Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Derrick Rose

Zombie night at the Bradley Center... The Heat dancers... The Royal Ivey question

J.D. Mo — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:18:00 GMT

My pal Johnny "remember Royal Ivey" Price and I noticed something strange at the Bradley Center Saturday. It happened about 40 seconds before halftime as Joe Alexander stepped to the free throw line for the 5th time in the 2nd quarter, the Bucks leading the Oklahoma City Thunder 54-49.

Joe has struggled this season but he's been playing pretty well of late, and was once again all over the court Saturday, blocking shots, rebounding, making plays and causing general havoc. And the Thunder couldn't stop fouling him in the paint.

Trouble was, Joe couldn't make a free throw. Not one, not two or three, but four straight Alexander charity tosses bricked out. "C'mon Joe, what are you, in middle school?" somebody heckled. Mighta been me.

Joe then got free for a dunk to reacquaint himself with the rim. A couple of minutes later, Joe stepped to the line for yet another pair of free throws. ... a hush fell upon the Bradley Center as Joe set his feet, took a couple of dribbles, a deep breath and launched number 5 ... And the crowd went ...

Numb. Simply numb, as Joe's shot rattled around and dropped through. Something very strange was afoot. We gave him a mock standing O from where we sat, and our section cheered even louder as he made the 2nd, but for the most part, you could hear a pin drop in the lower bowl.

Johnny "Ivey": "Uh-oh".

J.D.Mo: "Uh-oh is right. This can only mean one thing."

We were lucky to get out of there alive, and so was Alexander. Seems half the fans are a zombie army ready to run Joe out of town, if you put any stock in the results of this brand new JS Online "what do think of Joe" poll.

The Bucks blew the game open in the 3rd quarter on their way to a 115-98 victory. Long time coming on that ... as the Bucks broke a 4-game losing streak. ... Richard Jefferson led the way with a season-high 35 pts.

Nice win last night (Monday), too, on fan appreciation night. The Bucks closed out the home schedule by beating the Orlando Magic for the first time this season. No, Dwight Howard wasn't playing for the Magic and neither did All-Star forward Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu -- but it was a relief to hear that the zombies had left the building. The Bucks got a standing O as the final seconds ticked off in their final game this season at the BC, where they won 22 of 41.

From deep in the land of Reggie

Roto Evil's tribute to the Miami Heat dancers is a MUST see. The Heat dancers jiggled their way to their 4th straight NBA dance bracket championship earlier this month, and they're the only team to win the title in the history of the bracket. The secret to their success?

Hit the link. ... Obviously far too much great as* on the Miami dance squad for the rest of the NBA dancers to contend with. ... There's just ... so ... much of it. ...

The Royal Ivey question: Of course, Bucks fans remember Ivey from the lackluster 2007-08 Bucks, and so does Johnny "remember Royal Ivey" Price. One of the games we went to last season was an 87-80 Bucks win over the Atlanta Hawks, pre-Mike Bibby trade.

The mid-January game was a high point in the Bucks dismal season, one of their more cohesive efforts in which the Larry Krystowiak system seemed to work. Ivey, who started at point guard in place of Mo Williams, had everything to do with it -- spearheading a solid defensive effort that forced Joe Johnson into a bad shooting night and directing the offense inside to Andrew Bogut, who led the Bucks with 21 pts and 10 rebs. Ivey grabbed 8 boards of his own and dished out 6 assists.

What was important, however, was how they played. On a bad shooting night for everybody but Bogut, the Bucks shared the ball. Yi Jianlian shot more than Michael Redd, surprisingly enough. The team made Bogut a centerpiece, and, for once, they seemed to be on the same page. Note that neither Mo or Desmond Mason played in this game and Redd was willing to let his teammates play a little offense.

Granted, it was one good game from a forgettable season, but Ivey impressed Johnny (and me) as a good athlete who could run a competent floor game, D it up and run the floor in transition.

Fast forward to this season, and the 27-year-old Ivey, now in his 5th season, is a contributing member of the playoff-bound Sixers' bench brigade. The Sixers of course, are known for their ball-hawking defense and ability to transition at breakneck speed after forced turnovers and long rebounds -- two areas in which the Bucks needed major improvements last summer. Transition remains a problem for the Bucks, as they've had a tough time converting their league-leading forced turnovers into points.

