to beat Missouri in a 107-94 battle, but the structure has been shaken. Don't let me down Cap.
Tyrese Rice. Did no one tell him that he is suppose to be a jacker? Where did the 34 point half Tyrese go? 11 shots without a free throw in a tourney game? Really Ty?
Awfulzona. They are screwing everything up. Every year some team with a whole bunch of talent spends the regular season screwing around and not playing to their potential. Every year that team makes the tournament somehow or another and promptly gets everyone thinking they have a shot to make some noise since they were just underachievers, not under talented. Every year that team loses immediately reminding us all that champions win games, not underachievers. Awfulzona screwed that up by pasting Utah in round one. How will I know what to think from now on?
UCLA. The veterans did not come through like I thought they would. I still think Darren Collison has a bright future though. He looks like he could be a serviceable backup on the NBA level. Jrue Holiday could be a lot more than that. The Holiday takeover at the end of the VCU game was nice. That guy has arms for days. When he declares for the draft he'll be one of those guys we hear can open both car doors while sitting in the backseat.

Madness of March

2009-03-18T09:10:00.001-07:00

A list of things I'll be watching during the tournament.

1. Dejuan Blair. When Blair is on the court it’s like seeing a bear playing with a bunch of people. He is so overpowering and dominating, it’s just fun to watch. When he Bruce Lee flipped Hasheem Thabeet he won me over for life. This is a guy who will send a message and do it without drawing a flagrant or tech, the anti-David West I suppose. If there is a God, Blair will meet Blake Griffin in the Final Four and they will put on a show. After that the Milwaukee Bucks will pass on both of them to take a foreign player who doesn’t want to be here. Oh, that’s right Larry Harris is gone, scratch that then.

2. John Calipari. He is a truth spitter. I can’t wait for the Tigers to get to the final four, just so I can hear Cap let everyone know how no one believed in them again. Rallying the troops has never been a problem for Calipari. He may be paying his guys, he may hire their fathers and friends as assistants, and he may even just be a douche bag, but if there is one thing John Calipari can do it’s coach college basketball. (Notice I say college, ask the New Jersey Nets about that.)

3. The Semi-Annual Bill Self Implosion. Used to the the annual, but it was averted last year. Kansas may have won the title last year, but make no mistake, Bill Self is not a good coach. He’s a terrific recruiter and a helluva salesman, but time and time again his teams fail to perform come March. As a bonus this year they are playing against one of my favorite sleepers in North Dakota State. The Bisons have plenty of veterans that have actually won meaningful games before. They boast victories over Wisconsin, Marquette and UWM in the past few years with this crew. The ghosts of Bucknell could be revisited. Shout out to my friend Chris for his perpetuating the Bill Self sucks idea.

4. No More Texas. Hopefully Texas will bow out in round one, because I just can’t take watching them on television any more. Is there some sort of national agreement that we must put Texas on ESPN once a week throughout college basketball season? What an awful team to watch. I realize that A.J. Abrams can shoot, but that’s all they have. Maybe Damian James and Earl Clark got together before the year and made a bet about who could hurt their draft stock more by having a worse year. I usually don’t like to see Big 10 teams winning games, but I’m all for Minnesota putting us out of our misery in the opening round.

5. Mike Anderson’s Missouri Tigers. I’ll be completely honest about this...I’ve watched about 10 minutes of Missouri basketball this year, but I’m convinced they will make the Elite 8. I was sure of that long before the brackets even came out. Not only can Missouri run and press and that good stuff, but I watched them blow apart a Baylor zone the other day with quick decisive passes. Beautiful basketball.

6. Tyrese Rice and Willie Warren. Possibly my two favorite guards in college basketball. Neither of them have any regard for situations or who is on the court or what else is going on when they have the ball. Their only objective is to find a way to put the ball through the hoop by any means necessary. Does that always lead to smart productive basketball? No. But it does lead to 34 points in a half.

7. Arizona One and Done. For all the reasons Arizona should have qualified for the NCAA tournament I have one reason they shouldn’t have. And it is a pretty significant example of a terrible teamWatch the first 15 seconds and then watch at the 3:45 mark. If that happens once, I may blame the players. But when something like that happens twice, it falls squarely on the coach. That was so ridiculous that it should have disqualified them right then and there. I was watching that game with my friends and did the run around the room screaming are you serious routine afterward.

8. Gonzaga. No one ever sees Gonzaga play since they are on the coast, but we all assume their probably good because we know who they are. From what I have seen I’m really feeling the Zags this year. If Jeremy Pargo has half the stones his brother showed when he tried to take over in the final game against the Spurs for the Hornets last year then the Zags are in good hands in crunch time. Everyone on Gonzaga can shoot it and they have Acid Trip Heytvelt holding it down underneath. Combine that with the potential that Austin Daye will remember he was talked about as a lottery pick before the year and I am excited to see them play some important basketball.

9. Chris Wright. His name rhymes with flight, which is appropriate. Youtube again does an admirable job of showing just why I’m excited to see this guy around again. I long for the days of James White when I see this young man. If only I lived in a city that had the D-League. As long as I’m mentioning Wright I would be remiss to leave out Stanley Robinson, Paul Harris, Wayne Chism and Al-Farouq Aminu.

10. Speaking of Chism...Tennessee Basketball. I just love to watch Tennessee. Run and gun basketball at it’s almost finest. If you’re a fan of jump passes and three point shots make sure you tune in to every one of their games because they are not shy about either. No matter what they will be in a fun game to watch though, and that is all you can really ask for.

11. Jarvis Varnardo. A shout out to those who block shots because it’s what keeps them on the floor. If Thabeet were had the pure shot blocking ability of Varnardo no one would even be able to get a shot to the rim against Uconn. Thabeet is pretty good though, I’m not trying to hate, just trying to get the point across that Varnardo is SERIOUS about blocking shots.

12. Greivis. His last name is Vasquez, but a friend of my always refers to him as just Greivis, like their old friends or something. I guess I’m starting to do it myself. Vasquez seems like he’s been around forever and no player in college basketball spills more of his emotion out on to the court, so maybe it’s appropriate that we refer to him like we would an old friend.

13. Purdue. They make white people happy.

14. Commercials. One in particular I’m looking forward to seeing throughout the tournament. The other day when I was on Dimemag.com I four commercials where KG, Josh Smith, TMac and Dwight Howard all rocked college jerseys with teams they presumably would not have minded playing for. My favorite part was seeing Tracy McGrady look like Oprah Winfrey in his Louisville jersey. The thing was about to burst at the seems. At least walk on a treadmill or something dude.

15. My Final Four. Memphis, Loserville (Marquette fandom bleeding through), Pittsburgh, and the Sooners. Look for Pitt to take home the crown this year. I’m pretty good at predicting these types of things, I advanced to the finals of my pool four years ago only to lose to a girl who had never watched anyone other than Wisconsin...so yeah...you should probably be listening to me.

The Charlie V. Twitcident

2009-03-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

This may be the first time all year that I've seen mention of a Milwaukee Buck or the franchise on the front page of ESPN.

Naturally it has nothing to do with basketball.

The fact that Charlie V. was "tweeting" in the locker room doesn't seem like such a big deal to me. Does anyone remember when Gilbert Arenas walked into and subsequently out of a shower with his uniform on, only to play in it minutes later? Or when Arenas said he played online poker at halftime to get focused?

This seems no more out of the ordinary than either of those things.

I'm sending text messages and emails from my phone all day at work, so I can hardly toss any blame at Charlie V.

Best of all is that he came out and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Bucks to a crucial W against a great team. Where is the downside to any of this twitter in the locker room business?

I say let Charlie V. do whatever Charlie V. needs to do to get himself ready to play. The man is a professional and as long as he is showing up and giving the effort he has been for the last few months why does it matter.

Too bad the Bucks went the "we have to be professional" route.

The Immortal Damon Jones

2009-03-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

I say this with the obvious understanding that I have spent exactly zero minutes in the actual immediate presence of the Milwaukee Bucks this year. I can only decipher their moods and manners based on what I see on the 94 x 50 foot platform I see on Fourth and State.

But from what I see...

Damon Jones is the best teammate in the world.

He is like Mark Madsen crossed with Chris Rock. A comedian who can wave a towel with the pros. Jones sprints off the bench during timeouts to cheer on and congratulate his guys. He never complains about his role (which is non-existent). He works the officials before, after and during games, all so his guys get the benefits of a call or two. Most importantly, Jones is hilarious. Next time you attend a Bucks game keep an eye on him from the moment he steps foot on the floor.

He knows he’s the coolest and funniest guy out there. He doesn’t wonder if someone he’s approaching wants to talk to them, he knows they want to talk to him. Whether they do or not. Maybe that’s just the kind of thing that happens when you’ve been on every team in the league. Regardless I’m just glad he is here now.

Jones is like the guy at the Y who everyone else calls Unc. He’s old, he can’t guard anyone on the court, and he shoots all the time, but you love him for all those things. He seems like he has all kinds of little drops of knowledge that he is constantly passing down to the younger guys. If he gained 50 lbs and showed up at the Y tomorrow and starting knocking down threes from the top and talking trash I wouldn’t bat an eyelash.

This is exactly the type of guy you need on the end of the bench. Someone to keep the guys loose and involved in the game. When Richard Jefferson caught the jump ball and made a beeline to the hoop against the Hornets, only to be rejected by the rim, I saw Jones in the background looking like he had to hold back the Bucks bench before he led them in an explosion. Not one person in the arena was as excited as Damon about the possibility of that lay-up going in.

What’s even better about Jones is that he has played on the same team as 95% of the players in the league. He’s always jabbering to guys on the court and not just Bucks. He knows exactly what to say to guys to get them riled or off their game. Isn’t that the kind of guy all of us like to have on our side?

I haven’t even mentioned the outfits. Oh my the bow ties. Between Jones and Andrew Bogut the Bucks have two individuals with unique styles. But those are the kinds of things that bring a team together. With the margin of error being as slim as it is for the Bucks even the smallest of things are crucial to their playoff hopes. If the Bucks had an Isaiah Rider (I could have said Marbury but everyone has beaten up on him so much this year, let’s bring back the original O.G.) type guy on the end of the bench stirring up trouble would they have any shot? Probably not.

Time and time again chemistry has proven critical to a team’s success. Important as it may be, it’s often overlooked. Perhaps that is why the Bucks and Jones took so long to come together this year. Jones had previously been seen by some as a prima-donna. His reputation took a hit a few years back when he refused to enter a game in garbage time. If I had to guess I’d say the Bucks wanted to take some time to make sure he was in the right frame of mind and understood what his role would be. The Bucks probably originally saw him as merely a salary cap throw in to be left at home, a Jamal Tinsley in Indiana only without the mutual hatred.

Now Jones sprints to the scorers table and hoists threes to his heart’s content when he enters. Whether they go in or not doesn’t really matter. Jones already made his contributions for the day, and that was long before he ever left the bench.

The Week Ahead (March 15th-21st)

2009-03-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

Today I was at work during the Bucks Celtics game. I was thinking I wouldn’t be missing much given the way things have been going lately. Around four I looked at my phone to see who played well in the loss and I actually made my shocked noise. The noise is like this:

GOOOOOOOOO.

That’s a long extended goo. Not go. Goo.

So I was pretty excited.

I’d say that I have a hard time believing that this really happened since I didn’t watch the game, but I need look back only to November to see that the Bucks key it up a notch against the Celtics–the champs will always get everyone’s best effort. Couple that with injuries to so many Celtics and the fouling out of Leon Powe and it’s believable (barely) that the Bucks could pull it out.

The question now is: What do we make of the Bucks big Sunday win?

Anytime you can win a game where you shoot 32 percent you must be doing something right on the defensive end. They will certainly need to continue that type of defense. The Magic are a team of long range bombers, a facet of opponents offenses that the Bucks have struggled with at times this year. The Celtics, Blazers and Magic present as big of a challenge as the Bucks have had in one week this year.

On the plus side Ramon Sessions is due for a big game or two the rest of this week after struggling against uber-athletic point guard Rajon Rondo and the point god Chris Paul. Charlie V. bounced back in the fourth against the Celtics to lead the Bucks to the W, so hopefully he’ll keep that up.

They passed the first test on Sunday so we’ll see if they have taken some of the luck of the Irish from the Celtics this St. Patrick’s Day week.

March 18th vs. Orlando (49-17)
Bad news for the Bucks is that Orlando shoots threes like they’re the Knicks. Except they are much better at it. Orlando has built their team with much attention to detail. They’ve essentially put a team of small forwards and shooting guards around Dwight Howard. Howard is a good enough defender to make up for many of their flaws–specifically when playing against the Milwaukees of the world. Problem for Orlando is that they currently have one-half of a power forward on their roster and his name is Marcin Gortat. I say one-half because I don’t know if he is from America, Sweden, Poland or Mars (I think it’s Poland).

March 21st vs. Portland (41-25)
For as much as we heard about the Bucks and Blazers making a deal deadline day I feel like I know everyone on Portland. Ask me Travis Outlaw’s strengths and weakness and I’ll tell you he has a mean mid range game and athletic ability, but can be inconsistent. Thank you Jason Quick. The most intriguing Blazer to me remains Jerryd Bayless. He looked like a super prospect to me earlier this year when Blake went down but has battled inconsistency like most rookies. I was pulling for the Bucks to take him last June so I feel like I have a personal stake in him. It’s always fun to have a guy like that and see how it turns out. The last guy I had like that was Marquis Daniels. That hasn’t turned out so well.

Recapaction

2009-03-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

I did a recap on this evening's game over at Brewhoop.

Crappy game to rehash so go only at your own risk.

Will Charlie V. Play D?

2009-03-11T19:34:00.001-07:00

Charlie Villanueva was on ESPN’s First and 10 Wednesday. The appearance reiterated a few things we’ve learned about him this year: he’s loquacious, he likes Twitter, and he dresses pretty well. We also found out that Charlie was named the nation’s most beautiful bald celebrity according to a contest sponsored by Eagle snacks.

How I missed that I don’t know, but there is something that we have yet to find out about Charlie V. and likely won’t for a few more years.

Can he be the future power forward on a playoff winning Bucks team?

Power forward is an intriguing and important position.

For years power forwards were looked to for rebounds, defense and blocked shots. Stepping out on the perimeter and jacking up three-pointers was not expected, encouraged or allowed for them. Even the scorers among them – Elvin Hayes, Kevin McHale, Karl Malone – were tough guy physical players. This is the mold of a Tim Duncan.

The seeds of change were planted in the late 80's though. Charles Barkley brought a new brand of play. His athleticism and power were combined with adept perimeter skills. While Barkley was 6'5, this style of play birthed the style that the Kevin Garnetts, Dirk Nowitzkis and Antoine Walker’s laid claim to.

If Barkley knew that one day he would influence an Antoine Walker to walk up and down the court shooting treys and doing that head dance I feel like he would have done some things differently though.

Villanueva clearly resides in category two. He floats around the perimeter a lot and does a good job of it. When he is hot, he is one of the more productive scorers in recent Bucks memory. On the plus side he often crashes into the lane for rebounds, averaging over seven per game since the first of January. At time Villanueva shows the ability to combine the best of the two worlds. At least on the offensive end.

At the defensive end Villanueva is a work in progress. He has the athleticism necessary to be a competent defender, but seems to get lost often. I wouldn’t say that his defense is anything that stands out while watching games though. That may be a product of power forwards often not being a first option though. And it does hurt the Bucks that he is not a capable shot blocker. With Bogut out they offer little challenge on the back-line thanks to the struggles in this area of Villanueva and Elson.

Overall it’s tough to judge how he has progressed considering he is not playing with a capable center. If Bogut were down low he would be erasing some of the mistakes made by Charlie V. (and most Buck defenders) leaving things looking much brighter. At the offensive end he would provide a nice yang on the inside to Villanueva’s ying on the outside.

I just can’t shake the nagging feeling that Villanueva is not the kind of power forward that starts on really good basketball teams. When I look at the power forwards on recent championship teams I see Garnett. I see Duncan. I see Udonis Haslem. I see Rasheed Wallace. I see Big Shot Bob. I’m seeing a lot of guys who are playing a lot of defense. What I don’t see is a sweet shooting gunner who offers little resistance and scrap on the other end.

What is nice about Charlie V is that he’s only 24. He has time to develop into a Horryesque defender. But I’d feel a lot better about the Bucks probable attempts to resign him if I got a glimpse of that before the season ends.

If not, I guess I’ll just continue to watch him Twit.

The Week Ahead (March 8th-15th)

2009-03-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

I was successful in one prediction last week: I still suck at predictions. My hope for a 3-1 week to jumpstart a playoff run quickly spun into a 1-3 drop out of the current playoff picture. If the Bucks are going to claim to be a good home team don’t they have to beat teams like the Nets at home? Tuesday's loss was very sad for a team attempting to pose as a good home team.

But there are more pressing issues at hand than my inability to see the future.

In recent memory has their been a Buck more clumsy with the ball than Keith Bogans? Here I thought the Bucks were getting a guy who could play some defense and shoot the three and they got a guy who does little of either of those things and has the ball mysteriously slip away from him fairly often.

Charlie Bell and Keith Bogans, thanks for your hard work and all this year, but can we see heavy doses of Joe Alexander for the rest of the year now? The Not-So Killer B’s tandem of Bell and Bogans equates into a fairly significant weakness any time either of them are on the court. Bell is more of a liability defensively than he ever gets credit for. How can he not be with a four-year-old hanging off of his right knee?

Bell and Bogans have PER’s of 9.82 and 8.59 respectively. To put that in perspective, another guy whose job is to come in and shoot, Kyle Korver, has a PER of 11.11 – in a down year. Bogans is a much better defender than Korver but I don’t believe there is significant evidence that Bell is. Who has lived off a reputation as a good defender longer than Charlie Bell? If he was good before he hasn’t been since he lost his right knee.

(Bell does offer some veteran leadership and is the Bucks player representative, which counts for something, but not enough to offset the poor play.)

