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.
Showing posts with label Mo Williams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mo Williams. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wayback Wednesday
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.
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.
Labels:
Baron Davis,
Glenn Robinson,
Mo Williams,
Ray Allen,
Sam Cassell
Monday, January 5, 2009
How the Bucks Came to Be Irrelevant...A Two Part Series
Part 2
The Summer of 2005
When I was younger one of my favorite cartoons was Scooby Doo. The music wasn’t bad, the characters were funny, and Daphne was kind of hot. I remind you these are the thoughts of a 7 year old. What may have been most appealing about the show was how the guy who would end up being the villain in the end was going to show up pretty early in the show, so there was always the opportunity to figure it all out right away. When I was able to pick out that creepy janitor, or owner of the company trying to drive the price down by being a ghost, I always felt pretty smart. It was set up to be the last person you expected. Last year the Bucks finally took the mask off the ghost, and it was the person you’d least expect...Larry Harris. Granted Likable Larry did not have a mask on, or pretend to be a ghost, but when his reign began, he was the last person I’d thought would set the Bucks back years. He had grown up with the franchise, his dad assuming coaching duties in 1987 after time as an assistant. Larry himself came on as scout and video coordinator in 1990 before working his way up to GM in 2003. This is a guy who truly was a Milwaukee Buck. And it all came crashing down with the Summer of 2005.
Harris made some shrewd moves early in his tenure, signing Mo Williams, trading a useless pick for Zaza Pachulia. Mike James and Damon Jones put in serviceable time in Milwaukee. Dumping Tim Thomas for Keith Van Horn...who pretty much was Tim Thomas also. All minor moves but nothing damaging, and in the cases of Williams and Pachulia he acquired 2 young guys who were up and coming. In 2005 the Bucks one year removed from a playoff appearance where they were destroyed in round 1 by Detroit. With their point guard out all year and a rash of other injuries the Bucks fell to 30-52. This 2005 was a crucial summer for them. After landing the #1 pick in the draft the Bucks had to make decisions on their own free agents. Michael Redd was coming off a career high 23 points per game, Dan Gadzuric and Zaza Pachulia were both restricted free agents, and the Bucks had enough cap room to make plays at multiple other free agents. Every move they made would have to follow the philosophy that they were good enough to compete and just needed to add pieces, or this team wasn’t built to contend and they needed to make significant changes.
With a team that hadn’t been over .500 in either of the previous two seasons and finished last the season before, Larry Harris believed they just needed a piece or two and would be a factor. What caused him to think this no one will ever know. There was no evidence to suggest the Bucks were any good at all, but Harris had cap room to play with and made the assumption that he had a good team on his hands.
August 6th Bucks decline to match Hawks offer sheet for Zaza Pachulia.
August 12th Bucks resign Dan Gadzuric 6 years 36 million.
Pachulia was 20 years old at the time, and coming off a decent season for the Bucks. He had served as the backup to Gadz in the 2004-2005 season and appeared to have some serious potential, not to mention he was 6 years younger than Gadz. The Hawks offered him 16 million over 4 seasons running through this year. The Bucks declined to match and then signed Gadzuric for 2 more years and 20 more million...to be their backup. They knew they had drafted Bogut, they knew he’d be their starter, so why in the world would anyone throw that much more money at a guy who was too undersized to be an NBA center and was 6 years older than a guy they could have had for 20 million less!! This is the shining moment of awful in the Larry Harris era. When it comes down to it, Gadz was a crowd favorite at the time and this was probably one of those "Hey maybe we’ll sell more tickets because people like this guy" moves. The only real way to sell tickets is to win, not waste money on crappy players. Ironically Gadz ended up be the most hated player on the Bucks because of this contract. This contract pays Gadz until he is 32. Pachulia will be a free agent this off season, at age 24. Sigh.
August 8th Bucks sign Bobby Simmons to 5 years 47 million.
