SB Nation - Michael Redd

Game 25 Recap: Blazers 101, Bucks 108

Dave — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:08:09 -0000

Arrgh. It stinks to have to write about another loss. But you kind of knew when the game went into overtime, let alone double-overtime, that this would be a hard one for the Blazers to pull out. Shorthanded and on the tail end of a road swing against a team that's been waiting isn't a good recipe for extra-period success. Nevertheless the Blazers had their chances but couldn't overcome their mistakes and in the end couldn't pull out the win.

The game started with both teams looking to their big men to provide scoring. LaMarcus Aldridge tore up the Bucks most of the night. Andrew Bogut returned the favor. Both were mobile enough and had enough range to their game that their counterparts couldn't stop them. Centers and power forwards were the order of the day early and the Blazers were fine with that. But when the various guards stepped up to the plate Portland got outplayed. Luke Ridnour did damage in the first half, carrying the torch for Brandon Jennings who didn't attempt a single shot in the opening 24 minutes of the game. Michael Redd chipped in a little bit. On the other side Brandon Roy was quiet and Steve Blake and Andre Miller were noisy in all the wrong ways...and in the clanging of loud rims. Nobody but Martell Webster could hit a three. By now you know what happens to the Blazer offense when nobody hits threes. Portland exited the first period down 5 and it looked like it could be a long night.

In the second period Roy went on a run, which in turn developed some shots for Martell and for Jerryd Bayless. Bayless didn't get many opportunities but he did well with what he had. Martell was still doing well in the first half, so it actually made a decent lineup. It's important to realize that many of these shots were coming off of movement and screens, which seems to be a consistent factor when Portland's offense is going well. The Bucks, meanwhile, suffered from a lack of backcourt scoring. Also Andrew Bogut sat out half the period. That was a bad combination for the Bucks. Portland made an enormous comeback behind their rejuvenated backcourt and turned the 5-point deficit into a 5-point lead at the half.

Apparently Brandon Jennings looked at the stat sheet at the half and realized it is really hard to win Rookie of the Year without attempting any shots whatsoever. Perhaps he looked at LeBron tape from last night's game as well. Whatever the cause, he came out in the third quarter firing. The Blazers had to know it was coming but they're a little shy on point guard defense at the moment. Once Jennings hit a couple of threes the court opened up for anything Milwaukee liked. It was like going through a pound box of See's soft-center candies for them. No matter what they picked, everything was good. Portland started the period by driving inside but after they were rejected at the rim they apparently decided that three-point shooting was the better part of valor. They got a couple of close shots but mostly it was Brick City. Only some well-timed free throws saved the period from total disaster. (You'll recall that giving up copious amounts of charity tosses is in Milwaukee's M.O.) The game's wobble increased again as the Bucks outscored the Blazers by 15. For those counting that means the first quarter one team outscored the other by 5, the second quarter it was by 10, the third quarter was by 15, and the superior team alternated each quarter.

Obviously all of the people who believe in an orderly universe are assuming that Portland outscored the Bucks by 20 in the final period and walked out victorious. You're half right. They outscored the Bucks by 10. Both Roy and Aldridge came alive at the same time to spur the comeback. They even helped each other out a time or two, which is something you don't see often. Milwaukee shared the ball but maybe they should have considered going with Jennings, Bogut, or Ridnour alone as the Blazers couldn't seem to stop any of them. In the process of sharing the ball with each other they also shared it plenty of times with Portland, aiding the comeback's progress. Andre Miller was the third scorer for the Blazers in the period but he was a mixed blessing. It's easy to love the 5 points and especially the 4 assists he posted in the period. It's difficult to forgive two critical turnovers down the stretch when Portland had a chance to score crucial buckets. They were nearly identical, featuring Miller trying to force the tempo by driving against superior numbers on the break when his teammates weren't with him. He got stripped both times, once by Redd and once by Jennings. Both of these occurred in the last two minutes of a then-tight game. The first one the Blazers got right back. Not so the second. But either one could have made the difference and you don't expect that kind of thing from a 14-year veteran point guard. That's not to pin the loss on Miller...it was a group effort. But it's indicative that every time the Blazers felt the win in their sails in this game they hit a rock.

The final 38 seconds of regulation featured a medley of nice offensive plays. Andrew Bogut hit a hook shot to put the Bucks up three then Brandon Roy pulled the defense to him and threaded a sweeeeeet pass to LaMarcus Aldridge for a dunk plus the foul to tie it. After the big man had their curtain call Brandon Jennings made a teardrop runner in the lane to recapture the lead by 2 followed by Brandon Roy hitting a turn-around with 12 seconds left that was so bad that we would have barbequed anyone but Brandon who took it. We maybe would have barbequed him too but we'll never know because it went in. You could almost hear the Bucks' fans (who were quite vocal and sounded amazing all game, by the way) lose their beer and pretzels. The Bucks almost got a tip-in off of a missed Jennings jumper at the buzzer but it was a nanosecond or two too late. Overtime.

The overtime started out well. After Andrew Bogut made a layup followed by a short Roy jumper the Blazers fed a running Aldridge thrice. It was like three punches to Milwaukee's ribs. It looked like they could be headed for the exit. Unfortunately the Blazers never scored again after the third conversion. Perhaps they relaxed. Perhaps they were fatigued. Certainly we began to see signs of the perimeter defense breaking down as the Milwaukee smalls scored repeatedly, often times after a screen left them either free or mismatched.