Bogans has done most of his damage (he hasn’t really done any damage, I guess I should say most of the damage has been done to Bogans) as a member of the Magic so I’m less concerned about him. I think going forward the Bucks will realize as quickly as I have that he isn’t very good. When I thought he would be part of the Bucks playoff charge I was envisioning a Bruce Bowen type instead of a Bruce Banner (non Hulked up version) type.

Oddly enough this Saturday Bell and Bogans had their best games since Washington last Saturday. Bogans still stumbled around a bit though and Bell still missed enough open shots that I was bothered. It just seems to me that it would be more productive for the future of the Bucks if Joe Alexander was getting some of the time these two were getting. I know that may be admitting defeat and dropping out of the playoff race essentially, but at this point if you’re the Bucks why kid yourself? Onto the week ahead...

March 10th vs. New York (25-36)
The Knicks continue to chuck with reckless abandon. They’re averaging 28 three point attempts per game. That must be why they acquired Larry Hughes, to slow things down. Their defense continues to be for lack of a better term defenseless. In the month of February they were able to hold an opponent under 100 points just one time. Fortunately the Bucks thrive in these types of games recently, so this should be a win.

March 13th vs. New Orleans (39-22)
Remember when New Orleans was disappointing this year? What happened to that team? Suddenly they are third in the West and surging. Tyson Chandler has looked very feisty since returning from injury and his trade untrade fiasco. The Bucks certainly wish he had been gone in their last game in New Orleans. Chandler’s tip with time running down bailed out the Hornets after the Bucks fought back into the game during garbage time. Chris Paul continues to play point guard better than anyone anywhere and now that Chandler is healthy and springy again they are certainly looking dangerous.

What A Superstar Looks Like

2009-03-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

I often think of superstars as stoppers. I’m not talking Bruce Bown or Ruben Patterson kind of stoppers. I’m talking the guys who hit the “SHUT UP” shots to swing momentum and do not allow for mistakes on the defensive end from their guys. Stoppers put teams in the playoffs.

Plainly put, the Bucks do not have stoppers. When the Bucks absolutely need points or free throws to stop a momentum shift, they cannot do it. When the Bucks need to make sure they take it up a notch on defense and lock down to prevent a run, they cannot do it. They are stopper less. That is what happens when a team is without a superstar. The Kobe Bryant’s, Lebron James’ and Dwyane Wade’s of the world can control the collective wills of their teams and will everyone else up a notch to make sure the team gets a stop on defense. They can then turn around and come back down the court and turn the heat up with timely buckets or free throws.

Were Michael Redd healthy you can’t help but wonder how he would fill the role offensively. Combined with the point guarding skills of a Ramon Sessions would Redd be more effective than ever? Even when he was healthy this year he rarely had Sessions delivering the ball to him. Would he be the offensive catalyst the Bucks need in games like the Bulls game when things began to slip out of hand. Instead of settling for long twos by a hit or miss Richard Jefferson.

It’s been proven time and again that this is a superstar driven league. Star players sense moments when they are needed and raise their games to another level when the time calls for it. As well as Ben Gordon played in this crucial game against the Bucks, I was even more impressed with Derek Rose. Rose has a clear sense of when it is time to take over and finishes so many important “and 1's” around the hoop. He carved through the lane time and time again against the Bucks at moments when it seemed the Bucks may be on the comeback trail. His strength and speed overwhelmed the Bucks and left them flailing their arms in an attempt to block his path. It was his wearing down of the Bucks that opened up the game for the Gordon’s and Kirk Hinrich’s.

During those moments that Rose realizes he is too quick for men his size and too powerful for those with his quickness it is scary. He has the LeBron ability to bounce off defenders as he gets in the lane and the skill to finish at the rim. Rookies are not supposed to do things like this. Even scarier is that this is all coming from a guy who really gets what being a teammate is all about. When Rose figures out a consistent form on his midrange and outside jump shot I don’t see how anyone outside of the LeBron-Kobe-Wade stratosphere will be able to stop him.

Along with their recently improved depth, Rose is the key factor in the playoff race. New Jersey has Vince Carter and Devin Harris and the Bucks have the ever improving duo of Charlie V. and Ramon Sessions, but superstardom is reserved for a select few. Rose has only begun to knock at that door, but if we remember Dwyane Wade and his phenomenal rookie year in the playoffs we know what those who hold that key is capable of.

Meanwhile, the Bucks will continue to search for their very own star. The only stopper they appear on the horizon of is a stoppage of playoff hope.

It's A Little Colder Tonight

2009-03-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

Winter nights are cold in Milwaukee. Yahoo! says it is 28 degrees out right now, I'd say it's closer to 10, probably because I endured the long miserable loser walk to the car after the Bucks game. It may be March 3rd but it feels like the depths of a long winter after a crushing loss for the Bucks.

This was a game they had in hand multiple times, yet let slip away time and time again.

Again the three-point shot was a harrowing enemy of Milwaukee's. In a crucial run in the final stanza the Nets sandwiched three long range bombs around a Devin Harris lay-up. Time and time again the Bucks inability to successfully defend the pick and roll stood out like a sore thumb as the Nets exploited it to find open shooters planted in the corners. How long have Ryan Anderson and Jarvis Hayes been so lights out? Is Ryan Anderson always this good? I just checked his stats and he plays less than 20 minutes a night and shoots under 40 percent. How did he turn into Nowitzki tonight?

As I was coming home from the game I turned on the radio to the post game show.

Bad idea.

I heard callers lambaste the Bucks inability to play fundamental basketball, claim they would never attend another NBA game, sing the praises of college and its terrific fundamentals (isn't that what WNBA fans say?), and pound the play of Luke Ridnour as the sole transgression that costs the Bucks the game.

Ridnour is not better than Sessions and shouldn't be starting. But Scott Skiles appears to realize that. He played about 20 minutes and was rarely in the back court with Sessions. I liked that move. I think the Bucks are a better team when Sessions is running the show with Bogans or Bell beside him. The problem tonight was that Bogans and Bell weren't playing well.

This was indeed a sloppy game but it was as hard fought a competition as I had seen in a while. The Bradley Center was disappointingly empty --I'd imagine due to high school games and UWM's tournament game -- but lively with the fans that made it.

This loss had little to do with poor fundamental basketball.

(Although at the start of the fourth quarter some lazy passes and mental lapses allowed the Nets to surge to a lead. The Bucks recovered and were up eight before the three-point Harris sandwich.)

Ultimately the team with more talent will usually win the game and the Nets simply had more talent tonight than the Bucks. Ryan Anderson, Jarvis Hayes, Vince Carter, Devin Harris and Brook Lopez were all former first round picks for a reason. They hit the shots that mattered in the fourth and the Bucks could not seal the deal. Despite rants from callers gone wild, there is still time to recover. Unfortunately this blow certainly sets the Bucks back and has me turning up my heater tonight.

The Week Ahead (March 1st-7th)

2009-03-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

If the Bucks want to continue to lose on the road and win at home I’ll take that. The Bucks have 12 home games left and 8 on the road, at the current pace the Bucks would end up pulling even by season’s end. (It's March so maybe I'll do this whole post in Green.)

Maybe not though.

The loss to New Orleans hurt. Coming back that much only to fall short on a tip in, I was sure would have residual effect for Saturday. I underestimated the terribleness of Washington. How can they be this bad? Is Gilbert Arenas that good? Does Brendan Haywood carry that much weight as a defensive force? At no point was Saturday’s game a contest. It could have been about halfway through the 4th, but my key to the rest of the season Keith Bogans drilled a big three. One of two he hit. I have hope.

The upcoming week screams OPPORTUNITY. New Jersey and Chicago are the Bucks primary competition for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. My prediction is a 3-1 week where the Bucks can begin to spring themselves into a playoff burst. Be forewarned; my predictions usually suck.

March 3rd vs. New Jersey (26-33)
New Jersey comes back to Milwaukee on Tuesday in front of what surely will be a lively crowd. The last time Jersey came into the BC Wauwatosa legend Devin Harris missed the game with an injury. That was a helluva game. Bobby Simmons let fly a three from the corner that seemed to put the game in New Jersey’s favor, before Luke Ridnour hit a floater with less than a second left to secure it for the Bucks. This weeks game obviously has a little more weight attached to it, given the Nets are only a game and a half back from Milwaukee. Given the way that Detroit has fallen off the map as of late, none of these teams scrambling behind them has really put too much pressure on them. It's a shame that Detroit has gotten away with this foolishness they're calling basketball.

March 4th @ Cleveland (46-12)
Can we cancel this game? Hasn’t Lebron done enough to harm Milwaukee recently. And now apparently Cleveland will be replacing the awful Ben Wallace with the still talented Joe Smith. Smith is in his “Scott Williams Stage” now but that means he can still can a baseline jumper and be an important guy. If the Bucks win in Cleveland they should be granted a playoff bid right then and there.

March 6th @ Chicago (27-33)
The rivalry continues. I should say semi-rivalry. When Chicago last visited things got a liiitle chippy and there was actually some crowd noise involved. I’m not saying the Cubs and the Brewers need to watch out for this rivalry becoming king of the Milwaukee Chicago sports universe, but at least an interesting under current appears to be developing. I’m glad these two are battling for a playoff spot, that can only add to the distaste. I'm thinking things may get testy again with the playoff spot still on the line. The New Jersey Chicago matchups this week will go a long way towards deciding who's playing in late April and who is sitting at home waiting for the 13th pick in the lottery.

March 7th vs. Golden State (20-39)
It’s always fun to see Don Nelson and his lovable brand of up-tempo basketball running up and down the court. Nelson has recently decided to sit one of his veterans every game to make way for a younger player. Seems like he might just be trying to piss off some guys, but you never really know what Nellie is thinking. Golden State has a ton of young guys who are fun to watch. Anthony Randolph might be a star one day. Marco Bellinelli used his last game Milwaukee to create a highlight tape. This could be the Bucks toughest game of the week or easiest game of the week. You never know what you’ll get when Don Nelson brings his brand of fun into town.

Thoughts While Splitting Time Between Bradley Center Tenants

2009-02-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

• I come in a minute and a half late and the Bucks are already up 5...I like that.
• Another Jim Chones evening. I like Johnny Mac as much as anyone, but I’ve grown to like the dry assessments Chones has brought to the table.
• Ramon Sessions blows a wide open lay up and the Mavs hit a three on the other end. It seems like it always works out like that.
• Uh-oh Charlie V. is looking hot early.
• Jim Paschke refers to Charlie Bell as “kind of a Vinnie Johnson type lately” based on his recent work off the bench. Can any player put together a stretch whey they are scoring pretty well off the bench without being called a “microwave like Vinnie Johnson”? That may be the most used comparison in the NBA. I can only imagine how often it comes up in the local Detroit broadcasts when Rip Hamilton comes into games.
• A stop OR a bucket would be fine at this point. 16-0 run for Dallas right now. Coincidentally enough Marquette gave up that same run against Connecticut early tonight. That does not bode well for the Bucks.
• Chones on Antoine Wright’s technical foul: The refs don’t want to hear from you until you score 20 points more than once every six nights.
• Charlie V. is running risk of injuring his back this evening given the way he’s carrying the entire offensive burden thus far. Bucks 23 Charlie V. 19.
• Three techs in the first quarter on the Mavericks. What is going on? They got rung for one after Dirk was given an and one. I don’t remember the last time I saw that.
• Holy Villanueva. Bucks down 33-23 after the first quarter.
• Holy fouls. Mbah a Moute has three in five minutes.
• Poor Elson. He drops a nice pass from Charlie V. and then catches an earful about it. Seems like he gets yelled at more than anyone else on the team.
• Ramon Sessions and Luke Ridnour are in the game together and Sessions is taking the role of primary ball handler. ALL HAIL SCOTT SKILES.
• The Bucks are effectively using Charlie Bell with the point guards. I don’t know if this is the key to future success, but I’m feeling it right now.
• When Dallas is throwing three athletic guards/wings out there like Kidd, Antoine Wright and Josh Howard, that puts the Bucks at quite a disadvantage. Especially when Ridnour and Sessions are out there together. They just don’t have the size/athleticism to match up.
• Maybe a little defense fellas? 59-41 Dallas. Skiles looks like he’s about to strangle someone.
• Bucks down 65-41 at half. Yikes. Charlie V. was held scoreless in the second quarter, so much for that bright spot.
• Dallas is getting to all the loose balls and showing all the effort in this one. They were flat against a beat up San Antonio team yesterday, so this type of effort was to be expected from them. Hopefully the Bucks will follow suit on Friday in New Orleans.
• Luc Mbah a Moute is the only Buck starter with a positive plus minus right now. I don’t know if that is due to his defense or his inability to stay on the court today.
• Charlie V. gets back on the scoreboard in a big way with a Chris Webberesque dunk.
• Little is being done by Milwaukee to curtail any penetration - off pick and rolls or otherwise - by Dallas. This is leading to open jump shots off kick outs and easy dishes for lay-ups.
• The Bucks have trotted out a defense that has finally led to some confusion at the least for Dallas. Zone up top with match-ups in the back. It’s been more effective than it sounds, at least until Josh Howard hits a three with 11 seconds left in the quarter. It was contested though.
• Jim Chones plea for the Bucks to cut the deficit to 10 by the beginning of the fourth quarter will go unanswered. He’ll have to settle for 17. 90-73 Dallas.
• Keith Bogans is doing his best to make me regret making him a reason the Bucks will make the playoffs. He gets stripped of a rebound and then loses his dribble out of bounds on a spin move on the next possession.
• Three-pointer from Charlie Bell in the corner. Uh-oh. Gap is closed to 11.
• James Singleton does everything but stick a knife in Charlie V’s back and does not get called as Dirk grabs an offensive rebound.
• Back to back lay ups for Kidd and a fall away jumper by Dirk sandwiched around a Bucks timeout push the lead back to 17.
• Make that 22. Now an 11-0 run.
• Eddie Gill is in. That’s my cue to exit.

No Love From The Glove

2009-02-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

There is a bit of a brouhaha brewing in Brewtown. (How about all those Brew noises I just made your mind say.) I noticed this on a JSOnline thread. Apparently the Bucks are not happy with former Buck Gary Payton, who is now working on NBA TV doing a show with Ahmad Rashad and Chris Webber.

He has received his share of text messages from players after his dressings down, and teams, most notably the Milwaukee Bucks, called the league to complain about Payton's assessment of Ridnour. Still, his on-air chemistry with former All-Star Chris Webber and host Ahmad Rashad is improving.

This seems a bit silly. I don't know exactly what GP has been saying about Ridnour, but I bet it's been hilarious. Is there anyone that hasn't been roughing up Luke this year? I can't recall one thing I've read this year that has said he is deserving of holding his starting spot over Ramon Sessions. Maybe GP just misses Milwaukee and is jealous of Ridnour...probably not though.

What's unfair though is that Ridnour has actually done a pretty good job. Just not as good as Sessions. That's awfully nice of the Bucks to come to his aid. I'm guessing Ridnour either doesn't watch or doesn't care what GP has to say if the article claims the Bucks and not Ridnour contacted him. Knowing what I know of Gary Payton I'm sure these spats only fuel his fire.

I've found a clip of GP that I feel is a pretty good demonstration that he's doing a great job. If you watch Chris Webber he certainly thinks Payton is worth watching. Skip to about the one minute mark to really see things take off.

Tell me that man is not hilarious. If anyone knows what the apparent riff is over I'd love it if you'd drop a comment about it.

5 Good Reasons to Expect Playoff Basketball

2009-02-24T05:43:00.000-08:00

Almost to the day a month ago I did my best to break down the Eastern Conference playoff race. I was looking for a term to describe it when the comments section did it's best and I was rewarded with "flaccid sword fight". Thanks to "Cookies" for that one. Well the fight has changed a bit so I thought it may be a good time to rehash the Bucks chances going forward. Since I'm still firmly entrenched in the position that the Bucks will be in the tournament I thought I'd give my top five reasons why they will make it.

(And as long as we’re here I’ll take a moment to gloat about the success of my previous playoff picks. I slotted Milwaukee into 7th just ahead of Philadelphia with New York, Chicago, New Jersey and Charlotte missing out. Currently Philadelphia sits in 7th ahead of Milwaukee with the aforementioned teams missing out. I had New York and Chicago flipped, same with Milwaukee and Philly. Pretty well done. Of course I’ve also announced the death of the 2008-2009 Milwaukee Bucks 38 times, but we’ll forget about that for now.)

5. Keith Bogans
Huh? I know, I know. Keith Bogans is a relative nobody in terms of the NBA. He’s a journeyman, semi-three point specialist and semi-good defender. But Luc Mbah a Moute is wearing down. He’s still doing his best to bring his usual hounding defense, but the rookie wall has robbed him of virtually any offensive game. For the first few months of the season Mbah a Moute was shooting roughly 45% from the field and 77% from the line. As they say in golf, that’ll play. Since February began and minutes have begun to add up a bit, Mbah has shot 38% from the field and an even more frustrating 48% from the line. Bogans is a veteran and very fresh from the few minutes he was getting in Orlando and should be able to take a lot of pressure of Mbah. Bogans hasn’t shot the lights out from the field but the man hasn’t missed a free throw as a Buck yet! 15-15. I’d count on his shot coming around before Mbah.

4. Three Point Shooting
When Michael Redd went down one of the most significant things it was assumed he would take with him was any scoring behind the arc the Bucks had. Charlie Bell is an okay shooter, but simply wouldn’t be effective enough doing everything else to take a lot of minutes behind Redd. Charlie V. and RJ have never been known as outside shooters so it seemed like a long shot that they would be of great help here. Well they’ve been of great help. Did they have some quick Lasik done or something? What has gotten into these dudes? Before this year Charlie Villanueva was a 32% shooter from behind the arc. In the last two months he’s shot 43%! He hit SEVEN on Sunday! I feel like I’m watching Tim Thomas from the 2000-2001 season. If I see a newspaper headline in July that says the Notorious C.H.A.R.L.I.E. with him signing a 60 million dollar contract I’m going to faint. Jefferson has been even better than Charlie V. in February, shooting a scintillating 58%. I haven’t even been able to throw hatred at RJ lately - he’s just been too solid. They’ve certainly been getting a lot more good looks, which brings me to my next point...

