Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Yao Ming

NBA Playoffs: How the West will be won...

J.D. Mo — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:49:00 GMT

Was the West better than the East this season? The records say so, but don't believe all the hype about how tough the West is.

There are six patsies at the bottom of the Western conference who padded those 50-win records nicely all season long -- and let's not forget that the Bucks had more trouble with the T-Wolves than they did with the Mavs, Rockets, Spurs, Nuggets and Jazz. ...

It's the matchups, you say? Chicago and Philly both had losing records against the East but won vs. the West -- that's how they got to .500. The Cavs, Magic, Bobcats, Wizards and our very own Bucks fared better against the West than they did in their own conference. The Celtics beat everybody but the Lakers this season, but did win at a higher percentage in the East. The Hawks won against both conferences, too.

How to cut through the schedule disparity? The road test. There are five teams in the NBA with great road records. The Lakers (29-12); the Cavs, Celtics and Magic (27-14); and the Spurs (26-15). The only other team in the NBA with a winning road record is Chris Paul's Hornets (21-20), who can beat almost anybody, anytime, anywhere as long as CP3 is on the court.

In the West, this means that only one team has a decent shot at beating the Lakers and their home court advantage: Tim Duncan's Spurs, who will be playing without Manu Ginobili in this year's playoffs. The rest? I'd take the Hawks in a 7-game series against them, more often than not. Don't let ESPN make me out to be a liar. How many Pistons games did that network foist upon us this season? 'Nuff said.

Important note: In case you missed it in Dan's morning coffee, COED Magazine yesterday posted its "Dancers of the 2009 NBA Playoffs Showdown". Did you realize that some teams allow women with *** implants on their dance squads? I just assumed there was a rule against that. Apparently not in Atlanta.

Round 1 Previews - The West

Rockets vs. Trailblazers: I feel bad for Yao Ming. He's never been out of Round 1 of the playoffs, losing four times. In fact, the Rockets haven't been out of Round 1 since Stockton and Malone beat them in 1997 for the right to play Jordan's Bulls in the "one for the thumb" NBA Finals. Tracy McGrady is done for the season, but in these 2009 playoffs, Yao's got Ron Artest to help Shane Battier in the dirty tricks defense department -- and this Rockets team is rock solid in the frontcourt. The backcourt is shaky by NBA standards, but this series won't be won on the perimeter by the young, inexperienced Blazers, as good as shooting guard Brandon Roy & Co. can be.

An experience-building series for rookie center Greg Oden and the Blazers. Rockets in 6.

Mavericks vs. Spurs: As I mentioned in the pre-mumble, the Spurs are a 26-15 road team. They also played the first quarter of the season without Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and still managed to start 12-9. The Bucks beat the Spurs in that stretch without Michael Redd, a feat a dozen NBA teams couldn't match, healthy or not. Tim Duncan really does make that much of a difference against most of the league. The Spurs will miss Ginobili, but without him they're still better than the rest of the sub-Laker west. Tony Parker is playing as well as ever, shouldering some of Ginobili's scoring, and he has good help in Roger Mason and Michael Finley. On the Dallas side, Jason Kidd still hasn't proven why it was a good idea to trade Devin Harris for him last season.

Dirk Nowitzki should be able to twist and turn this series back to Dallas for a game 6. The Spurs will end it there. Spurs in 6. Unless, or course, I'm completely wrong here, and Kidd finally shows why trading Devin was a good idea. If that's the case, Mark Cuban, Spurs in 7.

Hornets vs. Nuggets: Here's the upset of Round 1 in the making. Even Lakers fans have realized that Chris Paul finds ways to win NBA games. The referees are so in awe of him, that they're often too dazzled in transition to whistle while he walks. Can you blame them? CP3 is the nightmare Round 1 matchup for George Karl's savior, Chauncey Billups. But then, CP3 is a nightmare for every team.

Did you know that Peja Stojakovic is only 31? It's true, though he plays like he's 35 or 36. Denver's Carmelo Anthony has gotta like this matchup at small forward. James Posey should get a lot of minutes off the bench in relief of Stojakovic in this series. All-Star David West should continue to score at will for the Hornets. And George Karl will find a way to screw this up, right skipper? (Thanks again need4sheed).

Is Chris Paul over George and Carmelo really an upset? It could be a sweep.(Bias warning). Hornets in 6.

Jazz vs. Lakers: Somebody had to be 8th. I thought it was the Mavs' destiny, but the Jazz lost 7 of their last 10 to fall to the Lakers in Round 1. I don't like the Lakers any more than most non-Laker fans. ("LAKERS RULE!!!") But the team has earned its share of respect. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are the best 1-2 punch in the NBA. After the Celtics bullied them in the 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers got tougher. Backup guard Trevor Ariza is killing teams off the bench. Andrew Bynum is back in the paint -- but the Lakers never needed Bynum to win the West. They need Bynum to beat the Cavs, Celtics or Magic in the Finals.

The Jazz are the same Jazz that dragged the Lakers back to Salt Lake City for a game 6 in the 2008 West semifinals - and lost handily. Deron Williams is still an All-Pro; Carlos Boozer is back from his quadriceps injury; AK47, Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver make for a strong bench; Mehmet Okur is still at center ... On paper the Jazz appear to be a good mix of power, great shooting and savvy point guard play, coached by one of the best there is, Jerry Sloan.

But they're not the same Jazz. Things have gone stale in Utah. Lakers won't sweep this, only because Derrick Fisher can't guard Deron. Lakers in 5.