There was a semi-controversial play near the end of the overtime wherein the officials invoked instant replay review for a second time in the game, the first having been the shot at the end of regulation. Milwaukee missed a shot and there was a scrum for the rebound. LaMarcus Aldridge was touching the ball but hadn't fully controlled it yet when two Bucks tried to tip it away from behind. They succeed and the ball went out of bounds along the baseline. The officials initially awarded the ball to the Blazers but the video review would show that LaMarcus' hand was the last to touch it (by about the same nanosecond as before) so they reversed their call. Technically they were correct in their determination. Full marks there. But this does highlight that even instant replay isn't foolproof because technical correctness sometimes breaks precedent. Every other call in the game is made in real-time. And made in real time that call always goes against the team whose players come from behind to tip. Had this been any time but the last, critical moments of the game that would have been Portland's ball. As it was, the call was made differently because it was reviewed. This begs the question: is technical correctness really correct or is it consistency?

Anyway, Brandon Jennings made a final shot to end the overtime and we were knotted again.

There's not much to say about the second OT except that the Blazers looked even more tired. Jumpers fell well short. Brandon Roy drove expecting to get fouled and threw up the shot as an afterthought. In overtime games you have to get the shot in and expect the foul to be called as an afterthought. Needless to say, he came away with neither. Meanwhile the perimeter defense got even worse as switches on screens became comical. Jennings, Ridnour, and guard Carlos Delfino scored repeatedly. Portland did not. End of game.

The Blazers didn't hit enough jumpers and didn't throw a wide enough defensive net to win in this game and that's pretty much the story. They're tired. They're banged up. They need to go home and hope to recover with a little rest and a friendly crowd.

Click through for the rest...

Individual Observations

These are going to be quite brief tonight.

Brandon Roy scored copiously but less than efficiently again, shooting only 8-24 to get his 23 points. Part of it is him, part of it is that his backcourt mates are playing like doo-doo right now. He was streaky, pouring on the points when needed and hitting the critical shot. But the confidence just isn't there. 8 rebounds and 6 assists but also 4 turnovers.

Blake and Miller combined for 5-22 shooting, 8 assists, and 6 turnovers. That was ouchy.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a whale of a game with 31 points and 11 rebounds. The Bucks had a hard time handling him.

Poor Joel Przybilla gets used so badly by his backcourt on defense. He never gets to worry about just his own guy. Not that being able to worry about Bogut would have allowed him to stop Bogut, but I do feel bad that Joel has to do everyone else's laundry as well as his own. He managed 10 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Both Martell Webster and Steve Blake seemed to take some advice we offered last night and stepped in for a few shots instead of just bombing. It worked OK for Steve. He was 1-7 on his threes but 2-3 on the shorter shots. Martell hit 3-6 threes, 3-8 of the remainder. Keep at it.

Jerryd Bayless played 18 minutes and scored 9 points. His best moment came when he was set up on the left sideline while Roy drove the lane, Brandon pitched him the ball, and Jerryd drained the three. That's something Blazer guards playing with Roy need to do. Jerryd nodded like he knew it and Roy high-fived him afterwards. 18 minutes is better than the 8 he got last night. We're going to talk more about Jerryd's court situation tomorrow so I'll leave it at that.

Final Thoughts

This was a rough stretch. You have pretty much GOT to get these two upcoming home games now. Remember though that we're trying to get through December without totally getting ruined. It may not be pretty but it doesn't have to be. It just can't be fatal. And things are seldom fatal in December anyway.

Boxscore

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See your Jersey Contest scores here and enter Tuesday's game form here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Orlando Magic 100, Milwaukee Bucks 98

Ben Q Rock — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:50:38 -0000

by Morry Gash - AP

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Dwight Howard and Vince Carter, who scored 25 points apiece, led the Orlando Magic to a 100-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in a game in which Orlando trailed by as many as 17 in the second half. Rashard Lewis scored the winning bucket, a bank shot off the dribble after driving to his right, with 44.7 seconds left to punctuate a quietly effective night for him. The Bucks had plenty of time to respond to Lewis' bucket, and got a wide-open, three-point look for Ersan Ilyasova at the top of the arc, but it fell well short. Luke Ridnour corralled the long rebound and--apparently going for a two-for-one opportunity--put up a wild jumper almost immediately, but was well off the mark. The Magic needed to shoot, and Carter did. Howard tipped the miss off the glass, and Matt Barnes, inserted for defense on the Bucks' final possession, secured the loose ball to preserve the victory. It was, in short, a wild finish to an entertaining game that saw banner performances from several participants.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	88	113.2	55.8%	18.2	31.0	19.2
Bucks	85	115.4	47.2%	14.4	28.8	7.1
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Some nights, it's not your night. It's a sports cliche that's become cliched because it is, well, true. And when the Magic entered the Bradley Center locker room trailing by a score of 56-47, they might have felt that way. The Bucks shot an absurd 7-of-8 on three-pointers in the first half, and reserve forward Hakim Warrick roasted whomever guarded him inside with a variety of quick moves off the dribble; never before has Magic backup center Marcin Gortat, a stout defender, looked so overmatched. There's only so much a defense can do when it forces the opposition to take contested jumpers, and those jumpers wind up going in. The Bucks, without Andrew Bogut manning the pivot, had no inside game to speak of apart from Warrick's explosive drives. Their jump-shots, some of them wide-open, dropped and dropped and dropped all night, but particularly in the first half. Ridnour made all manner of runners and floaters in the lane, many times after absorbing contact but not earning the benefit of the whistle. The Bucks very much take on the demeanor of their head coach, Scott Skiles: they scrapped, fought hard, never gave up... however you want to put it. The point is they played impressively tonight, missing two of their best players (Bogut and Michael Redd), on the second night of a back-to-back, against the defending Eastern Conference champions. I can't say enough good things about them.