3. Ramon Sessions
I don’t want to beat a dead horse here...but have I mentioned that I think pretty highly of this guy? Is it a coincidence that the Bucks have averaged over 112 points per game since he’s taken the reigns as the starting point guard? I’m not the only one who thinks this guy is pretty good. Here’s an excerpt from a John Hollinger chat on ESPN.com on February 12th.

Jeremy (Milwaukee, WI): Does anyone outside of Milwaukee even know who Ramon Sessions is?
SportsNation John Hollinger: No, but they're going to find out pretty darn fast. It's criminal that he was left off the sophomores' roster for the rookie game, and it's equally perplexing that the Bucks kept him behind Luke Ridnour for half a season. I continue to be extremely impressed by what I've seen from him.

I’ve wrote thousands of words about Sessions already, so I’ll refrain from my usual Sessions poetry, but the man is for real. It’ll be fun to see him against Chris Paul this week. Not on ESPN though. Jerks.

2. Scott Skiles
Here is one hope I have for the rest of the season from Coach Skiles: Please do not play Ramon Sessions at the two guard any more. If you’re going to insist on playing Ridnour and he together, just put Ridnour at the two. It makes a lot more sense. Ridnour is a much better mid range shooter and has some three point skill. Sessions ENTIRE game is based on penetration. All he’ll serve to do at the two is clog it up. There is statistical evidence that Sessions has no business playing the two. I’m confident Skiles knows this and will change things. I’m so encouraged that he has left Ridnour behind Sessions on the depth chart that I’m willing to believe he’ll either stop playing them together or will play Ridnour off the ball. Prove me right coach.

1. Andrew Bogut
Bogut has been in and out of the lineup so many times this year that betting on him making a return is a risk. But If this season was a movie I feel like Bogut is the character who comes back in the end to save everyone. He is Red in Pineapple Express. You keep thinking he is dead and gone, but no, there he is jumping in to save Saul. Saul would be Francisco Elson. Elson always has this goofy stoner look on his face. Speaking of goofy, I never really said anything about it, but Andrew Bogut must have lost a bet or something a few weeks ago, because he had the most ridiculous looking white suit of all time on. I found a picture of it at RealGM.com. Words can’t explain. Anyway, if Bogut comes back with everyone else firing on all cylinders like they are now, that makes the Bucks a for real serious playoff team. Think if only he were manning the middle right now and not Elsonzuric. They wouldn’t even need to feed him in the post and he’d still get 16 and 10 a game with the tempo right now. He would feast on rebounds and put backs from Sessions penetrations. I’m holding out hope for an April stretch run comeback on the big man. And if that happens I’ll be seeing much more April basketball than I expected in November.

Damn You ESPN

2009-02-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

I'm outraged.

ESPN takes a pass on Bucks-Hornets.

Sometimes it really sucks to live in Milwaukee.

Detroit is playing some of the worst basketball in the league right now and ESPN has decided to reward them with yet another nationally televised game. I can't help but recall when the Knicks began their descent into the depths of the cellar of the Eastern Conference, only TNT and ESPN refused to take them off the air, because they were from New York.

I know that market size and all that fun stuff usually outweighs good basketball games when national networks are deciding who they want on, but it still stings. No one who really loves the NBA would rather see Orlando v. Detroit over New Orleans v. Milwaukee. Orlando is a fun team to watch, with their peculiar blend of hard nosed defense and love for the three point shot, but Chris Paul against Ramon Sessions is like a battle between the best point guard in the league and the best point guard no one knows about. The Bucks have been putting up well over 100 points for almost three weeks now! This is exactly why no one knows who Ramon Sessions is! Exclamation point!

This could serve as motivation if the Bucks are pissed about this.

I know I am.

The Week Ahead (February 22nd-28th)

2009-02-23T07:40:00.000-08:00

I picked a helluva weekend to go out of town.

Friday and Sunday will probably go down as two of the most eventful Bucks games of the year. First, Lebron James puts his hit man gloves on and methodically destroys the Bucks to the tune of 55-9. I caught most of the 4th quarter of this one after receiving 300 text messages letting me know that Lebron had put his Dell Curry hat on for the night and even though the Bucks lost, I saw something I liked.

Now, I know it sucked that Charlie V. got himself booted. The Bucks were within three and may have had enough left in the tank to make a run, so timing really wasn’t great for a flagrant two, though I’ll say that kicking him out was extremely harsh. It did not appear malicious when Charlie V. took down Anderson Varejao and if anyone escalated the situation it was Zyndrunas Illgauskas. But I really liked the way the Bucks stood together during the mini melee, particularly Luke Ridnour. Milwaukee as currently constructed is not known for being a team of tough guys, but none of them were afraid to get their noses in there and stand up to the Cavs. I feel like this will serve them well in the future.

Second, the Bucks played the always rare Sunday game, which I don’t love because those games are rarely on television unless they make it to ABC, which the Bucks rarely do. Sunday games can be tricky. Players aren’t used to playing on Sunday and they are used to going out Saturday night I’m sure. From the recap I read of Sunday’s game at Brewhoop it sounds like it was a slopfest. That sounds like a typical Sunday game, even though this one had the slightly later 4:00 start time. Players bodies are not in the routine to do well at early hours like that, especially if they are only playing four or five games in that time slot all year. Any win over a team as good as the Nuggets is impressive and it’s always wonderful to see Charlie V. and Ramon Sessions up to their ways. The Sessions Ridnour minutes battle will be interesting to watch the rest of this year. Sessions only played 22 minutes against the Cavs, but was back up in the 40's against Denver. As I’ve said before, handling this will be a true test of Skiles coaching acumen. Without further ado...

February 25th @ Dallas (33-22)
Dallas has rebounded pretty nicely after a pretty bad start to the year. My favorite thing about Dallas is the way Mark Cuban denies that trading Devin Harris AND TWO first round picks for Jason Kidd was a mistake. He can’t really say it was a mistake with Jason Kidd still being his starting point guard and all, but making up new statistics to help your case can’t hurt. The Bucks always have a difficult time defending the three point shot, I feel like this may be a problem on Wednesday. The Mavs don’t shoot a ton of threes and don’t make a ton either, but they certainly have guys who can get hot out there. Historically the Bucks have played well against Dallas though and Jason Terry will still be out, so if the Bucks are going to win either of their Western Conference road games this week, I think this would be the one to take down.

February 27th @ New Orleans (32-22)
Milwaukee will close out it’s Western Conference road schedule for the year against New Orleans on Friday. This is a big game for Milwaukee because....wait for it....IT’S ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!! THE BUCKS ARE ON ESPN!!! Kind of a strange game for the Bucks to make their national tv debut, I guess Chris Paul is a strong enough player to carry the whole tv audience, but we’ll take what we can get. I’ve said time and time again, the Hornets aren’t very good. Their front court without a healthy or motivated Tyson Chandler is possibly worse than Milwaukee’s without Andrew Bogut. After the James Posey deal, the most significant free agent signing the Hornets made this off season was for Sean Marks. If you’re addressing your big man needs by signing a guy who has never played in 30 games in an NBA season, due to ineffectiveness not injury, then you’re probably in trouble. Regardless of how bad their big men are, Chris Paul keeps them afloat and relevant.

February 28th vs. Washington (13-43)
What happened to Ernie Grunfeld? I was genuinely upset when he left Milwaukee, I thought he was a pretty good GM. When he first got to Washington it seemed like he was making sound moves that made a lot of sense for that team. And then it all went to hell. Now he’s throwing huge dollars at his own guys and overvaluing their worth. I just don’t know when he became Larry Harris. I really thought he was going to move Antawn Jamison at the trade deadline. What are they waiting for? The Wizards need to scrap everything and start rebuilding around Gilbert Arenas and Javale McGee. McGee because he has crazy potential and Arenas because they absolutely have to since they threw all of their money and more at him, even though he stole Charlie Bell’s knee and made it worse.

Why Keeping RJ Is Ok (For Now)

2009-02-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

Trade deadlines are like the panic holiday. All these GM's whose team's are under performing feel like they need to make moves to "shake things up" or cut costs. That's how guys like Tyson Chandler end up getting shipped away (almost) for nothing. The trade deadline leaves us with legendary failures like Steve Francis in New York. Typically the NBA trade deadline is on a Thursday. I think it'd be cooler if they made it the same number day every year like the MLB trade deadline. It'd be easier to remember for us common folk. I think the way it is constructed now is that it's the Thursday after the all-star game, but I could be wrong. Anyway, typically that Thursday becomes the day everyone trashes their team's GM or lauds them with praise. The Bucks, for example, were supposed to be active today. Richard Jefferson was supposedly a hot commodity, yet the trading deadline has passed and Richard Jefferson is still a Buck. This is where I may be inclined to rip into John Hammond for not getting a deal done. Yet I sit here conflicted.

On one hand Hammond has possibly turned the rest of this season into The Ramon Sessions Farewell Tour. Without saving the money owed to Jefferson next year the Bucks are facing a tall task in trying to resign Sessions. Jefferson's contract is an albatross. As has been stated, Jefferson does not represent the future for the Bucks. He was at his peak a year or two ago and is heading down right now. Trading him and Luke Ridnour for the package that Portland supposedly had on the table would have been ideal.

But how realistic was that?

Everyone that really follows the Bucks was getting a little too excited about the prospect of that trade. So doesn't it stand to reason that Portland - with a very astute general manager in Kevin Pritchard - knew they weren't getting enough by having Jefferson as the center piece of the deal? That would explain the rumors that they wanted the Bucks to include either Sessions or a first round pick to sweeten the deal. They realized that they were doing the Bucks a favor by taking back Jefferson and his large deal. Granted it was a favor that helped them in the process by giving them an established wing scorer but it doesn't push them over the edge into the pool of title contenders or anything.

Now we're at the other hand.

As it stands the Bucks could still make a deal before the draft and create cap room to resign Sessions. If they traded Sessions with Jefferson they leave themselves without the talent or the youth required to interest other parties in deals. Giving away a draft pick would indicate once again that they are a team without a direction. They aren't competing now and by trading away a draft pick with Jefferson they would be trading a future asset all in the name of saving money. To me this lack of a deal says it's not necessarily all about the money in Milwaukee. Hammond appears to see that payroll is not as important as building a winning team.

At it's best the lack of a trade shows not only the idea of a plan, but that John Hammond isn't going to be a sucker . At worst it costs the Bucks Ramon Sessions. I'm thinking John Hammond isn't going to panic about that worst case scenario, he knows what he's doing.

The John Hammond Progress Report

2009-02-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

When I was in elementary school we had detailed report cards. I wouldn’t even call them report cards, they were never that harsh. Report cards have letter grades and little feedback. On these everything was all checks and pluses and if a teacher really wanted to send a message they’d put a minus next to the check. Another difference between these and the cruel A-F system of junior high and high school was the detail. Sure, you may get a comment about what is going well and what needs attention in high school, but in grade school there was a detailed breakdown of each part of each class. There was a spot reflecting my listening, a spot for teamwork, a spot for time management, all of the skills I practiced and did not practice were rated. That sort of in depth analyzation was appreciated. It felt like my very own baseball card, except that I didn’t have my picture on the front and I’d hide it under the couch so my parents didn’t see it. With that in mind, and the “first half” of the season done and gone I’m thinking it’s time to take a look at Bucks General Manager John Hammond. I’m not ready to anoint him executive of the year, Milwaukee basketball savior, or barer of doom, there just has not been enough time to really judge the job he’s done. This is merely an update on the moves he has made and the impact they have had in the time he has been here.

Hires Scott Skiles: Check Plus
Thus far this has been the bet move Hammond has made. Skiles has brought a defensive intensity that Milwaukee has been missing since....umm....Sidney Moncrief? To this day I have a hard time believing that a Don Nelson coached team really had much defensive intensity, but we’ll be safe and say since then. Lately Skiles has really looked great. Without three of the team’s best players the Bucks have not missed a beat and are playing with more passion and energy than they have had all year. This is such a far cry from the last few years when Terry Stotts and Larry Krystowiak were in charge and the team tanked and tanked further when the stars went down. Skiles is known for his quick rebuilds and fiery manner, which has come back to haunt him as the years with teams go on, so we’ll see where things go in the coming years. For now, Skiles was the perfect man for the job.

Drafts Joe Alexander and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute: Check and Check Plus
One is a rousing success story and the other a mystery. First round picks are given a ton of leeway and a ton of criticism. No one ever wants to give up on a player with potential, but everyone wants to criticize them when they don’t live up to it right away. When Alexander was taken it was done with an eye to the future, especially once he was buried behind Jefferson on the depth chart. Alexander remains a tantalizing prospect for now, with a ceiling only he could jump to and a bottom dangerously low. Mbah a Moute has been an unbridled success. When a team gets any more than minimal production out of a second round pick it’s seen as a great find. When a team gets a reliable starter and it’s best defensive player out of a second round pick IN THEIR FIRST YEAR that is off the charts. Second round picks essentially have no risk involved, if they suck no one cares and they’re cut right away, so Mbah a Moute to me isn’t as great of a move as Skiles, but it’s pretty close.

Acquires Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons: Check
This move is very difficult to judge. Easy Yi probably won’t ever be a star, he’ll probably actually never be as good as Jefferson. On the surface it seems like a no brainer. I’ve been harping on Jefferson all year about not being the star he is paid like, but that is not his fault. He is a two or a three guy on a pretty good team, not the number one option on a playoff team. When Redd kept going down and then Bogut went down that really forced Jefferson to be miscast as The Man. He’s handled that very well lately, likely, and not surprisingly, since Ramon Sessions and Charlie V. have stepped to the forefront of the Bucks. When Sessions took the reigns it also sped the game up a bit on offense and led to more transition, the offense Jefferson thrives in. The success of this trade will ultimately depend on what happens at the deadline with RJ. If he’s swapped that will likely lead to the Bucks being able to hold onto Sessions and Charlie V. And I’d much rather have those two guys than Easy Yi and Bobby Simmons.

Acquires Luke Ridnour and Damon Jones for Mo Williams and Desmond Mason: Check
This is a double edged sword. On one hand I love everything about the way Damon Jones has carried himself on the bench since arriving in Milwaukee. He’s invested in the game, he clowns with the refs and his teammates, he wears ridiculous bow ties on occasion when not suited up, the players seem to love having him around, and when he gets in the game he reminds me of some of the old guys at the rec league I used to work at. He’s always clapping his hands in disgust after missing a shot, like the three he bricked is a lay up for him and he’s so surprised he missed it. And watching him attempt to guard anyone anymore is a sight to behold as well. Jones looks like a future coach to me and that future should be sooner rather than later. But Luke Ridnour brings something of a dilemma. He hadn’t really played poorly before getting injured, but he still stood in the way of the obvious point guard of the future. It may have been good for Ramon Sessions to sit on the bench for a while this year, focusing on bringing energy and scoring rather than running a team. He’s developed even further as a scorer and now is looking very comfortable running the team. Would he have been displaying these skills all along? I don’t know. In spurts he looked great, but I think he needed more fine tuning. I think around January he was ready to take over. When Ridnour returns what will happen though? This will be the first major player rotation test Skiles will have. The early injuries made him go down the bench some, but he made all the obvious moves then. This will put his coaching acumen to test.

Signs Tyronn Lue: Check
Lue is little more than “just another guy”, but he ended up being pretty useful once injuries hit. He allowed Sessions and Ridnour to share the court and gave serviceable minutes as the backup point guard. His acquisition also gave them flexibility to acquire a wing guy better than anyone they could have had at an affordable rate last summer in Keith Bogans.

Acquires Keith Bogans and cash for Tyronn Lue: Check Plus
It’s always funny to me when I see “cash considerations” in a deal. I get the image of Keith Bogans having to bring with him a big bag of money to give to John Hammond. The only problem I’ve had with Bogans thus far is that it took this many months to get him. He offers exactly what the Bucks as currently constructed need, three point shooting and defense. On the shrewd scale this deal ranks a seven. The cheap deals the Bucks used to get Toni Kukoc to sign were nines on the shrewd scale by comparison.

Signs Francisco Elson: Check
Elson and Gadzuric have been left to hold down the fort since the injury to Andrew Bogut...and they haven’t been great. Gadzuric has had three-four moments where he’s appeared at the least competent this season, and Elson has had probably four-five. Since Elson makes 1/300th of the money Gadz makes, it seems like a steal. Realistically he’s an average backup guy. You know what you’re going to get, not much, and you aren’t going to pay more than two million. He knows his limitations and shows up to play hard every game. No complaints.

An important thing to remember is that Hammond is dealing with a pretty hands on type owner. Kohl wants to know what is going on and put his stamp of approval on things. It seems like there is a lot of pressure on Hammond to get this team back to the playoffs quick, which is a band-aid type move by the organization. Regardless, there are some general managers who fall into the extreme categories. Isaiah Thomas was EXTREMELY bad, whereas Sam Presti in Sea...Oklahoma City has been EXTREMELY good. Hammond is not an extreme guy. None of his deals have been real bad or real good, they’ve just been sound moves. He doesn’t seem to have the “get the most talent regardless of fit” complexity that some guys have, which is a huge plus. The one complaint I’d register is that he’s yet to take a stance on where this team needs to go. Either trade the young guys before you lose them (bad idea) or trade the overpaid sort of kind of stars making too much (good idea). He seems to be closer to the latter than the former, a good sign

The Week Ahead February 15th-21st

2009-02-15T20:32:00.000-08:00

After yet another Buck free All-Star Weekend the Bucks head to Detroit to begin the “second half” of the season. Watching the introductions to this game I can’t help but notice the once again expressionless face of Tim Duncan. Dwight Howard did a dance, Lebron did a dance, KG did a dance, almost everyone did something, but Duncan looked up stone-faced as ever and nodded his head. I’m sure Bill Russell was proud. Shaq had quite a routine with the Jabbawokies (I think that is their name). I think he stole a lot of that from his jam session dance-off with Dwight Howard last year, but I’ll still give him an A for effort.

