Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Boston Celtics

Eastern Conference Preview

J.D. Mo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:30:00 GMT

The NBA Eastern Conference got better in the offseason, and is probably stronger top to bottom than the West. Our Bucks, unfortunately did not improve for the short term. This is the inescapable Bucks reality as the 2009-10 season gets underway. Playoffs...(read more)

Celtics get 'Sheed... More NBA free agents

J.D. Mo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:42:00 GMT

The Detroit Pistons had room under the salary cap to sign Rasheed Wallace after reaching agreements with Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon last week -- but the Celtics had something the Pistons could no longer offer: A shot at the NBA championship.

And another of the NBA's best teams will get better. The Boston press reported last night that the Celtics had reached an agreement with the Pistons forward-center. The Celtics would not be denied. This from Peter May's report:

Ainge brought out the full arsenal in an all-out assault on Wallace, enlisting Kevin Garnett (a Wallace chum), Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to make the recruiting pitch. The money was pretty much the same, but, once again, the Celtics’ owners stepped up, mindful the team already is over the luxury-tax threshold. That means Wallace will cost $2 on the dollar. Not every owner would do that; most, in fact, would probably reject it out of hand. Having won once, however, has given the Celtics’ owners the appetite for more.

Somehow I doubt the money was the same. Boston will pay Sheed the mid-level exemption next season ($5.8 mill) whereas Detroit had much more to offer: The Pistons are still about $17m away from tax territory -- after the Gordan and Villanueva deals. And with the signing of Charlie and Gordon, gunners more than defenders, and the loss of Amir Johnson to the Bucks, the Pistons needed Sheed's inside presence more than ever. However, it appears that Detroit never had much of a chance.

Orlando, San Antonio and Dallas were other teams with meetings scheduled with Wallace's agent -- Sheed was going to a title contender while the Pistons slid toward mediocrity.

A talent-rich get richer trend has hit the NBA, with the elite teams getting better. Teams such as the Bucks and now, even the Pistons, having little or no hope of competing for the league's best veterans when the contenders are in the mix. The league is as loaded at the top as it's ever been, with Shaq in Cleveland; the Lakers adding Ron Artest; the Spurs improving with Richard Jefferson; and the Magic getting Vince Carter (but apparently losing Hedo Turkoglu).

But for now let's go to the Need4Sheed blog for the Detroit reaction:

"Some will even give you the obligatory 'You can launch your three’s and not play in the paint for another team, thanks for mailing in the last season Sheed.'

But to most Pistons fans we are thankful to him for putting our team over the top in 2004, allowing us a Championship we won't soon forget."

They're going to miss him. And if Pistons fans are under any illusions that Charlie Villanueva's going to fill Sheed's sneakers, they are going to be very disappointed.

I just realized I've been spelling Hedo Turkoglu's name wrong all year. Sorry dude.

Look who opted out of their contracts:

- Cleveland: Anderson Varejao
- L.A. Clippers: Brian Skinner
- Orlando: Hedo Turkoglu

- Philadelphia: Royal Ivey

Royal Ivey? Brian Skinner? There's no keeping a former Buck happy, apparently. I wouldn't mind having either of those guys back in Bucks uniforms, especially after John Hammond blew some $2.5 million and counting replacing Ivey with first Tyronn Lue and then Keith Bogans.

Skinner's a rugged big forward who had perhaps his best season as a pro with the Bucks in 2003-04 and was back for the 2006-07 season. He's 32 now and no longer commanding a mid-level exception-sized contract. Or maybe he thinks he does.

Ivey made less than $1 million in Philly last season and is obviously looking for a raise. He was a key part of the Sixers crunchtime rotation, burning the Bucks last season with some late 3-balls to steal a game the Bucks had in their grasp. Good D and point guard court sense make Ivey a very useful guy to have around, especially when developing younger point guards (Sessions and Jennings). I still have no clue why Hammond didn't resign him to the Bucks last summer. He could have saved some of Herb's money AND retained a guy who contributed more last season to the playoff Sixers than Lue or Bogans did on the Bucks.