But the Magic were simply better in the second half, and they earned this win. Coach Stan Van Gundy was right when he told the press that the Magic's poor starts in the each of the last two games are causes for concern, but it's hard not to come away impressed with their effort in the second half. Howard avoided foul trouble the entire game and looked to take his D to another gear after intermission, recording all 4 of his blocks in the final 24 minutes, including 2 on 1 possession, and another late in the game when isolated against Bucks rookie point guard Brandon Jennings, who attempted to shoot a jumper over the 6'11" center, to no avail. That the Bucks converted a higher percentage of their three-pointers (57.9%) than their two-pointers (36.6%) is no surprise, given Howard's deterring presence in the lane.

Howard's offense, though, was even more impressive. 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, with only one dunk and three layups. Everything else? Rolling hooks, from either side of the lane, with either hand, and soft touch. Put-backs. He looked like a refined offensive player, teasing impatient Magic fans with glimpses of an elite post game. Alas, tonight's showing is probably the exception to the rule as far as offense is concerned... but the Magic will, quite obviously, take the points any way they can get 'em.

Howard's emergence overshadowed a gutty performance by Carter, who needed 4 stitches to close a gash in his mouth sustained when Charlie Bell inadvertently caught him with an elbow. True to form, Carter proceeded to challenge Bell at every opportunity once he returned, and did so with excellent results. He, like, Howard, finished with 25 points, as I mentioned. He continued to attack the basket, as he's done more often in recent weeks, which can only be a good thing. He missed a few inside looks he should have made, which has been a season-long trend, but the point is he rarely settled for long jumpers. Progress.

The superstars' scoring inside opened the floor up for Lewis, who responded with his best game of the season. He sank 2 of his 3 three-point looks, but also looked to score from mid-range and at the basket; he was not a standstill shooter today. His 9 boards (4 offensive) made him the Magic's second-leading rebounder. A quiet, steady, encouraging game for Lewis, who had struggled with his shot earlier this year as he shakes the cobwebs that gathered during his suspension.

And how about Brandon Bass tonight? Playing for the first time in 10 days, Bass came on and showed why the Magic made him their top free-agency target this summer. In a shade under 9 minutes, Bass scored 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting, grabbed 4 rebounds (2 at either end of the floor), and blocked a shot. His D, which was one of the factors that knocked him out of the rotation lately, still needs work, as he let Warrick blow by him on the left baseline for a monstrous jam... which he missed, luckily enough. But 4 rebounds in 8 minutes, for a power forward who came into the game averaging just over 3 in 21 minutes per game, is tremendous, and the sign of someone who wants his job back. He outplayed Ryan Anderson (2 points and 2 assists in 7 minutes) tonight and showed that he can be useful against certain kinds of teams.

I've made a lot of this recap sound rosy, which is bound to happen when the Magic overcome a big deficit to win late. Still, there are several causes for concern. Defense, sure; Milwaukee shouldn't be able to score 115 points per 100 possessions on anyone, at least not with Redd and Bogut on the sideline. They made tough jumpers a lot of the night, which they had to do given their personnel. But the Magic should be worried that Ilyasova managed to grab 16 rebounds against them, especially 7 on offense. He's a fine player, but against great rebounders like Howard and Gortat, he should not be able to get free. Turnovers were also a problem for Orlando. Point guard Jason Williams played 34 minutes without committing any, against 10 assists, which is great to see. But Howard and Carter committed 9 themselves, of the Magic's 18 total. It's true that Milwaukee tends to force a lot of turnovers, so some of that is to be expected. However, under no reasonable circumstances should the Magic give the ball away once every five times down the court. That sort of offense won't get it done against the NBA's better teams.

The Magic wrap up this four-game, five-night, four-city stretch of their schedule tomorrow evening in New York. If they can hold off the fast-paced Knicks for their 8th win in 9 tries, they'll wind up turning a lot of heads. But they can't look ahead to hypothetical results, lest they get run off the floor in the first half, as they almost were tonight in Milwaukee and Thanksgiving night in Atlanta.

Recap: Bucks 103, Grizzlies 98

Frank Madden — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:59:14 -0000

More photos » by Nikki Boertman - AP

Pass it, Chuck.

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Box Score

An underrated part about watching your team play without two of its best players? Low expectations.

Despite the three game win streak the Grizzlies brought to the FedEx Forum Saturday night, there's no getting around the fact that they're a 4-8 team destined for nothing in particular this year. But a Bucks team without Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd? How much smoke and how many mirrors does Scott Skiles have anyway?

Enough apparently. After nearly getting their doors blown off in the first six minutes, the rag-tag Bucks regrouped, hung around for a couple quarters and then got enough shots and stops in the final quarter to dispatch the Grizzlies in front of a few hundred people in Memphis. Nothing particularly pretty, good ball movement not withstanding. Certainly not the kind of game you'll be rewatching on DVR. But any win without Redd, Bogut and Mbah a Moute feels damn good: 8-3, people.