I’ve grown accustomed to not having anyone to root for on these occasions, but miss the days when the Bucks were vying for three all-stars with Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, and Sam Cassell. Perhaps next year at this time I’ll be beaming as Andrew Bogut catches a lob from Ramon Sessions while representing the finest the Eastern Conference has to offer.

If the Bucks can resign Sessions.

There have been some rumbles that the Bucks are interested in making a deal with Portland involving Richard Jefferson and Luke Ridnour. This would be a coup for the Bucks, as it would free up enough cap space to allow them to bring back Sessions and Charlie V. assuming their contract demands are reasonable. I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one though; I just don’t see why the Blazers would be that interested in making that deal. Does it make them a contender this year? No. Does it push them to the next level next year? No. They could use the benefit of RJ’s expiring contract in a few years when some of their young guys are up for extensions, but that seems like an unrealistic reason for a deal getting done.

Over at Brewhoop Frank Madden does a great job of breaking down the Bucks cap situation with an eye on how to avoid the luxury tax.

The week ahead is a very central themed week for the Bucks. Starting with a trip to Detroit, the Bucks follow with home games against Chicago and Cleveland. Without further ado…

February 17th Bucks @ Detroit (27-24)
I hope I’m not jinxing this, but Detroit is only three games ahead of Milwaukee in the standings. I almost want to start thinking these new look Bucks could make a run at them…and then I remember that these are the same Pistons that deal the Bucks heartbreaking losses time and time again. The most recent was especially difficult. The Bucks had chances to put away the Pistons, but for every free throw or lay-up by Ramon Sessions there was a Rasheed Wallace three waiting on the other end. Past successes being as they are the Pistons are still a shell of their former selves. Rodney Stuckey looks pretty good, but Wallace has had far fewer standout performances this year, and the acquisition of Iverson leaves them missing something defensively. The Pistons still have been too much for the Bucks this year, and I don’t expect a lot to change this week. That last sentence may or may not have been an attempt to reverse jinx the Pistons. I’ll decide that Tuesday night after the game.

February 18th Bucks v. Chicago (23-30)
I made two points about Chicago when I was looking at the Bucks playoff chances near the end of January. My first point was that Chicago was terrible on the road and their seven game road trip would destroy their playoff chances. Wrong. They somehow went 4-3 and easily could have gone 5-2 if not for a heartbreaker against Minnesota. The Bulls were a miserable road team before this, so how’d they get their act together for a midseason seven game roadie? That takes me to my other point – Tyrus Thomas. I said it was foolish for the Bulls to not throw minutes at Tyrus Thomas and see if he could be anything. Over the road trip Thomas averaged 32.5 minutes and responded with 14.7 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. Thomas seems like the perfect running mate for Derrick Rose, that is, unless Amare Stoudemire comes to town. Thomas is the Splenda to Stoudemire’s sugar. The Bulls now look like they’ll be making a serious run at that last playoff spot. At least they aren’t the Cubs.

February 20th Bucks v. Cleveland (40-11)
King James comes back to Milwaukee. I actually found the ball from the shot Ramon Sessions put up that James rejected rolling down my street a few weeks ago, so that was cool. Mo Williams will be fresh off his first (and I’ll bet only) all-star appearance. Mo is putting up similar numbers to the ones he had last year, just with a far superior team. He’s pretty much in a perfect role for himself, a complementary player responsible for hitting shots and keeping the ball moving. It’s mysterious how his defense has managed to improve so greatly though, it must be something in that Cleveland water.

Time for a Re-Session

2009-02-11T07:50:00.001-08:00

In the very first piece I posted on this site I questioned whether or not Ramon Sessions was capable of being a great (or good) NBA point guard. Earlier in the season he was prone to bizarre turnovers having to do with a seemingly undeveloped ability to dribble the ball. Dribbling is probably the most basic part of a point guard’s job and something that he has surely been doing since he began playing basketball. I wasn’t sure earlier this year if this was a correctable problem, but fortunately as the season has gone on, I haven’t seen these silly turnovers nearly as much from Sessions…and now I’m afraid I won’t see him at all next year.

What I have seen from Sessions lately is a terrific all around game, game after game. Not only is he looking like a very good NBA point guard, but he’s looking like the point guard of the future for the Milwaukee Bucks, permitting they can afford to keep him around. Look at the numbers Sessions has put up since Michael Redd’s injury.

Minutes Points Assists Free Throws
38.7 21.6 6.1 7.9-9.3

Those aren’t bad. In fact, Devin Harris, an all-star, is averaging eerily similar numbers on the year. Harris is being seen as a franchise cornerstone for years to come in New Jersey. Harris is one of two players I thought of when trying to find a comparison for Sessions. The other is Tony Parker. I realize that Sessions lacks the quickness of Harris or Parker, or Harris’ springs, but like them he is not an accomplished jump shooter. I’ll also point out that Sessions athleticism is much better than given credit for. It’s not like this guy is being out run by Shaq and out jumped by Yao Ming. He can hold his own. But I digress. Here are the second season numbers PER numbers for the three as brought to you by John Hollinger of espn.com. Sessions obviously hasn’t finished his second season yet, but if anything his numbers will likely be going up.

Harris
SEASON FG% FT% P/40 R/40 A/40 TS% Ast TO Usg Reb PER
2005-06 .469 .716 17.4 3.9 5.6 54.4 23.0 10.9 21.1 5.9 17.51

Parker
SEASON FG% FT% P/40 R/40 A/40 TS% Ast TO Usg Reb PER
2002-03 .464 .755 18.3 3.1 6.2 54.2 24.0 11.0 22.1 4.5 17.17

Sessions
SEASON FG% FT% P/40 R/40 A/40 TS% Ast TO Usg Reb PER
2008-09 .451 .806 18.4 4.6 7.2 54.0 26.6 10.2 22.2 6.9 17.80

One thing that stands out to me is how good of a free throw shooter Sessions is for a second year guy. A lot of players take three or four years before they find the right groove at the NBA stripe, he’s been able to do it right away. Aside from that his numbers stack up very well with both these guys. Parker is a multiple all-star guy and Harris looks as though he will have multiple by this time next year. Parker had the luxury of playing pretty big minutes almost immediately whereas Harris (Jason Terry) and Sessions (Luke Ridnour) had to sit behind guys who weren’t very good point guards (Terry is a very productive fill it up scorer off the bench).

The one thing Sessions does not have in common with these two could be listed in a different, but very important, category: wins. Both Parker and Harris played on better teams, but were critical to the success of those teams. Parker would go on to win a Finals MVP and Harris probably should have if the Mavericks would not have been screwed in the Dwyane Wade series. It stands to reason that if Sessions is “let loose” wins will follow for the Bucks.

I guess that's my whole point. Sessions is probably the most important player on the Bucks and the one most likely to sustain any importance league wide. Since taking the reigns at point guard Sessions has guided the team to two games over 120 points and a 1-1 record against two very good teams. He may not have a great outside shot or blinding speed, but Sessions is a very very good basketball player at the most important position in the NBA. Point guards have more to do with wins and losses than anyone else on a basketball court (unless Kobe and Lebron are on the court, but they really become point guards whenever they want anyway). I realize the cap situation will be tight for Milwaukee this off-season but it seems clear that the Bucks must do whatever they can to keep Sessions.

9 Things I Learned from Milwaukee v. Houston

2009-02-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

I was fortunate enough to land some pretty good seats to last night;s game courtesy of a friend of mine. It allowed me to see some things I usually would have missed from my typical perch up in the rafters of the BC. Or in the front row of the upper level since no one ever shows up up there.

1. Ron Artest is Crazy

Artest being crazy is nothing new, I mean he jumped into the stands. But this is the first experience I've had with it up close. The best example came in the third quarter with the Rockets down 22. Artest got fouled on a shot, earning him two free throws. Right after the foul was called he yelled "LETS GO!!" as loud as he could and pounded his chest two or three times. I was terrified. His teammates weren't as enthused with the situation and didn't even respond to this bizarre sight. Which brings me to my next point.

2. The Rockets Don't Like Ron Artest

I've heard so many different tales with the theme that Artest was actually a great guy in the locker room. People have always said he's just so uber-competitive that on the court he's insane. Well I'd guess that there is some friction in this locker room, aside from what we already know. My example here took place in what I believe was the second quarter, but don't quote me on that. The Rockets were about to line up to shoot a free throw and Artest began chirping at Brent Barry about something. Barry didn't even move his head in Artest direction, just looked ahead and nodded. This was not enough for Ron-Ron and he moved closer to Barry and continued to jaw at him about something. Barry eventually gave the response that I used to give to my mother when she was nagging me about something when I was 14. He just agreed with whatever Artest was saying and kept repeating okay over and over until Artest left him alone. To say Barry seemed annoyed would be an understatement. It looked like any conversation had with Artest would be similar to this, he's a man of last words it seems.

3. Luc Mbah a Moute Plays Serious D

This is nothing new as well. And you don't need to be in any kind of nice seat to see that this guy locks down. But last night in the early going against McGrady he made life impossible. Everywhere TMac went Mbah a Moute followed close behind, using his extended limbs to bother any shot McGrady put up. Now I know McGrady is not what he once was (see above) but the way Mbah a Moute started off on him took him out of the game from the get go. McGrady never recovered and against other defenders seemed to not be all that interested in taking it to the hole, doing a lot of passing and little attacking. This all may have a lot to do with his knee situation obviously, but let's give a hand to The Prince anyway.

4. Shane Battier Politely Disagrees With That Call

Battier is not adverse to arguing with a ref. This makes him like every other NBA player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers. What makes him different is the manner which he argues calls. It's almost as if Battier is always trying to see things through the eyes of the ref when they are talking. I can't even say he really argues with refs, he discusses things that just happened. He usually does all of this with a smile on his face that says, "I know you're trying your best but I feel as if you may have erred on that call. I'm sure you'll get 'em next time though sir."

5. Moving Yao Is A Project

I've seen it written that Yao is better than Dwight Howard. Not only do I disagree with that, but I don't see how that is physically possible. There is no way Yao could ever function in any type of offense that was built around transition. I've seen semi-trucks change direction quicker than Yao. The poor guy gets assaulted every time he is on offense too. No one ever calls fouls on his assailants though, because they are covering a man who makes them look like a child. In addition to his transition struggles it takes Yao so long to execute any post move that by the time he is done his much smaller defender has leaped up and met him at his peak. The basketball life of Yao Ming seems difficult and painful judging by the grimace constantly on his face. And for all the offensive problems he has then he gets yelled at by Dikembe Mutombo when he gets back to the bench.

6. Joe Alexander Is Here To Shoot

Alexander was in the game for the last six or seven minutes of the game and he shot every time he touched the ball except once. The results? Usually either a swish or an airball. Alexander has a lot of highs and a lot of lows when he plays. At least it's exciting. The fans seemed pretty excited to see him enter the game, good that Milwaukeeans have yet to give up on him.

7. Ramon Sessions and Charlie V. Are Very Good

It's no longer amazing to me when these guys put up 20+ points and dominate the game. What I love about these two right now is that they are scoring all these points while keeping everyone involved in the game. Charlie V. once again dished out four assists to go with his 25 points and didn't force anything. Sessions continues to dominate the paint at will. After getting to the line an astonishing 21 times against the Pistons, Sessions made 12 trips last night. Nasty.

8. Richard Jefferson Has Something Left In the Tank

Jefferson showed that he still is capable of being an effective player. For as much as I rag on him about his performance this year, he turned it up a notch yesterday. If the Bucks can continue to play more of an up-tempo game that should suit Jefferson better. He can still get out in transition and finish. Now he just needs to hit his free throws.

9. Scott Skiles Can Coach

I need to stop looking at the Bucks in the scope of the Bucks of the last few years. Scott Skiles is not Terry Stotts. Scott Skiles is not Larry Krystowiak. Scott Skiles will not allow this team to pack it in like the Bucks of yester year. No these are not quite your father's Bucks of the 70s and 80s, but they are not your slightly older brother's Bucks either. Every time I expect the Bucks to pack it in due to the injuries they seem to come out playing even harder than before. It's possible that the Bucks have extradited any of the veterans who have not brought the correct attitude in the past during the stretches (cough cough, Mo Williams, cough cough). I don't think enough credit has been heaped on Skiles for the job he has done to keep this group competing hard and working together. Not to mention finding the key to unlock the power of Charlie V. Now if he sticks with Sessions when Ridnour comes back I'll really be impressed.

Below Average Player Signing Alert

2009-02-09T15:18:00.001-08:00

As I'm sure you've read elsewhere, the Bucks have signed semi-veteran Eddie Gill. I'd say he is a veteran, but he's played less than three full seasons of games in the League. Over at Ridiculous Upside (see link above) and BrewHoop they have similar takes regarding the move: blah. I agree. Why bother signing some guy who is just some guy. For all of the good young players there are floating around various leagues right now, why bother with a guy who couldn't stick at any of the six stops he's had. The only thing he's really done well in the NBA is shoot free throws, coincidentally what Ridnour usually did at the end of games. Gill is a career .355 shooter, not overwhelming.

Essentially it looks like the Bucks want to go with a veteran guy who'll be able to hold down the backup spot for ten minutes each game. One thing sticks in my mind at this time: Haywoode Workman. Workman was a journeyman who was out of the league for a year when the Bucks signed him as an injury fill-in during the 1998-99 season. He provided the Bucks with a pretty good boost, considering the circumstances, and even helped get them into the playoffs.

Something tells me Eddie Gill does not equal Haywoode Workman.

The Week Ahead (Feb 8th-14th) The Injury Edition

2009-02-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone associated with the Milwaukee Bucks needs to watch out. The injury bug is out for blood it appears. Yes, for the Milwaukee Bucks last week was difficult. What began as a possible launching pad into the playoffs, spiraled into a tough realization that once again a season will be wrecked due to injury. The Bucks woke up last Sunday sitting on a two game winning streak for the first time in over a month. Their focal point, Andrew Bogut, had returned and the schedule had softened. It seemed as though the allusive lady luck had finally touched down.

Then they ventured to New Jersey…without Andrew Bogut. There were rumors that his injury may be more than back spasms. The rumors become news on Wednesday when it was announced Bogut would be out for 8 weeks. Tough as that news was to swallow at least the Bucks had been down this road many times this season. They hadn’t won without Bogut and Michael Redd in the lineup, but made an attempt to counteract the Redd injury by acquiring Keith Bogans on Thursday for Tyronn Lue. It seemed like an okay move at the time. Lue was riding the bench and the Bucks had been searching for perimeter shooting and defense ever since Redd was ruled out for the year. Bogans is a guy who provides both of those things in small doses, and gives a little more size to a Bucks team that has painfully small guards.

Then Luke Ridnour broke his hand. 4 weeks. Lady Luck must have taken a Sunday flight out of Milwaukee. The Bucks are now left with one point guard, six wings, three bigs, and a guy with six fouls to use every night. Gadzuric doesn’t really warrant a position; he just is six fouls to be used on a nightly basis.

The positives this week? That one point guard left is Ramon Sessions. Sessions punched Detroit in the mouth over and over Saturday night, earning 21 trips to the line and totaling 44 points. On top of that he dished out 12 assists and snatched five rebounds. He was a beast. Charlie V. is just as much of a positive. I’d say Charlie V. continued his trend of strong play, but can we even call it a trend anymore? We’ll just say Charlie V. was doing his usual thing, and then some, putting up 33 points and grabbing seven rebounds. These two are looking hella good over the past month and a half.

The negatives this week? Aside from everything I listed before the last paragraph, Richard Jefferson. I’ve been singling him out for most of the season and I think I’ve got a pretty good case. I know with Charlie V. and Sessions doing serious damage that it’s hard for RJ to put up numbers, but really? Since Redd has gone down RJ has gone over 20 points just one time. If John Hammond trades him he should win executive of the year, (even though he did trade for him originally) anyway, onto the week ahead…

February 9th vs. Houston (31-20)
At least this games at home. The Rockets are a pretty punishing team inside with Yao, Luis Scola, Ron Artest, and Carl Landry. Those guys had a field day against the Bucks on New Years Eve…and that was when Bogut was playing. This one could be ugly folks. The Rockets really should be a top 5 team. Not only do they have guys who are immensely talented, but they have a ton of great role players. Scola, Landry, Brent Barry, Aaron Brooks, Diekembe Mutombo, Shane Battier, and Chuck Hayes are all great glue guys. They all have specific roles and skills and do them very well. I realize that their three main guys are rarely healthy at the same time and that is what is holding them back, but with all those role players I think they should be doing better than they are. I guess 31-20 isn’t all that bad though. Speaking of Chuck Hayes, I was watching a game earlier this year on TNT and Reggie Miller was tearing him apart. He made it seem like the Rockets should have called a time out every time they got a stop on defense when he was in the game, just to make sure he didn’t play on the offensive end. I can’t imagine what seeing a guy like that would be like. Dan Gadzuric Dan Gadzuric Dan Gadzuric.

February 11th vs. Indiana (20-31)
I still don’t get how T.J. Ford put up 34 against the Bucks. Two games later he put up 36 on the Knicks, which doesn’t count the same, but at least it removed the Bucks from his record book. When he first started on the Bucks I predicted he’d one day average 11 assists a game. He now averages five. Why does this little guy shoot so much? I see that his percentage is pretty good (.445) but how effective can a team be when he’s putting up 12 shots a game? The Pacers play pretty up-tempo, so if he’s at five assists now, he’ll probably never average more than six again in his life. Sad. He even has shooters around him and a go to guy in Danny Granger. Danny Granger has been so monstrous this year. He’s like one of those creatures you put into an empty two liter bottle of soda with water and just watch it grow to like 10x its size. That has been his season in a nutshell. He’ll put 40 on the Bucks on Wednesday, I can already feel it. You heard it here first.

