Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Dan Gadzuric

Is the value of dumping Gadz worth losing Sessions?

J.D. Mo — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:18:00 GMT

In a word, NO. In two words, no way. As word of the Knicks and Clippers intentions of making Sessions an offer (brought to you by Sessions' agent), potential sign and trade ideas are floating around in the Bucks-o-sphere. Of course, some of these...(read more)

Charlie Villanueva, Ben Gordon are Detroit Pistons... Ersan Ilyasova VIDEO and bandwagon

J.D. Mo — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:59:00 GMT

AP is reporting that Chuck-It Charlie Villanueva will become a Piston, and has agreed to a 5-year, $35 million contract, Journal Sentinel is reporting. So, that sentence should be interpreted as follows: The Bob Boozer Jinx says that the Journal Sentinel says that Charlie will be a Pistion next season and agreed to a deal sometime today (Wednesday). Just a couple of hours ago.

Charlie joins free agent shooting guard Ben Gordon in Detroit. Gordon earlier today agreed to a 5-year, $55 mill contract to become a Piston.

In Detroit, the fans are wondering whether they're still the Pistons or the UConn Huskies (Gordon, Villanueva and holdover Pistons guard Rip Hamilton played at UConn).

It's interesting that, in Chicago, $11 million was considered too much to pay for Gordon, considering some of the ridiculously inflated 2-guard salaries out there. But Bulls fans have griped over the last year or so that Gordon's running mate, Kirk Hinrich, is overpaid. Hinrich signed a $10 million per year contract extension in 2007, about the same dough the Bulls offered Gordon. It seems as much as they liked Hinrich and Gordon in Chicago, it was understood that they were not good enough to get the team to the upper echelon of the East. ... Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose.

As for Charlie, $35 million at $7 mill per year would NOT have been money well spent by the Bucks. It is, however, about market rate for productive, improving young big forwards -- believe it or not Bucks fans. Charlie gets nearly $1 million more than the Cleveland's Anderson Varejao ($6.2 mill 2009-10) plays for, and Varejao had to hold out into December of 2007-08 season to get his. (Varejao this week opted out of his final year in Cleveland, looking for raise).

Unfortunately for the Pistons (not the Bucks, thankfully) there isn't anything Chuck-It Charlie does better than Varejao except chuck up shots.

There are, on the other hand, far worse contracts in the NBA than Charlie's pending deal with the Pistons. The Bucks will pay Dan Gadzuric $6.7+ mill next season, part of the reason why the Bucks couldn't afford to keep Charlie around even if they had wanted to. They didn't want to, and never tendered to him a qualifying offer.

Charlie had his best season as a pro in 2008-09, averaging 16.2 ppg and 6.7 boards, missing only 4 games and both starting (41 games) and coming off of Scott Skiles' bench. Unfortunately, as a "best pro season" it really wasn't all that good or good enough. Charlie's all-around play and shooting died down the stretch as the Bucks stumbled out of a playoffs spot. It was sadly predictable.

But let's wish Charlie well in Detroit, where, pending the resigning of Rasheed Wallace, the Pistons will have two big men out by the 3-point line, chucking away while their new sharpshooting guard, Gordon, wonders what the #@#! is going on. I just can't see Sheed staying long in the paint to watch Charlie shoot bricks from downtown. Seems to me the Pistons next season will need a more consistent Sheed than ever before.

Ersan and the Bucks new frontcourt ... Meanwhile, we can look forward to the return to the Bucks frontcourt of Ersan Ilyasova, currently in negotiations with the Bucks. The more I look at what I've dug up so far on Ersan from last season in Barcelona, the more I like the promise of the Bucks young frontcourt -- Andrew Bogut, Amir Johnson, Ersan and Luc Mbah a Moute ... Bogut, still only 24, would be the senior member ... But enough out of me -- enjoy some more Ersan video ...

Here he is winning MVP honors in game 5 of the Euroleague quarterfinals, the game that launched FC Barcelona (Barca) into the Euroleague final four (they finished 3rd).