Of the guys who were in uniform, Brandon Jennings delivered the requisite flash with 24 of his 26 in the second half, but even more important were the role players doing all the little things. Luke Ridnour was balling (13 pts, 12 dimes), Ersan Ilyasova was scrapping (18/12), Charlie Bell was scoring (19 on 5/11 threes), and Kurt Thomas (8/10) was doing everything else. Rudy Gay had the Sportscenter line (24/10) for the Grizz, but Memphis never seemed too interested in exploiting their strength advantage down low. Marc Gasol (14/14) and Zach Randolph (18/6) scored when they got the ball, but the Grizzlies were largely unable to take advantage of their size advantage down low.

Luke Ridnour. I didn't expect Bogut's absence to make the Bucks' backup PG significantly more important, but in a roundabout way that's what we've seen the past two nights. With no semblance of a post game, the Bucks are playing Ridnour and Jennings with increased frequency--not only does it improve the Bucks' perimeter shooting and ball movement, but it allows Jennings to save some energy by not having to handle the ball quite so much.

But tonight it wasn't just Ridnour's work as Jennings' sidekick that helped steer the Bucks to a third straight victory. He got the call early when Jennings & company looked a bit off in the opening minutes, and his six points and five dimes in the second quarter got the Bucks back to within five at the break. And on the "things we don't see from Luke Ridnour" front, I'll point out that he both grabbed a rebound in the lane (with, you know, other people around) and finished in the paint from a halfcourt set (again, with other people around). Crazy.

Ersan Ilyasova. It took Scott Skiles three tries, but he seems to have found his starting power forward. Ilyasova's impact was unfortunately a bit delayed tonight, as a second foul just 3:38 into the game sent him to the bench and helped trigger a 10-0 Memphis run. Kind of fitting for the guy with the highest +/- on the team, right? He was back in the second quarter, though, and eight points helped halve the Grizzly lead by halftime. And he kept going: rebounding, getting away with just enough physicality on defense, moving the ball on offense, and dropping in buckets whenever the Bucks seemed to need one. Probably my fave sequence of Ilyasova plays came with five minutes left in the game. First he buried a three to break an 85-all deadlock, then D'ed up Rudy Gay on consecutive possessions, the second causing a turnover that led to a Ridnour lay-up. Little things.

Brandon Jennings. If you're one of those people desperate to compare Jennings to Allen Iverson, then this is a good game to highlight. It's no secret the kid is being asked to be a scorer right now, so there's more dribbling and shooting right now than you might otherwise prefer. Only two assists, but just one turnover as well.

What's most impressive is how hard it is to shut him down for 48 minutes. An early pair of free throws not withstanding, Jennings didn't score a point in the first half, but then had the balls to take (and make) a contested wing 20 footer to start the third. And he kept it going, with 10 more in the third and another dozen in the final quarter. Even with all his success shooting the ball from distance, he's also mixing in enough drives to the hoop to keep defenses honest, which helps on nights like this when the threeball isn't falling (1/6). Lots of Grizzly fouls in the final minute helped pad his scoring numbers, but it says a lot about how far Jennings has come that 26 points on 18 shots only seems like a so-so night for him.

Three Numbers

21-18. The Grizz get to the line a fair bit, which combined with a Bogut-less Bucks squad seemed like a recipe for uncontested 15-footers. Besides, all I could remember from a year ago was Gasol beasting the Bucks and getting to the free throw line 23 times in two games. Didn't happen tonight (Gasol was just 2/4), and the Grizz were only +3 in freebies overall--in part because Memphis didn't force the issue on the block, instead settling for jumpers much of the night.

76%. Speaking of which, Gasol (6/8) and Randolph (7/9) made 76% of their shots tonight--so remind me why they only got a combined 17 shots? I know Thomas worked hard to keep Gasol from getting good position, and Ilyasova and Warrick worked to front Randolph whenever possible. But they gotta do better.

19. Chaz Bell has been shooting pretty well from deep this year (40%), he just hasn't been, you know, shooting. Volume wasn't a problem tonight, though, as Bell made 5/11 triples--almost all of them coming off wide-open looks from the corner--and had his first double-figure scoring effort in five games.

Three Good

Roadies. Four games, two wins on the road so far. And no, I don't particularly care those two came against Minny and Memphis. Wins are wins, people. And the Bucks are somehow still in first place in the Central.

Old Dudes. Kurt Thomas and Charlie Bell, I'm talking about you. Bell's scoring exploits have already been mentioned, but the even older Thomas' contribution shouldn't be understated.

What does KT do? Just little stuff. Deflecting a pass in the P&R, leading to a steal. Dumping it off to a cutting Ilyasova for a jumper in the lane. Setting huge picks and dropping in 15-footers. While Gadzuric has used his energy well at times this season, Thomas' steadying influence was infinitely more useful against a big Grizzly front line. Mostly, he kept Gasol from getting deep position and didn't foul him. Thankfully, the Grizzlies seemed to forget about their grizzly-looking man, too.

Keep it moving. How limited are the Bucks' offensive options in the halfcourt right now? They actually run plays for Carlos Delfino. Really.