Bogut update: Ankle injury won't sideline center vs. U.S.; Team USA downs Russia; another crazy Bogut-Yao photo

J.D. Mo — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:40:00 GMT

A minor ankle injury Andrew Bogut suffered last week benched the Aussie center in the second half Friday against Argentina, but he's sure to play in the Aussie's next Olympic warm-up Tuesday ayem in Shanghai against Team USA. Contrary to a report on JSOnline yesterday suggesting that the Bucks center was injured in the Argentina game, Bogut tweaked the ankle during his 32-point, 11 reb rampage against Angola Thursday. Aussie basketball reported that Bogut carried the ankle injury into the Argentina game.

Bogut started and played most of the first half against Argentina but missed most of the second half. With Bogut on the court, the Aussie Boomers built a double digit lead up to 19 early in the 3rd Quarter. Without Bogut in the paint, Argentina big forward Luis Scola (Houston Rockets) went off for 28 second half points as the Aussies couldn't close, losing 95-91.

Is it possible Bogut could sit out Tuesday's game against the U.S.? Slightly, but he's almost certain to play. It is much more possible that Australia and Team USA could never meet in these Olympics (Australia is in Group A, the US is in Group B). The way the Olympic tournament is set up, if the Aussies finish 1st or 3rd in group play, the Boomers would not play the US unless they made the gold medal game (assuming Lebron and Kobe et al win Group B) or if Team USA loses one along the way. The Aussies would be the surprise of the tournament if they did that well, though I think they're becoming a great sleeper pick for at least a bronze medal.

But that's looking too far ahead. Tuesday's game for Bogut is a matchup in the paint against the Orlando Magic's 1st team All-NBA center Dwight Howard and a chance to play against his Bucks teammate, Michael Redd. Bogut's a guy that doesn't like to sit out Bucks games even when his nose has been mashed, much less a test against Howard that he'd run to on one leg. The ankle injury is minor. He's playing Tuesday.

Game time Tuesday is 7AM Central Time. ESPN2 has the game live from Shanghai, China. (Shanghai's 13 hours ahead of Milwaukee). For an internet feed go here to myp2p.eu. You'll probably need to download the p2p software to make it happen.

This is the last tune-up game for both teams - Olympic basketball starts this Sunday, Aug. 10. Team USA opens Group B play against China; the Aussies in Group A go against Croatia.

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USA defense, Kobe, stop Russia 89-68: Lebron fouled out with just ten points but Kobe Bryant was relentless on D and on the O, leading all scorers with 19 in what ESPN's Chris Sheridan described as "a defensive struggle." (Sheridan's again got the Olympic basketball beat and that's a good thing - he's one of ESPN's better writers). Andrei Kirilenko (Utah Jazz) led Russia with 18. Carmelo Anthony added 17 and D-Wade 16 off the bench for the US.

This game was closer than the final score indicates, as the Russians continually pushed the US lead toward single digits. The Russians had pulled to within 10 in the 3rd quarter, but the Bucks' Michael Redd drilled two threes and D-Wade got 4 pts to drive the lead back to 20 going into the 4th. Redd, still getting only spot playing time, finished with six points on those two 3-pointers. Redd, however, again missed the ESPN highlight reel:

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Kobe gave himself a new nickname after the Lithuania blowout: The Doberman. This has something to do with defense and Kobe priding himself on being able to shut down the other team's best player. Apparently that didn't apply to Ray Allen, who carved Kobe's Lakers up during the NBA Finals. US coach Mike Krzyzewski locked Detroit's Tayshaun Prince on Kirilenko in the first half.

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Jason Kidd was benched in the 2nd half in favor of Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and that may be a sign of things to come, Sheridan wrote. Or it could just be Sheridan picking up bad ESPN habits for manufacturing controversy. Obviously, Paul is going to get some minutes with Kobe and the starters and it's really not a big deal for him to playing instead of Kidd. The bigger controversy is Kidd starting over CP3 to begin with. Most basketball fans around the world haven't seen the spectacular point guard who finished 2nd in the MVP voting play all that much, and the Olympics are a made-to-order stage for CP3's arrival. Something tells me, however, that Coach K would like to think he's immune to these sorts of pressures. We'll see.

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Another story building seems to be Coach K's growing frustration with center Dwight Howard. He played Howard just 17 minutes against Russia and singled out forward-center Chris Bosh for praise after the game. Bosh isn't a center at all, of course, and therein lies Howard's problem so far in these warm-up games: The US has yet to play a team with a decent center. Howard's likely bored. But he'll see Bogut Tuesday and Yao Ming Sunday in Team USA's first Olympic game. Those two ought to wake him up and give him some company in the paint.

Howard's also not quite at full strength. He fractured his sternum against the Pistons in the playoffs and Tyson Chandler was named first Olympic alternate in case Howard couldn't go. But then Chandler missed time due to an inflamed big toe. Bogut has his "minor" ankle injury to deal with; and now Yao, recovering from a stress fracture in his left foot says he's only "60 to 70 percent", is out of shape and "feels weak."

Spain's Pau Gasol (Lakers) is still recovering from numerous injuries suffered against the Celtics in the NBA Finals, mostly relating to his pride. That leaves Germany's Chris Kaman (Clippers) as the only healthy "true" NBA center in the Olympics.

Bad hair notwithstanding.

Or doing the new 'do for Deutschland.