Ersan had 18 points, 11 boards in that game. His jumper looks great, more consistent than Charlie's -- and he's a much better 3-baller. Better shooting is just what the inconsistent and chucking Bucks need to be more complete in the frontcourt, assuming that Bogut and 6'9" Amir Johnson will be doing most of the banging. I'm on the Ersan bandwagon. Here's another good-shooting reel:

And here's the Euroleague October "player of the month" vid, in case you missed it in yesterday's post.

Grading our Milwaukee Bucks: Skiles and the players

J.D. Mo — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:54:00 GMT

Tom Enlund delivered his season-ending grades this past Sunday, as he does every year. I tend to think Tom's an overly tough grader, and a bit inconsistent. But I also happen to look at the Bucks through a lens that is similar to Tom's -- Scott Skiles, the face of the franchise.

Were the Bucks on any given night playing Scott Skiles basketball? Is the coach happy postgame? Did the players hold themselves and each other accountable in the areas of constant defensive pressure, uptempo transition and ball movement, the three principles of Skiles' system? How did the holdovers from previous seasons respond to the new Skiles system? Were the Bucks mentally ready to play 48 minutes night in, night out?

Enlund gives no higher grade than a B, which went to Richard Jefferson and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. My curve starts a little higher, with RJ and Luc getting the same grade that Skiles and his coaching staff get -- an A-/B+ or a 90. Let's face it: If Andrew Bogut had been healthy all season long, this Bucks team would have made the playoffs -- regardless of whether Michael Redd ever suited up and played.

Coach Scott Skiles: A-/B+ ... Did Skiles cost the Bucks a few games pulling Ramon Sessions, playing Redd too many minutes (never any reason to play Redd 40), or failing to keep his own favorite defenders in the game in the 4th quarter (Nets loss at home)? Absolutely. But the in-game decisions for the most part were extensions of Skiles' long term plan of instituting both the Skiles system and new accountability standards in Milwaukee. He was fairly consistent, even in his preference to play 5th-year Luke Ridnour over Ramon Sessions, playing in his first full NBA season, at point. Whatever the outcome, Skiles made sure the new values stuck this season.

To the very end, Skiles and his go-to player, Jefferson, talked in mantra, keeping the focus on defense, ball movement and shot selection. This was a refreshing change in Milwaukee, where previous coaches didn't have the players reading from their pages. This resulted in the Bucks finishing 7th in the NBA in assists (22 per game) and 1st in turnovers forced (16.5). The Bucks stayed in the playoff hunt for nearly two months after Redd and Bogut went down, yet Skiles was not content. That's culture change in the Bucks locker room.

Damon Jones: A ... The clear-cut Bob Boozer Jinx award winner. Damon was not invited to be a part of this team until around X-Mas, when he and Bucks GM John Hammond agreed that, since Hammond couldn't trade him, that Jones should come to Milwaukee, practice, suit up and be a Buck. Damon did a great job, cheering from the bench and supporting his teammates. When Skiles did put him in the game, Bucks fans were treated to great shooting from the man who once crowned himself the greatest shooter on the planet. Every single shot Damon made for the Bucks this season was a 3-pointer. He made 11 of those (.393%, 2nd only to RJ) and every single one of those was a pleasure to watch. Cudos to Damon Jones in 2009, though he won't be resigned. I'm sad to see him go. He's been great in both of his Bucks seasons: this one and 2003-04 when he was the highest-rated point guard in the playoffs.

Richard Jefferson: A-/B+ ... Played every game, was among the league leaders in minutes played most of the season, free throws made and attempted and a number of unkept leadership stats. Without RJ, this season becomes a nightmare quickly, given the brutal schedule and the injuries to, not just Bogut and Redd, but Charlie Bell and Luke Ridnour. Basically the Bucks played most of the season with RJ, Charlie Villanueva and three rookies healthy (Sessions, Mbah a Moute, Joe Alexander). While Sessions is a Skiles project, the young forwards looked to RJ for everything from defense to demeanor. It was very important that the veteran forward never stopped playing good D and never gave up on a play, leading by example. The Bucks topping the NBA in turnovers forced had everything to do with RJ, as he was on the court 3/4 of the time.