Aside from the occasional post look to Hakim Warrick, the Bucks pretty much just run high P&R for Jennings and hope he can create enough havoc to get someone an open shot. Sometimes that's Jennings, but a lot of times it's someone two or three passes later--like Bell, who spent much of the night setting up shop in the corner. The good news is that everyone seems to understand the benefits of ball movement.

One Bad

Gadz and Delfino. Twenty minutes and eight fouls between them. The good news is that Gadzuric's foul problems meant Skiles had an excuse to sub him out rather quickly, while Delfino just continues to be a non-factor. As nice as it is to have Mbah a Moute coming off the bench, I'm going to go ahead and recommend he join Ilyasova in the starting lineup once his foot is healed up.

Here we go again? Bogut to miss 2-4 weeks

Frank Madden — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:04:22 -0000

More photos » by Gary Dineen - NBAE/Getty Images

Sadly, we won't be seeing this for a while.

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Just when it was starting to be fun to be a Bucks fan, this happens. Figures, right?

The Bucks announced today that Andrew Bogut will miss up to a month thanks to the so-called "left leg strain and contusion" he suffered in the waning minutes of last night's win over New Jersey. Bogut suffered the injury on a loose ball under the Nets' basket, playing one more possession before walking to the locker room under his own power. It was hoped the injury would be a minor one, but an MRI today said otherwise.

As always seems to be the case when Bogut gets injured, the Bucks' description isn't particularly informative--kind of like the "leg sprain" Bogut suffered in October 2006 (His whole leg was sprained? What does that even mean?) or the misdiagnosed back injury that ended his season a year ago. As you might remember, Bogut took less than a month to recover from his leg sprain, which was initially thought to shelve him for 6-8 weeks. I'm not sure how similar this injury is, but hopefully he again beats expectations and is back in a week or two (and yes, I'm blocking out what happened last year, when the exact opposite happened with his back injury...happy thoughts, happy thoughts).

Bogut's injury comes just as Michael Redd is getting healthy, so if you were looking for an experiment to demonstrate the relative values of each guy, now you'll get it. In Bogut's stead you can obviously expect to see more of Dan Gadzuric and Kurt Thomas, and Francisco Elson might even make an appearance. But after a strong start to the season, Gadzuric hasn't played more than nine minutes in any of the Bucks' last four games, and Thomas hasn't played in three of the Bucks' last five (maxing out at six minutes). The Bucks will probably be going small more regularly as well, so don't be surprised to see Ersan Ilyasova getting more minutes in the pivot. How well the Bucks can hold the fort without Bogut is unclear (see our poll), but it will clearly have a lot to do with Brandon Jennings' ability to continue shouldering the scoring load. All we can say is this: feel better, Drew.

Poll

Andrew Bogut is out...what now?

In Brandon we trust.

357 votes

And thus begins the Bucks' annual downward spiral.

232 votes

589 votes | Poll has closed

Redd targeting Friday return, forward spots due for a change?

Frank Madden — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:56:58 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Ilyasova's willingness to mix it up could earn him a starting spot

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From the JS comes news that Michael Redd is hoping to be back in uniform for Friday night's matchup with the Bobcats. Redd has out with a strained left patella tendon since suffering the injury October 31 in the Bucks' home opener, and will have a fitness test on Thursday.

"I was just running up and down, just making sure I can cut and run and sprint a little bit. I'm going to try to give it a go Thursday in practice. They're throwing me to the wolves Thursday."

As you may recall, we discussed the somewhat delicate issue of Redd's impact on the team's style last week. Since then the Bucks have had high-scoring contests against the Warriors and Mavs, but I'm still not going to go so far as to suggest the Bucks can't use Redd's scoring ability. It may be harder to get Andrew Bogut all the touches he deserves, but as of now Jennings is the only perimeter player who's a threat to opposing defenses, and over the long haul it still seems like the Bucks will need Redd contributing in some capacity if they want to be serious about making the playoffs. Considering Redd is next to impossible to trade right now, the only question is then how, not whether, Scott Skiles uses him when he's healthy.

Much of that comes down to the glaring limitations of the Bucks' other SG options. Charlie Bell's defensive intensity is admirable and he's hitting 43% from deep, but his overall efficiency is middling at best (.520 TS%) and he doesn't give you any volume scoring either. It's been a similar story for Carlos Delfino, except he's not even making a respectable percentage from deep (.341/.304) and has yet to break double figures despite starting six games at small forward. Meanwhile, Jodie Meeks has looked solid in most aspects of the game except for his jump shot, which is rather ironic considering that's supposed to be his meal ticket. I can only assume the shooting will come around--we saw how lights out he can be against the Knicks--but for now he's not quite there. Luke Ridnour has also seen extensive action at the two lately and done about as well as you could expect, but that's not setting the bar that high. Long-term he's a backup PG, end of story.

As Jeremy pointed out yesterday, none of those guys can draw fouls either, which is one of those critical parts of the game that often gets overlooked. It's a different story with Redd, who for all his reputation as a shooter is really more of a scorer at this point than anything else (making wide open threes seems to have become a particular weakness).

Lineup Shuffle?

Gardner also reported today that Delfino's poor play might be due to a lingering stomach illness that caused him to miss the Golden State contest. He was due to see a specialist on Tuesday, so hopefully he can get healthy and contribute more consistently, because thus far he's been a big disappointment. Fortunately Luc Mbah a Moute has been playing his best ball of the season lately, so there won't be any dropoff if Delfino is sidelined for some period. Redd can also slide over to the three spot for stretches if the Bucks want to go small with Bell, Meeks or Ridnour at guard.

