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.
Showing posts with label Charlie Villanueva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlie Villanueva. Show all posts
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The Off Season Part Three
(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.
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.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Allure and Sadness of Opening Day
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 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.
Labels:
Charlie Villanueva,
Luke Ridnour,
Richard Jefferson
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Thoughts During the Joe Alexander Revenge Tour
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
2008-09 Bucks Obituary
(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:
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 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.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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Charlie V. Twitcident
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.
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.
Labels:
Charlie Villanueva,
Twitter
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Will Charlie V. Play D?
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.
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.
Labels:
Charlie Villanueva
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