The Bucks have plenty of room to improve playing the Skiles defense, but the foundation has been established. RJ deserves a lot of credit for this. Led the team in scoring with a 19.7 ppg avg, and with a career-best, team-leading 39.7% from downtown, better than what Mo shot to lead the team last last season.

Luc Mbah a Moute: A-/B+ ... Drew comparisons to Sidney Moncrief, Paul Pressey and Detroit's Tayshaun Prince in their rookie years. That's great company. Luc should be first team All-Rookie. It won't happen because defense isn't something considered as highly as "the stats" in those awards (it should be). Hopefully, he'll make 2nd team. In a single game, Luc guarded Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. I don't think any another player in the NBA was assigned those tasks. I watched him shut down Ben Gordon in the 3rd/4th quarter when Gordon was going off on Redd. Skiles started Luc on Chris Paul.

The beauty in all of this is that Luc will get better, much better, particularly on the offensive end. With RJ, Luc and a healthy Andrew Bogut, the Bucks should remain competitive, regardless of what happens around them. Along with RJ, the only Bucks to play every game. 10th in the NBA in offensive rebounding %; shot a better % (46.2) than all of his teammates except the three centers (Bogut, Elson, Gadzuric). Plus, Luc was named 6th man on the East's All-Rambis team.

Charlie Bell: B ... The Charlie Bell factor. How does Enlund give Luke Ridnour credit for playing hurt (because Skiles said so?) but not Charlie, whose creaky ankles bothered him all season. Enlund (or was it Garry Howard?) gave Bell a C- and Ridnour a C. Charlie played hurt the 14 games Redd missed with a sprained ankle. He was out with lingering ankle problems in January, and rushed back again when Redd went down with torn knee ligaments. Bell played 70 games, hobbled for much of it, and played well. Charlie loves playing for Skiles (they're both Michigan State grads). Enlund went to him repeatedly as a team spokesman, especially when things were not going well in March/April (very surprised by the C-).

The evidence shows that when Charlie played 20 minutes or more, the Bucks chances for success improved. I also saw, repeatedly, that the Bucks have no other player with Charlie's referee-approved license to commit defense, in a league where it takes years to build that kind of rep. An above-average 3-point shooter who really should make more than 36.3% and score (8.4 ppg) in double digits. Smart. Can play the point and guard forwards, start (23 this season) or come off the bench. Practically off-limits in any trade discussions. A healthy Charlie Bell next season will make a big difference.

Francisco Elson B- ... Had to go to the stats for this: 3.9 rebounds in 16.7 mpg isn't that great, but the blocked shots (0.6) and steals (0.6) were pretty good. My eyes don't lie. More often than not, Elson did a decent job backing up Bogut but didn't really step up when Bogut went down. Nevertheless, I saw a guy who continually made plays when he was on the court, and a more consistent backup option than Dan Gadzuric. Can the Bucks afford to keep them both? At $1.7m, maybe not a bad guy to have around.

Ramon Sessions: C+ ... Posted big numbers (19.9 ppg, 9 apg) when he had the point all to himself, but his lapses cost the Bucks a few games off the bench. Those are forgiven, because he was essentially a rookie, and usually Skiles yanked him when things weren't going well. A game in Minnesota comes to mind. Sessions was absent-minded on offense and terrible defending the perimeter, as Carney and Foye blistered the Bucks from three-point-land. This happened a few times, often when Skiles was unable to play Charlie Bell or simply didn't (Nets at home in March).

But communication between Skiles and Sessions was a constant, as they continued to work regardless of whether they were up 30 against the Knicks, or down 10 to the Knicks at home 2-1/2 months later. Ramon's explosive and can beat anybody to the hole, but that doesn't mean he should resort to his version of the Calipari dribble-drive offense instead of the Skiles ball-movement offense. RJ had to remind him of this prior to the Nets game in late March, after two losses in Florida. The kid listens -- the Bucks blew the Nets out in New Jersey. Resigning Sessions is top priority for Bucks GM Hammond this summer.