The other open question in the lineup is the PF spot, where Ersan Ilyasova has been soundly outperforming Hakim Warrick over the last four games. The Turk held his own against Dirk and co., working hard on defense in addition to scoring a season-high 19 on 13 shots to go with 12 boards. Ilyasova's season numbers are still modest, but he's scoring efficiently (.559 TS%), easily leading the team in rebound rate (18.8%), and a clearly better defender to boot. In contrast, Warrick has only averaged 18 mpg and hasn't broken double-digits in the last four games, while often struggling defensively and on the boards. I mentioned last week that it probably made sense to put Warrick back into a sixth man role if Redd was again starting, but now Ilyasova's earned the starting spot on his own merits. Via Gardner:

"Ersan certainly deserves all the playing time he is getting," Skiles said after the team's practice Tuesday. "He's playing very good defense.

"He's shooting the ball when he's open, knocking down shots. He's rebounding."

Asked if he was contemplating a change in the lineup for Wednesday's home game against New Jersey, Skiles said, "We might."

I've been kind of expecting this to happen ever since Ilyasova was signed this summer, if only because his defensive abilities make him a more versatile matchup against most starting PFs. He might not be a prototype long-term guy for the position, but he certainly has the skillset to be an excellent complementary player who can start if needed. That's especially true if Mbah a Moute slides into the starting SF spot, since Ilyasova's perimeter shooting ability compensates for Mbah a Moute's deficiencies in that regard.

Jennings named Player of the Week

Frank Madden — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:00:47 -0000

Brandon Jennings only played twice last week, but damn, he made the most of it. Jennings averaged a Playstation-like 43.5 ppg, 7.0 apg and 4.5 rpg in wins over the Nuggets and Warriors, good enough to snag Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors. And how about these shooting splits: .604/.900(!)/.875.

Unfortunately you can't vote for Jennings on the regular all-star ballot, but you can write him in here. Andrew Bogut, Michael Redd and Hakim Warrick are on the regular ballot for your consideration. Jennings' omission looks pretty silly now, but it's generally tough for rookies to get on the ballot, seeing as it's determined by members of the media in October. At that point it wasn't even a given Jennings would be starting, much less dropping double-nickels.

Mavericks Vs Bucks: Game 11 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:01:25 -0000

Mavericks vs Bucks coverage

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: Kidd continues to be one of the most consistent players on the team, while this is not surprising it is definitely a plus. Kidd's consistency on the defensive end will be needed tonight, as Kidd's counterpart in Milwaukee went off for a rookie club record 55 point showing Saturday night.

vs.

Brandon Jennings: Jennings is not your average rookie, it appears there is no limit to this kids talent. He comes in averaging nearly 26 points per contest, and one must assume that with Michael Redd sidelined that his point totals would only increase. Keeping Jennings in check will be job one for the Mavs tonight.

Edge: Bucks

Shooting Guard

Rodrigue Beaubois: Roddy B continues to impress, yesterday in Detroit the Mavs rookie dropped in 14 points and 4 assists and best of all ZERO turnovers. As long as he continues to put in performances like this one, the Mavs coaching staff is going to have a difficult time keeping him out of the line up.

vs.

Charlie Bell: As a starter there is not much good to say about Charlie Bell, and lets be honest if not for the injury to Michael Redd, Charlie Bell and his 9.9 per game Efficiency rating would not be getting extensive minutes.

Edge: Mavericks

Forward

Shawn Marion: Marion has yet to have a big scoring game for the Mavs, but his defense has been everything we could have hoped for. As soon as he stops missing those close to the basket shots things will turn around quickly. I would like to see him attack the basket a little more, if for no other reason than to get himself to the line more than once a game.

vs.

Luc Mbah a Moute: With a +/- of +6 and an efficiency of 7.6 per game, this guy by no means should be a starter in the NBA. The Bucks however continue to play well with 3 of their 5 starters being sub par backups.

Edge: Mavericks

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk is well on his way towards another run at MVP, and he has done this while struggling from the field. I feel sorry for whomever he puts it all together against.

vs.

Hakim Warrick: The third of three Bucks starters who should not be starters, will have his hands full tonight, and nothing to suggest that the Mavericks cannot win this battle.

Edge: Mavericks

Center

Drew Gooden: Where have you been all year? Finally against the Pistons, The guy the Mavericks thought they were getting in free agency this year made his first appearance. Gooden dropped in 11 points and 11 rebounds in his first start of the year, is this a sign of things to come? We can only hope so.

vs.

Andrew Bogut: As far as efficiency goes there are only two centers in the East better than Bogut (Dwight Howard, and David Lee). Bogut comes in averaging 16 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest, He and Brandon Jennings are the Bucks primary people, Gooden and the Mavs must keep Bogut quiet and force the Rookie to try to do it all by himself.

Edge: Bucks

Injuries/Suspensions

Milwaukee Bucks

OUT - Michael Redd

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Josh Howard

OUT - Erick Dampier

Prediction: This has all the makings of a let down game for the Mavs. The deciding factor to this game will be the play of each teams bench. The Mavs have the clear advantage as far as bench play, but there 2nd game of a back to back play has been very suspect.