So how is it that Ivey, a free agent last summer, was considered a good fit in Philly but not in Milwaukee? He came pretty cheap to the Sixers, who signed Ivey to the league minimum for a 5th year pro -- $854,000 against their cap -- and gave him a $960,000 player option for next season. The Bucks, meanwhile, outbid the Celtics and others for the services of Tyronn Lue, who signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract to sit on Scott Skiles' bench.

The Bucks traded Lue to Orlando in February for guard-forward Keith Bogans, who's even more expensive at $2.57 million this season, and, like Lue, will be a free agent this summer. Basically, the Bucks could have had Ivey for two seasons for about $600,000 less than they paid Lue and Bogans this season.

It's not as though the Bucks will save luxury tax room by not having Ivey around next season. In early April the Bucks signed Salim Stoudamire for the rest of this season and next, so (I'm estimating here), the $960,000 that Ivey will be paid is more or less accounted for in Stoudamire.

Add it up: Bogans, Lue and Stoudamire have/will cost the Bucks about $3.3 million this season and next filling Ivey's roster spot. And let's not forget the $100,000 paid to Eddie Gill this season. The Sixers are set to pay Ivey $1.8 million in those two years. That's a $1.5 million difference and counting -- a lot of scratch in this or any economy.

Interestingly enough, Ivey, Stoudamire and Lue were teammates in Atlanta in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and Ivey started more games (83) than Lue and Stoudamire combined. While Ivey can't shoot like Lue, this season in Philly he's posted a 35% mark from downtown, competitive with Stoudamire's career mark of 36%.

No matter, Ivey at 6'4" is the tallest of the three players, the better, more versatile athlete, and can guard the 2 and play point. In short (or tall) -- he would seem to be "the Scott Skiles type" of the three players, and was good enough for the athletic, uptempo, ballhawking Sixers last summer, but not the Bucks.

It's still a mystery as to why Hammond and Skiles let him go, and very curious that Hammond blew an extra $1.5 million or so of Herb Kohl's money basically filling Royal Ivey's shoes. As Johnny says:

"You know, the whole thing with Royal Ivey just really makes me wonder what the Bucks are doing."

Ivey's revenge: The Bucks failed to beat the Sixers this season and have lost five straight to them. Ivey in fact, is directly responsible for a Bucks defeat at home in early January, as he drained three from the land of Reggie in the 4th quarter to help the Sixers to a 110-105 victory.

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The Sixers, with two games to play, are battling with the Bulls for 6th seed and the rights to play the Magic in round one of the playoffs instead of the #2-seeded Celtics. It'll be tough for Philly to grab sixth -- their final two opponents are the Celtics and Cavs. The 41-40 Bulls finish up in Chicago against the Raptors, who've been playing well of late.

Bulls lock Pistons into 8th: The sixth seed is still up for grabs, but the Cleveland Cavs know who they'll play when the playoffs open this weekend -- the drama-a-day Detroit Pistons have floundered to the 8th seed. Rookie of the Year shoo-in Derrick Rose and shooting guard Ben Gordon led a 4th quarter comeback in Detroit as the Bulls dumped the Pistons to 8th with a 91-88 win.

Blog-a-Bull is almost impressed.

The Cavs clinched home court throughout the playoffs Monday night in Indianapolis, overcoming 38 points from Danny Granger and 27 from rookie Brandon Rush to win 117-109. Rush is another guy the Bucks passed on last summer to pick Alexander, and the Pacers are another East lottery team playing some good ball right now. Lebron led the Cavs with 37. The Cavs are 66-15 with one home game left to play. The Lakers, with just 17 losses, will have home court advantage against every team but Cleveland.

Bad news for Cleveland: Big Ben Wallace is out "indefinitely" with a strained left knee tendon, the Columbus dispatch is reporting. Chances are the defensive menace won't play this weekend against his former team, the Pistons.

Bucks Weekend: Skiles, Jefferson of single mind about defense

J.D. Mo — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:01:00 GMT

Does it matter if the Bucks make the playoffs? If their defense doesn't improve to the point where they can consistently gain control of games with it, then maybe there was never a point to making the playoffs.

