SB Nation - Roko Ukic

Raptors Rapid Recap - Toronto 95 Milwaukee 117

RaptorsHQ - Howland — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:37:09 -0000

- The Raps were short both Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani on this evening but even without two starters it is hard to defend what went on against Milwaukee. The Raptors, outside of Bosh, played with little intensity and the team couldn't continue their recent winning ways.

- Old habits die hard. The Raps allowed the Bucks to get open looks by getting into the paint and the defensive rotations were late more often than not. The Raps did a solid job making the likes of Luke Ridnour and Roko Ukic look good.

- Give credit where credit is due however. The Bucks played a great game. Their ball movement was more than commendable, the played some hard-nosed defense and the hit shots down the stretch. They also got a terrific performance from Brandon Jennings who is the real deal.

- Should we send out a search party for Hedo Turkoglu? The Raps needed someone to step-up tonight and help Bosh and one would think that the guy getting paid mad loot would be up to the task. Not so. Hedo was all but invisible in this game yet was smiling and hugging it out with the Bucks after the game. Good one.

- Bad loss. These are the opponents the Raps have to beat. They will be fighting with the Bucks for the lower playoff positions when it is all said and done.

Brain Drain: Milwaukee Bucks beat the Grizzlies 103-98

djturtleface — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:54:41 -0000

More photos » by Nikki Boertman - AP

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I only have two problems with the Memphis Grizzlies right now. Coincidentally, the Grizzlies would be a much better basketball team if they corrected two problems.

Mike Conley is a problem. He is not very good. Marcus Williams plays bad defense, and he looks like vintage Eric Snow when you compare him to Mike Conley. The Grizzlies routinely get shredded by jumpshooters because Conley's poor defense leaves his teammates constantly cheating to compensate. On offense he alternates between brain dead over-penetration and timidly pulling himself out so the others need to play four on five. Four on five is usually the better scenario.

Coach Lionel Hollins is a problem. In a very winnable game he pulled Williams, who was having a better game overall than Conley, with only a few minutes left. Conley promptly missed, turned over, and then turned over, while Brandon Jennings closed the game against him on the other end of the floor. As possessions become more valuable, Hollins' offense degenerates into more and more bad isolations.

This loss is on Coach Hollins. He better not call out anyone else but himself. Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles handled him. The Bucks adapted to the conditions, while the Grizzlies stagnated and then started playing street ball under a complete lack and failure of leadership.

The standard recap coming over the jump, congratulate Brew Hoop on being willing to pay an actual NBA head coach. And be sure to drop a "Fire Hollins" below.

Rockness Monster: Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol, and Zach Randolph all had a very good night. The front court has molded together nicely and is starting to play respectable defense. They work together on offense in sets, as they all seem to trust each other. Rudy, in particular, is beginning to look like a franchise player. He put up another double-double tonight with 10 boards, and hit the clutch plays.

U-Turn: Sam Young brought unexpected fire off the bench tonight, but Hasheem Thabeet has to be the U-Turn. He played around a dozen nice minutes last night; tonight, even against a talent-short Bucks front, Hasheem got the dreaded DNP-CD award. Whats the deal Hollins? Didn't want to put your #2 pick against Jennings?

Bitter Limon: Charlie Bell shot 5-10 from the corner three. All his threes were corner threes. None were covered. O.J. Mayo shot 0-6 from three. I think all were covered. Sounds to me like someone's skills are being used perfectly, and someone else isn't being used quite right. Hollins, care to elaborate?

Sleeping With the Enemy: If Coach Hollins's favored son Mike Conley, as of his tenure as interim coach at the end of last season, didn't get one more season to prove himself, then Brandon Jennings might not be in this section. He is in this section, because he dropped 26, sealing the second half with ice cold free throws and shots. Luke Ridinour also looked good against our abysmal perimeter defense. So did Charlie Bell, and Roko Ukic, and...

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - A Reoccurring Theme

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:44:48 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

All Triano could do was gaze in horror at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter of last night's affair.

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Toronto came out flat last night against the Utah Jazz and as Franchise notes in his recap, he's seen this movie a few times too many already this season...

8 and 4.

Should that be the Toronto Raptors' record right now?

With last night's 104 to 91 loss to the Utah Jazz, Toronto fell to 5 and 7 this young season, however as a fan, it's hard not to look back at a number of games already and say "what if?"