Any time Milwaukee gets a free agent they have to overpay, I know this. Milwaukee is cold as hell, snowy, the nightlife is lame, and the women are big. I know all of this I’ve lived here my whole life. But why overpay a guy with no track record when you have someone who already plays his position as well as him. The Bucks had Desmond Mason, who by all means is not a solution to any problems, but is as good a player as Bobby Simmons. He was then, he is now. All along this was clear, but the Bucks insisted on spending their money just because they had it. Simmons was a flashy signing who had just come off a Most Improved Player year, and made the Bucks name show up in a lot of places. To this day I still don’t know what Bobby Simmons does well, if anyone else does, please fill me in.
August 13th Bucks sign Michael Redd 6 years 91 million.
It’s easy to look at this signing today and say what were they thinking. Everyone gripes about how Redd doesn’t pass or play defense. These are logical concerns and hindsight is 20/20. The problem is that if you’re giving Michael Redd a maximum deal to lead your team, then you probably aren’t getting what a superstar is. Redd is a great scorer and a great guy, but he had appeared to have maxed out his potential before this signing. Granted he did improve even further as a scorer in the years coming, but did little to get better at everything else. This falls right in line with the thinking that Larry Harris demonstrated through this whole summer, that the Bucks were about to explode. They imploded starting the next season, and are only now cleaning up the rubbish.
October 26th Bucks trade Desmond Mason and 2006 first round pick for Jamal Magloire
With Bogut and Gadz already manning the center position the Bucks felt like they needed to address it further by acquiring a "former all star" in Magloire. They had overbought at the wing positions with Simmons, Mason, Bell, Redd and Kukoc and knew they wouldn’t have enough playing time to go around. So to solve the bumblefuck they created a new one at the center position...and gave away a pick for good measure. Magloire sulked through the season and was later traded for more crap.
That summer led to three long hard years of suffering for Bucks fans, with probably 2 more on the horizon. Harris never wanted to blow it all up and start over. Few general managers ever do. Fans don’t always have the patience to sit through something like that. People get antsy and complain how the team sucks. Larry Harris attempted to put together a team that would, at best, be a first round exit playoff team. Playoffs are suppose to make cities happy. To win a championship sometimes bold steps are required, like a destruction of a team that sucks. Larry Harris could not push that button and he paid for it with his job last summer. And he could have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for us pesky fans. Hopefully John Hammond was paying attention.
The Summer of 2005
When I was younger one of my favorite cartoons was Scooby Doo. The music wasn’t bad, the characters were funny, and Daphne was kind of hot. I remind you these are the thoughts of a 7 year old. What may have been most appealing about the show was how the guy who would end up being the villain in the end was going to show up pretty early in the show, so there was always the opportunity to figure it all out right away. When I was able to pick out that creepy janitor, or owner of the company trying to drive the price down by being a ghost, I always felt pretty smart. It was set up to be the last person you expected. Last year the Bucks finally took the mask off the ghost, and it was the person you’d least expect...Larry Harris. Granted Likable Larry did not have a mask on, or pretend to be a ghost, but when his reign began, he was the last person I’d thought would set the Bucks back years. He had grown up with the franchise, his dad assuming coaching duties in 1987 after time as an assistant. Larry himself came on as scout and video coordinator in 1990 before working his way up to GM in 2003. This is a guy who truly was a Milwaukee Buck. And it all came crashing down with the Summer of 2005.
Harris made some shrewd moves early in his tenure, signing Mo Williams, trading a useless pick for Zaza Pachulia. Mike James and Damon Jones put in serviceable time in Milwaukee. Dumping Tim Thomas for Keith Van Horn...who pretty much was Tim Thomas also. All minor moves but nothing damaging, and in the cases of Williams and Pachulia he acquired 2 young guys who were up and coming. In 2005 the Bucks one year removed from a playoff appearance where they were destroyed in round 1 by Detroit. With their point guard out all year and a rash of other injuries the Bucks fell to 30-52. This 2005 was a crucial summer for them. After landing the #1 pick in the draft the Bucks had to make decisions on their own free agents. Michael Redd was coming off a career high 23 points per game, Dan Gadzuric and Zaza Pachulia were both restricted free agents, and the Bucks had enough cap room to make plays at multiple other free agents. Every move they made would have to follow the philosophy that they were good enough to compete and just needed to add pieces, or this team wasn’t built to contend and they needed to make significant changes.