The Bucks are in Florida to try to figure out a way to beat Dwight Howard and the Magic after an uninspiring performance against the Raptors -- and the coach and his veteran leader are not even concerned about whether their shots go through the hoop or not. They want to talk about defense.

"Congratulations," I said to Z-man the Bulls fan, the only other guy in Axel's (on Oakland) Wednesday night watching "the NBA TV" - everybody else was into the Kentucky-Notre Dame NIT game on the other TVs. "Looks like you guys are gonna make it to the playoffs."

Z-man: "It doesn't matter."

JDMo: "Why not?"

Z-man: "Derrick Rose."

JDMo: "Hinrich playing the point was pretty effective against Detroit ... and the Bucks."

Z-man: "Doesn't matter."

JDMo: "Why not?"

Z-man: "Derrick Rose."

Point being: What's good for Derrick Rose is good for the Bulls right now. If making the playoffs and losing to Boston, Cleveland or Orlando in the first round is good for Derrick Rose, good. If the Bulls make the playoffs relying on Kirk Hinrich to win an extra game or two, no good for Rose. It's better to lose with Derrick Rose playing heavy minutes than to win with Hinrich, no offense to Kirk Hinrich. In fact, Bulls GM John Paxson issued that decree to coach Vinnie Del Negro after some great 4th quarters by Hinrich not too long ago (one against the Bucks Feb. 18).

What does this have to do with the Bucks? Well, if culture change is what it's all about in Milwaukee (and that's what GM John Hammond and Scott Skiles have said it is) then that's the mission Skiles and Richard Jefferson have to be concerned about. Making the playoffs was only important if it grew out of the culture change, which is why GM Hammond spurned offers for RJ at the trading deadline. The message was, continue the work of establishing a winning culture built on defense, whether Joe Alexander or Andrew Bogut or Michael Redd or Damon Jones is on the court, whether the 2009-10 budget can include free agent Charlie Villanueva or not.

Although the Bucks have a core of defensive-minded players in RJ, Luc Mbah a Moute, Charlie Bell and Keith Bogans, the job isn't finished. Where the Bucks are playing, who you're playing, whether they are playing in the regular season or the playoffs, doesn't matter -- as Jefferson pointed out to Tom Enlund after the Toronto game:

“I’m not about starting off trips or ending trips. You’ve got to try and play good basketball. You know, (talking about) ending a home stand, or starting off a home stand,…those type of things, you can’t do that because then you get a mindset of carryover. I try to just take each game individually... We just didn’t do the stuff we were supposed to.”

Jefferson was in a similar mood to point out "where it's really at" when the subject of the Bucks not-so-good shooting came up:

"Your shooting percentage is something that you don't worry about too much. You worry about the quality of shots you're taking . . . if you're taking good shots. You don't want to pass up good shots. And then your defense, what you're doing defensively. We've shown that we don't have to shoot in the high 40s or mid-40s to win games. We can shoot in the mid-to low 40s, and even 30s, and win."

And here's a refreshing change for Milwaukee Bucks fans: the veteran leader and his coach are on the same page. This is part of the culture change:

"We're a fairly high-possession team," coach Scott Skiles said. "One of the reasons is we lead the league in forcing turnovers. We're getting possessions there. When we play better defense on certain nights, we get more possessions that way. We've been a good rebounding team, which means we're getting possessions there. Generally we have more possessions than our opponent in games. I don't focus too much on the scoring, it's how efficient are we being?

"We're first in the league in forcing turnovers but of the top 10 teams, only Charlotte and Miami have less fast-break points than us. So we haven't been efficient enough in turning those opportunities into extra baskets."

And there you have it. The Bucks are in Florida to try to figure out how to beat Dwight Howard and the Magic after an uninspired performance against the Raptors -- and the coach and his veteran leader are not even concerned about whether their shots go through the hoop or not. They want to talk about defense and the type of shots they're getting.

That's culture change.

NCAA tournament note: Duke is no longer Duke. No kidding. Can we now talk about those sweet seeds the ACC teams received?

