Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Lebron James

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: The basketball president

J.D. Mo — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:24:00 GMT

# 23 - Barry O'Bomber. The lefty had game.

The history made today with the inauguration of America's 44th president is a bit overwhelming, to say the least. It's a day for poetry, one of celebration for many in the NBA who heavily supported President Obama during his election campaign. Michael Jordan cried. I got a little teary-eyed, too.

Here's TNT analyst David Aldridge's excellent piece at NBA.com, "The Meaning of Obama: NBA embraces new leader's message."

Former Buck Mo Williams:

Just saying the words President Obama "defines the struggle," said Cavaliers guard Mo Williams. "It defines the commitment. It defines the unity. It defines what Martin Luther King did. It defines what America is about, bringing everybody together and living as one."

Andrew Bogut on ending the war:

Bucks center Andrew Bogut, Australian-born, isn't all that interested in politics. But he couldn't help but notice that the Obama phenomenon dominated American television on a nightly basis.

"I didn't realize how big it was," Bogut said. "Obviously, America needs a change, with everything that's happened in the past ... no offense, but obviously a lot of people in Australia are pretty angry with the whole Iraq issue. Obviously, we're allies with you guys, so we're sending a lot of troops over there who are dying as well. Hopefully Obama can put a stop to that and start bringing home some troops."

Grant Hill on Martin Luther King, Jr., the process of change and the inauguration of Obama.

The Heat's Alonzo Mourning hosted a number Obama rallies in Florida during the campaign, and brought a busload of kids to the inauguration. The Celtics left Boston for Miami early this morning so they wouldn't miss the telecast. Ray Allen had left the night before, heading for D.C. after the Celtics-Suns MLK day game to attend the event.

What the leader of the free world can do to get his Bulls to the playoffs.

Obama hooping it up in Kokomo, Indiana, during the campaign. The basketball president's still got some game ...

Washington Wizards coach Ed Tapscott says a 10-day contract is Obama's if he wants it. Wiz forward Caron Butler, who grew up in Racine, can't wait for a pickup game with the new prez.

GOLD: This time, Team USA rolled with the NBA's best

J.D. Mo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:13:00 GMT

The job is done, but not without a few tense moments in the 118-107 gold medal victory over a talented and resilient Spain team. The Redeem Team has returned the basketball gold to its home turf, and there are six words that describe how and why it happened better than barrelfuls of ink or kilobyte upon kilobyte of analysis ever could.

Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade.

(Thazz a party - and it looks like Carmelo's into the silly weed ...but back to our story)

The three stars -- two of whom, Lebron and D-Wade, were All-rookie team members on the 2004 team that necessitated this redemption -- were not about to allow the 2008 Olympics to end in any other outcome than gold. Wade led all scorers with 27, including a whirling dervish 21 in the first half when Lebron and Kobe were in foul trouble. Kobe took over the game coming out of a USA timeout with 8:13 to play in the 4th quarter and the lead cut to two, and finished with 20. Lebron did a little bit of everything - scoring, defense, unselfish team play, again leading the team in minutes played and hauling down 4 key rebounds in the six-minute 4th quarter stretch that won the game.

The game lived up to its billing, as Spain fought a great fight and became the first team in the Olympics to put four quarters together against Team Redeem. Like a good yet overmatched boxer, the Spanish took hits but minimized the damage, swayed to the ropes but did not fall and stayed alive with salvos of their own until Team USA delivered the knockout punch in the final minutes. Spain may not have missed injured point guard Jose "I made T.J. Ford expendable" Calderon as much as expected. Calderon's absence opened the game for Juan Carlos Navarro, who awoke from his Olympic doldrums with drive after drive into the US lane, giving Chris Paul fits and scoring 18.

Why have world championships and the gold been so elusive for the USA since the 2000 gold medal until now? The simple answer may be the absence of players the caliber of Lebron, Kobe and D-Wade. They are something to the NBA today that most of the 2004 bronze medal team, including the rookies Lebron and D-Wade, did not represent. Team USA, 2008 model, is much more representative of the best the 2008 NBA has to offer than the 2004 team was of the league's best in that year. We've heard a lot from the USA basketball and basketball media about chemistry and attitude and other intangibles, but the bottom line with the 2004 team has always been that USA basketball sent to Athens Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and a poor-defending 2nd or 3rd team.

The 2004 NBA MVP was Kevin Garnett, who was in his prime and had posted career highs in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. Garnett was completely healthy yet declined to play on the Olympic team. The Shaq-Kobe dynasty in LA had ended bitterly - they weren't interested and Shaq was reconstituting in Miami with Wade. Detroit won the 2004 championship, yet no Pistons were on Team USA. The desired shooter, Ray Allen, was recuperating from injuries. The Mediterranean didn't seem like the safest place in the world to be an American, and player after player declined.

