Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Teresa Lourenco

Ersan returns... Final Summer League Highlights... RJ and who?...

J.D. Mo — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:49:00 GMT

Ersan down, Sessions to go ... The Bucks confirmed another step in the right direction, agreeing to terms with Ersan Ilyasova this week. The 6'9" forward was last in Milwaukee in 2006-07, and spent the last two years in playing in the Euroleague...(read more)

Bucks Weekend Notes: Devin Harris' girlfriend vs. Richard Jefferson's wife

J.D. Mo — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:56:00 GMT

There's something to be said for being a New Jersey Net, whose players and former players seem to have their priorities more in order than do their Tri-state baller brethren toiling away on the New York Knicks roster.

And now, to quote Thurston Moore in SY's "Teenage Riot", it's really down, down to this: Devin Harris' girlfriend, former Dallas bartender and wannabe model Meghan (with an h, same as former Ms. Wisconsin and Bob Boozer Jinx Girl Meghan) Allen ...

vs. Richard Jefferson's wife, international supermodel Teresa Lourenco.

Who also owns bikini swimwear ...

It's like choosing between Debbie Does Dallas and Nastasia Kinski in Cat People, right?.. because those two films are so close to one another on the videostore shelves... In my mind is a cage match between Erin Andrews tush-hounding Sports by Brooks and the gay hairdresser on BET's Real Stories of Rich Atlanta Housewives.

While you're mulling that over, please enjoy these notes from the kick in the gut that was the Bucks fine weekend on the West Coast, complete with Eastern C-Notes and other fresh garbage from around the NBA ...

Hundreds of thousands of pathetic things occur in Los Angeles on a daily basis (Bret Michaels' "Rock of Love" is it?) and one of them Saturday night was the Bucks at the Staples Center, allowing the injury-depleted Clippers to walk away with a game in the 4th quarter. AND, believe it or not, Michael Redd dunked the ball in the 4th and didn't hurt himself... but keep an eye on the injury report, just in case.

I began writing this with the Bucks down 9 and 2 1/2 minutes to go. It looked like the game was over. But then Luke Ridnour stole the ball, got it to Richard Jefferson and the Clippers were gracious enough to foul R.J. in the act of shooting a three. He sank all three free throws to make it 95-89 with 2:24 to play, and there was a sliver of hope that the Bucks could rally when they got the ball back a few seconds later. But 95-90 was as close as it got. 101-92 final, a loss that coach Skiles saw coming, Tom Enlund reports.

The score was 77-76 Clippers to start the 4th. The Bucks began the quarter watching Ricky Davis bank a long jumper. On the next two Bucks possessions, Joe Alexander had his shot blocked and the ball stolen. In between Joe's troubles, Steve Novak hit a three for the Clips and the Bucks were suddenly down six. Skiles quickly subbed Redd, R.J. and Ridnour back into the game to no avail. The only scoring the Bucks could muster the first eight minutes of the quarter was a 3-pointer and a jumper by Ridnour, and two free throws by R.J -- Redd was 1-5 in the 4th (the dunk his lone make) after going 8-13 in quarters 1, 2 and 3 for 19 pts. That's no surprise at this point.

Ricky Davis (8 pts) and Novak (5 pts) took the final quarter and the game for the Clippers, despite losing F/C Marcus Camby to a sprained ankle early in the quarter. And, still, Davis and Novak cooperated with the Bucks hopes by missing five jumpers between them, and point guard Mardy Collins added a couple of more bricks to help the Bucks cause. Meanwhile, the Clippers killed the Bogut-less Bucks on the boards (48-30) and in the paint, with 2-time former Buck Brian Skinner and forward Al Thornton blocking shots and making life miserable for the Bucks in Camby's absence.

It was ugly, and both teams played lousy ball with the game on the line tonight. The Bucks were lousier.

Game ball to Novak. The 3rd year pro out of Marquette delivered the lead for the Clippers with two Bucks-deflating jumpers (one from downtown) in that 7-8 minute stretch of bad 4th quarter basketball in which neither team could seize the momentum. Sometimes that's all it takes.

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The Bucks on Friday held off a 4th quarter rally by the Kings in Sacramento to win 129-122. It was the kind of run-and-gun shootout they should have avoided by forcing their own brand of half court uptempo (the Scott Skiles way) but Michael Redd obliged the Kings and shot his way to a season high 44 points -- all of it before the 4th quarter, which opened with the Bucks leading by 15. Before long in the final period that lead was down to 2 points and the Bucks were fighting to avoid a blown game. Charlie Villanueva, who finished with 25 pts, 12 rebs, picked up the scoring load and point guard Luke Ridnour (17 pts, 10 assists) was able to restore order in the final minutes. It was the Bucks 20th win against 22 losses and coach Scott Skiles didn't want to hear any talk about the playoffs.