Bucks Weekend II: Skiles' Bulls drop Skiles' Bucks to 9th... Nellie's Warriors to the rescue?... Anthony Randolph... Eastern C-notes

J.D. Mo — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:22:00 GMT

Yesterday I wondered who the brunette (lower right) was joyously flippin' off at a Bulls game earlier this season. Then I realized it had to be one of the refs from Friday night's Bucks-Bulls game in Chicago ....

Bulls enjoy 45-22 free throw edge: The Bucks fell short in Chicago 117-102, in a game in which the Bulls didn't have to figure out a way to sink shots. The Bulls starting backcourt (Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon) alone shot 17-18 from the line. But let's not make this about the refs.

The good news: The Bucks are done with the Bulls this season, and the Bulls don't play the rest of the league nearly as well as they play their old coach's new team. The Bulls moved into 8th place as the Bucks fell to 9th, just 1/2 game ahead of Charlotte and New Jersey in 10th. The Bucks begin a six-game homestand tonight against some of Nellie's Golden State Warriors.

My impression going into the game Friday was that the Bucks hadn't taken the Bulls seriously in two previous losses this season. Upon further examination, the root of the problem runs a bit deeper than that: Gordon and Kirk Hinrich could run Scott Skiles' Bucks tomorrow better than any of the Bucks guards and they both bring the gusto when playing against their old coach.

Skiles coached the Baby Bulls 2003-2007, and they got much of their mojo from the Hinrich-Gordon backcourt. The rest of the Baby Bulls have since been traded (Nocioni and Duhon) or are nursing a sore shin (forward Luol Deng).

Richard Jefferson: “They know our offense very well and they know Coach Skiles and his schemes. They’re always a tough team for us to play.”

Not only do Hinrich and Gordon know what the Bucks are going to do, offensively and defensively, they instinctively know his uptempo pace. Skiles bred them as NBA players to play that pace, and they like it. It's no coincidence that the main culprits in the two recent losses to the Bulls were Gordon (34 pts last night) and Hinrich (31 pts Feb. 18 in Milwaukee, 18 in the 4th quarter). It's also no coincidence that the one Bulls game the Bucks won this season was the one Hinrich missed with a broken hand.

A combined 73 points for Gordon, Rose, Hinrich: Gordon got hot in the 2nd quarter and went on to abuse Charlie Bell the rest of the night. Rose scored 27 driving to the hoop at will. Hinrich drained a quick 11 in 20 mins off the bench.

A pace problem: Skiles after the game talked about the Bulls aggressiveness, while RJ called his teammates out for a lack of intensity. Getting back in transition was also a problem, especially for the Bucks bench in the 2nd quarter.

Skiles: "They were the most aggressive team and the team that played the hardest won the game."

RJ: "We didn't have the intensity we needed. That's really unfortunate in this type of game. You have to come in with every guy from one through 12 ready to play in these types of games. Tonight we just didn't have it."

Skiles: "Then we have a lot of guys jogging back in transition in the first half."

The Bucks slow-footed bench dug them into a hole in the 2nd quarter while RJ and Charlie Villanueva were out for a breather. Luke Ridnour had one of his worst games as a Buck.

Skiles: "...literally guys just jogging and the Bulls are running by us for wide-open threes."

The Bulls he was referring to are Gordon and Hinrich, who shot 6-8 from 3-point land for the game. Nobody else on the Bulls made one. The Bucks shot a horrendous 1-14 from downtown. ... RJ led the Bucks with 27. Charlie V had 19 and 12 boards, Ramon Sessions scored 20 and had 11 assists. Usually that's a recipe for a win. Not against Skiles' Bulls.

Career highs for the rookies: Luc Mbah a Moute scored 21 pts for the Bucks, his career high, to go with 11 rebounds. Rose's 27 points were his career high. Rose should win the Rookie of the Year, unless the media voters are overly-impressed by shooting guard O.J. Mayo's scoring stats in Memphis. Rose is playing the most difficult position on the court - point guard - and winning games with playoff implications for his team.