Charlie Villanueva: C+ ... Charlie V was thought to be a guy who wouldn't be able to play for Scott Skiles. However, he proved that he could, inconsistently, yet had the best season of his 4-year career: 16.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and a very good defensive rebounding rate (17th in the NBA). Enlund is harsh on Charlie in his grading, but the New York incident he writes about was all too real. Charlie was on fire in the pregame warmups, and when the game started, all Charlie wanted to do was shoot (14-26). But it was as though he was in the throes of an offensive trance: he didn't want to play the other end -- at all. Skiles yanked him. It was weird to see in a crucial late season game.

Charlie was a suprising 8th in the league in what's called USAGE %. This is an "advanced" stat that measures what % of plays a player is involved in. Charlie was almost Kobe-like in the amount of ball-time he got in his 27 mins per game. Yes, he was trying to pick up the Bogut-Redd slack, and his teammates supported this, but ... it led to some losses. Charlie doesn't stick the shots as much he should, and still doesn't always take the right shots. In the last 20 games in the season, when the Bucks saw their playoff chances die, Charlie shot 20-80 from downtown, a woeful 25%. You're not going to win games shooting like that, and the Bucks didn't. Maybe a C+ is generous here but he rebounded very well and made the Skiles transition work for him most of the season. Charlie's a good guy, and a good player. He's just not good enough. It'll be sad to see him go, and he'll be difficult to replace at PF.

Keith Bogans: C ... Acquired from the Orlando Magic for Tyronn Lue in early February after Redd went down for the season. He got off to a good start and seemed to fit in, playing well with Charlie Bell off the bench and providing the kind of tough defense Skiles likes, tougher even than the Baby Bulls defense because Skiles' Bulls had only one a guy as physical as Bogans -- Nocioni. Let's hope the defense rests because offensively, he struggled (37.6% shooting) after a decent start (no, I'm not going to go off on another Royal Ivey tirade here). Bogans is a free agent this summer, and the Bucks have to decide whether he's worth a couple-a-three mill. If the Bucks had the cap space, Bogans is a no-brainer signup, but they don't. To keep him, Hammond will need to clear salary space somehow. I hope he does, because I think Bogans is a Skiles-type player and the Bucks don't yet know how Redd will respond after knee surgery.

Luke Ridnour: C- ... I was tempted to give Lucky Luke the same grade as Ramon. However, as the season wore on, Crazy Luke ceased to be amusing. Enlund wrote in his grades that Ridnour was a good shooter when he had five fingers. That's simply not true. Ridnour has never been a good shooter, and, before he broke his hand, his three-point shooting had dipped down to the 30% range -- not good enough. Coupled with Charlie V's woeful 3-point bombing, a recipe for defeat.

After the Mo Williams trade, I had the opportunity to chat with some Supersonics fans. Their take on Ridnour was this: "Frodo" will win a few games a year with some highlight reel heroics (which he did); but for every five he wins, he'll lose ten when the shots don't fall. The Bucks are not the 2005 Sonics, starring Ray Allen, hall-of-famer-to-be in his prime. They can't afford to rely on a 30% 3-point-shooting point guard to win games (neither could the Sonics in the end). I'm no fan of how Skiles makes apologies for Luke based on injuries, yet refuses to do the same for other players (Charlie Bell). I think the coach sees a bit of himself in Ridnour, despite the fact that Ridnour is no rugged Scott Skiles. I'm wondering whether Frodo's durable enough to play a full NBA season.

Point of order: Neither Luke nor Ramon have shown they can really guard anybody, which is a problem ... So I dropped them both a half grade from where I initially had them and placed Charlie V up with Ramon at C+ ... then dropped Luke another grade slot. While doing all this, it dawned on me that had Luke and Ramon and Charlie V performed better this season, the Bucks would be in the playoffs.

Dan Gadzuric: D ... It made my stomach wretch to watch Gadz have good games in April when the games didn't count. It's not as though he didn't have the opportunity prior. This guy makes the mistake of repeatedly showing Bucks fans how good he can be at center, then reverts to back-of-the-class mode, hiding because his homework never got out of his gym bag. Gadz finished the season better statistically than Elson but who cares? Gadz is classic Redd-era Bucks inconsistent and overpaid, which leads to 26 or 28-win seasons. Definitely part of the problem, not the solution but is next to untradeable. At least Elson's willing to play Nov-Jan. Tell Gadz this the next time you see him with his entourage at Cush. Yeah, apparently Gadz has an entourage.