In Philly earlier Friday, the 76ers raced off of some nasty D like the Sixers of last season's run and hit a few desperation bombs to win their sixth in a row, 109-87 over Tim Duncan and the Spurs. The Sixers went to 19-20, a half game ahead of the Bucks. Big forward Elton Brand was a possible maybe Saturday to play his first game since dislocating his shoulder fouling Luc Mbah a Moute vs. the Bucks Dec. 17.

Ray Allen was cold-bloodedly efficient Saturday afternoon in New Jersey, scoring 19 pts on 12 shots, plus 6-6 free throws for 25 as the Celtics blew out the Nets 105-85. 'Tosa homie Devin Harris' girlfriend may be hot, but the loss dropped his Nets to 9th in the East standings, a half game behind the Bucks.

Going into the Bucks-Clippers game, a game-and-a-half separated Philly, the Bucks, the Nets and the Bulls in the East's 7-8-9-10 spots. Milwaukee Bucks, say hello to your rivals.

Too much of a good thing in Detroit? The Pistons (22-17) lost their 4th straight Saturday, falling 91-85 to Chris Paul and the Hornets in Detroit. They were in control of the game until the 4th quarter when 'Sheed had one of those "free to be Sheed bricking three" finishes. Prior to the game, Allen Iverson wondered if there were chemistry issues with his new team. What he really meant was that the Pistons were better without fellow All-Star Rip Hamilton, winning 7 straight in his absence, but that's not the kind of thing a player says.

Since Rip came back, the Pistons have been starting small with guards Rodney Stuckey, Iverson and Hamilton, along with forwards Tayshaun Prince and Sheed. Coach Michael Curry really is a rookie coach. Bringing the Answer (remember what he did to the Bucks in November?) or Rip off the bench and going big with Amir Johnson starting alongside Sheed would help, coach. But that's not Curry's only problem: The Pistons just don't take half the NBA seriously, and neither does Curry, apparently. The power forward-rich Oklahoma City Thunder stomped past the Pistons Friday.

In Toronto Sunday, the Suns scored 71 points in the first half on their way to a 117-113 win over the Raptors. In all that first half scoring, Steve Nash took only one shot - a missed three - and did not score, being otherwise occupied orchestrating a beautifully unselfish masterpiece. Nash had 11 dimes at the half and a season high 18 for the game.

********************************

End note: The Bucks need a real shooter. A Dell Curry, Dale Ellis type (Anthony Parker?). This was an early season theme on this blog and now seems like a good time to dwell on it. Back then, I harped that the advantage was in the front court and I still think that's true when Bogut is healthy -- and especially true with the emergence of Luc Mbah a Moute. Our backcourt isn't good enough or consistent enough to win more than they lose, as creative as Ridnour is and as prolific a scorer as Redd is at times not the 4th quarter. The opposition usually comes to play with guards who are better shooters and better defenders. The Bucks do have two shooters -- Tyronn Lue and Damon Jones -- but Skiles has left his little guards on the bench; in Jones' case, in street clothes.

End note II: This from the AP Bucks-Clippers recap. "The inconsistent Bucks, coming off a 129-122 win at Sacramento, haven’t had consecutive wins or losses in their last 14 games, the longest streak in club history and the longest in the NBA since New York’s 14-game stretch in 1997-98." Meanwhile, Philly won in NY. That's 7 in a row for the Sixers without Elton Brand, who sat out again for likely the last time. The Sixers are 20-20 to the Bucks 20-23. The Bucks ended the weekend in a virtual tie with the Nets (19-22) for 8th in the East standings, with Chicago (18-23) a game behind them.

End note III: This from Ball Don't Lie's Kelly Dwyer and his Behind the Box Score look at the Bull-Cavs game the other night.

[The Bulls] got back to playing defense, running, and generally making life one big aberration for their opponents. A throwback to the Scott Skiles days, the early days, of forcing teams into giving up when things aren't going their way.

The Bucks in Skiles' first season as coach have not been there consistently like the Baby Bulls were, but they have been there. Can they find their way back with the current roster?