Even more free agents still unsigned

What an abundance of players -- too many to list here - but Sham's got 'em here. Some of the players on Sham's list, such as Sheed and Charlie Villanueva have reached agreements but most of the guys on the list haven't. Everybody on sham's list is unrestricted. (Notice how Ramon Sessions or Ersan Ilyasova are NOT on the list. That's because they're not free agents. The Bucks filed qualifying offers to both players, which means they are Bucks unless the Bucks decide not to match whatever offers they receive from other teams).

Here are a few notables from the NBA free agent wire, and some oddities, too:

Point guards Andre Miller (Sixers) and Mike Bibby (Hawks) are still out there.

Hey, former Buck Joe Smith's a free agent after joining the Cavs for the 2009 playoffs.

Of course, there's Trevor Ariza, the Lakers versatile guard who's apparently been replaced by Ron Artest.

Brandon Bass, a good, young big forward who played in Dallas is an unrestricted free agent.

Keith Bogans and Damon Jones, two 2009 Bucks are free agents. Antoine Walker's free, and gladly accepting any and all calls (don't do it GM Hammond).

Wes Matthews, Jerel McNeal and Dominic James from Marquette are all free after going undrafted. McNeal might be a nice pick-up at shooting guard.

Everybody from Matt Barnes (Phoenix forward) to Bonzi Wells (former Trailblazer guard) and Chris Wilcox (OK City PF) are looking for new contracts.

And yes, Bucks fans: Ruben Patterson is once again a free agent.

NBA Playoffs: Garnett not ready for prime time... Round 1 previews & related mumbo jumbo

J.D. Mo — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:43:00 GMT

The cold north wind shifts south at last in Milwaukee ... the sewers sing spring to their gratings ... taxes have been (almost) filed as those WE Energies trucks and vans start rolling up and down the block ... the Bucks count their lottery balls. ...

The neighborhood kids don't care; they're warm enough to take the pill outta hibernation and dribble down to the schoolyard, where they can be Kobe one day, Lebron the next ... Superman when feeling tall, D-Wade taking it to 'em all,

Ray Allen when shooting the three, saying where's my main man, KG?

Chris Paul just stole the ball.

Winter seems finally ready to leave, and the NBA playoffs have arrived, not a day too late. This is the best time of year for basketball in the world: the best players on the planet, going at it for nearly two months;

the best coaches (not counting Vinnie Del Coacho in Chicago, Michael Curry in Detroit and "that guy" the Sixers replaced Mo Cheeks' with);

the best refs (well, they really are better than the college refs, knowing the difference between a charge and a block, and the vast majority of what they call makes sense -- and when they screw up, NBA refs make college refs look like mere misdemeanor criminals);

and a Dark Lord Commissioner, David Stern, who'd like nothing more than the smaller market teams to lose to the bigger market teams, in 7 games, please. Tiny Portland, you're in for an uphill battle against the Houston Rockets. Chicago, this will not help you against the ever-popular Celtics. In the end, everybody knows that in these tough economic times, the best possible marketing scenario for the NBA is a Kobe vs. Lebron Finals showdown. It would also be the best NBA Finals since ... the 2008 Celtics-Lakers final.

The NBA is back, and the league is better than it's been since Jordan left Chicago for the last time. Getting to the 2009 Finals is going to be an intense drama-rama, especially in the East ... which brings this preview first to Boston -- where the playoffs tip-off Saturday, 11:30 am central -- and the Kevin Garnett injury saga.

Round 1 Previews - The East

Bulls vs. Celtics: Do you believe Doc Rivers when he says KG might not play at all in these playoffs? I don't. But we can, with most assurances, believe that KG won't play against the Bulls. In Boston, they're calling it a long shot that he'll play at all. This is good news in Chicago, of course, where Blog-A-Bull thinks Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah can find a way to not be intimidated by the other Celtics bigs, Kendrick Perkins and Leon Powe. Sorry Blog-A-Bull, but the Bulls frontcourt is weak, even with the addition of Brad Miller -- and don't underestimate the Celtics bench. Celtics in 5 ... 4 if Ray gets hot.

Pistons vs. Cavs: Just checked in on all my favorite Cleveland blogs, and guess what? Not a scratch about the Pistons series. Lebron, if you're still reading, just get Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace out of the playoffs ASAP. They've been the epitome of whiny, basketball selfishness all year and made the most of blaming their woes on Allen Iverson, who's done for 2009. The Pistons era in the East is over. Cavs sweep.