Joe Alexander: D ... Am I being too harsh on the rookie? Probably. When given more playing time in late March/April, Joe delivered, blocking shots, knocking shots down, stealing the ball, turning over the ball, and playing active D. But this grade reflects where GM John Hammond drafted him (# 8), not how he finished the season. He's not an NBA player yet, though he's been playing ball constantly since the summer -- it shouldn't have taken him until March/April to show that he had some game. Had 23 DNP's due to coach's decision, and that's too many. Joe may have enough athleticism and work effort to someday justify the # 8 pick in the 2008 draft. But not today.

Malik Allen: D ... I suppose I'm opposed to giving out D- grades, because Malik sure deserves one. He was a favorite bench player of Skiles' from the Baby Bulls days, picked up on a $1.3m contract. What little he did play, it wasn't very impressive, though he did start ahead of Charlie V back in December. That lasted a game or two. Another low shooting % off the bench (42.9%), contributed to the Bucks season-long shooting woes.

Andrew Bogut: Incomplete ... Midway through the season, Bogut had been fighting back problems for a month (and missed 10 games) but was still 10th in the league in total offensive rebounds. He's becoming a more reliable stopgap defender, and that left-handed baby hook is looking like a go-to shot in the post. Made more strides this season toward becoming Dwight Howard's backup in All-Star games.

Michael Redd: Incomplete ... A high ankle sprain sidelined Redd 14 games in November, and torn knee ligaments in late January ended his season. Was he making the transition to Skiles' style of play? Not at first, as the Bucks opened the season in Chicago looking like last season's Bucks. The Bucks were 12-10 with Redd, RJ and Bogut in the lineup, but there were problems (starters benched against Detroit; a very upset Skiles in Philly and Los Angeles). Redd's 4th quarter shooting woes plagued the team all season (he was near the league bottom). Until January, was mired in an overall shooting slump but came out of it as Bogut missed time. Skiles remarked that his defense had improved. How will he respond to knee surgery? ... I'm not looking forward to all the attention this question will receive in the Bucks-o-sphere. ... I'm really not.

Things to watch in the Bucks final six games... Land of Reggie bombs...

J.D. Mo — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:42:00 GMT

Oh, it's been over since the trading deadline, some had claimed. No, it was over last week in Toronto. Or was it over when Skiles pulled the starters in Detroit after X-mas? Not to remind those (such as our GM) who still think things were going along just swimmingly swell until Bogut and Michael Redd got hurt.

Sure, the playoffs are all but out of reach now, unless the Bulls (36-40) self destruct at home and the Bucks (32-44) somehow catch Charlotte (34-41). That could happen, and it wouldn't come close qualifying as a miracle ... but then the Bucks are currently looking up at Indiana too, after allowing the Lakers to escape the BC with a 104-98 win.

Still, there's plenty to watch for in these final few games, beginning tonight in Philly (6pm start-time) where the Sixers are fighting for the rights to avoid the Celtics and Magic in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Defense and ball movement: The Bucks are at their best when they're playing uptempo offense, moving the ball quickly and playing tough defense. These are the foundations of Scott Skiles basketball, the rules of the new culture in Milwaukee. True, making the playoffs and establishing a winning culture was a stated goal of the Bucks this season, but establishing the Skiles foundations came first. The work is still being done on this foundation in the last few games. The playoffs were never the point. Establishing Skiles' principles, both offensively and defensively, is what the Bucks are about these final games of the 2008-09 season.

Ramon Sessions: Bucks fans, meet your starting point guard. When the Bucks embarked on their recent 4-game road trip, they started in Toronto without Luke Ridnour, who was banged up again. Sessions didn't fare too well against the Raptors, who are finally playing well, far too little too late.

But Sessions turned it on in Florida last weekend and has averaged a near triple-double since: 13 pts, 7.7 rebs, 10.7 assists -- culminating against the Lakers in his first career triple double .

Here's a recent featured chat with Ramon at Bucks.com. Says his favorite class in school was English and he enjoyed writing papers. File under trivia you didn't know you were desperate to know (or forget).