End note IV:

Bucks Weekend: Halfway mark stats... Bucks on the West Coast... Eastern C-notes

J.D. Mo — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:17:00 GMT

Bucks (19-22) @ Sacramento Kings (10-30), 9pm Friday, FSN

Bucks @ LA Clippers (8-30), 9:30pm Saturday, FSN

The Kings and Clippers are struggling but the Bucks would do well to stay focused in California this weekend without center Andrew Bogut, who is staying home to rehab his ailing lower back; it's never fully recuperated since he first injured it on the road in mid-December, and flared up again Monday during the Wizards game.

Avoiding a shootout with the Kings would be wise, as would remembering to play defense. (The Bucks didn't do either and nearly blew a 15-point 4th quarter lead but held on to win 129-122 - scroll down for more).

And the Clippers? Marcus Camby's playing with half a team: Zach Randolph, Baron Davis, Chris Kaman and Milwaukee rookie Mike Taylor will miss the Bucks Saturday. Expect to see former Buck x 2 Brian Skinner logging forward PT in that one.

Michael Hunt weighs in on the trade scuttlebut that's dogged the Bucks all week and says DON'T. I agree. The luxury tax issues can be worked out over the summer, and if the Bucks are not willing to move the larger contracts (Michael Redd, Richard Jefferson) and are stuck with Dan Gadzuric, don't pretend that moving bench players by the Feb. 19 trade deadline is some sort of fix. The fans deserve a team and a real direction, not a bunch of half-truth salary cap whining. 'Nuff said for now because it's time for ...

BUCKS MIDWAY REPORT

The Bucks were one of first NBA teams to reach the halfway mark in the 2008-09 schedules; the others are Boston and ... Boston. The stumble the Celtics have been on since X-mas likely has something to do with this, as Paul Pierce in particular has looked weary and Ray Allen has cooled off, somewhat, after a red hot start.

What does this have to do with the Bucks? Well, the only two Bucks who've played in all 41 games are the defensive stalwarts: forwards Richard Jefferson and rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Jefferson has looked as tired as Pierce since X-Mas, and 22-year-old Mbah a Moute, who's never played such a compressed basketball schedule in his life, has aged before Bucks fans eyes. The strain of the schedule seems written on Luc's face.

The Bucks are 5-6 since X-mas and, after the loss to D-Wade, Daequan Cook (who?) and the Heat Wednesday, fell behind the 76ers in the Eastern Conference standings. While the Bucks are still on the fall-down, bounce-back pogo, the Sixers have picked up the pace, are running again and have won 5 straight -- remember last season? Look out for Philly, a team that's already handed the Bucks two of their 22 losses. The Bucks now head West for three games in four nights, beginning Friday in Sacramento.

Let's look now beyond the standings at where the Bucks stand after 41 games. (Sources: Basketball-reference.com and NBA.com)

Games played: R.J. and the Prince lead the league with 41, of course, tied for first with four Celtics: Pierce, Allen, Rondo and Powe. R.J. is 10th in minutes played, with the aforementioned Ray Allen and Paul Pierce just ahead of him in the top 5. (Seems Doc Rivers rides his stars even more than Skiles has ridden R.J.).

Top Ten in defense: The Bucks rank 8th in team defense (defensive effeciency it's called, or points allowed per 100 possessions). They've slipped somewhat of late, as they've fallen into the old, bad habit of trying to simply outscore the opposition, which, as we know, leads to sub-30 win seasons.

Opponent FG% - Bucks are 13th, allowing 45.2% opponent shooting.

Opponent 3-point shooting: Bucks are 15th, allowing 36.2%. This has been a problem of late, as the Sixers, Nets, T-Wolves, Wizards and Heat (Daequan Cook) have scorched the nets from the land of Reggie in the last week.

Opponent 3-point shooting in 27 games Redd has played: 39.8% (182-457). I isolated this stat after the T-Wolves game on Saturday, and it's gotten worse since. The Wiz and the Heat this week shot 50% (14-28) on 3's vs. the Bucks, who were lucky, perhaps, that the Wiz didn't shoot more of them. The games-Redd-played-% would be bad for 28th in the NBA in defending the 3-pointer, one percentage point away from dead last. I suppose Bucks fans could blame Charlie Bell -- he's missed 9 games since Redd came back Nov. 29.

Steals per game: Bucks rank 21st.