How about this quote on the Cavs chances from Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck:

"They earned home court, they earned the best record, they are clearly a championship-quality team, and in my opinion they have the best basketball player on the planet right now . . . Mo Williams."

Heat vs. Hawks: The battle of NBA Sodom vs. NBA Gomorrah for visiting teams. South Beach, Miami, vs. Atlanta nightlife. D-Wade vs. Joe Johnson.... Udonis Haslem vs. Josh Smith. ... Mike Bibby vs. who? ... Bucks killers Daequan Cook and Jamario Moon? The Hawks are banking on experience they gained in the 2008 playoffs in 7 games against the Celtics. The Heat and Hawks played four tight, low-scoring games this season. The avg.score was 84.5 to 82.5, three of the games won by the Hawks. But I don't think they can beat D-Wade in a 7-game series. And let's not forget South Beach and the Heat dancers, who deserve a nice, high profile in Round 2 against the Cavs. Heat in 7. Winner to play the Lebrons.

Sixers vs. Magic: Dwight Howard & the Magic may stumble a bit in this series, but the Sixers aren't playing very well. They earned the 6th seed by beating the Cavs in Cleveland Wednesday, on a night when Lebron James, Mo Williams and Zydrunas Ilgauskas all sat on the sidelines. Still, the Delonte West-Boobie Gibson-led Cavs came closer to beating the Sixers than our Bucks ever did this season. The Sixers needed OT to take the game.

One, that tells you how good the Cavs are these days -- all of them. Two, the Sixers are struggling, and admitting it. Andre Iguodala isn't happy. Hey John Hammond: Royal Ivey's in the playoffs for the first time. Magic in 5 ... make that 6. Call it a feeling. I think Iggy and Sixers get a little happy before the Magic finish them off.

West Previews still to come ...

The Charlie Bell Factor: A common denominator to Bucks success

J.D. Mo — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:07:00 GMT

Charlie Bell's shot clock-expiring "prayer" Sunday to kill the Celtics chances of stealing Sunday's game from the Bucks certainly got the attention of Bucks fans who thought the Bucks playoff hopes were dying.

And now that Charlie's got our attention. ...

In this season of extended injury absences for Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd, the availability of Charlie Bell as he battled ankle injuries has also been a big factor. Bell played through his ankle problems during Redd's 14-game absence early in the season, then sat out six games when Redd returned.

But Bell's ankle problems lingered through January while Bogut tried to get his lower back in playing shape. Bell missed 5 games in January and saw limited playing time in 7 others. Bell and Bogut were in street clothes when Redd injured his knee Jan. 27 against Sacramento.

In the 24 games this season that Charlie either missed (due to ankle problems) or played less than 20 minutes, the Bucks won 9 and lost 15. Here's how that 9-15 mark breaks down: (Source: basketball-reference.com)

12 missed gms - Bucks 5-7 (they are 26-31 overall when Bell plays)

12 gms playing less than 20 mins - Bucks 4-8 (22-23 when Bell plays 20 mins or more)

One of Charlie's roles is to back up Redd at shooting guard, which does impact his playing time, of course. He also started in Redd's place for those 14 games in November, playing at least 20 mins or more in every game except for a loss in Boston. The Bucks were 5-8 in those 20+min games. Bogut missed three of them with a mashed knee. Charlie Villanueva missed a Denver-Utah road trip. All of the losses were to teams locked for the playoffs with the exception of a loss at the BC Nov. 8 to the Suns.

When Bell comes off the bench and plays 20 mins or more - Bucks are 17-15. He has come off the bench every game since Redd hurt his knee. They are 9-13 in those games, but 9-11 when Charlie is getting his 20+mins.

When Redd starts and Charlie gets his 20 or more - Bucks are 8-4. They are 7-3 in the games Bogut played and 5-2 with the full rotation and Charlie getting 20+mins. A healthy Bucks team with Charlie playing meaningful minutes was a good team. There is hope for next season.