Mavericks - 92

Bucks - 95

Redd targeting return next week

Frank Madden — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:40:06 -0000

Charles Gardner and Jim Paschke reported after today's practice that while Michael Redd will again be in street clothes tomorrow against Golden State, he is targeting a return sometime next week. The Bucks continue their homestand through next Friday with games on Monday against the Mavs, Wednesday against the Nets and Friday against Charlotte. Until then, Redd will continue to rehab the patella tendon in his left knee, which he strained in the Bucks' home opener against the Pistons on October 31. Via Gardner:

Redd indicated he was able to do some running and jumping but he had not yet gone through a practice session with teammates. "I'm doing a lot more dynamic movements, testing it and putting it in positions it would be if I was playing," the Bucks veteran said.

The elephant in the room: how will Redd's return impact a Bucks team that has started firing on all cylinders since he went down?

Let's start with the obvious. I had Bogut pegged as the Bucks' most important/valuable/irreplaceable player before the season started, and Jennings' incredible start has allowed him to leapfrog Redd in that category as well. Part of that stems from Jennings' and Bogut's ability to impact the game in multiple ways, and part of it is a positional thing--center and point guard are simply much more important positions than off guard.

That said, I certainly won't go so far as to say the Bucks are a better team without Redd. As much as people underestimated the Bucks' personnel coming into the season, this is still a team that lacks reliable scorers and all the numbers back that up: 26th in scoring efficiency, 25th in eFG%, and 29th in FT/FG. Redd's ability to create his own shot and get to the line is exactly the kind of thing that could help the team play at an even higher level, even if it means some sacrifice on the defensive end (where the Bucks still rank 1st in efficiency).

The challenge for Scott Skiles is in making sure that Redd's return doesn't starve Bogut and Jennings of their touches. It's probably less of a concern with Jennings, who will still be able to pick his spots as the guy who brings the ball up the court every possession. The bigger concern is whether Redd's return stifles Bogut's touches. The big man has had 14 or 15 fga in each of the the past four games and he's responded by averaging 19.5 ppg while converting at a 60% clip. Heck, he's even made nine straight free throws over the past two games. But beyond his high efficiency, Bogut is also the Bucks' only low post threat, and he's even been commanding double teams at times. That kind of thing makes the game easier for everyone--Redd and Jennings included. And while I certainly wouldn't blame Redd for Bogut's lack of scoring against Philly and Detroit, there's obviously a tradeoff involved between getting each guy his touches.

For some time, the consensus on Redd is that he'd probably be best as the third banana on a good team. The consensus has also been that we probably wouldn't see that happen in Milwaukee. Could it be changing? Quite possibly. It's tough to extrapolate the success of six games against mostly mediocre competition over a full 82-game season, especially given how many injuries the Bucks seem to sustain each year. But the third banana part seems pretty real right now.

You might reasonably even suggest that the Bucks bring Redd off the bench a la Manu Ginobili in an attempt to better balance the firepower between the first and second units. We could certainly see it as Redd works his way back from his injury--he also came off the bench in his first game following his ankle injury last November. But it's still a bit of a leap to see Skiles go that route on a permanent basis, even if Redd could still get 30-33 minutes in a super sixth man role.

There are of course other ways of making the situation work, and the pressure is on Skiles as much as anyone to figure out the best route. For one he can focus on staggering his starters' minutes throughout the game, so that you minimize the amount of time both Redd and Bogut are resting. We saw that in the first half of the opener, when Skiles gave Redd a short rest midway through the first and then brought him back when Bogut sat down with a minute left in the period. Against Denver the Bucks played a combined seven minutes where neither Bogut nor Jennings was on the court, and going forward it's those kinds of situations I'd prefer to avoid.

Skiles could also move Hakim Warrick back to the bench and let Ersan Ilyasova take over as the starting PF, which shouldn't ruffle too many feathers. Kurt Thomas is still around as well, but he seems to have fallen out of favor with Warrick and Ilyasova holding down the PF spot and Gadzuric playing effectively at backup center. Warrick has plenty of experience as a sixth man and was largely expected to be the second unit's offensive sparkplug before Redd's injury helped convince Skiles to bump him into the starting five. Warrick may not be an elite scorer by any stretch of the imagination, but he gets to the line and you can at least run plays for him. That alone makes him pretty unique on the current roster.

Ilyasova finding his groove

Frank Madden — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:35:58 -0000

What's big, pale, and sells tons of PCs in Turkey? (h/t oshmeehan!)

Given all the attention justifiably focused on Brandon Jennings these days, it's easy to overlook all the other Bucks stepping up their games. Andrew Bogut? OK, the big fella is kind of tough to miss, especially when his November averages are 19.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg, and 2.3 bpg on .596/.714 (!) shooting. But to most the Bucks look more or less like a two-man team right now, with the main questions being how long they can keep it up and how Michael Redd's theoretical return might change the equation.

The truth of course is that Jennings and Bogut are getting plenty of help, though it might not be coming in ways that stand out on Sportscenter (ie scoring points). Among those coming around: Ersan Ilyasova. While he's still looking ragged at times with his shot selection and handle, the Turk has been hitting the glass relentlessly, notching a team-leading 18.2% rebound rate and scoring high marks for scraptasticness and sticktuitiveness. That's also translated into some solid traditional stats as well, as Ilyasova's per-40 numbers currently stand at 18.3 ppg and 13.3 rpg.