I’m just hoping that I don’t break anything going to the games this week.

What Can Be Done?

2009-02-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

If you're reading this blog you probably are a Bucks fan. If you're a Bucks fan you probably know by now that Andrew Bogut will be out for roughly 8 weeks, and I'd guess the rest of the season considering the Bucks will have been eliminated from playoff contention by then. I'm not here to describe how it feels to have heard that news. We all know Bogut was the most important player on the Bucks this year and without him a lot of things look grim for the immediate future of the Milwaukee Bucks. What I'm interested in currently is figuring out what could be done to prevent Bucks fans from having to watch more of the current backup center combination. I've scoured the free agent market and searched the D-League for hopefuls and compiled a list of players I would rather see, at least temporarily, than Dan Gadzuric and Francisco "That's fun to say" Elson.

1. Lance Allred
Idaho Stampede
Lance is a D-League all star. I've never seen him play, but as I look at his picture I get the idea that he is a "scrapper". A real Scott Skiles kind of guy. Skiles played Aaron Gray pretty frequently in his rookie year, could this guy be any worse? Lance's numbers have improved in each of his three years in the D-League...except for this year. But still, he's an all star. I'm not certain that either Gadzuric or Elson could make the D-League all star game. And last year in the playoffs Mr. Allred put up 24-17 in one game. That would be a weeks worth of Gadz numbers.

2. Chris Hunter
Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Michigan has a plethora of ex-players floating around the D-League. Hunter, Brent Petway, Courtney Sims, and Jamal Crawford are just a few. Actually Golden State still might be in the NBA, in which case Crawford would still be in the League. Anyway, this Hunter guy seems like a player. 17-9 and he is 6'11. Sign him up. Expectations are not high here folks.

3. Walt Waters
Lawton Fort Sill Calvary
Is this name familiar to anyone? Waters was a big juco recruit back in Bruce Pearl's heyday at UWM. He was suppose to be a force inside for those teams after Dylan Page left. I actually remember seeing this guy on campus, he was HUGE. Further research says he was the 86th ranked player in his recruiting class. He was ranked ahead of Paul Millsap!! He's now playing in the CBA. I think. Their web page is not the most useful tool in the world. They have some sort of statistics page that says Galen Young is the leading rebounder though. I thought that was funny. It's possible that those statistics are from the 2003 season for all I know though.

4. Richard Hendrix
Dakota Wizards
Hendrix case is made here. I remember getting a first hand look at how good this guy was his Freshman (maybe sophomore?) year in college against Marquette in the NCAA tournament. That was the Noel Felix game. Speaking of Felix he is doing quite well in the D-League himself. Jerk.

5. Nick Fazekas
France
He kicked around the league with Dalls and the Clippers but didn't stick. I remember him being pretty good in college. I feel extra bad for him because Dallas waived him to resign Keith Van Horn to that stupid deal so he could be part of the Jason Kidd trade. That whole thing was a sham. Poor Nick Fazekas deserves another shot in the L just for that.

6. Kevin Pittsnogle
MIA
I was thinking Pittsnogle would be a great guy to stretch the floor and give the Bucks some offense. I didn't get why he never got more than one or two looks in the league. Looks like he's been out of the game for sometime and has developed something of a medical related weight condition. Here's to him keeping his health together, he provided us all with many cool memories of people getting "Pittsnogled".

Alas I'm sure the Bucks will go with option seven, none of the above. They'll likely ride it out with the veterans and let the season waste away into another year with no development and no regression. Milwaukee: Where Nothing Happens.

Thoughts While Wishing Jim Chones Was the Backup Center

2009-02-03T16:43:00.001-08:00

-No Andrew Bogut AND no Johnny Mac tonight, I'm bummed.
-I'd say I was surprised that Yi and Bobby Simmons both weren't playing tonight but then I remembered who they were.
-There were more people at the Super Bowl party I was at on Sunday than there are at tonight's game in New Jersey.
-A whole lot of missing going on early including airballs from The Zombie and RJ.
-Speaking of the Zombie, he fell for the first time today with 6:36 left in the first quarter.
-Active hands early for the Bucks. If they were the Louisville Cardinals the announcers would be screaming about them charting deflections right now after Charlie V. and then Ridnour each poke the ball. Doesn't every team chart deflections now? Why did Dickie V. keep pounding that point home about the Cardinals yesterday? Is that really that big of a deal? When Dwyane Wade played at Marquette the same things were said.
-RJ is looking ultra aggressive today. Too bad he isn't finishing. You can tell this game means a little more to him by the way he's playing. End of the first: 23-16 Bad Guys.

-Sessions blows a breakaway layup and Gadz gets called on offensive interference. Jim Chones says to win on the road, "you have to make shots". Great insight.
-Gadzuric hits an elbow jumper, this is as far out as I've seen him make a shot this year.
-Josh Boone responds with a tip slam. The Nets are doing a terrific job on the offensive board it seems like. My suspicions are correct: 6 offensive boards early for the Nets with 9:30 minutes left in the first half.
-With Bogut out we've now seen Gadzuric and Alexander already in the game with 7:00 minutes to go in the first half after not playing in the last two games.
-It's funny listening to Chones. He clearly hasn't watched a Bucks game all year and it gives him a very "fresh" perspective.
-Keyon Dooling is on fire. He's hit three treys thus far. He's been in the league nine years? I remember when the Clippers got him as part of that ultra athletic group of swingmen they were assembling. He was the missing piece brought in to play point guard. That all didn't work out so well.
-I can't believe how many layups just haven't fallen for Milwaukee tonight. Sessions gets fouled and justmisses the layup. He's getting to the line though, 5-6.
-The Bucks D is looking SCRAPPY. Already a 7-1 edge in the steal department. The Bucks need to be active on the perimeter to have a shot without Bogut. Active hands we always call it in NBA 2K9. If you like basketball and have XBOX or Playstation you should really have that game. I can't stress enough how fun it is.
-Jim Chones really likes what he sees from Luke Rindour thus far. Ridnour certainly does a good job of limiting his mistakes.

-45-37 Bad Guys at half.
-A lot of talk at half time about how the Bucks sink in to defend the lane and give up the three because of it. That is all due to Bogut not being in. If Bogut is in that makes it easier for everyone else to stay on the perimeter and let him handle guys one on one. There is no way Brook Lopez would have eleven points and six rebounds if Bogut was in.

-Ryan Anderson and Richard Jefferson are trading threes. RJ looks like he is going to make a play at taking over this game. That would be a treat. When he is shooting threes he in theory should be very difficult to stop, given his hellbent on getting to the line mentality when driving.
-Wow there is no help on the screen and Elson can't ever recover in time to stop Brook Lopez from dunking. Lopez is looking so solid right now. I wish his uniform were red and not white.
-The rare four point play by Keyon Dooling. That was daggerific.
-The Bucks cannot string more than a basket or two together. Every time they seem on the edge of making a run the Nets have an answer. Usually the answer is Ryan Anderson.
-If someone told me earlier today that Devin Harris would have fifteen and Vince Carter would have ten, I would have been doing backflips.
-Sessions and Ridnour make for an okay back court, but have an obvious weakness, Sessions doesn't spread the court. Everyone knows that Sessions won't be shooting when he catches off a Ridnour drive and it makes it that much easier for the defense to stay in and pack the lane. That, more than anywhere else, is where Michael Redd is missed.
-Keyon Dooling is a great example of that last point I made. He can stay out and shoot the three and that opens it up or gives them great outside looks.
-Luc Mbah a Moute getting mere garbage minutes this evening. Skiles must be afraid of some rookie wall action going on.
-This is the second time I've done this and the second time the Bucks have gotten lit up. This wasn't as bad as the Hawks game, but they still had no answer inside without Andrew Bogut. Fortunately the Bucks have three days off before Detroit comes in on Saturday, hopefully Bogut will return for that one.

The Legacy of Michael Redd

2009-02-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Begrudgingly or not most sports fans admit that they feel like other forces are sometimes at work in their favorite sports. Be it the legendary “Curse of the Bambino” in Boston or “The ball don’t lie ref” after a player shoots a free throw on a questionable call in basketball. I’ve heard announcers over the years admonish players for excessive celebration and refer to the gods of sport as keepers of the game. The John McGlocklin’s and Bob Uecker’s have often times said stuff like, “the basketball/baseball gods will take care of him for that”. And it’s those kinds of lines that have me thinking right now. Do the gods of sport really keep track of legacies? Do they know what records could be forever tarnished? The timing and ensuing circumstance of Michael Redd’s injury seem very important to me. Have the basketball gods intervened to make sure Michael Redd does not become too prominent a figure in Milwaukee Bucks lore?

Currently Redd sits at 11,295 points. That sits him 5th in Bucks history between Bob Dandridge and Marques Johnson. He would have needed only 716 points the rest of the season (roughly 21 points per game) to leapfrog Glenn Robinson for the number 2 spot in franchise history. With 2 years left on a difficult to move contract, and only 2200 more points needed after netting the second spot on the all time list, it’s easy to think had he not have gotten hurt this year Michael Redd had a very good chance at becoming the all time leading scorer in Milwaukee Bucks history. That means two hundred years from now when someone from a planet far away from here finds a Milwaukee Bucks media guide from 2012 it very easily could have listed Kareem Abdul-Jabar’s name AFTER Michael Redd on the scoring list.

I just don’t think the basketball gods would have been okay with that. The Michael Redds of the world should not be celebrated. Scoring like gangbusters on a crappy team should not elevate you unto elite status. Had Redd eclipsed the hallowed scoring record he almost certainly would have needed his number retired. No way could Brian Winters and Johnny Mac be sitting up in the rafters while the all-time leading scorer wonders when his time will come. I mean, if Glenn Robinson is even in the conversation, which would have to be solely based on his contributions as a scorer and the team’s success during his years, Redd would have been guaranteed a spot in the rafters.

Given the Bucks current salary cap situation, Redd’s penchant for injury over the past few years, and my expectation of a playoff surge sans him, Redd will likely be shopped with great fury this offseason and into next season provided he can show that he has recovered from his injury. Sources had said that other teams were inquiring on the availability of Redd this season, but I feel like the Bucks thought they would need him to make what they deemed a necessary playoff run. Now that they will know they can be competitive without the man who was once thought to be their cornerstone, Redd will likely be gone long before his contract in Milwaukee is up.

Oddly enough Redd is probably a much more accurate figure to represent the Bucks than Kareem. The Bucks being as forgettable a franchise as Milwaukee is a city Kareem was a star far too big for Milwaukee, he was made for Los Angeles or his hometown New York.

"Live in Milwaukee? No, I guess you could say I exist in Milwaukee," Abdul-Jabbar said in an early magazine interview. "I am a soldier hired for service and I will perform that service well. Basketball has given me a good life, but this town has nothing to do with my roots. There's no common ground."

Redd is a small town workhorse guy, the underdog who rose from second round wannabe to Olympian. Unless you’re a certifiable NBA fan or Milwaukeean, Kareem is, was and always will be a Laker. Even when the Bucks get it right they can’t win. Yes, Redd seems to fit the city right, a star with limitations. Milwaukee is an okay city, but it is not a Chicago or New York. Nothing in Milwaukee is "larger than life". Milwaukee will forever be associated with the Michael Redd's and Ray Allen's who never could be the centerpiece of a great team. Milwaukee is home to the Sidney Moncriefs who get the most of their abilities and never say die. Milwaukee had the Mecca, but that didn't mean it was destined to be the epicenter of the NBA. But the basketball gods don’t care about all that. They don’t care about player preferences or how large a city is, they just care about keeping things in order. And now that order will likely never be:
1. Redd
2. Abdul-Jabar

Redd will likely go down years from now as a productive scorer on crappy teams, and a forgotten Olympian on a team of shining stars. Just as the basketball gods planned.

The Week Ahead (February 1st-7th) (Going Streaking Edition)

2009-02-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

Look out in the gymnasium because the Bucks are coming through the quad, yes you guessed it…

THEY’RE GOING STREAKING!!

Bring your green hats because it is 2 in a row as of today. I never thought I’d see it again this year, but riding the force known as Charlie Villanueva, the Bucks are on a roll. The return of Andrew Bogut has been a welcome sight. In limited minutes he has fortified the defense and allowed the wings to stay out and cover the three. Bogut’s return obviously came at a great time with Redd having just gone down, but it always comes at a time when the Bucks schedule takes a turn for the better. In the up coming week the Bucks have only two games, with one coming on three days rest. Yes, three days rest. That should give the creaky backed Aussie plenty of time to be ready to log at least twenty minutes for a home game against Detroit, assuming he suffers no setbacks beforehand. Oddly enough the last time the Bucks were afforded three days rest this year was before the Detroit debacle at home where Coach Skiles pulled the plug early and went with a motley crew for the entire fourth quarter.

In the recent surge (Yes I’m calling consecutive wins a surge. That’s what happens when the supposed franchise player goes out and the team hasn’t won back to back games in more than a month.) Skiles has been in playoff mode, adjusting his bench to an eight man rotation. The losers in this: Joe Alexander, Dan Gadzuric, and Tyronn Lue. All of them have gone from guys who looked like they’d be the beneficiaries of more playing time due to injuries to guys who will be relegated to a mop up role for the rest of the year. The message from top down this year in organization de Bucks has been PLAYOFFS…in big capital letters like that. I have a feeling Skiles has been told, or maybe just knows, that burning his guys out just to get there is okay. Welcome to Milwaukee, where planning ahead is no longer the plan because the Bucks may not be in Milwaukee soon.

Regardless, Charlie V. for one has responded well to a consistent role. Ramon Sessions is looking like a good partner for Luke Ridnour in the back court, outside shooting be damned. Two point guards mean lots of ball movement and chances for open looks. Boy, two wins sure can change an outlook fast. Last week a friend asked me if the Bucks would win ten more games all year, and with the way it was looking for Bogut I was not sure. Now I’m getting ready to plan my approach to securing tickets for playoff games.

Onto this week’s games…

February 3rd @ New Jersey (21-27)
New Jersey has cooled of late but someone forgot to mention that to Brook Lopez. I didn’t think much of him coming out of Stanford, the twins act was not so successful when done by the Collins’, but he has been a force as of late. His scoring has improved every month and he’s blocking nearly two shots a game on the year. This guy is a force. His quickness could very well give Andy Bogut some serious problems. We might see a lot of time spent horizontally on the sidelines for the Australian while the Zombie and maybe possibly Gadz get some cracks at slowing this guy down. New Jersey is stockpiling some serious potential post guys. Lopez, Ryan Anderson, Josh Boone, Easy Yi, and recently D-Leagued Sean Williams all have some skills and could really develop. I guess they figured usually guys don’t work out, but if they get enough some of them probably will and they can just axe or trade the rest. Rod Thorn is a pretty good GM. Just ask Dallas. Devin Harris did make the all-star team by the way, no word on whether or not Jason Kidd will suit up for the skills competition.

February 7th vs. Detroit (25-21)
It just cannot be as bad as last time. The Bucks shot thirty percent and had few answers for anything the Pistons did. Boos rained down from all corners of the BC that miserable December night. Coincidentally that is also the last time the Bucks had a winning streak. Things are getting a little eerie. The Pistons have always been a tough match up for the Bucks so this would likely be a pretty big confidence booster if the Bucks were able to pull it out. The Pistons have been nothing special in the months since the Iverson trade, often times forcing bad shots and having their once intimidating defense sliced through. If anyone could let me know why Jason Maxiel doesn’t play thirty minutes a game I would love to get a reason. I’ve never seen him do anything wrong and I’ve been watching him since his Conference USA days. Another thing about Detroit is Rasheed Wallace. Wallace is the prototype for a guy who has everyone's ultimate respect and admiration simply because of what he is capable of. You rarely here anyone question the fact that Wallace puts up pretty average numbers every year and really doesn't win all that many games for them. I have two opinions on this guy though. When I see the team rally around him before games I think, wow he's worth so much just by being the team's emotional center. But then I see him have games of 4 points and 5 boards and don't understand why he doesn't dominate. As much as everyone says his emotion helps things I think he lets it take him out of games more often than it gets attributed. He's the ultimate enigma.

Terror

2009-01-30T23:08:00.001-08:00

Charlie Villanueva is the most terrifying player the Bucks have had in years. He can get hot from the outside, he has a feathery touch inside, he can handle the ball well for a man his size, he can monopolize rebounds, and he can be the emotional center of a team.

He can also be the guy who scores 0 points in 11 foul plagued minutes. Throughout his career he’s had a love affair with the three point line. His defense has been the only consistency he’s shown, and it’s been putrid. There are times when it honestly looks as if he doesn’t even care about the game he is playing.

But has the switch been flipped?

Villanueva has put together the most consistent stretch of his career in the month of January. His averages of 19.9 points and 7 rebounds are the highest he has ever had for a single month. His three point shooting has been one of the most obvious factors. A career 32% shooter from behind the arc, Villanueva has shot a staggering 43% in the month of January. And it’s not as if he’s shooting less, he’s shot twice as many threes than any other month of the season. It’s possible that he is becoming more comfortable with his role as a scorer since Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd have not been in the lineup together much this month. Comfort is not something Villanueva has been familiar with thus far in his time in the League.

As Villanueva was entering the league teams weren’t sure if he was a shooting four or a big three. No one questioned his offensive gifts, but their have been persistent questions about his defense and effort. The effort switch has been on full this season in Milwaukee, but the defense still lags behind. Similar to his first three years in the league Villanueva has seen extensive time coming in off the bench to provide a scoring punch. This seems to be an easy way for coaches to say that a player cannot play defense. Many thought Villanueva had no chance with Coach Skiles this year, given Skiles preference for gritty players who work hard on defense and take solid shots on offense. It appeared to be a match made in hell. When injuries once again decimated the Bucks Skiles hand was forced and Villanueva made his way back to the lineup to provide much needed scoring help. Now it appears the Bucks have found the power forward they have been looking for.