Remarkably, this isn't tricky trivia that unravels when linked to other player injuries. (In fact, the Bucks were 6-3 this season when everyone in the rotation played but Redd -- a little known Bucks fact that GM John Hammond isn't quick to publicize, and won't.) Charlie's positive impact on whether the Bucks won or lost has occurred with Redd and without Redd, and the trend didn't ride on Bogut's health -- it held true prior to Bogut's back problems and continued through Bogut's struggles to play in January.

12 games Jan. 6 - Jan. 27: Charlie played 31 mins Jan. 5 against Toronto, scored 11 off the bench (hitting 3 from downtown) and the Bucks won at home. It was the second game Bogut missed because of his bad back. Charlie's minutes dived below the 20 mark the next game (vs. Philly) and stayed down as the ankle problems returned. He also missed 5 games during this stretch and would not get his 20+mins of PT until he got 28 in a tough road loss in Indiana Jan. 28. (That game stands out in my mind for one reason: suddenly, the Bucks looked scrappy again.)

The Bucks were 5-7 in games Jan. 6-27, playing 5 without Bell, 9 without Bogut.

Some of the losses were among the most regrettable of the season: A loss in Minnesota in which Bogut did play but the Bucks gave up a host of 3-pointers in the 4th quarter with Charlie (16 mins) on the bench; a loss in LA to the Clippers, same formula (Bell-16 mins); a loss at home to T-Wolves, Charlie's first game back (Bell-15 mins) after missing 3 games due to his ankle and the first game both Bogut and Redd missed.

Jan. 6-27 was a rough 12-game stretch for the Bucks, no doubt about that, accounting for half of the 24 "Bell factor" games. This leaves a 4-8 record in the rest of the Bell factor games. Now let's look at those 12 games:

Nov. 1, home opener against Toronto: Bell played just 13 mins as the Bucks lost 91-87. Defensive breakdowns in the 4th, when Bell was on the bench, and bad shot selection were contributing factors. Luke Ridnour did not play.

Nov. 7, loss in Boston: Bell started for Redd and played just 16 minutes, shooting 1-6 from the floor.

Nov. 29 - Dec. 11: Redd returns, Bell recovers the ankle for 6 games. Bucks go 2-4, losses to the Cavs and all three games of a West road trip, including a loss in Golden State. Lots of poor defense on the trip, not much good to report. The Lakers embarass the Bucks.

Dec. 13, vs. the Pacers: Bell's first game back, plays 14 mins. Bucks struggle, but blow the game open in the final five minutes.

Dec. 23 vs. Utah: A sloppy game the Bucks can't seem to get control of until late in the 4th, but they do. Jazz play without Mehmet Okur. Bell plays 12 mins, takes one shot. Bogut plays 38 and shoots only 7 times. Utah coach Jerry Sloan criticizes his team for "playing streetball out there." Bucks win 94-86.

Dec. 29 vs. Pistons: This is the game in which Skiles benches the starters in the 3rd quarter. Bell misses game with a bruised knee. The Bucks then go to Texas for two, and Bell finds plenty of PT against the Spurs (25 mins, 11 pts) and Rockets (31 mins, 15 pts). This is where the trend becomes apparent -- when Bell is on the floor late in the game, the Bucks look good and they often win. He makes key plays against the Spurs in the 4th as the Bucks win; Bucks play the Rockets tough but lose. Skiles is happy.

March 3 vs. Nets at home: Inexplicably, Bell only plays 12 minutes. Bell and Keith Bogans, two good defenders, are left on the bench for almost the entire 4th quarter. They sit and watch as the Nets bomb their way back from an 11-point deficit with 4 minutes left to win, 99-95. Notice how Skiles has not made this mistake since, although he did play Ridnour and Sessions together for a stretch in the 4th quarter against the Knicks. The Bucks lost that game too.

If you've read this far, ... thanks (and what would I do without basketball reference?). A Charlie Bell factor has emerged, not independent of other factors in this injury-jarred season, but a common denominator nonetheless: There is a correlation between Charlie Bell's playing time and the Bucks success. The Bucks are typically in a better position to win if Charlie Bell, a decent shooter and one of the Bucks top defenders, is healthy and playing solid minutes.