See Joe play: The rookie has logged 75 minutes of PT in the last three games, and he's doing everything: scoring, moving the ball, making hustle plays, blocking shots, having his shot blocked, turning the ball over, rebounding, stealing the ball and causing havoc for other teams with some good D. Joe is bringing the energy off the bench, and looks like he may eventually justify his status as a lottery pick.

Joe's average line in the last three games: 25 mins, 10.3 pts, 3 rebs, 2.7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2.7 turnovers, including a career high in points scored (16) and fouls (5)against the Nets Monday. Good work, Joe, six games left to build toward next season.

Remember the first Laker meeting: Perhaps the most devastated Skiles has been in postgame interviews, questioning the motivation of his team. In fact he even called around looking for help. The Bucks were embarassed. It was a bad trip, after which he came to the conclusion that his team hadn't yet learned how to win in the NBA, a shot at the holdover Bucks from last season (Redd, Bogut, Charlie V). Charlie Bell wasn't with the team on that trip, dealing with lingering ankle problems.

“We don’t yet get how hard you have to play and how focused you have to be for a period of time to win an NBA game. This is a good group of guys, and we just have to learn that toughness."

Mental toughness would become a theme for the Bucks after that road trip west, and probably still is. But after last night's Lakers game, nobody was questioning the Bucks motivation. Lakers coach Phil Jackson:

"They did a great job fronting us, and we threw the ball away a couple times trying to go inside there. They work real hard defensively, and it paid off for them tonight. They outhustled us in many situations and made the game much closer than it should have been, probably."

What a difference a few months makes. Skiles even handed out some individual praise after the Lakers game.

"I always hesitate to talk about a single guy after a loss, but I thought Richard (29 pts for RJ) was good and Ramon was good. Our defense was not great tonight from beginning to end, but it was OK."

Gadzooks: Count me as one who's not too impressed with Dan Gadzuric's recent good play. He's done this before. Unfortunately, his stellar game against the Lakers last night is not a sign of things to come -- though it does show how he got that 6-yr, $36 mill. contract out of our last GM. What a killer that contract's been.

Maybe Gadz wants to be a Laker? Phil Jackson, looking for a backup center? Gadz is much better than Chris Mihm, coach.

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Bombs from the land of Reggie

Kobe man love for Michael Redd: Oh no, and Kobe's offering Redd personal training services as Redd recuperates from ACL surgery.

“He is like a brother to me," Kobe said after Redd was presented with his Olympic ring in a pregame ceremony. He’s really cool and I’m just going to be there for him and make sure he gets back to 100 percent for next season.”

Last thing the Bucks need is Kobe furthering Redd's well-documented belief that he is the 2nd coming of Kobe offensively. Now, if Kobe wants to school Redd on some defensive principles this summer, maybe ....

Here's a guy Kobe doesn't like: It's Ray Allen, saving the day last night in Boston. Ray wasn't having one of his better games against the Charlotte Bobcats last night, but once overtime began... First Ray forced the 2nd OT with a three. Then he hit two more, including the game winner (and threw up an airball for good measure) in the Double OT as the Celtics beat the 'Cats 111-109.

Bucks Weekend: When the basketball gods lifted the lid in New Orleans... Marbury in Boston... Sunday notes

J.D. Mo — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:51:00 GMT

Bucks (28-32) @ New Orleans Hornets (34-22), 7pm, NBA (Raptors) TV

Bucks vs. Washington Wizards (13-44), 7:30pm @ Bradley Center, FSN

That's when it happened. Something happened. It was as if the basketball gods lifted the lid off the Bucks basket and stuck it on the Hornets hoop. Maybe it was the advent of Damon Jones into the game, because Chandler missed both Hornets free throws and Jones promptly drained one from downtown. Gadzuric blocked a David West jumper, then Bogans hit a three. Suddenly it was an 8-point game. A West jump shot made it ten with 2:20 left. There didn't seem to be enough time. ...

As you can see in this photo, Chris Paul is a bit miffed that ESPN snubbed tonight's Bucks-Hornets game to again broadcast to NBA fans just how much better the Orlando Magic are than the free-fallin' Detroit Pistons.