For instance, shouldn't the loss to Memphis been avoidable?

What about the letdown against an under-manned Spurs team?

And maybe the Phoenix loss was one you'd place in the "anyone's game" column and therefore not a "shouldahadit," but last night's loss to the Jazz was one in my books that definitely should not have ended with the L.

For those who missed it, Toronto again took nearly an entire first half to get into game-mode, and then even though they managed to nearly pull even with Utah after being down by as many as 18, they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.

However I don't think you can hang this one simply on "running out of gas," or "being tired on a back-to-back, and the final game of a Western conference road swing." Pure and simple, players aren't playing up to par on offense, and this team still is borderline atrocious defensively. Last night the Dinos had no answer for the small-ball back-court of Deron Williams and rookie Eric Maynor and while these two caused havoc for Toronto defensively, at the other end, the Raps didn't exactly do themselves any favours in terms of their own shot selection and strategy.

No need for panic, I was after all expecting a 5 and 13 start, but we're 12 games in, and it's time for some call-outs and early observations.

1) The Jarrett Jack signing isn't looking so hot.

Here are the facts. Jack is shooting 36 per cent from the field so far this season, 32 per cent from long-range, averaging less than 7 points, and most telling, went into last night's game with an almost even assist to turnover ratio.

I'm pretty sure that's not what fans or management expected when they invested their mid-level exception in him this past summer.

So, as one poster put it last night in our live game-chat, "is Jack the new Fred Jones?"

It's only 12 games in so again, I'm not ready to jump ship yet, but it's certainly a concern. Outside of his statistical follies, he just hasn't looked like the aggressive defender I expected, nor has he attacked the rim with even the same zeal as he did in pre-season.

And worst of all in my books? His ball-handling and decision making. I threw this out there during the game-blog last night and I will again; it scares me to say this but I felt more comfortable with Roko Ukic handling the ball last year than I do with Jack.

2) Bosh needs more help.

Bosh is putting up MVP-type numbers so far this season. Last night he dropped 32 points and 17 rebounds on the Jazz, but didn't get much help outside of Marco Belinelli in terms of offence.

While Hedo Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani at times have given him a boost on O, both of them, along with Jose Calderon have hardly been consistent. If this team is going to struggle as much as it has on D, then it needs a full spread of offense each and every night. This is particularly true if the team wants to keep trotting out DeMar DeRozan as a starter. I like that they're trying to ensure minutes for his development, but he's really not a factor the majority of the time on O. This is backed up by 82games.com which lists Toronto's best starting line-up in terms of percentage of time on the court ahead on the scoreboard (80%) as the Calderon-Belinelli-Turkoglu-Bosh-Bargs combination.

TSN.ca's Tim Chisholm noted this on Twitter last night and I completely agree; if this team wants to keep Bosh around, the players BC has brought in or held onto as starters need to start playing like ones each and every night.

3) The defense needs to improve.

I don't think anyone expected this club to be a lock-down type. However this is getting a bit ridiculous. Toronto now is allowing opponents on average to score almost 108 points per game this season, and is last in the league in terms of defensive efficiency. They're actually last by a good shot too, a full 3 points per game worse than both Memphis and Golden State.

Yes the Dinos rank atop the league in offensive efficiency, but considering their record, it speaks volumes as to how woeful their defense is.

4) Shot selection and offensive strategy need work.

Additionally, the team's offense is still far too reliant on hitting jump shots and 3-pointers. When things go cold, the club isn't attacking the rim, and of course defensively they aren't able to keep things close. This means that quarters like last night's fourth occur, something that's extremely frustrating to watch as a fan. No one goes to the basket yet the jump shots keep going up, and without a solid defensive scheme, the other team takes advantage and blows the game wide open.

It happened against Denver the previous night. It happened early against the Clippers, and Bulls, late against the Spurs, and for stretches against the Suns and Pistons. Last night the Dinos were 5 for 19 in the fourth and if you look back at the type of shots taken, you'll see that Toronto just kept jacking them up, attempting only four foul shots.

I understand that this team's strength is in shooting the J, but if they're not going down, TO desperately needs a plan B.

5) Where would this team be without Amir Johnson and Marco Belinelli?

I cringe to think of what would have happened had the Raps' front office not figured out that sign-and-trade option enabling them to grab Hedo AND the likes of Antoine Wright, Amir Johnson, Marco Belinelli and Sonny Weems.