Whether Charlie starts or not may not matter (it's not clear). The Bucks have done well recently in the 2nd quarter thanks to Charlie's scoring off the bench. The trend, however, is in how much Skiles uses Bell throughout the game -- especially in the 4th quarter when the Bell factor has sometimes decided the Bucks fate.

When Charlie's playing big minutes in the 4th, as he did against the Celtics Sunday and in San Antonio in late December, the Bucks have won games. And who can forget his blitz in New Orleans that gave the Bucks a golden opportunity to steal the game? Those are just three of the many examples.

When Charlie's not on the court in the 4th providing strong defense, timely shots and smart basketball plays, the Bucks have blown games -- at minimum 4 of the Bell factor games I've looked at here. The record in Charlie's favor is strong, too strong to ignore. And now that he's healthy, Scott Skiles is no longer one to ignore it.

Selection day for the Badgers: Bend over for the NCAA anthem... BUCKS beat Boston!!!

J.D. Mo — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:19:00 GMT

Did the Badgers earn an NCAA tournament berth? The short answer is NO. The Badgers needed a win in the Big Ten tournament to lock up a bid. They didn't get it.

The long answer has something to do with the bad feeling I woke up with today. I just don't think it's going to be a stellar day for Wisconsin sports, and it has nothing to do with the Bucks, badly in need of a win and playing the NBA champs in a few hours at the BC.

It doesn't have anything to do with the Marquette, either. The Gold's a sure bid, with chances of making the Sweet Sixteen look as good as anybody's, as long as Buzz WIlliams remembers to keep the ball in the hands of NBA-ready Jerel McNeal.

No, the feeling is definitely about the Badgers... The Badgers and The Committee, that board which decides who's in, who's out, who goes where and who plays whom. That committee which has never been kind to the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball program -- less so it seems since Dick Bennett's Badgers went west nine years ago and cruised to the Final Four by simply being the only team in the West Regional familiar with a defensive crouch.

So the Badgers made a shamockery of the college game once upon a time. The Committee has foiled them ever since with ludicrous seedings, "home" games in Milwaukee and Elite 8-type matchups in the round of 32. And in true "Rollerball" fashion, all the Committee has ever asked of anyone is that no one interfere with its decisions. Please rise for the NCAA anthem and bend over for another free-gym-bag investigation.

This season, however, the Big Ten has played right into The Committee's natural bias against cold-state basketball. The Badgers (19-11), Michigan (19-12) and Minnesota (21-9) are grouped together in the mediocrity zone of the power rankings, ranked 42-45. Much like the 6 teams battling for 8th place in the NBA East, no team has managed to distinguish itself above the others and they tend to beat each other up in no particular rhythm or rhyme. ...They are a combined 15-28 against Top 50 RPI teams.

Sure, the Badgers finished 4th in the Big Ten. But how will the committee justify sending the Badgers to the Big Dance when Minnesota beat them twice? Send the Badgers and Minnesota and snub Michigan, and how would that square with Michigan beating Minnesota twice in Big Ten play and beating #4 Duke in December?

(EDIT: And let's not forget 22-11 Penn State, a lowly 70th in the power rankings but somehow tied with the Badgers and Ohio State at 10-8 in Big Ten play.)

In Michigan, the talk is that the Wolverines locked a bid by beating Iowa in the prelim round of the Big Ten tournament. They may be on to something. Nevermind what they did or didn't do in the Big Ten or that the Wolverines lost to the Badgers twice. Remember, they beat Duke.

The simple solution for The Committee is to file the obvious bids for Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State, then give the Big Ten its due by berthing Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota into the tournament -- a total of 7 bids for the conference. And Penn State too for a record 8?

There's that feeling again. Somebody in the Big Ten is going to be very unhappy when the selections are made today, and it'll probably be one or two of the teams that didn't beat Duke.

Given the Badgers history with The Committee, those two losses to the Gophers are looming large.

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The Bucks are officially 9th in the NBA East standings, thanks to the Bulls whupping Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets last night in Chicago. It was about time somebody in the East did this to the Hornets, who've had it coming for a couple of weeks. Too bad it had to be the Bulls. Ben Gordon reignited after an off week, and led the Bulls with 27 pts.