In fact, of the 12 American players on the 2004 1st, 2nd and 3rd All-NBA Teams (scroll down at that link) ONLY ONE played on Team USA - Tim Duncan. 1st-team All-NBA selections Shaq, Kobe, Garnett and Jason Kidd all declined. 2nd-teamers Sam Cassell, Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace and Jermaine O'Neal didn't play for various reasons. (Peja Sojakovic was the fifth). From the 3rd team, Ron Artest, Baron Davis and Michael Redd stayed home. And of the nine Americans on the All-Defensive 1st and 2nd teams, only ONE - Duncan again - played in Athens.

This left Duncan and Iverson, whose Sixers were slipping fast, and a hodgepodge of players, including Stephon Marbury, Lamar Odom, Richard Jefferson, Carlos Boozer, pre-rookie Emeka Okafor; and Lebron, Carmelo Anthony and D-Wade, who had just finished their rookie seasons. The Nets Jefferson, believe it or not, led that B-list group in playoff experience. When they settled for bronze under Pistons coach Larry Brown, the natural reaction from many fans was: Why didn't we just send the Pistons?

The 2008 team was a much, much better cross section of the best of its NBA year. No, there were no Celtics on the team and no Spurs, but of the 11 American players named 2008 All-NBA, six had joined Team USA, including 4/5 1st-team selections: Kobe, Lebron, center Dwight Howard and point guard Chris Paul. Kobe, Howard and Paul were also All-Defensive selections along with Tayshaun Prince.

Deron Williams from the 2nd Team All-NBA played a solid role off the bench; forward Boozer, a 3rd Team selection, saw very limited action. Making an allowance for D-Wade, a 2006 and 2007 All-NBA selection returning from injury, the Redeem Team counted seven All-NBA players, six of them in coach Krzyzewski's rotation. The All-NBAers were the backbone, with an inspired Chris Bosh, captain Jason Kidd, scorer Carmelo Anthony and All-Defensive Prince stepping into roles that developed around this core.

This was quite a difference from 2004, more than enough to make the difference between bronze and gold on both ends of the court. Down the stretch in the 4th quarter against Spain, All-Defensive Howard got key stops in classic post-ups against Pau Gasol. Chris Paul, the MVP runner-up to Kobe, handled the majority of the point guard duties and led the team in steals. Deron Williams was solid and team-oriented, a good perimeter shooting option and a decided upgrade from Marbury. Good things happened whenever Tayshaun Prince was on the court. There was all of that and this:

Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade.

Shooting for gold: USA-Spain live 1:30am CST

J.D. Mo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:10:00 GMT

PREGAME: After two weeks of early morning games, we get a Team Redeem night game, an after midnight special - and, yes, the time is correct. TMJ4 will broadcast the USA vs. Spain gold medal game at 1:30am CST.

This will be the first rematch in these Olympics for both teams, which should make things interesting. No one should expect a replay of the first game last Saturday in group play, when 2006 world champion Spain played Washington Generals to Team USA's Harlem Globetrotters, turning the ball over 28 times in a 37-point Redeem Team romp.

The Aug. 16 game was also perhaps the only Olympic game in which Team USA shot well from 3-point range, Carmelo Anthony and Tayshaun Prince combining for 7-10. The rest of the team shot 5-15, which isn't going to stop Spain from packing defenders in the paint and daring Team Redeem to prove it can hit jumpshots.

Team USA hasn't spoken well for the state of shooting in the NBA. The 3-pointer in international play is just 20' 9" out from the hole, a good 2-and-a-half feet closer than the NBA 3-pointer. The top two NBA outside shooters in these Olympics, as ranked by 82games.com, are not on the USA team. They are Spain's Jose "I made T.J. Ford expendable" Calderon of the Raptors and Mavs all-pro Dirk Nowitzki of Germany. Kobe, Carmelo, Lebron and even Michael Redd, Team Redeem's alleged shooter, are nowhere near the top in NBA shooting.

Unfortunately, that's the way the league is these days; and the Redeem Team happens to be a very good reflection of today's NBA. Kobe, Lebron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh -- this is their era, though one might get an argument from Boston. Eventually an international team would make Team USA pay for its poor shooting, but I'm not expecting the payday to come tonight. (ESPN's Chris Sheridan seems concerned but this Spain team isn't the one.)