Remember, BC wanted to sign Hedo outright regardless!

Johnson and Belinelli in particular have been huge for this club so far with Belinelli playing a mini-Ben Gordon role and Johnson giving Toronto a much-needed boost of defense, rebounding and shot-blocking off the pine. Wright has also been a nice piece and even Sonny Weems has looked good in limited minutes. The bench is making up for some of the starters' flaws at the moment and as mentioned earlier, this needs to be corrected.

After this weekend's matches against Miami and Orlando at home, the schedule eases up a bit so we may get a more true indication of this team's abilities during that time. The club still is a long way from gelling, especially at the defensive end of the court, but there have been some positives to take from most games.

The team desperately needs to build on those over the next while to avoid falling too far behind in the standings so early in the season.

Jennings to start opener

Frank Madden — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:37:44 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

Ready or not, the Young Buck era is set to begin

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JS: Jennings will start opener
We all know Skiles wasn't going to start Brandon Jennings just because it would make the Bucks entertaining...even if that's what most of us were hoping. And given the learning curve faced by young points, it would have been perfectly understandable to bring the rookie on a bit more slowly. So the fact that Skiles is willing to roll the dice with his lottery pick in game one says a lot about Jennings' progress and, perhaps more importantly, how hard he's worked in practice thus far. Then again, Skiles was pretty vague in his explanation of the move, so maybe he just wants to get the kid on the court to start the learning process.

"I felt like both guys played really well in the preseason in most of their minutes," Skiles said. "It's just my call. Even when I talked to Luke, it's not like I could give Luke five set reasons.

"It's something I'm electing to do, start him from opening night and see what happens. It will then depend on how he plays, how we play all those issues."

Jennings' task was certainly simplified by having only Luke Ridnour and Roko Ukic as competition, but the list of 20-year old starting rookie PGs is fairly short. Even with Jennings as a starter, it's likely Ridnour gets 20+ mpg on many nights, as you know Skiles won't hesitate to lean on the veteran when Jennings hits his inevitable rough patches. He certainly had his fair share in the preseason, which you might guess from his 33% shooting from the field and nearly three turnovers/game in 26 minutes. Jennings' endurance has also been brought up a number of times in Vegas and the preseason, so I'd be surprised if he gets 35-40 minutes in the near term. Either way, it's exciting to know we won't have to wait for Jennings to get his chance to prove himself.

New York Times: Jennings, an N.B.A. Trailblazer, Encounters Bumps in the Road
Karen Crouse at the NYT has a short feature on Jennings' transition from Europe to the NBA.

Jennings’s birthday was Sept. 23, and he celebrated by staying up late polishing his game. He texted Sampson, who lives less than a mile from him, at 9 p.m. and asked if he would meet him at the gym, and they worked deep into the night.
So far Jennings’s decision-making has impressed his coaches. He moved into a condo less than a mile from the Bucks’ training center in St. Francis, Wis., far from downtown Milwaukee and its beckoning nightlife.

Woelfel: 30 wins
Gery Woelfel checks in with his preseason thoughts.

Hunt: Alexander not coming back?
Michael Hunt seems pretty certain Joe Alexander's team option will not be picked up by the end of the week, which would make the '08 lottery pick an unrestricted free agent next summer. Is Hunt editorializing or does he know something? It seems like it might be the latter.

The Alexander pick stands on its own as a mistake. Even if he somehow develops late as he did at West Virginia, he will do it elsewhere. Not that there was a debate before, but the fact that Alexander is out until maybe mid-January assures that the Bucks will take the unusual move of not extending a lottery pick's contract.

Hardwood Paroxysm: Central Division
Rob Mahoney dishes on the Central, including among other things the Bucks PG spot:

The Bucks now have honorable intentions, but we can’t expect things to get better overnight. For one, the point guard situation should be the league’s running punchline. I love Jennings more than most, and to me he has star written all over him. But I’m positive of the fact that he’s not ready to play the lead for a playoff team, no matter how uncompetitive the bottom of the Eastern Conference is.

Toronto Raptors Season Preview Part 2 - Eight Fearless Predictions

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:08:26 -0000

More photos » by David Dow - NBAE/Getty Images

Franchise expects a career season from Chris Bosh...