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Bucks (29-35) vs. Golden State Warriors (21-41), 7:30pm @ Bradley Center

The Bucks will get a good look at the forward they considered drafting last summer before deciding on Joe Alexander. Anthony Randolph is playing heavy minutes for coach Don Nelson these days, part of Nellie's plan to scratch a healthy player or two to give his rookies (Randolph and Anthony Morrow) some playing time. Randolph played 47 minutes in Detroit last night (Friday) and got 17 pts and 8 rebs in the Warriors 108-91 loss.

The Bucks liked Randolph but leaned toward Joe's potential -- though Randolph is only 19 and has a ton of potential himself. In the end, it may have come down to body type -- Randolph, at 6'10"-200 lbs, was and is just too dam skinny, even for the NBA. He fell from 6th, where the Knicks considered taking him, to the Bucks at 8th, then dropped to the Warriors at #14.

Alexander may not have any court sense, but he's much stronger than Randolph -- and the Bucks are hoping he can figure out what to do with himself on the court before Randolph has a chance to make Skiles and GM John Hammond regret their choice.

The Warriors will be playing their 4th game in 5 nights in the Upper Midwest and seem ready to go home. Center Andris Biedrins has left the country to attend to family matters. Monta Ellis, the star, is in California with a bad ankle and a bad attitude. Forward Stephen Jackson has a bad hamstring. Guard Corey Maggette is nursing a sprained ankle. There's no telling whom Nellie might play with Randolph and Morrow against the Bucks -- but he always has a good time in Milwaukee ...

And the Bucks desperately need win # 30 to breath some life back into their playoff hopes. (They got it.)

Some good news: The Nets lost in Orlando, 105-102, which kept the Bucks from dropping into 10th. The Nets (27-35) schedule the final 20 games may be too difficult for them to overtake the Bucks or Bulls, much less hold off the Bobcats. Sunday the Nets host the Knicks, a team that feasts on their weak D, and then head West for four games.

Not so good news: Coach Larry Brown has the Charlotte Bobcats (27-35) playing their best basketball in the history of the 5-year-old franchise. In Atlanta, the 'Cats won their 5th straight, 98-91, to move up into a tie for 10th with New Jersey. The Hawks may be on self-destruct - they've lost 6 of 8 and forward Josh Smith was benched in the 2nd half after a screaming match with coach Mike Woodson at halftime. The Hawks will be in Milwaukee in April for the teams'fourth and final meeting this season.

Celtics bigs dominate the Cavs: With Leon Powe getting a rare 20 pts and 11 rebs off the bench, the Celtics overpowered the Cavs in Boston, 105-94. Powe's counterpart, Joe Smith, playing in his first game as a Cav, took the brunt of it. Welcome back to the East, Joe. Lebron cooled off finally, shooting just 5-15 from the floor and was held to 21 points, as Paul Pierce (29 pts) outplayed him ...

-- But the difference in the game came when Lebron went to the bench leaving Mo Williams to run the show. Ray Allen and the Celtics guards took over and made Powe look like an All-Star. This may be a sign of things to come in the playoffs. Garnett's still out, btw, another ominous sign for the Cavs.

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Bucks get 30th win: When two teams playing their 4th games in five nights meet anything can happen. It almost did when the Bucks and Nellie's Warriors met at the BC Saturday night, as once again the Bucks let an opposing 3-point shooter catch fire in the 4th quarter (shades of the loss to New Jersey and Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling Tuesday). But against the Warriors, when Jamal Crawford poured in 10 pts from downtown to push a 104-104 tie midway through the 4th, the Bucks found shooters of their own, forced some misses and held the Warriors off, 127-120.

"We can't sit there and give our fans cardiac arrest," said Charlie Bell, who played 38 mins off the bench and scored 16.

Well, you could Charlie, though it would be polite not to do it sitting down. Interesting choice of words, though, because -- unlike in the loss to the Nets -- Charlie was not sitting down Saturday. This time, Skiles put his better defenders on the court in the games final minutes, and Charlie played out the 4th.

More in Monday's post.