The Bucks are not stocked with great athletes and natural defenders, so one might wonder how they're a top 10 defensive team while falling to the bottom half of the league in these other areas. I'd say the answer is that Redd missed 14 games and the Bucks D earned a solid, active defensive presence in those games. I'd also defer the question to coach Scott Skiles, whose constant pressure D scheme has a way of evening things out, as they're among the league leaders in turnovers forced. I'd also point to the fact that the Bucks rebound the ball better than the vast majority of teams in the NBA ....

Rebounding: The Bucks are one of the top rebounding teams in the league and Andrew Bogut has everything to do with it. As a team, they rank 11th in rebounds per game, but the Bucks are 5th-best at outrebounding their opponents (nearly +3 per game), and that's the stat that matters. Guess who's ahead of them? The best teams in the NBA -- Cleveland, Boston and the Lakers -- along with Portland and its two-headed Oden-zilla center. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Charlie Villanueva contribute heavily on the glass, and their work has won some games for the Bucks this season.

Despite missing 3 games with a mashed knee and 4 with a bad back, Bogut ranks 12th in NBA total rebounds.

Bogut is 10th in total offensive rebounds, injuries and all.

The Bucks center is 7th in the NBA with 10.4 rpg.
Bogut is 5th in the league in the % of available rebounds he grabs (19.3) and 5th in defensive rebounding % at 27%.

Among centers, Bogut the rebounder this season is looking up only at the best center on the planet, Dwight Howard of Orlando. Yes, Andris Biedrins is rebounding a bunch, but Biedrins plays on Nellie's Warriors, who shoot 1,000 shots a game. And don't get me started on Emeka Okafor -- the Bucks have played the Bobcats four times this season (won 3) and in one game, 'Cats coach Larry Brown started rookie behemoth Ajinca to keep Bogues offa Emeka. Marcus Camby in Los Angeles is an ageless wonder but in the Clips-Bucks games at the BC, big PF Zach Randolph was guarding Bogut, leaving Camby to roam free.

Bogut is making good strides in the Bob Boozer Jinx Center rankings so far and is clearly now a top ten NBA center (the rankings will be updated at the All-Star break). Let's hope he can overcome those back problems that have held him down since Dec. 17 in Philly.

Offensively, the Bucks rank 20th: This is the points-scored-per-100 possessions rating. The Bucks are not a good shooting team, and they don't get out and run as much as they should. They're moving the ball more than in years past, including Redd, which probably keeps them from ranking even lower in the offensive categories. But the main problem here is shooting, particularly from 3-point-land. Inside the arc, the Bucks aren't half bad, and Bogut is 5th in the league in FG% at 57.5%. How 'bout these Bucks get the ball to their center a little more?

3-point shooting: The Bucks are a woeful 23rd in the NBA at 34.1%. That means it's still worthwhile for the Bucks to shoot 3's but just barely.

Michael Redd: Fans will be surprised that this bad 3-ball shooting year Redd is having (with recent exceptions) is not much worse than what he shot 2003-05 and last year. Redd's shooting 34.6% from the land of Reggie, and, though it's close to what he shot 4 of the 6 seasons he's been a starter, it is the worst he's shot it in the NBA.

Richard Jefferson has been a more reliable 3-point shooter than Redd at 38.1% and Luke Ridnour really shouldn't be heaving it up there as often as he does (30.3%) -- although it's difficult to argue with the 4 or 5 games Crazy Luke and Lucky Luke have won for the Bucks draining from downtown in crunchtime.

Tyronn Lue is shooting 50% (16-32) from behind the arc, but doesn't play much.

Charlie Villanueva is coming alive in his contract year, having his best season since his rookie year in Toronto, with 13.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg in just 22 mpg. Play Charlie more? Or is Scott Skiles using him just right? Extrapolated to 36 minutes per game, Charlie would be scoring 20 pts per game, realizing of course that it doesn't always work out that way in the NBA.

My sore lower back says this was more of a midway rundown than I had planned, and I still haven't worked my way into the Ramon Sessions and Joe Alexander for Memphis point guard Mike Conley trade that never happened. Maybe that's because it still hasn't happened and I'm feeling pretty good right about now not wasting anybody's time with it. There is definitely a problem within the Bucks organization in regards to trade rumor leaks -- if you can even call them that -- and Bucks fans tend to get rolling on them whether the trade talk is real or not ... If GM John Hammond is working on silencing some of the ~~yickety yack~~ wickity wack from Bucks central, I'm all for it, though in this case some of it came out of Memphis (the reverse of the Carl Landry rumors, which resided here and were largely ignored in Houston). Here in Sconnie, a Bucks reporter from the lame-o Racine Journal Times peddles this stuff while the Bucks beat writers at the Journal Sentinel stay mum (red flag there) & their editor reminds to gloss up Michael Redd's star ...