Fortunately, Team Redeem also reflects the best NBA qualities -- the tough defense and mean, hungry competitive spirit that one finds on the NBA's top teams. No, there are no Celtics on this team, but if you watched the NBA Finals or the Cavs-Celtics series, you might wonder whether it's humanly possible for a Pau Gasol-led team to beat a hungry Lebron James team. And this Lebron team has Kobe Bryant on it. (Funny, the end-of-week media angle was to annoint a team leader. NBC says it's Lebron; other media tabs Kobe; the coach and ESPN's Chris Sheridan says Jason Kidd. And so it goes.)

The Team USA defense has been the story of the Olympic basketball tournament, and there's no reason to expect the D to let up in the gold medal game. I'm expecting the opposite -- one of the most astonishing and relentless defensive performances in Olympic history. Spain should be ready to play, especially after the drubbing they took in the teams' first meeting, but it shouldn't matter.

Unfortunately, the Spanish will be playing without their point guard, Calderon, who's out with a "slightly torn abductor muscle" which is somewhere in the thigh-to-groin area of the legs. (I wonder how the Australian team would have handled this injury.) Calderone's absence should mean plenty of playing time for 17-year-old Ricky Rubio, a kid who makes NBA scouts drool.

In addition to Pau Gasol (Kobe's talented-but-soft Laker teammate), brother Marc Gasol (traded to the Grizzlies for Pau last season) is a bruiser who likes to mix it up. Another guy to watch is burly big forward Felipe Reyes, Spain's leading scorer and best player in the first USA game. (Note to John Hammond - Real Madrid's Reyes has a nice shooting touch and is precisely the type of 6' 9" forward the Bucks could use, immediamente). Guard-forward Rudy Fernandez, who had 18 in the semifinals against Lithuania, is another Spanish player to watch, but Fernandez is the type of international player who's out of his league against the likes of Kobe, Lebron and D-Wade -- which is really the main problem international teams have had with Team Redeem.

So if Spain sounds slim going up against team USA, that's because it is. Juan Navarro, who played in Memphis last season, isn't playing well. Calderon is out. The front court is good, but the Argentina big men were good, too, as was Australia in the quarterfinals. Kobe and Lebron are hungry for gold. They may not shoot well enough to utterly dominate, but they do everything else so well that it shouldn't -- and doesn't -- matter.

How they got there: The semifinals featured the four teams clearly a cut above the rest of the Olympic pack but the games left a lot to be desired. After a very quiet and noncontroversial 10 tournament days, the officials made themselves big factors, and that's never good.

USA 101, Argentina 81 This game was a bit closer than the final score indicated, as Team Redeem dropped its intensity after Manu Ginobili sprained his left ankle early in the game. As Bill Walton described it in his postgame analysis: When Ginobili went down "the energy was just sucked out of the atmosphere." Down 21, the Bulls Andres Nocioni and the Rockets Luis Scola pulled Argentina within six just before half when the officials intervened to start the Carmelo Anthony free throw parade. Carmelo shot 3-14 from the floor but 13-13 from the line for 21 pts. That ain't earnin' it. Scola finished with 28 pts, 12 rebs.

Chris Sheridan, the saving grace of ESPN basketball writing, has an excellent recap in his column. Carmelo very nearly lost his cool due to Argentinian rough stuff and has been talking about what "a war" the gold medal game will be, etc. etc. Somebody get 'Melo a beer and a spliff before he starts something; let's hope Tayshaun Prince and Michael Redd get some minutes while he's coolin' his Nikes on the bench.

Michael Redd played three minutes at the end of the first half and two garbage mins at the end of the game. Redd didn't shoot or score, but grabbed three rebounds. Wouldn't it be nice if Redd hit a few threes in the gold medal game? That's all it would take to erase memories of his poor shooting through seven Olympic games. (10-31 from the floor; 5-18 on threes).

Olympics stat page for all teams.

Spain 91, Lithuania 86 Lithuania led 66-62 going into the 4th quarter but a huge Spain advantage from the foul line put Gasol and company over the top. Being ever so curious and not having watched the game, I went to the fourth quarter play-by-play to find out who got hot and won the game for Spain. Pau Gasol and Felipe Reyes (remember that name John Hammond) scored 2 quick hoops apiece to get it started, then Rudy Fernandez hit a two and three. 76-74 Spain. From there on in, the final six mins of the game, Spain didn't score a hoop and shot 17 free throws.

The fourth quarter totals - two buckets apiece for Gasol, Reyes and Fernandez, and 16-18 from the line. That's not basketball, folks. In the process, Nuggets forward Linas Kleiza of Lithuania was tossed for two unsportsmanlike fouls. Something tells me Lithuania should be playing for gold against the U.S., not the Jose Calderon-less Spanish team.