Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Dwyane Wade

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)

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 ...

VIDEO: D-Wade sinks Bulls in double OT... Skiles and the Knicks' Duhon

J.D. Mo — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:29:00 GMT

Thanks to Dwyane Wade, the Bucks are back in 8th, percentage points ahead of the Bulls, who pushed the Heat to double OT last night until D-Wade said ... NOT IN MY HOUSE.

Bucks (30-36) vs. NY Knicks (25-37) @ Bradley Center, 7pm, FSN

Are there too many teams vying for the final playoff spots in the East? I think so, and the Knicks are still in the hunt, 3 games behind the 8th place Bucks. The Knicks fell to the Nets in New Jersey Sunday and one more loss to the Bucks should kill their playoff hopes and simplify the East playoff scramble.

The Bucks are 3-0 against the Knicks this season and looking for a sweep. However, this is the first time the Bucks will face the Knicks without Andrew Bogut, and it's very unlikely that Knicks forward Al Harrington will get stuck in traffic this time as he did before the Bucks game Dec. 19 in NY.

Another big factor against the Knicks is point guard Chris Duhon, one of Skiles' Baby Bulls. Unlike the leaders of the Baby Bulls, Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, who thrive against their former coach, Duhon (Hinrich's former backup) has reserved a couple of his worst games of the season for Skiles' Bucks. Back in December, I came up with a working theory, which will again be put to the test tonight. It goes something like this:

Is Skiles implementing a special anti-Duhon defense that only he knows about? Or is it ...

A) The recurrance of repressed memories induced by the barking tone with which Skiles yells at his players;

B) Skiles' ridiculously fearsome forehead;

C) Skiles' menacing glare;

D) The ever-present, ominous Skiles scowl which usually precedes A above.

E) Recurring fears that Skiles still has the power to yank him and put Hinrich back into the game

We should have an answer by 9:30pm or so.

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The answer is Nate Robinson. Just don't rely on Duhon at all against a Skiles team. It worked.

Journal Sentinel posted something new today: "The money game" - which is a list of the Bucks salaries. Why nine months late with this when it could have been made clear to Bucks fans the necessity last summer of dumping Redd on the Cavs, who wanted him, is beyond me. Posting this now comes too - late, and not on the money at all.

Tell me, what good does this info do now? Now the Bucks play basketball. Nothing can be done about the roster and the payroll until July 1.

20 games to play: Good signs and bad as the Bucks push for the playoffs

J.D. Mo — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:44:00 GMT

20 games to go for the Bucks and each and every one of them is big as they fight a growing Eastern Conference rabble for a spot in the playoffs.

This week may be the topper as the Bucks take on THE two teams stalking them for the 8th place: Devin Harris' Nets (Tuesday @ the BC) and the new Bulls (Friday in Chicago). Between those critical games, the Bucks face the Lebrons in Cleveland (Wednesday).

Yes, the NBA matters in Milwaukee in March and no amount of March Madness can deny it. The Bucks ability to cling to a playoff position is becoming a bigger story with each game they play without Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut. Coach Scott Skiles is a bonafide Coach of the Year candidate.

But what's that you say? A 7th or 8th seed in the East isn't worth much? You don't have to be good to get one? And it doesn't matter anyway -- the Bucks will be busked out of the playoffs in the 1st round by Cleveland or Boston?

I say this is no time to be cynical or to worry about the Cavs and Celtics (who only seem to worry about each other) unless the Bucks happen to be playing them. In the meantime, the Orlando Magic are the only other team East team that has separated from the pack -- and the Bucks are just two games out of 6th place in the thick of a playoff race.

There will be playoff intensity at the BC tonight.

The competition for the final four or five playoff spots in the East is fierce this year. The East may not be as pretty as the teams in the West playoff hunt, but the imbalance of last year is in the past. Every team in the East playoff hunt from current #4 Atlanta to #10 New Jersey is working on a split with the West, the Bucks (11-13) included.

The problem for the East rivals, by and large, has been beating each other (and, since last Friday, beating New Orleans and Player of the Week David West if you're the Bucks, Nets or Sixers). The East teams that grab the lower rung playoff spots will need to be good in March and April. Nobody's sneaking into the 8th-spot with 34 wins like Atlanta did last season.

There are plenty of signs for the Bucks ahead (and behind) on the playoff road to encourage and discourage their chances. Here are some of the ones that I was able to read when I wasn't twiddling with the radio or trying to get the cigarette lighter to work.

Encouraging sign: The Bucks are coached by Scott Skiles, career record 310-284. Skiles most recently got the Baby Bulls to the playoffs three years in a row (2004-06), playing the same uptempo offense and constant-pressure, in-your-face defense he's implemented in Milwaukee. Skiles basketball gets teams to the playoffs.

Discouraging sign: When the Bucks play Scott Skiles basketball they are highly competitive. But they don't always play Scott Skiles basketball, particularly on defense. And in Bogut's absence, they're getting killed on the boards.