At least Bucks fans can rest assured that they can always count on The Bob Boozer Jinx for semi-reliable & responsible bullshit.

Meanwhile, in Chicago last night ....

Mo loses his running mate: As it was, the East-leading Lebrons went into Chicago playing without their starting big men, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (ankle) and Big Ben Wallace (flu). By the end of the OT loss to the newly healthy Bulls (Hinricn and Deng are back), they had also lost Delonte West. The Cavs starting guard fractured his shooting wrist and a gashed an eye after a nasty collision with Bulls rookie Derrick Rose. Looks like the Lebrons will be without two starters for some time (Big Z and West), which will put the onus on point guard Mo Williams and the Cavs bench to make up West's scoring (12.3 ppg). Where they'll really miss him is on D: West is Cleveland's top backcourt defender, and, well, Bucks fans are well aware of Mo's liabilities on D. West was 2nd on the Cavs in minutes played behind Lebron.

The Bucks don't play the Cavs again until Feb. 20, when Z is almost certainly to be back. West will be out for an indeterminate while.

Not to be missed in Chicago: The Bulls are healthy again. Kirk Hinrich is back, mangled hand recovered, and Luol Deng also returned last week after missing 8 games with an ankle sprain. The 17-22 Bulls beat the Cavs 102-93 Thursday in Chicago to finish 1-3 against the Lebrons for the season. They're a game behind the Bucks in the East standings but a game ahead in the loss column, which means they're basically tied with the Bucks for 9th in the East behind Philly and New Jersey, if that makes any sense.

KD Dwyer's Behind the Box Score featured this story, and made this reference to Scott Skiles' Baby Bulls:

[The Bulls] got back to playing defense, running, and generally making life one big aberration for their opponents. A throwback to the Scott Skiles days, the early days, of forcing teams into giving up when things aren't going their way.

Point being: The Bucks road to the playoffs is not an easy road. Shame on Bucks fans over the last couple of weeks who started talking playoffs d*** near every time the Bucks won a game. Enough of that Redd-ite thinking. The East is tougher this year than it's been since the 2002-03 season. And it's time for the Bucks to start playing like the Scott Skiles Bucks.

It's BUCKS WEEKEND ... more to come.

As awe-inspiring as that photo is, Chris Kaman is not ... but he's funny. Unfortunately, Bucks fans will robbed this season of the classic Kaman-Bogut showdown, as Kaman will miss Saturday's Bucks game in LA, still nursing a stressed arch in his right foot. Or maybe it's the left one.

Andrew Bogut vs. Christmas ... and 10 gifts the Bucks should leave under fans' X-mas trees

J.D. Mo — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:38:00 GMT

Yes, they do have Christmas in Australia, but that doesn't mean Andrew Bogut has to like it. Bogut dispensed his views regarding Christmas on his blog Sunday, which happened to be the day of the Winter Soltice:

"I’m not big on Christmas, Birthdays or New Years really. I think Christmas isn’t celebrated for the right reasons, but mainly for a money driving machine. A lot of children probably wouldn’t know what Christmas is about besides receiving cool presents and getting what ‘I’ want. I mean I don’t dislike it don’t get me wrong, but the whole decorating for Christmas and putting up a tree doesn’t really give me a thrill. I think I left it behind when I was about 12 and realized the truth about Santa and his Reindeers."

Don't get him wrong? Just about everything Bogut wrote is manifesto for those who think the Christmas magic left when Rudolph got busted for vagrancy. Maybe Bogues was in the locker room when the Energee! dancers were doing their Santa routine at the Bucks-Clippers game Saturday ....

There's more on Bogut's blog, about friends and family being more important than gifts, and plenty of Aussie comedy videos and other stuff he finds for his fans back home. It's really one of the better NBA player blogs out there, and he has a new post up already in which he reports that his dad feels the same way he does about X-mas. He also says that a "present we didn't expect" may be in the works this week to help the Bucks. (This turned out to be the arrival of exiled long range gunner Damon Jones, which I confess never crossed my mind as anything that would be considered a gift.)

I empathize with Bogut's negative feelings about X-mas, I do, but I've been imbued with enough holiday spirit this week to wonder what the Bucks might leave under the Christmas trees or 'round Hanukkah menorahs and Kwanzaa kinaras of Bucks fans everywhere. (A kinara's a candleholder, much like a menorah, and you wouldn't want to put gifts under either of those burning things).