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Continuing on yesterday's theme of "non-traditional" season previews, Franchise takes one final look at the 2009-10 Toronto Raptors, but this time by way of 8 predications about how things will unfold when all is said and done...

I'm more excited this year than last.

By a long shot.

How's that for an opening statement?

Especially coming from someone who over the past few months has tempered his enthusiasm for this latest incarnation of the Toronto Raptors basketball club, and probably seemed like a bit of a Debbie Downer to many a reader.

But it's the truth.

I just never was a huge believer in the Jermaine O'Neal/Roko Ukic era Dinos, and and while I don't think this new version is an NBA Finals contender, I think that it finally has some pieces to work with that haven't been present in years.

And even outside the Raptors, there are a number of NBA stories that have me pumped to tune in starting this evening; from the reloaded Spurs and Mavs, and up-and-coming Blazers looking to challenge the Lakers out West, to hopefully a healthy Celtics club and a Shaqified Cavaliers team in the East.

Combine that with the strange re-ignition of the Vince Carter rivalry by way of Carter replacing the Raps' key free-agent acquisition on his former team, and various other subplots (the return of Agent Zero, the continuing ascension of Kevin Durant, the possible unintentional comedy goldmine of Zach Randolph and AI playing in Memphis...) and you've got one amped RaptorsHQ member.

To that end, instead of naming keys to the season (defence, rebounding, Andrea's play, blah blah blah), I thought I'd go with 8 fearless predictions in honour of the team finishing with a top 8 spot and a return to the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Let's do it...

1. Chris Bosh has a career season and is the Raptors' lone representative at the annual All-Star Game.

Bosh is saying all the right things so far this off-season, and in spite of a small injury set-back to begin training camp, looks poised to have his most dominant season ever. He's added size and strength, is in a contract year, and was reportedly thinking about things like "spacing" in the off-season instead of the latest PSIII games. All that to say that while I don't think we'll see 30 points and 15 rebounds a game, but it wouldn't be a stretch for me to say that CB4 will finish the season around the 24 points and 11 and half rebound mark, his best marks statistically so far.

However even with hopefully a healthy Calderon, an improved Andrea Bargnani, and the addition of Hedo Turkoglu, I still think Bosh will be the only Raptor representing up North come All-Star time.

2. DeMar DeRozan has a roller-coaster rookie season but makes Rookie Team for All-Star Festivities.

That being said, while I expect Bosh to be the only Raptor rep at the main event in Dallas, I do think that Mr. DeRozan will be the latest in the long line of Toronto players to participate in the annual Rookie-Sophomore match. I'm not expecting a Vince Carter-type rookie season from the former USC swingman as I expect an up-and-down campaign more akin to the recent one from Rodney Stuckey, but I think he'll show enough to get the All-Star nod.

3. Hedo Turkoglu has a solid season but fails to replicate his success in Orlando.

This one to me is pretty obvious. I just can't see how Turk, on a team with two excellent point guards guiding the team's offence, can be as impactful as he was in Orlando, especially with dominant offensive players like Bosh and Bargnani needing touches to be effective. With the Magic, especially after Jameer Nelson went down, Hedo needed to look for his own shot quite often. He had another talented offensive partner with him in Rashard Lewis, but that was about it. Players like Rafer Alston and Dwight Howard often found their scoring as a result of something Hedo created, not because plays were specifically run for them. In fact, most of Howard's scoring came from put-backs and by overwhelming an opponent physically, so Turk hardly needed to ensure that he was the first option offensively.

With the Raptors that's going to be quite different and as opposed to last season's 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists, I'm expecting numbers along the lines of 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He's still a major upgrade at the 3 spot, but I'm expecting more frustrating shot decisions then buzzer-beaters by season's end.

4. Andrea Bargnani shows minimal improvement statistically, but begins to round out his game.

After a great second half of the season offensively, many are expecting this season to be Andrea's breakout year.

I'm not one of them.

This isn't because I don't think it's in him, I do, but I think that simply based on the addition of Hedo, an improved roster of talent, and what I expect to be a career-year from Bosh, Bargs is just not going to get the touches offensively that he needs to maximize his effectiveness. (I'll even go so far as to say that as long as he's paired with CB4, this won't happen but that's a blog topic for another time.) Add on the fact that I don't think he's ever going to be a great rebounder from the center position, and I think a slight jump in metrics, say 18 points and six rebounds a game, to be the end result by the time the season wraps up.