Encouraging: While the Bucks are coached by Skiles, first year coach Michael Curry in Detroit has created a Rip Hamilton-Allen Iverson mess. Chicago's rookie head coach, Vinnie Del Negro, needs a scorecard to keep track of his roster after two big trades last month. And the 76ers? Google "Philadelphia 76ers head coach" for sh*ts and giggles. (Or just hit the link).

Discouraging: The coaches don't play the games, and Chicago is now bringing John Salmons and Brad Miller off its bench, along with Kirk Hinrich. Hopefully, the Bulls have too much talent for Del Negro to manage, but ... what a nice problem to have.

Dwyane Wade in Miami and Devin Harris and Vince Carter in New Jersey will have a lot to say about how things shake out. The Bucks don't have that kind of star power. The Sixers don't either, but earned an experience edge during their playoff run last season. Detroit should just be penalized for all of its recent player drama.

Encouraging: The Bucks have played the NBA's most games (62) and road games (33). They'll finally begin reaping in March some well-earned scheduling rewards. Twelve of the Bucks final 20 are at home -- and they have 18 days off this month. That's the luxury of rest, practice, film school and prep time that many of their opponents won't have playing back-to-backs or traveling on the road.

Discouraging: There really isn't a discouraging side to the schedule. The competition isn't light in the Bucks remaining 20, but it's not backloaded with beasts either. The Heat play the Celtics and Cavs twice each in the next nine games. The Nets play the Celtics, Cavs and Magic twice more, plus the Lakers and go West for a five-game road trip.

If there is a downside, it's that the Bucks play the Magic three times (2x at home) -- but there's no reason to assume a season's sweep for the Magic. This is a good opportunity for Skiles to figure out a way to beat Dwight Howard. The Bucks play once against the Cavs, Celtics and Lakers.

Encouraging: The Bucks have the 6th best home record in the East (18-11) and a cushy six-game homestand March 7-21. The first game of the stand is this Saturday, the 2nd night of a Chicago-Golden State back-to-back. After that, the Bucks are schedule for only 6 games in 18 days, the first five at home. That's almost unheard, and then it gets better. Following the homestand, the Bucks get three down days before playing the Bosh-Marion Raptors in Toronto.

More encouraging: While the Bucks are relaxing and game-planning at home, the Bulls play three back-to-backs and go on a three-game road trip between now and March 21, when they play the Lakers. The Bucks get a crack at evening up the season series with the Bulls Friday in Chicago. Highlight the Bulls game and the Nets game Tuesday. The schedules make it difficult enough for Chicago and New Jersey to make up ground on the Bucks until late March-early April, and the Bucks can gain some control of their destiny this week.

Discouraging: The Bulls have a 2-1 record vs. the Bucks and 10 games remaining against teams in the bottom third of the league, a place the Bucks could still find themselves in before season's end. The Bucks have no excuses for not taking the Bulls seriously at this point, a problem that contributed to both losses and may yet cost the Bucks a playoff spot. The season opener Oct. 28 was one of the Bucks worst outings of the season; the loss to the Chicago at the BC March 19, the day the Bulls traded half their roster, was a big letdown. It may come back to haunt the Bucks.

Encouraging: The Bucks have no more road games scheduled against Western Conference opponents, who'll visit the BC six times the rest of the way.

Discouraging: The Bucks may be better off playing Western Conference opponents. The Bucks are 11-13 against the West and 6-9 against the nine West playoff contenders. Against the other top nine in the East, the Bucks are 5-17. Ouch. They have yet to beat Boston, Cleveland or Orlando (0-6), which doesn't excuse their patsy 5-11 record against their peers in this playoff race. The Bucks this season have feasted on the bottom 1/3 in the East this season, part of the reason NY and Charlotte are on the outskirts of the playoff race. Better them than us.

Encouraging: I'm an optimist. There is time for the Bucks to improve against their East peers. They have 6 remaining games against the Nets (2), Bulls (1), Heat (1), Sixers (1) and Hawks (1). The Bucks are finished with Detroit this season.

Encouraging: The Bucks will likely need a strong final push in April to get this done, and Andrew Bogut may return to help. A Bogut return April 8 to beat Atlanta at the BC would be the way I would write the script -- especially if I was charged with selling 2009-10 tickets to Bucks fans during Brewers season. ... Come April 13, I expect Bogut to be on the BC court, guarding Dwight Howard. I'm betting on a Bogut return for the final four or five games.

Discouraging: I may lose that bet. Bucks GM John Hammond is on record saying he won't bring Bogut back unless he's 100%. I'd settle for 90%.

Midway point: Who wants to guard Daequan? ... Blogger MVP & ROY awards

J.D. Mo — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:38:00 GMT

Daequan who?

Daequan Cook. The Heat's second-year guard killed the Bucks Wednesday at the BC, shooting 6-8 from 3-point land and scoring 24 pts in the Heat's 102-99 win. Dwyane Wade had 13 assists, a few of them to the man called Daequan -- that other guy from Ohio State -- the one not named Greg Oden or Mike Conley, the Memphis point guard at the center of the Ramon Sessions/Joe Alexander trade rumors* that aren't dying this week as the Bucks reached the halfway point of the season. *More on that later.