Never let it be said that one can't find culture here ... or fire safety tips. But enough of that ... Let's get to those gifts ...

1) How about a win against a quality, winning opponent that isn't missing a key player or two? The Bucks don't have one of these wins this season. I give you Ball Don't Lie's NBA power rankings this week in which the Bucks were ranked 17th: "You beat the Clippers by a ton, at home. I'm ... proud of you?" Oh, the truth hurts. ... So Tuesday night vs. the 17-12 Jazz was a great opportunity to beat a solid, winning team on the home court, right? Wrooong. The Jazz's hottest player, center Mehmet Okur, scratched with back spasms. Despite this fit of good fortune, the cold-shooting Bucks and Michael Redd nearly bricked their way out of the game until some solid Bucks D and point guard Luke Ridnour saved the day. After the game, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said his team looked like they were playing "streetball."

A relatively healthy 15-11 Detroit team, with Antonio McDyess back in the fold, comes to the BC Saturday and the Bucks have three days off before the game. Allen Iverson is day-to-day with an injury suffered Tuesday against the Bulls but that's fine -- Iverson often plays better when he's hurt, as Bucks fans know too well (I'm supressing 2001 playoff flashbacks now). Detroit is 11-11, including a win vs. the Bucks in Detroit, since trading Chauncey Billups to Denver for the Answer. The AI record should be 12-11 after the Pistons play the OK City Thunder on Friday. Beating Detroit would qualify as the Bucks best win of the season.

2) A bottle of Andrew Bogut's "magic pain pills." Bogut goes into excruciating detail on his blog about his ailing back and the "magic pain pills" that have allowed him to play the last four games. Seems a couple of his vertabrae are "stuck" and causing severe pain. He says he needs a wheelchair in the morning and feels like he's "a hundred years old." Ouch. But these magic pills do wonders: since Bogut started taking them, his free throw shooting is better than ever at 69.1%, and the Bucks have won three or four.

3) Some magic pills for Charlie Bell. Charlie, who played hurt through the 14 games that Michael Redd missed during his sloooww recovery from a high ankle sprain -- and then missed six games himself -- went down again Tuesday vs. the Jazz. This time it's a sore knee, just when it was beginning to look like Charlie was returning to his 2007 form. The Bucks could use some good health in general, though nobody around the NBA is going to throw them a pity party. Malik Allen, who had been starting at power forward, has missed the last eight games with a rib injury.

4) This is where I post the Sports Illustrated photo at left of Richard Jefferson and his Trinidadian supermodel wife, Teresa Lourenco, in hopes that you read this Bob Boozer Jinx post from last week (no, this is not a shallow attempt to spice up this post with a pic of a hot supermodel). R.J. has become somewhat of a forgotten man in Bucksland, except when fans notice that his box score line doesn't always look as good as some think it should (the warped analysis of a certain ESPN stat guy comes to mind). Stats are not R.J.'s game -- the intangibles are, and those are part and parcel to the attitude R.J. brought to the Bucks via the trade with the Nets last summer. There's no question coach Scott Skiles appreciates his forward -- he keeps R.J. on the floor more than any other Buck. As of this writing R.J. is 3rd in the NBA in minutes played and the Bucks chemistry on the floor looks better than it has in years. Plus, R.J.'s hitting the three.

5) More about Teresa Lourenco? It's the least I could do. But is there no style page in this town to take these burdensome supermodel responsibilities from the Bob Boozer Jinx? Maybe now that Packers season is winding down, our local culture vultures can get on the Lourenco beat, if she's around at all. A little gemutlichkeit has never killed a supermodel from Trinidad, has it?

6) A "rookie curb" for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to hop instead of a "rookie wall" like the one Yi Jianlian hit last February. Early on this season, Journal Sentinel's Michael Hunt wrote that the defense played by the Bucks' Cameroonian prince was remniscent of the D Sidney Moncrief played in his rookie season (1979-80). That's colossal praise when you consider the NBA more or less invented the Defensive Player of the Year award for Moncrief. After an impressive start, the #37 pick in the draft became a fan favorite, then seemed worn down for a couple of weeks before last week picking it up against the Knicks, Clippers and Jazz. Mbah a Moute can guard three positions but has played most at power forward; he's contributing a solid 8.5 pts, 6.5 rebs per game ... All-Rookie honor roll so far.