And it could not have come at a better time…for him or the Bucks.

Villanueva very well could help save the Bucks playoff chances and earn himself quite a payday in the process. Judging from the Raptors game, it looks like the Bucks are in full on chase the 8 spot mode. Skiles rode what he has apparently deemed his top eight all night and played Charlie V. an unheard of 41 minutes. Until two nights ago, Charlie V. hadn’t cracked 40 minutes all year, and now he has done it twice in one week. Coach Skiles has instilled his trust in Charlie V…much to Chuck’s delight I’m sure.

See this is where things get murky: it’s a contract year. Charlie V. is due for a raise next year…sort of. He’ll be a restricted free agent, meaning that the Bucks can match any offer he receives, but he’ll likely want a nice raise and extension if he carries the wobbly Bucks into the playoffs on the strength of his scoring. The Bucks will have to wonder if he is truly worth it. They don’t want to fall into their own trap again and overvalue their own players. It could be like that Simpsons episode where Sideshow Bob keeps stepping on the rakes. Is Charlie V. only now producing because he is only now receiving consistent minutes or is his effort now more focused due to the light at the end of the payroll tunnel?

I’d imagine there is almost no chance he will be traded considering how badly the Bucks want to make the playoffs, but how eager will they be at the end of the year to re-up with him will remain an intriguing issue to watch. This seems like a great situation for him. He has a coach who will keep on him to gain consistency at the defensive end and can slide in between Bogut, THE defensive epicenter of everything the Bucks wish to do, and Mbah a Moute, an all time effort and defense guy already in Milwaukee. The pieces are lining up right for Charlie V. So will he be terrorizing opponents for years to come in a Bucks uniform, frighten away fans with more lackadaisical efforts or show up one or two times a year wearing the uniform of a competitor and haunt us Milwaukeeans with what couldabeen.

Only time will tell.

Reverse Rebuilding

2009-01-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I felt like things were lining up for a terrific run for the Bucks. The schedule was softening, Redd was rounding into form and Bogut was due back any day. Yes, the clouds were parting and sunshine was visible. There would be something to look forward to here during this glum Milwaukee winter. Now . . . I'm not sure what is a more pressing feeling right now, the bad feeling I'm getting from the Bucks losing 6 of 9 and being without Redd the rest of the year, or the Bogut back injury possibly destroying the rest of the season. Honestly Bucks fans, the Bucks can survive the Redd injury, but tonight it was never more clear how much Andrew Bogut means to the Bucks.

TJ FORD HAD 34 POINTS!!

The same TJ Ford who left Milwaukee 3 years ago sans a jump shot still does not have one folks. Everything he was getting was the result of the gaping hole Andrew Bogut has left in the lane for the Bucks. Charlie V. is doing his best to keep the Bucks offense afloat, but when he is the crunch time center, it will almost always result in a loss. The question for seven games now has been the same; When will Andrew Bogut return? Well I'm not getting my hopes up for soon.

From JSonline:

“Who knows how long it’ll be?” said Bogut after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s day to day. Hopefully it’ll feel better tomorrow and maybe I can play Friday ... The problem is that I still have a problem changing direction…sliding and that type of stuff. I don’t have a problem running. I can run in a straight line all day, I just can’t change direction too well. It starts tightening up when I do that.”

I'm not a professional player, but at every level of basketball I ever played, changing directions was instrumental to defense. In his absence the Netherlands have provided fans with some unsightly replacements in Dan Gadzuric and Francisco Elson. Gadzuric lacks the size to hold up to much and is often left hacking away at the man he is guarding in an effort to show that he does play defense. While Elson falls down like his shoes are permanently tied together. With no Bogut or Redd on offense the Bucks have been forced to rely on Richard Jefferson to "step his game up" and pick up the slack.

This has not happened.

At all.

Not even a little bit.

In the two games that have been played since Redd's injury Jefferson has scored 29 points. Total. If my math is correct that averages out to 14.5 points per game. Which is almost 3 points lower than his season average. 13.2 million just doesn't go as far as it used to. I hate to pick on RJ because he seems like a class act, but the comedy of errors that has left the Bucks in the position at which they are currently in has been frustrating to experience as a fan. How many times are we going to get this kind of performance out of Richard Jeffersons, or Anthony Masons, or Tim Thomases or Gary Paytons? How many pretend stars can one team go through?

It's almost as if karma has descended upon this team to punish them for never taking the proper steps to rebuilding. Making foolish signings and overvaluing their own players perhaps seemed like shortcuts to the NBA gods. I don't know, I'm just baffled that a franchise can appear this snake bit. If Bogut is unable to consistently be in the lineup the rest of the year that may just be a bit too much to take. I'd be just fine with a rebuilding project, but the trigger has never been completely pulled. I know that the team will think that injuries just got the best of them again this year and basically come back with the same squad next year. The big difference would likely be that it would be sans Charlie V. and/or Ramon Sessions due to the salary cap and luxury tax. Those are two of the three young assets the Bucks have. This is like reverse rebuilding.

Something needs to change between now and the trade deadline. I can already see those clouds circling back up, it's looking like it's going to get a little rough.

Blogger MVP ROY

2009-01-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

Every 2 weeks bloggers NBA wide send in rankings and comments with regard to the NBA MVP and ROY picture. I was lucky enough to have been included in the vote. Accidents happen I guess. Before they realized I shouldn't have been involved I sent my votes and comments in. Two of them even were selected!

Check Redsarmy.com for results!

The Week Ahead (January 25th-31st)

2009-01-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

2 Notes before I get into the week ahead.

1. Francisco Elson
What got into this guy yesterday?? Elson played his finest game as a Buck yesterday. As a matter of fact I dug around a little and I’d say this was the 4th finest game of his career. (Dude had 21-10 against the Lakers once!) If he’s "The Zombie" then yesterday he was one of those I AM LEGEND zombies that ran around all over the place like Michael Johnson. How many inbound passes has Elson stole in his career? That had to have been his first one right? But for all you Bucks fans who insist he should be starting ahead of Gadz while Bogut is out...please. And I mean puhhhleeaaasse. Elson isn’t very good. This will be the high point of his season. He falls down more than Dwyane Wade, but takes 5x as long to get up. He is a capable third string center. Gadzuric is a crappy second string center. I’ll still take Gadz over him. They both seem to think they can hit turnaround jumpers though, which is confusing to say the least. Gadz is a much better energy guy though and just an all around better player. I’d say the only thing Elson does better than him is be large. Kudos to Francisco on that.

2. Ramon Sessions
I’ve given my two cents on the Michael Redd injury so I’ll refrain from dipping back into that pool but I forgot to mention how this will impact everyone’s favorite second string point guard. We all remember earlier in the year when he averaged nearly 16 and 6 with Redd out. I’d expect him to get the same opportunity now and have similar results. I know I’m excited to see him get additional burn. He looked real good last night and was noticeably more aggressive after Redd went down. For what it’s worth the Bucks are 7-4 in games where he reaches 7 assists this year, with the losses being close games to Toronto, Orlando, Atlanta and Cleveland.

January 26th vs. Minnesota (14-27)
Break up the T’Wolves! They have been on fire in the month of January. Who would have thought they would improve so much after dumping legendary coach Randy Wittman. McHale has guided them to a 10-12 record since taking over. He probably doesn’t get why everyone dislikes Kevin McHale the GM. If Bogut returns on Monday that will coincidentally be the second time this season that he makes a return from injury against the Wolves. That game was a three point shooting clinic put on by the Wolves as they finished 13-22 en route to a 2 point win. Rodney Carney of Memphis fame was especially productive that game going off for 22. He’s averaging 10 points a game this month, which equates to the best month of his career. For fun here’s a quote from Rashadmccants1.com about Rashad himself.

"Once you open it up and start to read it, you find out things that you've never really seen or heard before. And I think that really describes me." – Rashad McCants, comparing himself to reading The Bible

January 28th @ Indiana (16-27)
Most of the season Indiana has been looked at as a hard luck team. They’ve had a BRUTAL schedule and lost a ton of close games this year, signs of a hard luck team. Well I’m just going to say they aren’t very good. I don’t care about all the excuses that are being made for them, they aren’t good. Every year Troy Murphy puts up numbers on bad teams, probably because he is bad. Same with Mike Dunleavy. At least before the Pacers could stay in the news when their players got arrested, now they are putting together a collection of school boys and losses both. They are no longer even the butt of a joke, just the butt of the league. Congratulations I guess. The moustache homage last week was funny though. This is the kind of road game the Bucks should win though.

January 30th @ Toronto (17-28)
Jermaine O’neal trade rumors and Jose Calderon’s free throw streak. That sums up what Raptors fans have to look forward to for the rest of this season. The Craptors aren’t likely to make a run at the playoffs. Not with the antics of Jamario Moon. I’ve been saying for over a year now that they need a real player at the 2 or the 3. Seriously, like anyone that can play basketball would do. Is this that hard to fill? There is no one in the D-League that is better than Moon or Joey Graham? They played Anthony Parker at the 1 last week while Calderon was out, it’s like training camp all over for them again. Another one of those bad team road games the Bucks need to win to get into the tourney.

January 31st vs. Atlanta (26-16)
As usual the Bucks will be shorthanded against Atlanta. Well they’ll be shorthanded against everyone for the rest of the year, but each game against the Hawks this year someone has been missing. What got into the Hawks bench the other night? Damn. It's pretty unlikely they'll match that effort, but the Hawks starters are still a handful. Al Horford will probably be back for Saturday, and he was lethal earlier this year when Bogut was out. Bogut-Horford should be an intriguing match up. Atlanta is definitely good enough to come into the Mil and take one, so the Bucks will need to bring their A, B, and C game and roll them up into one on Saturday.

"Are You Going To Be Ok?"

2009-01-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

I never like to wake up to a message like that. "Are you going to be ok?" was the message that awoke me today. The first thing that went through my mind was that Ramon Sessions had been traded. No that rumor has been dead for a week or two now. The second thing was that Larry Harris had been rehired. No no, this is not a nightmare, it's real life. I asked why, but tossed my phone aside. I would have to look this up myself. It buzzed again but I was determined. I went to espn.com, nothing on the homepage though. That meant little possibility of a trade. Then I remembered last night's game. JSonline will have my answers. And then there it was....

Redd out for the season?

Emotions are conflicting inside of me.

Michael Redd is the premier scorer on this Bucks team, like it or not. That fact was never more obvious than in the first month of the season when Redd was hurt. The team had little from behind the arc and didn't have what I call an "offensive stopper". Every team that is worth anything has someone who can get them a bucket when they need one. When momentum is shifting teams need a guy who can hit the "SHUT UP" shot. Redd was that guy for the Bucks. He's the most viable threat from behind the arc they have. After him it's probably Charlie Bell, but he is not someone you want in there for more than 20 minutes a game. This month Redd's been filling it up to the tune of 24 a game on 45% shooting. He's even rejecting shots like Mutombo (2 this month alone!). Redd is THE guy on the Bucks.

But what has that meant?

Redd has been THE guy for for the last 5 years. The Bucks have made the playoffs once in that time frame. They have had some of the worst seasons in Bucks history. This has not all been Michael Redd's fault by any means. By now everyone knows Redd's shortcomings, he's not a great defender, he doesn't do a lot of other things besides score, and he holds the ball a lot on offense. To put it simply, Redd is a star portraying a superstar.

I personally have been advocating a Redd or Richard Jefferson trade for some time, due largely to the cap relief it would provide and picks/prospects the Bucks could net in return. Obviously that will be rather difficult now that Redd is apparently going to miss a lot of time. But I do see this as a perfect opportunity to start over. If Redd is going out the same time that Andrew Bogut is returning to the lineup, it's time to hand the keys to 'Drew. He got the large contract this off season and he's been the most important defensive player and rebounder on the team all year. And when I say he's been the most important defensive player I mean that in the most vivid way. For this season's Bucks playing defense without Bogut has been akin to trying to lock a door, only without the luxury of a lock. They have been trying to keep the door closed, but it's hard to hold back opposing offenses with Dan Gadzuric manning that door. This is the chance for the Bucks to turn the team over to Bogut offensively and see what he can do.

Earlier this year when Redd was out, Bogut was not overly assertive. Scott Skiles even had a talk earlier this year with Bogut about being aggressive. This may be because Bogut still felt like this was Michael Redd's team, and with him out it became Richard Jefferson's team. The Bucks have been perimeter oriented since Kareem walked out that door Bucks fans. Someone needs to let Bogut know it is time for a change. If that message gets across to him and the big man gets fed...then I'll be ok.

Thoughts While Hoping Dan Gadzuric Has Permanently Iced His Turnaround

2009-01-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

-When Charlie V. is aggressive early and taking smart shots, it's usually a good barometer of the Bucks success. UPDATE: This did not lead to much success.
-Dan Gadzuric is a cautionary tale for the Amir Johnson's and Joakim Noah's of the world. When you have an athletic big guy who can run the floor and the one IF is IF he can develop an offensive game he'll be pretty good, it's important to remember that is a capital IF.
-Charlie V. is 4-4, Al Harrington would be pleased.
-I'd make the See Joe comment about his blocked shot, but I think we can put that one to rest at this point.
-I was at Saz's (Milwaukee what!) earlier this year during the month where Ramon Sessions was killing the competition and insisted to my friends that Sessions was a force at point guard. In my rant I asked them to name point guards who they thought were superior and when someone said Mike Bibby I scoffed at the notion. I'd like to use this forum to retract my statement regarding the comparison of Sessions to Bibby. I was wrong.
-At the end of the first quarter the Hawks ran the last second play that I detest, the one guy on top 4 guys along the baseline isolation. Why do this? Why not run guys on curls off screeners or something? To make it even worse they ran it for Flip Murray. Yikes.
-Speaking of Murray...I once read that he was nicknamed Flip because of his resemblance to Bernie Mac, who famously (or not so famously) portrayed the bum Flip in Above the Rim. I stumbled upon Murray's Wikipedia page the other day and it claims he is referred to as Flip because of his childhood penchant for gymnastics. I'd love to know the truth. UPDATE: I researched it further on Wikipedia, the gymnastics win. He does look like Mac though.
-I can't imagine why a Bucks team with Francisco Elson, Ramon Sessions, Tyronn Lue, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and Richard Jefferson in the game can't score.
-Marvin Williams takes every inch of a step that he can on his forays to the hoop. Personally I think he travels more often than not.
-Charlie V. probably doesn't want the first half to ever end.
-Oh my goodness everything Charlie V. is shooting right now is going in. I think I saw a flame come off his hand on his last shot. Cue the NBA Jam music. UPDATE: Almost immediately after I typed that he airballed.
-After Gadzuric stops some up-tempo play with a foul here is Jim Paschke, "Gadzuric says I'll just stop all this with a foul."
-Since my last Charlie V. comment he is 0-2 with a turnover.
-Flip Murray and Mo Evans are making me feel pretty stupid. They are filling it up off the bench.
-Just went to espn.com to check on Murray and Evans and noticed that Elson is -16 for the game. No surprise there, he moves like he is a zombie from Dawn of the Dead.
-Murray and Evans: 9-11, 21 points.
-Speaking of the Zombie, he now has two goaltends tonight, which is surprising because I didn't think he could get up high enough to block a shot.
-Bibby just threw up a wondrous lob to Josh Smith for 2. Looks like good night Bucks.
-And to make it official a Damon Jones sighting. Good to see Damon again, though not the pleasant circumstances they were when he made his debut the other night.
-Damon wastes no time in hoisting up a three of course.
- The Hawks have really dominated the paint, thanks to the absence of Andrew Bogut. I really can't stress enough how important he is. The drop off in play between him and the backups is like a fall off a cliff.
-A 4 point play by Flip Murray. Yikes. After that he gets pulled so the 50 fans in attendance can applaud his effort tonight. Nice crowd Atlanta, you know this is the best team you've had in a decade right? What a joke.
-Brewhoop, I can't wait to see what positives you guys pull out of this one. Charlie V. and nothing else tonight. Usually we get some garbage time highlights, but uh, not so much tonight.
-Johnny Mac likes Slumdog Millionaire as a dark horse for best picture everyone.
-Murray and Evans: 15-21, 40 points. Jerks.
-Next game tomorrow at home against the Kings, but not on TV. How about a big crowd at the BC tomorrow, what do you say Milwaukee?

Dissecting the Bucks Playoff Chances

2009-01-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

At the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff chase 6 teams are in a slugfest for 2 spots. These spots could very well go to teams with records at or below .500, so can this really be called a slugfest? What is the opposite of a slugfest? A shoving match? A shoutfest? Whatever it is, the Bucks are firmly entrenched in it. I guess in a technical sense we’re discussing "playoff" chances, but really it’s going to be more like that scene in Jurassic Park. You know, before the dinosaurs go crazy and they are trying to see the T-Rex and they have that baby cow set up for him to pounce on? Charlotte, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee are all vying to be the baby cow to Boston, Cleveland, or Orlando’s T-Rex. (Actually scratch Orlando, I’m still not buying it. No way can they be this lethal of a shooting team in a 7 game playoff series. Is Hedo Turkoglu going to hit threes when it matters? Rashard Lewis? They are going down in round 2 at the latest.) So let’s pour over the numbers and see who’ll be the baby cow and who’ll be watching from home.

Let’s begin with who’ll miss out and why.
Charlotte
We’ll probably see Charlotte’s chances gone by the time next Friday has passed. I put them on here because they are only 2.5 games out of the last playoff spot, impressive considering the start of their season. The Boris Diaw trade was a rejuvenation for him, he can do a lot of things in the East that he wasn’t able to do in the West because of the strength of the power forwards there. However, they are about to embark on a very difficult 5 game western trip, and if that doesn’t kill them they’ll still have 19 road games to go! Including ANOTHER trip out west in February to play the rest of the best out there. This is more of a developmental season for them anyway, even though they aren’t that young and Michael Jordan continues to make terrible draft picks. I think there only good young player is DJ Augustin. It’s actually a positive thing there that Larry Brown wants to trade everyone away like he always does, because most of the team sucked when he got there. I really liked the deal for Desegana Diop. I know his contract sucks and he sucks, but at the very least he can play some D. If you’re a big man and have the skill to block shots it helps a ton. Anyway, if they make a good draft pick they’ll probably contend for a spot more seriously next year.