On the Bucks side, Michael Redd missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Redd and Luke Ridnour shot a lot. The second unit looked awful in the 2nd quarter for the 2nd straight game (no seconds for me, thanks). Still, the Bucks had it tied at 55 at half. The starters then shot bricks from the outside coming out of the 3rd quarter and had just 2 points midway through -- and a 9-to-7 point hole to climb out of the rest of the way.

Joe Alexander nearly saved the day off the bench. That's how bad it was. And he almost did. The Bucks were within a play of winning this game in the final minutes, but a bad pass by Richard Jefferson after a steal, a couple of missed layups and it was over. With the Heat going to a small lineup, Joe played his best game of the year: 13 pts, 5 rebs, 5 assists in 17 mins. He also had a steal and a dunk. Yes, this one counted, unlike the one the other night in Washington after the shot clock expired.

Voting closed tonight on the Vote Joe to the NBA dunk contest. The NBA will announce the results tomorrow.

The Heat website is pretty entertaining: "Feel the Heat experience" ... get the cheerleader calender, order cheerleader wallpaper, "get social", see how the serious the Heat look in dark suits.

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Round 5 - NBA Blogger MVP/ROY Awards: This time, I participated and it was fun. Here's what happens: A bunch of NBA bloggers from all over the country rank 5 Rookie of the Year and 10 MVP candidates, assign a line of snarky yet incisive analysis with each one, send 'em off to the blogger assigned to compile the results, and hope their best one-liners make the cut in the finished round. Washington Wizards blogger Kyle from Truth About It hosted the Round, and 17 of the blogosphere's NBA obsessed filed ballots. Lebron was unanimous as MVP. The Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo took ROY over Derrick Rose. But don't take my word for it, hit the link.

Don't worry, none of my dumb one liners made it into the final, as I was relegated to straight man duties in the ROY section. How could "If D-Wade played with Pau Gasol, they'd be teammates," not make the cut you ask? No you didn't. But Truth did use some of my stuff and I did get a Milwaukee shot at George Karl in there.

You'll notice that Luc Richard Mbah a Moute received 3 votes in the ROY balloting. That was me. I ranked the Prince 3rd behind Rose and Mayo and those were the only votes he received out of 85 possible. Apparently the Sports Illustrated article published Tuesday was too late to start the Prince for ROY bandwagon rolling. Defense just isn't the way to the ROY, and that's too bad. Maybe next round. (Oh, definitely at least one more time -- Mayo plays in the D-League as far as I'm concerned.)

Dunkin' Joe didn't score in the poll. I didn't put the Heat's Michael Beasley (who also played well tonight with 17 pts) in my five either, tabbing Nets center Brook Lopez and the Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin at four and five after Rose, Mayo and Mbah a Moute. On Lopez I wrote: "He's big, he rebounds in double figures, the Nets win games and there may be six teams kicking themselves for taking a pass on him." ... What the h#ll, here's my ballot below. Apologies to Tim Duncan ...

MVP

10- Lebron James. He's an all-league defender now, too. That's scary.
9- Dwight Howard. Proving that, yes, there is a future for NBA centers.
8- Dwyane Wade. If D-Wade played with Pau Gasol, they'd be teammates.
7- Kobe Bryant. Kobe's giving Gasol a lot of credit this season. He should.
6- Chris Paul. The Hornets look like contenders in the West.
5- Kevin Garnett. Now that he's on national TV a lot, the people realize they don't like him. But he's the leader of the C's and the player they'd miss the most.
4- Shaquille O'Neal. Come playoff time, the Shaq makeover will be complete and the Suns a tough, tough out.
3- Chauncey Billups. Hard to believe a changing of the guards could make so much difference, but it's hard to argue with the results. George Karl will find a way to screw things up in Denver.
2- Yao Ming. Can a billion Chinese fans be wrong?
1- Joe Johnson. His Hawks are for real, and positioned to shoot for some home court advantage in the East.

ROY

5- Derrick Rose. Thrown into the fire when Hinrich went down, he's kept the Bulls in striking distance of the playoffs. Hinrich's back to take some of the pressure off and this may mean that the ROY goes to Mayo in the end. But up until this point in the season, no rookie has accomplished more than Rose.
4- O.J. Mayo. Other than Rose, the only rookie getting bigtime starter's minutes. Like Rose, Mayo's delivering: 19.7 ppg in 38 minutes per don't lie.
3- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Have you seen Mbah a Moute play D? The Prince has been the 2nd round find of the draft and helped save another win this week with some timely glasswork against the Wiz.
2- Brook Lopez. He's big, he rebounds in double figures, the Nets win games and there may be six teams kicking themselves for taking a pass on him.
1- D.J. Augustin. Quickness and good shooting makes Augustin a game-changer in Charlotte. The kid's a tough assignment, and the 'Cats look more competitive than they ever have.