7) Bucks first round pick at #8, Joe Alexander, remains a mystery. Joe's got some ups and can knock a shot down, but he looks lost on the court -- night and day compared to Mbah a Moute, who is so often in the right place at the right time. The Dalai Lama, who I found on my pilgrimage to Tibet, wasn't able to tell me why the Bucks drafted Joe, other than to say "maybe he's a good Joe" and went on to ask a lot of questions about Brett Favre. Maybe Santa knows, and some insight into why Bucks GM John Hammond drafted Joe will emerge over the holidays.

Joe and the Bucks this week did crank up a campaign to vote Joe into the All-Star Game dunk contest. Joe says you gotta vote Joe and that he's going to beat the champ, Dwight Howard. That's not the draft explaination I was looking for from Santa, but here's Joe delivering his dunk contest hype:

I don't see an Emmy in the kid's future, but the Mandarin Chinese bit should sway the far East electorate.

8) More Tyronn Lue from 3-point land!!! Lue is shooting 65% from downtown this season and is easily the Bucks best shooter. Lue is now 15th on the active NBA career 3-point percentage rankings, and its great to see rainbow jumpers by a Buck hitting nothing but net. (Unfortunately, the Lakers have noticed too). With Luke Ridnour and Ramon Sessions getting most of the Bucks point guard minutes, however, PT has been hard to come by. It'd be a nice gift if Skiles can find some creative ways to get more shots for Tyronn.

9) Ramon Sessions was more or less benched last week in Philly and NY, and the point guard responsibilities have rested on the shoulders of Luke "Frodo" Ridnour (who, in addition to point guard burdens, has more nicknames than any Bucks player). Here's hoping Sessions and coach Skiles stay on the same page and that Ramon finds his way back to the major role he played while Redd was out. Frodo won't get very far without Sam.

10) I had hoped to write an item here about Michael Redd continuing his recent passing and ball-sharing ways after the holidays -- but it was not meant to be. If anything was obvious to fans who watched the Bucks nearly hand a home game Tuesday to the depleted Utah Jazz, it was that Redd is not the guy who'll deliver the team from the land of NBA mediocrity. Oh, those 27 pts he scored looked good in the boxscore but if you watched the game (or were there) you know that Redd nearly shot the Bucks into a loss in the 4th quarter. But this isn't about one game; it's about an end to an era; an end to a selfish, no-defense style of play that Bucks fans have seen far too much of these last five-plus years.

This era is ending under coach Scott Skiles but as Tuesday showed, it's not ending soon enough -- though the Bucks did win the game, thanks to some solid defense and team play in crunch time, a very encouraging sign. In many ways, the Utah game was a microcosm for the transition that the Bucks are making this season: the better qualities of the new era have begun to overcome the deficiencies of the old.

Oh but it's Christmas, after all, no time for brooding contemplation and the weight of future (gotta leave something for the new year). The Bucks and most of the NBA are merrily into a holiday break, and that's where I'm headed, alright ...

The Celtics and Lakers play Christmas day,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Forgotten Man: Richard Jefferson has played more minutes than any NBA player -- yet he's the Buck few talk about

J.D. Mo — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:59:00 GMT

Richard Jefferson is the man Bucks coach Scott Skiles plays more than any other. In fact, Jefferson's played more minutes than any player in the NBA to this point, thanks to the Bucks grueling schedule. (They are one of only six teams to play 26 games so far, Charlotte in the East and Utah, Portland, Sacramento and OK City out West being the others). Yet Jefferson is not a player who gets much scrutiny or praise from fans whether it's on our forum here at Sportsbubbler or others. Discussion about Michael Redd or Andrew Bogut? Those never seem to end.

Jefferson, despite the big trade of Yi Jianlian that brought him here and the court time he gets, is somehow flying under the radar, at times a forgotten man. It's an odd phenomenon but it's also part of who R.J. is as a player. To get to the bottom of this, let's go back to last year when R.J. was a New Jersey Net.

[No, I don't know who the brunette on R.J.'s arm is (the tag just says she's a model - no kidding) ... EDIT: Turns out that's R.J.'s wife, Trinidadian supermodel Teresa Lourenco.]

I was at a Nets-Bucks game last December and you wouldn't have known Jefferson was on the court much of the time. The Bucks played well that night, if not consistently. It was Mo Williams bobblehead night, and he and Michael Redd decided to have a shootout in the first half. Mo had 21 at half; Redd made sure to outscore him with 24 (or maybe it was the other way around). In any case, it was kind of sickening when you realize they were on the same dam team and at one point when Mo was on fire, Redd nearly threw a temper tantrum over it as the team came to the bench during a time out(our Bucks, what a team!). In spite of (and because of) the Bucks fireworks, New Jersey hung around, won the 4th quarter and won the game.