It was an interesting run for the Hornets against the East. One, two, three, then four narrow escapes against the teams fighting to get out of the mediocrity shuffle -- first the Pistons, then the Bucks, Nets and Philly. They followed that up by blowing out Dallas and the Thunder to move into the fight for home court in the West before dropping a tough one to the Hawks, beating the Wizards and stealing another one from the Bucks.

The free throw line: A theme from Friday's loss to the Hornets was the refs tendency to bail Chris Paul out and send him to the line, particularly in the 2nd quarter when the Bucks were threatening a double digit lead. The Bucks didn't catch those breaks, a topic coach Scott Skiles addressed yesterday. The Bucks shot a season-low seven FTs against the Hornets, but also spent a good portion of the game firing away from 3-point land.

Skiles is still looking for a complete defensive game from the Bucks, but liked what he saw Friday:

“We felt like their defense was very good and we felt like ours was good for a large portion of the game. They were eliminating most of our penetration, making it a jump-shooting game, and we were doing the same to them."

Ray and the Celtics: They'll be without Kevin Garnett (strained knee) for about another week but Leon Powe and Kendrick Perkins have stepped up. Ray likened Garnett's influence on his teammates' defensive habits to the good housekeeping example his sisters set for him. He really did.

Celtics injury report: Rajon Rondo started Friday after missing a week with a sprained ankle. Big Baby Davis, also nursing a sprained ankle, ~~did not but may play today against the Bucks.~~ (Big Baby's home in Boston). Big forward Brian Scalabrine (concussion) will miss the rest of March.

Rebounding: The Bucks, who've been routinely outrebounded since Andrew Bogut went on the DL, will need a big game in the paint from Charlie Villanueva against Perkins and Powe. Garnett or no, the Celtics still have a power game. Powe scored 30 and grabbed 11 rebs vs. Memphis Friday.

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The Pacers, a notoriously bad road team, are getting blown out in Toronto. A loss will drop them to 28-40, on the verge of planning for the lottery. Andrea Bargnani had the hot hand for the Raptors today, with 27 pts on 9-11 shooting.

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BUCKS BEAT BOSTON

A lot of tough defense and not too much good shooting at the BC today. The Bucks simply made more shots in the 4th quarter, winning 86-77. Plays of the game: The Celtics came out of a time out with 1-1/2 minutes left, Bucks up 81-77. Paul Pierce missed but grabbed the rebound, got it to Eddie House for a 3-pointer from the wing - House missed. The Bucks took it down the floor, ran the shot clock down, and with less than 1 second left, Charlie Bell threw in his first field goal of the night, a three from the left side after nearly losing the ball. Bucks 84, Celtics 77 with 48 seconds left. That was game.

The Bucks were due for a win, and had played the Hornets tough Friday. I never would have thought they could get away with shooting 32.6% (29-89) from the floor and beat the Celtics but the Bucks played four quarters of defense. The Celtics shot 37.7%, including 1-12 from downtown. Ray Allen gave the Bucks a break with a poor shooting game: 2-11 from the field and 0 for 5 from the land of Reggie.

Charlie Bell was 0-5 for the game and 0-2 from downtown until his game-breaking 3 with 48 ticks left.

Rebounding: Bucks held their own on the glass, giving up a 48-47 rebounding edge to the Celtics. Keith Bogans, all 6'-5" of him, led the Bucks with 12 boards. Luc Mbah a Moute (15pts) and Charlie Villanueva (19 pts) added 7 boards apiece.

Team effort with four players scoring in double figures. Charlie V played a strong 2nd half before fouling out in the final minutes, and led the Bucks with 19 pts. Richard Jefferson had 17.

Here's the JSOnline Bucks page.

And here's coach Scott Skiles' take:

"I felt it was one of our better defensive games. It's not too often when you shoot a little over 30% and win the game. I thought we played hard from beginning to end on the defensive end. We were locked in and really moving our feet on the defensive end of the floor."

Stealing/borrowing this JS photo (and correcting the caption). Luc Mbah a Moute (not Charlie Bell) tangles with Ray Allen in the lane Sunday. That's a foul, Ray.

The Bob Boozer Jinx, your home for photo cap correctitude.