Bogut hopeful to probably play vs. Bulls Wednesday; game is a must win

J.D. Mo — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:27:00 GMT

Lance Allen of News4 WTMJ-TV reported tonight on the 5:00 pm broadcast that Andrew Bogut was hopeful, if not probable, to play Wednesday night at the Bradley Center against the Chicago Bulls. Bogut ran everything but contact drills in practice Tuesday and told Allen he felt good, an upgrade from the 50-50 prognosis Monday.

"If I wake up tomorrow and there's a lot of pain and it's really tight, I probably won't play. But if I wake up and it's only a little tight, which is normal, than we'll get it loose and I'll play."

The Bulls game is a must win for the 7-12 Bucks and is their most important so far this season. The Bucks have made it through the roughest part of this season's schedule; they are rested and as close to full strength as they've been since the season opened; they have been able to hold full practices twice this week, which should help them regroup; and they're playing in front of the home fans. This last point seals the game as a must-win: the fans need to see some success or they won't be so inclined to come out in the cold Friday against Charlotte or for the rest of the December home schedule (four games).

Seven of the Bucks next ten games are against teams that did not make the playoffs last season, a welcome relief from the first 19 games, 13 of which were against 2008 playoff teams. These two games at home Wednesday and Friday are the only two games the Bucks play this week, and let's face it, the Bucks can ill afford another lousy week early in the season. The fans need some good news, starting with a win against the Bulls to open this stretch of ten games.

Tipoff is 7:00pm Wednesday night at the BC. Most upper level seats are just $10. Thankfully, the Bucks have worn those new red alternate red road jerseys at home for the last time. They donned the red unis Saturday against the Cavs as part of a promotion to sell red merchandise; the plan to wear them 15 more times on the road, according to a team press release. Please don't. There's nothing wrong with the green road uniforms, in fact we like our Bucks in green. Bango's sweater is green. Watching the highlights, I didn't even recognize the Bucks. They looked like the Bulls who are supposed to be wearing red, who always wear red at the BC. It was just unnatural. The Bucks were 0-2 wearing red at home, losing the home opener to the Raptors and Saturday to the Cavs.

The Bulls are 8-9 but they held their own on a recent 7-game road trip, winning games in Golden State, Utah and Philly. Derrick Rose was named Rookie of the Month for December. Ben Gordon leads the team in scoring w/ 20.4, Drew Gooden is holding his own in the post, averaging 14 pts, 9 rebs. Kirk Hinrich won't play due to a torn ligament in his thumb. ... The game against the Bucks will the be the second night of back-to-backs for the Bulls, who play Philly tonight in Chicago. It's also former Buck Vinny Del Negro's first visit to the BC as Bulls head coach. Del Negro came off George Karl's bench 1998-2000.

Michael Redd, who missed 14 games during his slow recovery from a high ankle sprain suffered Nov. 2 was feeling fine after playing Saturday against the Cleveland Cavs. Redd even dunked in practice Tuesday, prompting a slew of wisecracks from his teammates, Charlie Bell the ringleader:

"We haven’t seen Mike play in like two or three weeks and it’s like when we left (on last week’s trip) he was just sitting there on the sideline," Bell joked. "We leave for a few days and come back and he’s dunking. So you tell me, something ain’t right with that, you know?”

Careful Mike, don't hurt yourself. Last season Redd missed six games in late January-early February after straining his knee dunking in warmups. The previous year, he came down awkwardly after a meaningless late game dunk and missed 4-6 weeks.

Prior to the draft last summer, Bucks Diary campaigned long and hard for the Bucks to draft Alabama big forward Richard Hendrix, whom he considered the most underrated player in the draft. The Golden State Warriors took Hendrix in the 2nd round. Bucks Diary is on the Hendrix campaign trail again this week now that the Warriors have sent Hendrix down to the D-League after hardly playing him at all in the early going. Diary says the Bucks should look into acquiring the big forward to strengthen their frontcourt: "He's just an incredibly productive, efficient player who could be an outstanding backup at either the 4 or 5 position, something the Bucks need desperately."

The results of this season's 2nd Blogger MVP and Rookie of the Year rankings are in, complete with music vids and hosted by upsideandmotor.com. Lebron gets the nod over Kobe for MVP with Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard a strong 3rd. In the rookie Rankings, Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo lead.