The Bucks-Hornets game had been pegged as tonight's featured game and was the only national game scheduled for the Bucks this season. But earlier this week, ESPN changed its mind.

Obviously, ratings are a factor and Milwaukee and New Orleans are two of the league's smaller markets. However, given the network's modus operandii when it comes to stirring up controversy, peddling rumors and pandering like a supermarket tabloid, this decision can't possibly be about ratings.

Nor is it about the rise of the Orlando Magic in the East. As fun as it is to watch Paul and the Hornets, CP3 is last season's story. Dwight Howard and the Magic are this season's story. Snubbing CP3 and the Bucks, however, is not about the Magic. If it were, then it could be said that this decision was made for basketball reasons, and that's just not ESPN's style.

No, the decision to broadcast the Pistons and Magic is all about Detroit's 8-game losing streak and the endless supply of controversy brewing in Motor City. What's wrong with the Pistons? Has Allen Iverson destroyed the Pistons precious team chemistry? Will coach Michael Curry be fired? Is Rasheed Wallace in decline and should he even be playing tonight? The NBA rescinded two early season Sheed technicals after he reached the suspension limit Wednesday in a loss to the Hornets. How does that work? Ask Commissioner David Stern.

As the NBA turns. For Bucks fans, the important thing is that if our scrappy team can keep up with CP3 and steal a game in the Big Easy while the Magic are making the Pistons disappear, the Bucks will move ahead of Detroit into 7th place in the East standings.

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Sorry about the blackout today. From what I gather, some renovations are occuring over at sportsbubbler HQ and the word is "all systems go" for another Bucks back-to-back and NBA weekend.

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Is the Pistons nosedive from the top tier of the East into the battle for the 8th spot a bigger story than the injury-challenged Bucks' ability to hold their own in the battle for the 8th spot? That's a tough question. The Bucks can't compete with the Pistons fan recognition, obviously, plenty of reason to give Detroit the nod in the media.

But the flip side of this is that the Pistons are bad news. The NBA thrives on good news and success stories, not failures. Eventually -- if the Bucks can stay in the playoff hunt -- this will raise their profile. The Bucks are not a boring team by any definition of yawning.

The Pistons tumble? It was inevitable, whether they had made the Billups for Iverson trade or not -- and what did Detroit GM Joe Dumars expect of his rookie coach, Michael Curry? It's old news, bad news on repeat, which brings us full circle back to questioning ESPN's values as a sports news organization.

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A tale of two coaches: One a first year coach, Michael Curry in Detroit, who hasn't been up to the task of managing his team and may lose his job; the other, Scott Skiles, a determined veteran proving again that he can unify a team and win games despite unusually bad luck with injuries and no stars. Skiles' uptempo offense and in-your-face defensive basketball is a great equalizer, and Skiles is a bonafide Coach of the Year candidate.

That said, the Pistons played a great game in Orlando and are about to win it, while the Bucks are conducting a "How Not To" shooting clinic in New Orleans and trail by 21 in the 3rd quarter. The score is 66-45; the Bucks are 19-58 from the floor. That's 32.7%. I didn't think that was possible for an NBA team.

Thankfully, this is the last Western Conference road game for the Bucks this season. The Bucks would be 11-13 against the West with a loss tonight, with home games against Golden State, New Orleans, Portland, the Lakers, Memphis and Oklahoma City ahead. They'll have to beat at least one West playoff team to do it, but it's easily conceivable that the Bucks could split (15-15) against the West this season. Quite an improvement over last season's 8-22 mark vs. the West.

In the East, on the other hand, where the Bucks are 17-20 ... whoa - hold that thought.

The thrill of agonizing defeat If there is such a thing, the Bucks pulled it off in New Orleans. I had written this game off twice, and then a third time when Skiles cleared the bench with 3:30 to play. But each time the Bucks refused to quit. Down 21 in the 3rd, Luke Ridnour and a suddenly tough defense led by Charlie Bell, Keith Bogans and Richard Jefferson, began cutting into the Hornets lead. This went on for about 12 minutes, until Ridnour's third 3-pointer in the push pulled the Bucks to within 10 with six minutes to play.