Afterward, the feeling was, how'd the Nets do it? They weren't shooting well for much of the game or so it seemed, and they looked out of sync despite Jason Kidd running the show. Kidd hit a clutch three in the 4th, that much I remember. But R.J.? Couldn't have even told you that night how he did. I just checked the boxscore from the game and can report that R.J. had a quiet 19 points in 39.5 minutes to go with 1 reb and 1 asst in all that time. Kidd and Vince Carter were on the court even morethan R.J. -- 40+ mins for both of them. Redd played just as much and had 35 pts, most of it in the 1st half, and his Bucks lost at home.

I came away with the conclusion that Jefferson (and Carter and Kidd, too) had done a lot of little things on the court that escaped notice, none more important than playing consistent, though unspectacular, defense. Also, the Nets knew how to win the game -- the Bucks were 0-4 vs. the Nets last season and it wasn't because the Nets were necessarily outplaying the Bucks. All four of those games were close -- the Bucks just couldn't figure out how to win any of them. The Nets had numerous heroes, from Josh Boone to Bostian Nachbar (who's now playing in Europe or Russia or somewhere). It didn't seem to matter who the culprit was -- New Jersey found a way to win. It was the little things - things the Bucks were not doing and hadn't been doing for years.

R.J.'s not the best of shooters, never has been, though some fans may recall how clutch he was against the Bucks early in his career. Is R.J. a slasher? Well, the book on him coming to Milwaukee was that he was, but that was part of the case made that R.J. and Redd would be "complementary players." R.J.'s slashing was limited at best in New Jersey. What sticks out in my mind about R.J. in his career are jump shots he hit over Big Dog in his rookie year (2002) and more of those in the 2003 playoffs againt the Bucks. It's never a good idea to put too much stock in the highlight dunks that show up on SportsCenter. Regardless, he hasn't been a slasher as a Buck -- in fact it looks like he's lost some hop.

According to 82games.com shooting stats, 77% of Jefferson's shots are jumpshots, a higher percentage than the shots of the alleged jumpshooter, Michael Redd. Redd takes the ball to the basket much more than many fans realize. When the trade was made, I viewed Redd and R.J. as much more "like" players than pieces that fit together. They're hardly complementary.

Jefferson's no great passer or rebounder, either, although it was also said when the trade was made that R.J. would be a good rebounder. Bucks fans should know what a good rebounding small forward looks like: for the majority of team history the Bucks have had SF's who hit the glass more and better than R.J. -- Big Dog, Terry Cummings, Marques Johnson and Bob Dandridge come to mind. Sticking with the more recent past, R.J.'s not the rugged boardsman Big Dog could be when the team needed him to be.

So what does R.J. do on the court? It's those little things that help win games -- playing hardnosed, constant-pressure, ball-denying D; working hard every possession and never giving up on a play (a couple of things Bogut could improve on); doing more than enough (but not too much) with the ball on offense to remain a threat and maintain spacing for his teammates; getting to the line; keeping the ball moving on offense; being a good teammate; and, thinking and believing that his team is going to win. These are all things that rub off on teammates and, if and when they do, it's called leadership. Plus, Jefferson is able to maintain intensity without seeming to get tired, despite the heavy minutes that coach Skiles keeps him on the court. It's a long list.

Up to this point in the season, R.J. is off to his best start ever shooting from 3-point land. Whether that continues or not is anybody's guess, but he's never shot as well as he is now for an entire season. Whether R.J. continue to hit threes or not shouldn't play into how Jefferson is appreciated by fans. The intangibles that R.J. brings, those things that don't always show up in the box score, are much more important to this team, especially as they learn Skiles' defensive system.

If there's one word that best fits the intangible R.J., it wouldn't be "defense" or even "leadership" (though both of those things are part of it). The word is ATTITUDE.

Bucks vs. Sixers: Two wins in a row under their belts and the Bucks tonight face the Sixers, a quick athletic gang who can't shoot straight. Also waiting for Andrew Bogut and the Bucks in Philly is Sixers center Sam Dalembert. Dalembert hasn't been playing so well this season but in his last two games against Bogut and the Bucks, Bogut had more turnovers (7) than points scored (6). Here's the box score from the last one. It ain't pretty. I have a feeling that Bogut is looking for some redemption tonight.