Rose or Beasley, Beasley or Rose; coaches, pizza? - Bulls GM Paxson just can't decide

J.D. Mo — Tue, 27 May 2008 06:51:00 GMT

SATURDAY EVENING, Celtics-Pistons tipoff less than an hour away. I was getting ready to run to the grocery store before missing any of the pregame when the telephone rang. It was Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson.

"J-Mo, do you have that money I lent you last month? Jerry Reinsdorf cut off my expense account again."

"Huh? Pax, that was 17 years ago, and I won it back. Remember our three-point shootout?"

"You won that?"

"I have witnesses."

"Why's your number still in my phone?"

"Why'd you call it? This is a Bucks blog line."

"I don't know. I felt like calling somebody, but I couldn't decide who to call."

"Why didn't you just call for pizza delivery? ... [pause] ... [no answer from Paxson] ... [Still pausing] ... Umm, Pax? Hey, congratulations on winning the lottery. It doesn't make up for two decades of Bears quarterbacks or Eddie Curry, but the people of Chicago'ave gotta to be at least half happy about your dumb luck."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm still in shock to tell you the truth. I still don't know what to say, especially about the Bears quarterbacks."

"Please, don't say anything about Bears quarterbacks. But what about the ultimate question, Pax? Who's it gonna be? Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose?"

"I dunno. I guess I'll decide after I get them both in here for workouts. I won't decide until then."

"Is that really necessary? I don't think Beasley and Rose are lying on their resumes. Rose could be the second coming of Chris Paul, if only because every team wants a CP3 or Deron of their very own and this requires a second coming. Beasley's a good-sized forward who loves the paint -- you know how rare that is nowadays. None of that's going to change at the workouts. The only thing that matters is who you think helps you more."

Beasley vs. Wisconsin in the tournament:

"It's just .... such a tough choice."

"Well, you haven't had a low post scorer in Chicago since, since ... Bill Cartwright? ... Artis Gilmore? I'm gonna say Artis."

"Artis? You know that's not true."

"Artis is funnier. Like the first coming of Ben Wallace. I'm trying to make a point."

"What is your point, J-Mo?"

"Beasley's the point. Most of your talent is at the guard spot - four players. If you draft Rose, you'll get better eventually but in the meantime, you'll be back to having a rookie point guard again, five years after Kirk Hinrich -- and you still won't have a low post scorer for your rookie to pass to."

"I have Drew Gooden. He's maybe more of a post-up guy than Beasley. Gooden's 6' 10" and he's only 26."

"Gooden? Please! Beasley's all over the court. He's the All-World version of Nocioni, loves to scrap and rebound. Nocioni you just trade to make your fans happy and you're back in the playoffs. Just make sure Noah doesn't shoot, try to coach, talk to the media or drink in front of Florida cops when he's stoned. ... By the way, going through your roster, you had NO business being in the lottery."

"I don't know about that. This season ... everything just got so ...."

Rose vs. Georgetown, Dec. 2007

"Pax, if you draft Rose, it's the same as making a decision about Hinrich. You'd be saying, 'Kirk, I know that when you signed your contract we said you were imperative to the foundation of the organization, etc., etc., but we don't think you can lead us to the next level. Thanks for the memories.'"

"Did I really say that?"

"Yes, you did. 'Imperative to the foundation of the organization.' And then some stuff about 'character and commitment.' It's on your website, October 2006."

"You know, Kirk was the only guy who signed the extension I offered him. Gordon and Deng wouldn't do it and now they're free agents. I don't know what to do with them."

"Well, you were trying to trade them. Or someone. Did you ever decide who were going to trade?"

"No, no, I never did decide. But I knew I wanted Kevin Garnett. And then Kobe wanted to be a Bull. I don't know what that was all about. But Kirk, you know, he made a commitment ... and it's such a good contract too. Four more years, $36.5 million, fair for both parties. I don't want to devalue that ..."

"So just draft Beasley and you've still got Hinrich, Duhon, Gordon and Hughes. You can always trade one or two of them later. You've got too many good guards already Pax. And the 'draft the best player available' NBA wisdom - the Jordan rule - forget it this year. It's entirely debatable whether Beasley is the best player available or whether Rose is better. In this case, draft for bigger need."