Unfortunately, the Bucks let the Hornets slip away --or so it seemed. Peja Stojakovic hit a three, Skiles benched Charlie Villanueva after a turnover, the other Charlie misfired, and the Bucks found themselves down 89-72 with about four minutes left. Then Ridnour hit his fourth 3-ball since mid-3rd quarter and the Bucks sent Hornets center Tyson Chandler to the line. Skiles had seen enough and cleared his bench. Enter Damon Jones, Dan Gadzuric and Malik Allen to finish the game with Bell and Bogans.

That's when it happened. Something happened. It was as if the basketball gods lifted the lid off the Bucks basket and stuck it on the Hornets hoop. Maybe it was the advent of Damon Jones into the game, because Chandler missed both Hornets free throws and Jones promptly drained one from downtown. Gadzuric blocked a David West jumper, then Bogans hit a three. Suddenly it was an 8-point game. A West jump shot made it ten with 2:20 left. There didn't seem to be enough time.

Then Charlie Bell went nuts. Bell was 3-13 in the game until this point and a big part of the reason the cold-shooting Bucks had dug a double-digit hole to climb out of. But in the next two minutes, Charlie bombed the Bucks out of the hole and into the lead, scoring 11 points on three jumpers from the land of Reggie and a putback. The Bucks took the lead 94-93 with 10 secs to go on Charlie's third 3-pointer.

Then Skiles lost his senses. Since Gadzuric had entered the game with 3:30 left, Gadz had blocked a shot, grabbed a defensive rebound and scored on a tip-in, and the Bucks had not allowed the Hornets a single 2nd-chance shot. But Skiles had subbed Gadz out for RJ for the offensive possession that gave the Bucks the lead. Now that it was New Orleans ball and timeout to draw up their final shot, Skiles subbed Ridnour for Malik Allen and Luc Mbah a Moute for Damon Jones, leaving Gadz on the bench.

When the Bucks forced a miss by West, there was no one to keep the 7-footer, Chandler -- who spent the better part of three years with the Bulls in Skiles' doghouse -- away from the rebound-tap.

Hornets 95, Bucks 94. What Skiles had done was put his four best defenders on the floor -- Mbah a Moute, Bell, RJ and Bogans -- and assigned Ridnour to pester Chris Paul. But he had ignored a key basketball truism -- you can't defend height. For perhaps the first time this season, Scott Skiles beat the Milwaukee Bucks.

RJ led the Bucks with 22; Charlie B scored 21. Chris Paul was credited with 20 assists and West, a first-time All-Star this season, led everybody with 28 pts and 12 boards. Here's the box score if you don't believe me. ...

Shame on ESPN for taking their cameras to Orlando.

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Shaq scores 45: The Suns, fighting for their playoff lives without Steve Nash (sprained ankle) got a monster game from the Diesel at home to crush the new look Chris Bosh-Shawn Marion Raptors, 133-113.

"I think I'm the only player," Shaq said postgame, "who looks at each and every center in the league and says, 'That's barbecue chicken down there.'"

Shaq, what does that mean? Maybe that's a question for Andrew Bogut.

Marbury is a Celtic: Stephon Marbury signed on with the Celtics for 1/4 the veteran minimum ($1.3 million) yesterday, suited up and played 13 mins in the Celtics 104-99 win against the Pacers. Everybody's happy in Boston, except Kevin Garnett and Brian Scalabrine who are out with injuries. They're a bit too happy for the rest of the NBA's well-being, I'd say. Marbury says he feels "rejuvinated", "wanted" and excited to be playing.

So what's it like to be a Celtic? "Defense," Marbury said. "They play defense. That's all they talk about. Defense. Offense takes care of itself."

Ray Allen, who led the way against the Pacers with 30 pts, doesn't look so sure about that last point. After the game, reporters directed questions to the glare offa Ray's head:

NBA SUNDAY

Pistons snap out of it: After losing 8-straight, Detroit beat the Magic and the Celtics on the road this weekend, playing a near perfect game to win in Boston Sunday. Does that even make sense? Well it does to some who think Allen Iverson has thrown the Pistons chemistry out of whack and that inserting Rip Hamilton into the starting lineup made the difference. I don't buy it.