Chicago
The biggest problem in Chicago is that Vinny Del Negro is their coach. He looks like he has to beg the players to do anything and he might start crying at any second. He has such a desperate look in his eyes. Players aren’t going to respect that, but I imagine they went with a "players coach" because Scott Skiles rode them too hard, like he always does, and they wanted the opposite of that. Well it doesn’t look like they are responding to this either. So if it’s not the coach what could it be? A bad mix. The Bulls have the most gifted rookie point guard since Chris Paul and aren’t even scraping .500 right now. Tyrus Thomas continues to disappoint, but at what point are they going to just say "Screw it, lets see what this guy can do" and give him consistent minutes for like 30 games? He has to sink or swim. To make matters worse they are 5-16 on the road and leave for a 7 game road trip out west on Sunday. Adios playoffs. I can’t even figure they are a lock for next year either, considering they refuse to address any of their roster deficiencies they have had for 3 years now, not that I’m complaining.

New Jersey
Ahh the feel good story. Wisconsin’s favorite NBA alum Devin Harris has had THE breakout year in the NBA this year. Scoring at will and getting to the line like never before, Harris is in a perfect situation. He has even taken some of the crunch time scoring pressure off the always shaky Vince Carter. Vince had a good run, but I’m glad we’ve stopped mentioning him in the superstar category, it was just never meant to be. The Nets have a slew of young big men capable of development, including Brook Lopez who is doing some serious damage. They just don't have enough defense and up front presence at this point. They'll be a team to be reckoned with in a couple years though. I like the Nets. I’ll like them even more if they can move to Brooklyn and get LeBron. I wonder why they don’t do more involving Jay-Z? Shouldn’t he do there pre game music? Maybe personalized songs for each guy after they score? Wouldn’t more guys want to play there, just for a personalized Jay-Z song?

I’ve now effectively eliminated 3 teams. No surprise there, no one thought much of these teams to start the season anyway. Of the three I would certainly say New Jersey has the brightest immediate future, but Chicago clearly has the brightest star in Derrick Rose. But Chicago has the Cubs, so that’s unfortunate for them.

New York
Who would have thought the Knicks would be back so soon? I guess I shouldn’t say they are "back", but there not god awful anymore. They sure do like to shoot some threes. There like the Magic, but without the accuracy. That is what you expect out of a team with Al Harrington, Quentin Richardson, Tim Thomas, Chris Duhon, Nate Robinson, and coached by Mike D’Antoni. The problem when facing the Knicks is, "What if they get hot?" If they do get hot it can be a long night. They have offensive firepower, although I expect them to continue making trades, and possibly dealing David Lee. If David Lee goes, the playoffs go with him. He is a terrific player. If the Bucks got him everything would be so much better in Milwaukee. Beer would taste better, it wouldn’t be as cold, and the Bucks would be TOUGH. Alas, he probably won’t be coming here anytime soon, but I don’t expect the Knicks to hold it together long enough to make the playoffs.

Leaving us with...

Philadelphia
I’m still having flashbacks to that three Andre Miller hit to put the nail into the Bucks coffin a few weeks back. He’s really not a good shooter. What’s crazy is that appears to have been the catalyst for a bit of a shooting surge for him. Philly has apparently figured out that they are a much more effective team when they run and play up tempo. I thought they figured that out in the second half of last season? I guess Elton Brand screwed that up. When EB gets back we’ll see how it all works out. John Hollinger at ESPN.com has been begging them to put him at center, it seems like the most logical move. That’s sad because that will mean less Sam Dalembert, which will surely bum out the rest of the league. They are a super effective running team though, especially Thad Young. Philly has a 7 game home stand coming up to ease transition back to Brand. That should give them a chance to build momentum before a 5 game trip out west near the end of February. Fortunately for them they’ve played most of their tough road games, with the most difficult ones left begin a Houston, L.A., Portland, and Cleveland. And if they are close with Milwaukee at the end I'm sure the NBA will put the fix on to make sure that Scott Williams gets suspended if he puts Allen Iverson on the line at all.

Milwaukee (Light it up, Light it up)
I’m slotting Milwaukee into the 7th seed. Why? They only have 15 road games left, they are done going out west, of their 37 remaining games they have only 18 left against projected playoff teams, they have 8 back to backs left with only 2 in February and 1 in April, Michael Redd is back to normal, Joe Alexander has shown a pulse as of late and probably won’t hit the rookie wall since he hasn’t played, this should make him ready when Mbah a Moute hits the wall...should I keep going? Yes? Andrew Bogut is getting adequate time to rest his creaky back, and Charlie V has played the most consistent stretch of his career as of late. Ramon Sessions also showed life last game which was nice. They’ll have a good opportunity in the last month to lock up a playoff spot, and management WANTS to make the playoffs this year more than anything for those extra ticket sales. The Bucks may even have what it takes to leapfrog Miami into the top 6 with this schedule. If that does happen don’t be surprised if the Magic fall to 3 and the Bucks give them a run in round 1.

Redd Rumors

2009-01-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

From the New York Post:

An entrenched Bucks source does not believe Michael Redd will be traded this season.
"We need to make the playoffs this season to regain our fan base," the source informed.
Yet the vultures continue to circle.
"Everyone is interested [Portland, San Antonio and Dallas, etc.], but their offers are pure [garbage]," said Deep Dish.

Well, it looks like Redd isn't going anywhere. If that source is credible I would like to punch them in the face. We don't want playoffs! We want CHAMPIONSHIPS!! Portland is probably making offers based around Serge Rodriguez and Travis Outlaw, and they suck. I'm curious what the other offers are though. Keeping Redd to get in the playoffs is silly, but trading him just to trade him would be worse. I have to think somewhere someone is willing to give us young talent and cap relief right?

Another Marquette Interlude

2009-01-22T04:52:00.000-08:00

When Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Wes Matthews came on the Marquette scene 4 years ago, everyone knew they were 3 pretty good players, but who knew they’d blow up this large. To say the least, Marquette’s backcourt has been impressive this year. Drawing comparisons to great back courts of the past few years in Villanova and Illinois, they have Marquette undefeated in the Big East looking down on everyone but the dreaded Louisville Cardinals. (Are they just destined to haunt Marquette forever?) After pouring over the numbers Marquette has the look of a top 5 back court of the past 15 years. In fact, they probably would have the look of a National Championship contender also, if they had a player over 6'6 (or however tall Lazar Hayward actually is). To be clear I’ve only included teams with at least 3 guards featured heavily, mainly because I feel like that is a more effective strategy in college. When pressing works so effectively and three pointers so important, it seems like the more guards on the court the better. I can't in good conscience rank Marquette any higher than 5th though, considering the season is not over and they haven't played the meat of their schedule yet, so I'll take another look after the season. It's the only fair way to do it. So with no further ado, here are the best 3 man (or more) college backcourts of the past 15 years.

5. 2008-2009 Marquette
Everyone knows the stats by now. They average a ton of points, they’re all closing in on George Thompson (Except Matthews, damn you Tom Crean!!). These guys are serous, but the story goes on for this Marquette team. As great as their backcourt is, they could run into some serious trouble when the schedule picks up. These other back courts all advanced to the Sweet Sixteen or better, and 2 won national titles, but with at least some kind of help from the front line. Matthews McNeal, and James are all doing incredible things this year, but they cannot do it alone. If history tells us anything, Dwight Burke or Joe Fulce will need to provide something in the front and if they do this could be a very special year for Marquette. More importantly are we sure Scott Merritt doesn’t have any eligibility left? Maybe like 5 games in March?

4. 2005-2006 Villanova
Ahh yes Villanova. Kyle Lowry, Allan Ray, Randy Foye and...and...that white kid. About a month ago a friend of mine called me looking for the name of the white guy, the first thing that came to my mind was Steve Blake. I thought he looked like Blake, but I knew Blake was from Maryland and a lot better. I had to call someone else, the Internet got involved and we all remembered, oh yeah Mike Nardi. He’s not all that memorable, but Nardi could fill it up, he shot 40% on threes in this season. Post man Curtis Sumpter injured himself either in the end of the previous season or at the start of this one and was unavailable, making for a unique 4 guard look. Of course the real stars were the other three, with Foye emerging as leading man. Foye averaged a healthy 20.5 with Allan Ray chipping in to the tune of 18.5 per game. Lowry (who I always call Mike, then remember that is Will Smith from Bad Boys) ran the point and played the same stingy defense that has earned him playing time in the NBA. They lost in the Sweet Sixteen to eventual champion Florida, but may have done better had Allan Ray’s eye not popped out of the socket just a week before the tournament began. Yikes.

3. 1999-2000 Michigan State
Meet the Flintstones. Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, and Morris Peterson will always be remembered for their name and no one will forget where they are from. They put Flint on the map during their championship run in 2000. A memorable game against Florida in the National Championship painted Mateen Cleaves as an incredibly gritty, determined leader and probably put him in the first round of the draft later that year. He took a backseat as a scorer to Morris Peterson but handed out a hefty 6.9 assists per game. Cleaves would go on to be a hall of fame towel waver in Sacramento. Peterson was money from downtown, shooting 42.5% and averaging 16.8 points per game. Bell was the same steady player he is now, playing in every game and hitting free throws and threes, while providing perimeter defense. The numbers for these guys aren’t as flashy, but National Titles never lie, they were tough. Jason Richardson was a freshman who didn’t contribute a ton, but would later be leaps and bounds better than all of the Flintstones.

2. 2004-2005 Illinois
The closest to an undefeated team many have seen in their lifetime Illinois was a Matt Sylvester miracle away from being undefeated heading into the National Championship. Alas they’d end their season with 2 losses. Most teams would be fine with 2 losses, I feel like these guys would have preferred one come at a different time though. Deron Williams, Dee Brown, and Luther Head, led a very versatile Illinois team into the National Championship game with one loss, but ran into an all time great powerhouse in North Carolina. Carolina would go on to have 4 first round picks off that team, while Illinois barely got 4 into the NBA. But rest assured 3 came from that backcourt. Williams took over in the NCAA tournament, showing serious range and clutch shooting ability, and defense. Brown was a one man show on the fastbreak, leaving everyone in the dust and Head provided lethal outside shooting.

1. 1996-1997 Arizona
Without question, THE backcourt to which all others are compared to. Marquette can look to these guys for inspiration. Arizona had a 4 man big rotation, with Eugene Edgerson being the 4th at 6'6 and full of scrap. He’d later have a hellvuan afro. Jason Terry has probably had as much practice as anyone at the role of 6th man and it started here when Mike Bibby came aboard as a freshman starter. Not that Terry could complain, as Bibby averaged 13 and 5 and made life easier for everyone else. Michael Dickerson and Miles Simon were the main scoring threats on this team at 18.9 and 18.4 points per game. Simon missed the early part of the season with an academic suspension and the ‘Cats went only 6-4 in their final 10 games. But this team just found ways to win. Even though they did not win a tournament game by more than 8, they won the National Championship. When you have great guards it gets a little easier to squeak out games at the line. Everyone but Simon later did serious damage in the NBA. On the plus side for Simon he is an all time great CBA player, and great free throw shooter.

I'd like to give a shoutout to statsheet.com. What a site. If you love college basketball or refs, go here now.

More Thoughts on Conley

2009-01-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

Not everyone thinks that the Bucks would be on the losing end in the proposed Mike Conley deal.

"It's wrong," the 7-foot Spaniard continued. "I wouldn't trade Mike. You're looking and you're trying to do something to fix this, but that isn't the right thing. There's more to what's going on."

In an article by Memphis Commercial Appeal Grizzlies beat writer Ronald Tillery Marc Gasol passionately insists that giving up on Conley would be a mistake.

"There are many reasons. First you're starting, and then you're out of the lineup," Gasol said. "And sometimes you're not playing as well. The important thing is how you are inside. What are you trying to accomplish on the court? Are you working? Are you doing what coach is asking you to do? Are you helping your teammates? Mike is always trying to do the right thing."

Tillery compares Conley's early stats to that of other point guards who flourished later in their careers such as Steve Nash, Tony Parker, and Devin Harris, saying that the system he currently is in does not allow for his full potential to shine through.

But would Milwaukee be any better?

The Bucks have a lot of success in an up-tempo offense, but only average 2 more possesions per game than Memphis. They usually like to feed Andrew Bogut early in games and then have a tendency to get stagnant with Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson in the half court offense. They certainly have the tools to be an effective running team, but Scott Skiles has a tendency to be a bit overbearing. He has hesitated to let the younger Sessions take control of his team. He is a very defensively demanding coach, which could cause a problem for Conley whose Memphis team performs 8 points better every 100 possesions with him off the court than with him on the court defensively.

Oddly enough it's the point guard he battles for minutes for currently, Kyle Lowry, who would seem to be more of a fit with Skiles defense first philosophy. Lowry is regarded as one of the better defenders on the point in the league, and it seems like Memphis is recognizing that more, as his minutes have increased to almost 30 a game in January. Lowry is an affordable 2 million next year with RFA the year after.

Rumblings have quieted on the deal in the past few days since it was reported to be on Senator Kohl's desk, so this might be all for not, but the passion Gasol has for Conley is at least one bright side to the proposed deal. If there is one thing the Gasol brothers know, its that Memphis has made some bad trades.

The Week Ahead (January 18th-24th)

2009-01-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

The only consistent thing about these Milwaukee Bucks is that they are inconsistent. After an offensive explosion in Sacramento the Bucks shot under 40% against the Clippers. The defense was roughly the same, awful. The Clippers shot over 50% for the first time all year and the Brian Skinners and Mardy Collins’ of the world were hurting the Bucks dearly. The flight miles will add up this week for the Bucks with alternating home and road games all week. The Bucks finish off their mini tour of the west coast on Monday in another 4 game week during their busiest month of the season. Things do not get much easier when the Bucks come home to meet Dallas and get on the road again against Atlanta. Hopefully a home date Saturday against Sacramento will provide solace.

January 19th @ Portland (24-16)
Portland will be a tall task to say the least. Portland has one of the most imposing front courts in the NBA with 3 very productive players 6'11 or taller. LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, and former Buck Joel Przybilla give teams fits clogging up the lane and gobbling up any rebound that comes their way. Match them with a backcourt featuring burgeoning All-Star Brandon Roy, the clutch Travis Outlaw, and rookie phenom Rudy Fernandez, and Portland is one of the up and coming teams in the NBA. They will be without the services of former Buck Steve Blake, but that is likely a blessing in disguise. Once Blake went down they got a chance to take a closer look at summer league star Jerryd Bayless. Blake may be the sturdy veteran but Bayless is their future at the position. He has a lot of upside and looks like he could be the explosive scorer they need next to Roy.

January 21st vs. Dallas (23-17)
72% of Dallas’ shots are jump shots. What is crazy is that they don’t have particularly good jump shooters. Obviously Dirk has a world class shot, but after him who is hitting shots for them? Jason Kidd? Josh Howard? Erick Dampier? I know Jason Terry can fill it up when he gets hot, but if he is your #2 option you’re screwed. Word is the Mavs are working on a Josh Howard-Shawn Marion trade that may succeed in making them even worse than they already are...stay tuned. I was watching a Mavs game earlier this year and jotting down notes on the team and looking back through them my favorite was, "Antoine Wright has no one within 15 feet of him and still can’t get anything going. He started tonight." That sounds promising.

January 23rd @ Atlanta (23-16)
The Hawks should be well rested by the time the Bucks come to town on Friday, having two days off before hand. Center Al Horford may gain the most with their up coming lighter workload after missing the last 4 games. He could be ready to go by the time the Bucks come to town. A return by Horford should provide a boost as the Hawks have lost 3 of 4 without him. Depth is not their strong suit. I have a friend who uses the Hawks pretty much every time we play NBA 2K9 and I’ve never seen him go to the bench. Why? When you’re relying on noted jackers like Flip Murray and Maurice Evans to provide your second unit boost, you know you’ll be playing your starters quite a bit. The Hawks do have some stingy D though, so be prepared for a low scoring affair here.

January 24th vs. Sacramento (10-31)
The Bucks meet their friends from Sac-town a week after a shootout back west. Redd was able to slice through the Sacramento defense for 3 quarter last week putting up a robust season high of 44. I wouldn’t expect this game to be the same high scoring affair with Bogut back in the line up, the Bucks are likely to slow it down some. John Salmons and Kevin Martin were pretty lethal from deep last game and everyone from Sacramento was eating from the line. Sacramento played some of the worst defense I’ve ever seen in the NBA last game so the Bucks will need to continue to exploit that if they hope to pull this one out...not that I think that’ll be a problem.

This could be a tough week for the Bucks. If they drop 3 here they’ll be looking at 5 games under .500 with another long week coming up next. Getting to .500 before February starts would be ideal, considering they only have 4 road games in the month. Bogut's return should help, but iff they could come out of this week 2-2 it would have to be considered a success. Though I’ll say the Sacramento game is a must have no matter what.

Morning Quickie

2009-01-17T02:40:00.000-08:00

Two more quick things I wanted to get up. One hilarious and one I promised to some friends earlier in the week.

I've been thinking about this one for a few weeks. I don't remember if I read it somewhere, so if you've seen this comparison already and have another photo that is superior let me know. Personally I love this one and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. Add this to the obvious Sideshow Bob-Anderson Varejao look alike, and the Cavs are quite the cartoon.

Saw this over at fearthebeard.org and loved it. It's an older video, but nonetheless it's a great example of why Willie Warren has been the best freshman in the country thus far (with apologies to Greg Monroe). It's been a weak class, but in the most recent ESPN Magazine they say Warren is a little taller than Ben Gordon and a little better too.