"I dunno J-Mo. You make it sound so easy."

"It is easy. We're learning that lesson up here in Milwaukee with John Hammond and this 'Detroit Way' of his. Make a decision and get on with it -- 'Just like me and Joe did in Detroit,' he says - before the competition even has time to pick up the telephone. Some fans don't like it, but most seem to find it kind of liberating. We've got a full coaching staff already. Bucks coaches are watching film, evaluating players, going to China to check up on Yi ... Hammond is already working on trades. While other teams ..."

"Can't even hire a coach. Just say it, I know. Look, I had D'Antoni hired. I thought that was done. Reinsdorf dawdled."

"Dawdling seems to be part of corporate Bulls culture. What happened to Carlisle? I thought he was your defensive coach."

"He was the Chicago Sun Times' coach, J-Mo. Our columnists are bigger idiots than you are. I never made a decision. I talked to Carlisle, he said he wanted to wait. I said that was fine with me, so we waited. I'm still waiting."

"Pax, he took another job. He works for the Dallas Mavs now. What were you doing, feeding the pigeons under the ELL?"

"Not with Carlisle, but with Avery, yeah. It was fun. We spent a few days feeding the pigeons and I thought we were building a relationship. I was about to hire him."

"And then you postponed the interview, Avery got tired of waiting and went home. Pax, you've got to start making decisions. Your head coach candidates have dwindled down to the assistants and guys who've never coached at all. I read you're planning to interview Eric Snow?!"

"Well, maybe. I'll decide on that soon. I will. They are all such good candidates. It's just been ... such a tough decision. And now this lottery thing ... Why do we have to choose first?"

"You shouldn't have been in the lottery at all!!!!"

"I mean, I like Beasley and I can't find a knock on him, even if he turns out to be only 6' 8", but, I just don't know. ... I guess I don't like our guards as much as I used to."

"Well, then draft Rose and make a deal for a power forward who can score. We have two in Milwaukee, Yi and Charlie Villanueva. You've got enough talent to make a good trade."

"I ... I dunno. Yi has great upside. He's a great athlete and can shoot, and we have a substantial Chinese population in Chicago. It would make people happy. I can picture Deng and Yi running the floor with Derrick Rose. It would be beautiful. ..."

"Yi's not really on the market, Pax, unless you risk your job and make an offer the Bucks can't refuse. That's one less decision to make, in any case. Draft Rose and maybe the Bucks will deal you Charlie V ... and Mo Williams."

"No, J-Mo ... Charlie's OK, but he's so soft. Where did he learn to play power forward like that? Is he afraid of the paint, or does he just not like Bogut? He seems to be a decent enough player when he remembers to play near the basket ... I dunno. There's always Gooden. And I am going to ignore that Mo Williams crack. I've got four guards just as good or better than Williams and my guys play defense."

"There. That almost sounded like a decision. Are you saying, 'No'?"

"I guess so."

"So draft Beasley and you can keep your guards until a later date."

"But Rose is from Chicago and the fans seem to want him ... You know, that whole Chris Paul thing. And we need a leader ..."

"Rose is 19. He can't even buy beer much less lead."

"It's just ... such a tough decision."

"Don't sweat it, Pax. You might as well wait until you hire a coach before you make a final decision anyway. The coach will want some input, right? So who's it going to be?"

"We're talking to Corbin, and I'm going to wait until I talk to a few more before I decide. ... There are so many good coaches out there. Detroit still won't let me talk to Michael Curry. And Tom Thibodeaux's still in the playoffs, too, with Boston ... It's just ... such a--"

"Pax, why did you fire Scott Skiles anyway?"

"I didn't fire him. I told him I wanted to wait a little while to see if things turned around and ..."

"He didn't want to wait, did he?"

"He basically fired himself J-Mo, right on the spot. Gave himself a nice buyout too. It was just ... such a...

About 9 minutes into the first quarter of the Celtics-Pistons game, Doc Rivers goes to his bench and for the first time in four games, SAM CASSELL HAS ENTERED THE GAME FOR THE CELTICS ...

"tough ..."

"Pax, I gotta go. My guy Sam's in the game."

"... decision."

[click]