With a team that hadn’t been over .500 in either of the previous two seasons and finished last the season before, Larry Harris believed they just needed a piece or two and would be a factor. What caused him to think this no one will ever know. There was no evidence to suggest the Bucks were any good at all, but Harris had cap room to play with and made the assumption that he had a good team on his hands.
August 6th Bucks decline to match Hawks offer sheet for Zaza Pachulia.
August 12th Bucks resign Dan Gadzuric 6 years 36 million.
Pachulia was 20 years old at the time, and coming off a decent season for the Bucks. He had served as the backup to Gadz in the 2004-2005 season and appeared to have some serious potential, not to mention he was 6 years younger than Gadz. The Hawks offered him 16 million over 4 seasons running through this year. The Bucks declined to match and then signed Gadzuric for 2 more years and 20 more million...to be their backup. They knew they had drafted Bogut, they knew he’d be their starter, so why in the world would anyone throw that much more money at a guy who was too undersized to be an NBA center and was 6 years older than a guy they could have had for 20 million less!! This is the shining moment of awful in the Larry Harris era. When it comes down to it, Gadz was a crowd favorite at the time and this was probably one of those "Hey maybe we’ll sell more tickets because people like this guy" moves. The only real way to sell tickets is to win, not waste money on crappy players. Ironically Gadz ended up be the most hated player on the Bucks because of this contract. This contract pays Gadz until he is 32. Pachulia will be a free agent this off season, at age 24. Sigh.
August 8th Bucks sign Bobby Simmons to 5 years 47 million.
Any time Milwaukee gets a free agent they have to overpay, I know this. Milwaukee is cold as hell, snowy, the nightlife is lame, and the women are big. I know all of this I’ve lived here my whole life. But why overpay a guy with no track record when you have someone who already plays his position as well as him. The Bucks had Desmond Mason, who by all means is not a solution to any problems, but is as good a player as Bobby Simmons. He was then, he is now. All along this was clear, but the Bucks insisted on spending their money just because they had it. Simmons was a flashy signing who had just come off a Most Improved Player year, and made the Bucks name show up in a lot of places. To this day I still don’t know what Bobby Simmons does well, if anyone else does, please fill me in.
August 13th Bucks sign Michael Redd 6 years 91 million.
It’s easy to look at this signing today and say what were they thinking. Everyone gripes about how Redd doesn’t pass or play defense. These are logical concerns and hindsight is 20/20. The problem is that if you’re giving Michael Redd a maximum deal to lead your team, then you probably aren’t getting what a superstar is. Redd is a great scorer and a great guy, but he had appeared to have maxed out his potential before this signing. Granted he did improve even further as a scorer in the years coming, but did little to get better at everything else. This falls right in line with the thinking that Larry Harris demonstrated through this whole summer, that the Bucks were about to explode. They imploded starting the next season, and are only now cleaning up the rubbish.
October 26th Bucks trade Desmond Mason and 2006 first round pick for Jamal Magloire
With Bogut and Gadz already manning the center position the Bucks felt like they needed to address it further by acquiring a "former all star" in Magloire. They had overbought at the wing positions with Simmons, Mason, Bell, Redd and Kukoc and knew they wouldn’t have enough playing time to go around. So to solve the bumblefuck they created a new one at the center position...and gave away a pick for good measure. Magloire sulked through the season and was later traded for more crap.
That summer led to three long hard years of suffering for Bucks fans, with probably 2 more on the horizon. Harris never wanted to blow it all up and start over. Few general managers ever do. Fans don’t always have the patience to sit through something like that. People get antsy and complain how the team sucks. Larry Harris attempted to put together a team that would, at best, be a first round exit playoff team. Playoffs are suppose to make cities happy. To win a championship sometimes bold steps are required, like a destruction of a team that sucks. Larry Harris could not push that button and he paid for it with his job last summer. And he could have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for us pesky fans. Hopefully John Hammond was paying attention.
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