Should we be surprised? Not really. Hitting threes, fighting for rebounds, and doing the little things were exactly what made Ilyasova a hot commodity in Europe over the past two seasons. And while there were some rough moments in the preseason and the first couple games--an airballed three in the waning seconds in Chicago come to mind--he's getting closer to finding the necessary balance between aggression and control. First came 13 rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes against the Knicks, followed by 17 points on eight shots, eight boards and two blocks against the Nuggets. His shooting splits (.415/.375/.889) still aren't anything to write home about, but he's doing enough damage from deep to get his true shooting percentage up to a respectable 53.4%.

Beyond the individual numbers, the Bucks are also utterly destroying opponents with Ilyasova on the court, though these figures admittedly are biased by the big minutes he got against New York. On a per 100 possessons basis, the Bucks are outscoring opponents by 21.2 pts, compared to a -3.8 pts with Ilyasova on the bench. Those numbers are just downright silly and won't last, but it provides some insight into just how well Ilyasova's re-adapted to the NBA game.

On defense, he's a typical Buck--all hustle, scrappiness and positioning, which makes up for a lack of top-shelf athleticism. He's been fouling a lot (3.2 pg in just under 18 mpg) but some of that is a byproduct of aggressive help defense and getting on the business end of plenty of block/charge calls. He's already taken a bunch of charges in the first six games (is there an up-to-date tracker of this?), though his willingness to get mowed over has also earned him more than is share of blocking fouls. Either way, I'm sure Bogut is proud.

Offensively, he's done almost all his damage off catch-and-shoot and putbacks, while also showing good court awareness and the ability to find the open man (his assist rate is in the top third of both PFs and SFs). The threat of his jumper should begin to open up more opportunities to fake the shot and put it on the floor, but so far he's looked a bit out-of-control in those situations. His range has also proven a nice complement to the mid-range, slashing style of Hakim Warrick, who got the early hook from Skiles against the Knicks for some lax perimeter defense on Danilo Gallinari.

Going into the season I had hoped that Ilyasova could win the starting PF spot, the thinking being that Warrick could then provide a scoring punch off the bench while Ilyasova lent his perimeter shooting and work rate to the starting five. But it was clear from the preseason that Ilyasova wasn't quite ready yet, and it's hard to argue with Skiles' forward rotation given how well the team has been playing. I'm not expecting Skiles to change things up while the formula is working, but I've been disappointed by Delfino's start and we may very well see an Ilyasova/Mbah a Moute forward line at some point. Fortunately, the Bucks have time. Ilyasova's three-year deal will keep him in Milwaukee through at least 2012, and at just over $7 million total for that span, it looks like he's going to be a bargain.

Game Thread 3: Bucks/Bulls

Alex Boeder — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:34:00 -0000

Bucks vs Bulls coverage

No más. Insert sad face.

1-1 (0-1 road)		1-2 (1-0 home)
	vs.
November 3, 2009 - 7:30 PM CT
United Center
Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: FS Wisconsin HD
Probable starters:
Brandon Jennings	PG	Derrick Rose
Charlie Bell	SG	John Salmons
Carlos Delfino	SF	Luol Deng
Kurt Thomas	PF	Taj Gibson
Andrew Bogut	C	Joakim Noah
97.6 (28th)	Off	99.0 (27th)
98.7 (6th)	Def	109.7 (19th)
93.2 (15th)	Pace	90.6 (25th)

Three Points

City of win. Chicago opened the season in high fashion by knocking out the Spurs 92-85. And they did so while misfiring into a 3-16 night from deep; the result was not a fluke. But the Bulls have since lost two games in a row, first in Boston (beating San Antonio and Boston is too much for most) and then Miami on Sunday. Off to a 1-0 start at the United Center, where Chicago went 28-13 last season, they are happy to be home.
Redd: shoot. Maybe he didn't show it in his first 62 minutes (8 for 25 from the field), and maybe he can't quite like he used to. But shooting guard Michael Redd can shoot. I don't know if anyone else can. Maybe Carlos Delfino or Ersan Ilyasova? That's an optimistic outlook. Maybe they can shoot for players who are under 40.0 % from the field in their NBA careers. Maybe Jodie Meeks, if he actually plays? I like Charlie Bell, but he is starting at shooting guard, team. Two games in, the Bucks are second to last in the league shooting the ball, at 40.5 %. And now, Redd exits. Still in spite of all this unfortunate-ness, I:
Can't help but smiling. About this Brandon Jennings era. A real kick. Usually, flirting with a triple-double in your first NBA game would seem a mighty difficult act to follow. This is unusual. Twenty year-old rookie point guards are supposed to be threshold tests for pain. Though you might recall watching another nifty 20 year-old point guard take to an NBA court for the first time. Last year, right around this time, in the same place, Derrick Rose debuted and started in a win over the Bucks. While he's not off to an overwhelming start this season, Rose is already an elite player, as evidenced by many in last season's playoff series against Boston. These teams faced off a couple times in the preseason, but Rose didn't play. So this is it. Rose is quick like Jennings, but he's also very strong, so this will be quite a task. Here's to the first meeting of many between these Central Division point guards. Let the curtains open on Number 3, Act 3. And I can't help but smiling.

Coverage

Blog a Bull / By The Horns / Chicago Tribune