A Bogutless Breakthrough

2009-01-16T22:12:00.001-08:00

Thoughts While Watching Michael Redd Explode

-Michael Redd is completely locked in. What’s nice about it is that he is getting a lot of his points in transition and off good looks. He hasn’t forced much.
-If the Bucks are going to win games without Bogut this is how they’ll have to do it, the pace will need to be furious.
-Everyone on the Bucks team had to yell to Fransisco Elson to shoot the ball at the end of the first half before he realized he had to put it up...so naturally he canned it.
-Johnny Mac is in rare form tonight, from the lack of calls for the Bucks, to his admonishing of the Bucks for the FT’s they are allowing, he is full of fire tonight. Actual quote after easy dunk by Charlie V., "Now that’s just stupid...you can’t find your man, DON’T LOOK AT SOMEONE ELSE GO FIND HIM! They have NO DEFENSE!"
-Luke Ridnour does have quite a knack for sticking threes when the Bucks look like they are going to flounder. He must have Sam Cassell’s old locker.
-Kevin Martin is deadly if he gets an inch.
-I feel a lot better about Charlie V.’s three point shooting when it comes from the top of the key or right near there.
-Damon Jones had three terrific bench moments. First was on a layup by Alexander when Jones did the "grab the guy next to me like I’m going to collapse because I’m so shocked/excited" move. Then when Ridnour came to the bench later he and Jones bumped fists and "blew it up" which was great. How long have they been working on that? In the fourth when no one on the Bucks realized that Jason Thompson was completely unguarded under the hoop Jones jumped out of his chair and started screaming at everyone that he was there. He almost took the initiative to get on the court and guard him himself.
-Brad Miller took a hard spill near the end trying to block Charlie V.’s shot, he’ll need to find a way to get his mind off of that one.
-Almost a huge blown game, turns into a huge relief. Hopefully the Bucks can unlock a formula for success without Bogut from this game. Yes the Kings suck, I've noted that before, but when the Bucks were forcing turnovers and getting into the offense quick they looked really good. When they are missing their inside presence they need to run on everything; misses, steals, turnovers, and makes. Getting into the offense quick allows for better looks. They don’t necessarily need to shoot right away, but getting into things quickly will be a key to success without Bogut.

An NBA Interlude

2009-01-16T22:00:00.000-08:00

Chris Paul- "When I’m on the court...if my mom was across from me she’d have to get out the way."

Great players are a different breed. Chris Paul’s above quote seems like something that any player would say, but the difference with guys like Paul, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant is that they really mean it. There presence on the court creates a different atmosphere in the arena and a different game on the court. Each of them is so talented and special, that they can dominate the game in a different way. Aside from their collective will to win each of these guys shows uncanny ability to make decisions. Howard may lag behind in this category, largely because he is not a ball handler, but each of the guards do a tremendous job of making the correct decision in important moments.

Tonight on ESPN fans were treated to a double header featuring each of these MVP candidates. Game 1 pitted Chris Paul’s New Orleans Hornets heading into Cleveland to take on LeBron James’ Cavaliers. In the pregame highlight montage Bucks fans were reminded of an especially ugly sight, LeBron’s block on Ramon Sessions from a few weeks back. LeBron is like Danny Almonte, except he isn’t lying about his age and the kids he playing against look like 3rd graders. James is the most physically gifted player I have ever seen. 6'8 270 and able to move like that? I think I know what happend. God is a Cavalier fan, and all the moves he tried to make didn’t work. Like if you’re playing a video game and you’re doing everything fair and it’s still not working out. Well God said, "Forget it, I’ll just create a guy who’ll crush everyone." And that is how we end up with LeBron James, the genetic freak. LeBron asserted his punishing physical style early bouncing Chris Paul off of him as he grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up for 2. James also did a great job in the game early of letting the game come to him. It all comes back to making decisions. He took an active role in facilitating for the rest of the team early when the Hornets brought pressure on him. He decided to get his other guys involved, knowing that later in the game would be the time for him to force the action and take over. What troubled me about LeBron in the game the other night against the Bulls was when he didn’t take over at the end of regulation. He hit some shots to keep it close and got a good look at the hoop to win at the buzzer, but when you are LeBron James that is when you waltz on down to the hoop and attempt to rip the rim off of the backboard.

This game was an indication of how great Chirs Paul is though. (I realize he played poorly and was ejected, but that doesn’t change my point. Also Byron Scott ran possibly the worst offense I’ve ever seen for the entire 4th quarter.) Watching the rest of his teammates can be painful at times. I know that David West was an all-star last year, but is he even better than Udonis Haslem? At 82games.com it shows that West and Haslem use jump shots to account for 72 and 71 percent of their shots respectively, while hitting 42.8 and 42.6 percent. West just shoots a lot more, because Chris Paul isn’t taking a free throw every other possession like Dwyane Wade. (Sorry, I can’t control the D-Wade 2003 finals hate. I was really riding the Dirk bandwagon then, at least before he missed those free throws and Wade was gifted a ring.) West’s career skyrocketed after Paul was drafted. He didn’t see a lot of playing time before Paul arrived, but since Paul has adopted him as pick and roll partner he has been shooting wide open midrange shots ever since. I don’t think it’s a bad shot for him by any means, or that he is a bad player, but he isn’t the number 2 guy on a championship team. The fact Paul put them in that discussion last year speaks volumes about his skill for making others better. I mean they almost went to the championship with a 2 guard situation featuring Mo Peterson, Devin Brown, Jannero Pargo, and Rasual Butler. As long as I’m talking about the supporting cast on New Orleans I have another question...why does everyone think the Hornets are so young? As of opening day, they were the second OLDEST team in the league!! What is young about that? Because they have Chris Paul everyone thinks there some young bunch of go getters, there not, they have one player who brought a bunch of role players to the brink of the title last year. At halftime Jalen Rose gave a speech about how they’ll get better when they get older, although it sounded much different because when Jalen Rose speaks, it sounds like a sedated Ahmad Rashad.

Much like LeBron James, Dwight Howard has a game built around intimidation. He may not be as quick as LeBron, but he is built like a house. Actually more than a house, Howard is built like an arena and super quick off his feet for a guy who is 6'11. The strides Howard has made defensively are what makes Orlando a team knocking on the door of the elite. When a team has someone like Howard to defend the rim, it’s such a luxury to their perimeter defenders and allows them to play much more aggressive and feel more confident. On top of that Howard grabs 13% of all offensive rebound opportunities and 25.6% of defensive, 2nd and 4th in the league respectively. Simply said, he dominates the rim on both ends of the ball. In his first few years in the league he relied solely on his athleticism to get him by offensively, but he has evolved nicely. He still won’t step out very far and be effective, but he has added and array of spins and jump hooks that make him worth a double team. And when Howard can draw that double team the Magic get lethal. Now that they’ve added even more firepower with that guy who used to go to Duke that disappeared for a while they are really shooting the lights out (check out his last 5) Another plus for Howard is that he is hilarious. He picked up Kobe on a switch in the fourth quarter and while Bryant was dribbling on the iso Howard engaged in some serious trash talk. He coerced Kobe into a contested jumper but then was so excited when Kobe missed he forgot to go get the rebound, much to Stan Van Gundy’s dismay. Howard and Bryant continued their battle at the free throw line and Howard had a huge smile on his face the whole time. As much as I love Tim Duncan, Howard is like the anti Duncan, he just loves everything.

Kobe Bryant has a whole different kind of dominance. Don’t get me wrong, Kobe is a hell of an athlete, but that is not what is so overwhelming about his game. Kobe has more shots in his repertoire than anyone in the entire league. As I’m watching the Orlando Los Angeles game, I just saw him bust out a left handed shot that I hadn’t seen before and a not so new but equally awesome scoop shot finger roll. (Also something I hadn’t seen, Marcin Gortat get crowned, but Tervor Ariza did that and then some with a nasty flush on his dome). Where he has grown in addition to that is how he knows when it’s time for him to bust out the tool box full of offensive maneuvers and when to get it going for the rest of his team. With guys like Odom, Bynum, and Gasol on his team now he knows to get them going early because a lot of their game depends on their confidence. If they are able to get involved in the offense they can be trusted to be aggressive later rather than simply deferring to Bryant and watching. (This actually happend in this evenings game when Odom went to the rack a few times in a row with about a minute left and kept getting fouls. Naturally he was 50% on free throws, and on the first shot he hit in this stretch he had a look on his face like he was a 10 year old kid who couldn't believe he did something right.) When the rest of his team is standing and watching, that is when Kobe can’t be at his full power. Part of his arsenal is changing his mind while he is in the air and making the correct decision, and there is just no answer when a guy can do that. And he juggles all these skills and responsibilities while being a look-down defender who can guard any player from 1-3 when needed.

Ultimately between James great strides on the defensive end and his teams dominance of anyone who even parks in their parking lot, he has the upper hand at MVP. Personally I feel like he deserves it the most, but with Chris Paul a close second, because I can’t think of more than a few point guards who could step into his place and keep them in the playoffs. But I can’t think of ANYONE that has the impact on a team that James has on both ends of the court on his teams ability to play and mind set about the game. When you have LeBron James you come into every game with the best player, and that is a feeling that leads to success for everyone on the team. And in the end, that’s what makes him the best of a different breed.

"Business Decisions"

2009-01-16T00:03:00.000-08:00

As everyone and their mother knows by now, the Bucks could be on the verge of a major trade. This is from ESPN.com via the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.

The Grizzlies want to deal second-year point guard Mike Conley to the Milwaukee Bucks, and receive guard Ramon Sessions and swingman Joe Alexander in return, but the ball doesn't appear to be in their court. Milwaukee is apparently weighing the proposal as talks are ongoing, based on conversations with people knowledgeable about the trade discussions.
A team insider said the Griz wouldn't be devastated if the deal didn't come to fruition because no one mentioned in the transaction is established. Plus, Conley has already shown an ability to bounce back from a string of poor performances. -- Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Much has been said about this trade and it's recapped quite well at Brewhoop and The Bratwurst, but I have some different questions about it.

Everyone acknowledges that this trade is a largely a salary cap deal. (I'll say however that if the Bucks also land the Grizzlies first round pick from this season in this supposed deal it would make it more acceptable. There will be a pretty healthy class of point guards this year.) Sessions will be a RFA this off season and Alexander will get a bump in year 2 of his rookie deal. If we dump them we should be able to remain under a luxury tax, even with the league expecting the cap to decrease from last year. So this is more a "business decision" than basketball decision. Okay, it's Herb Kohl's team and he can do whatever he wants with it. If he doesn't want to pay luxury taxes I understand, the economy sucks. I'm left with one troubling question though...how will this serve to better the business? In any business scenario in Kohl's life has he ever acquired lesser talent to do the jobs he needed done because they were cheaper? If the Bucks insist on dealing Sessions due to his impending semi-free agency, why don't the Bucks work out a deal where Redd can be taken too?

For a long time I've felt like the best move the Bucks could make is dumping Redd on Cleveland for Wally Sczerbiak, JJ Hickson, and a pick. If Cleveland is willing to give up anyone right now I'm not sure, because their chemistry this year has been terrific. I can't imagine a team KEEPING Wally Sczerbiak for chemistry reasons though, because from all accounts he is one of the worst teammates in the league. Listen to Bill Simmons podcast with Marc Stein and Rick Bucher for further info on that. The fact that I haven't heard even a whisper about Redd or Richard Jefferson being moved is a bit hard to take, considering how productive it would be to swap them for a power forward. Wouldn't Toronto immediately take Redd and Gadzuric for Jermaine O'Neal at this point? Doesn't that give Bosh incentive to stick around past 2010? The Craptors have been without a swing man since Vince Carter left, this gives them a scoring threat who can create. O'Neal is not the same guy he used to be, but he can be used as a trade chip, or just fill a hole at power forward while allowing some of the Bucks younger guys minutes at the swing positions. I have created a three way deal where the Bucks also get the best tattoo in basketball...Stephon Marbury’s head! I would gladly put up with Marbury for a few months to be rid of the huge contract Redd has. I think it would work subbing Jefferson in for him also, there pretty close. Plus the Bucks get David Lee! Think of the potential!! These next two seasons need to be about growth and development, not holding on to false hope that Redd and Jefferson will get a team anywhere. Parting with them will be tough and likely hurt the Bucks chances to make the playoffs this year, but it is for the greater good.

If recent league history is an indicator, putting salary cap before basketball can be costly. Could the Suns use a reliable back up point guard right now? Absolutely. Unfortunately for them they sold their draft picks instead of using them on Sergio Rodriguez or Rajon Rando. Not to mention they gave away Kurt Thomas AND 2 first round picks for a second round pick, so they could get under the salary cap. Think the Bulls could use an athletic young guard who can shoot the lights out and dunk from any where? Too bad they traded J.R. Smith for Howard Eisley’s retiring contract and 2 second round picks. I know they had a log jam, but that was a free up cap space move if I ever saw one. Acquiring him was just a way to get out from under Tyson Chandler’s contract. Basketball trades need to be about basketball first. When the Sonics moved out of Seattle much was made about them losing money and fans being apathetic to the team. They claimed all kinds of losses and noted how poor attendance figures were, but lead city attorney Paul Lawrence made a great point

“The key to whether the team is going to make money or not, regardless of whether they’re in Seattle or Oklahoma City is how well the team does,” Lawrence said. “If the team has a turnaround like the Boston Celtics...I assure you they’ll make money no matter where they are.”

And that really is what it all comes down to. To run a successful business, you need a successful product. In the coming weeks Bucks fans will know whether or not the Bucks leaders grasp that idea.

Game Phlog Heat

2009-01-15T00:11:00.000-08:00

In the words of R. Kelly, "Now usually I don't do this but uh..." I'm going to try my hand at a game recap, but hopefully in a different way. As I said before I attended last night's Bucks Heat game but don't think that this is my first game of the year. I've gone to a respectable 8 games thus far. Anyway I thought I'd get pictures because these were the best seats I was able to secure thus far this season. Plus this way people can get a cool look at the BC through a blurry camera. See my preview of this weeks games to see why I usually don't have great seats. My big regret is that I was unable to secure a photo of a rare opportunity to "See Joe Dunk". I was mid hot dog at the time. I put down a Bradley Center hot dog for no one because they have the best buns on the planet, it's wild. So here is my Game Photo Log.

It's not the best shot here, but this is the Bucks after yet another three by Dequan Cook. Again the Bucks struggled with defending the three. Sort of. The Heat opened up 8-8 which had a lot to do with luck and a lot to do with Dwyane Wade. Part of the problem a guy as great as Wade presents is that he is such a superior decision maker. He knows when to give it up, and he knows when to fall down to draw a foul...I mean shoot. His ability to draw defenders was giving great looks to Dequan Cook, who was eating it up. I told a friend of mine after the game that if we were playing in a video game and Dequan Cook hit 6 straight threes I would be checking the difficulty level and throwing a fit. Cook was "Rookie Level Hot". Throw in a couple other lucky shots and the Heat were on fire (what a pun).

The loss was especially frustrating because of the defense played on Wade. For all the bad things people have to say about Michael Redd (myself included), he has really brought it in the two games against Miami this year on the defensive end. I don't know if Wade gave him fits in practice during the Olympic runs or what, but he gets AMPED when he sees that guy on the other side. The Bucks need him to channel his inner Bobby Bousche and see Wade's face on everyone. Wade is without a doubt a top 5 guy right now, and has some of the sickest body control in the league. It would seem as though that is the reason behind his addiction to jump passes. Wade is constantly jumping in the air, hanging for a minute and then finding a guy in stride. That probably would account for the high turnover total though. The one problem I really have with Wade is the royal treatment he gets. Does anyone in the league get as many calls as Wade? Even when LeBron goes truckstick on everyone in his way he at least gets the travel called once in a while. If anyone looks at Wade funny its practically a technical foul.

Over at Brewhoop they said that RJ's performance tonight would likely push him the in lead for "Guys the Bucks Need to Trade" in the eyes of many fans. Not only did it push him in the lead, but I think I just saw him lap Charlie V. Although I can't be sure because I haven't seen Charlie V. in a while. Why haven't I seen him? Because Richard Jefferson makes too much money that's why. RJ played 38 minutes and logged reasonable numbers, but he makes terrible decisions and seems to hate basketball. He is a Tim Duncan all star complainer when a call does not go his way, and lets it effect his play on the other end, as evidenced by the technical he picked up a possession after a supposed bad call. Jefferson and Redd both create stagnation with the ball, but I'm not sure I've seen Jefferson more than one time pass after putting his head down and going to the rack on one of his patented, "Wow that's a tough shot" drives. Alexander played the best game of his young career and numerous times made nice finds underneath to Bogut for easy buckets, something Jefferson rarely does. He capped off a game of poor decisions with a terrible shot Marion quickly snuffed out with the Bucks down 2.

On the plus side another home game meant more Damon Jones bench antics. It's hard to see him on this picture, but he is at center court bartering with the refs for a few more tenths of a second on the clock. The way Jones talks to teammates and stays involved with the game even on the inactive list just SCREAMS future coach. He usually takes a seat next to Ramon Sessions, which can likely lead to good things for the youngster.

Wayback Wednesday

2009-01-13T23:45:00.000-08:00

I'll be back with something new on Thursday, but until then here are clips I found from the best two games I've ever attended. They do a good job explaining themselves but I'll add a personal touch.

This was the capper on a 20 some point comeback by the Bucks. If memory serves me correct this was before the "Malice at the Palace" and was against a Pacer team that was vicious. It was also calender night so the few fans that remained were throwing calenders every which way. Made for quite a scene.

This was the greatest sports moment of my life that I can remember. Or at least it was, this years Brewer team did a pretty awesome job competing for my attention. I'd never been at a clinching playoff game, much less a game 7. Also I thought Baron Davis was pretty badass before this, so it was satisfying to see him go down.