That being said, I am expecting him to continue to round out his game, especially on the defensive end, and continue to show that he has the tools to be a very good player in this league for years to come.

5. Sonny Weems plays more minutes than Marco Belinelli.

Of all the off-season acquisitions made by Bryan Colangelo, I think the Weems "throw-in for salary matching purposes" will end up having the biggest impact compared to expectations. Weems is starting the season on the inactive list due to injury (along with Reggie Evans and Quincy Douby) but I expect him to play a fairly large role on the team this season simply based on his athletic ability and grit. A starter? Hardly. But I do expect him to be a regular in the rotation perhaps as an 8th or 9th man, and I expect him to play more minutes than the much more heralded Marco Belinelli.

6. Toronto starts December with a 5 and 13 record...

Yikes.

No, not exactly an upbeat take on things, but the reality I think is that taking the schedule in November, injuries, and 12 new faces and a new system into account, it's going to be a struggle early on.

7. ...however makes the playoffs.

That being said, I think the team will really start to gel in December, and simply get stronger by the month, eventually grabbing one of the final playoff spots in the East.

I don't see a first round victory in the cards, but it will be an important step back in the right direction.

8. Bosh re-signs for max dollars.

And finally, the big question that will be lurking all season; will Bosh re-sign with the Raps?

I think he will for a number of reasons, ranging from the amount of money he'd be leaving on the table to go elsewhere, his happiness with the club's direction, his affection for the city of Toronto, and his relationship with Bryan Colangelo.

I'm not sure this is what's best for the franchise in the long run, but in the short-run it will continue to provide the club with stability and act as a testament to Bryan Colangelo's ability to attract and retain key free-agents.

Of course the real outcome of that final prediction is a long ways away. Until then, we've got 82 games to discuss, starting tomorrow night against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in what promises to be a very tough opener to the season.

We've analyzed and broken down the off-season moves this team has made to death.

Now it's time to see how they really perform.

Bucks Season Preview

Frank Madden — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:24:34 -0000

More photos » by Mike Roemer - AP

Could happier times finally be on the horizon?

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Below you'll find our contribution to the annual season previews that the good folks at Celtics Blog have been hosting for the last couple years.

Last Year's Record: 34-48

Key Losses: Ramon Sessions, Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva

Not-So-Key Losses: Keith Bogans, Malik Allen, Damon Jones

Key Additions: Brandon Jennings, Hakim Warrick, Ersan Ilyasova, Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas, Jodie Meeks

Not-So-Key Additions: Roko Ukic

Actual analysis and deep thoughts after the jump.

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

Where to begin?

The Bucks have had a penchant in recent years for turning over half their roster each summer--funny how mediocrity encourages that kind of thing--yet they managed to outdo themselves over the last few months, allowing their three "leading scorers" to depart through either free agency or trades and replacing them with a mixed bag of young talent and proven veterans--all on reasonable deals. With their cap number lurking dangerously close to the tax both this year and next, trading Richard Jefferson for what eventually amounted to Kurt Thomas, Carlos Delfino, Roko Ukic and salary flexibility was largely a necessity given Jefferson's deal greatly outpaced his productivity.

The real question is whether the Bucks actually took enough advantage of the flexibility provided by RJ's departure. While the Bucks' decision not to make a qualifying offer to Charlie Villanueva drew some quizzical looks, the truth was that Villanueva's inconsistent, defenseless style meant he was never in the Bucks long-term plans. Realistically, signing the productive Hakim Warrick for just $3 million and the return of Ersan Ilyasova on a three-year deal for just $7 million is likely to provide far more value to the Bucks than locking Villanueva into a long-term deal. The pair is likely to gather the lion's share of PF minutes this season, though it's also possible Kurt Thomas grabs minutes next to Andrew Bogut rather than simply backing him up.

But perhaps the most intriguing decision was to select Brandon Jennings as the effective replacement for Ramon Sessions. Sure, Jennings beats Sessions on sex appeal and "potential," but the odds of him being able to replace Sessions' productivity in the near term? Doubtful. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to watch the youngster learn on the job, but there will be some seriously long nights as the kid figures out the NBA game (and how to make jumpshots). That's why Luke Ridnour--finally healthy and looking improved in the preseason--will probably get the starting nod on opening night. The tragedy is that the Bucks' inability to lock in Sessions earlier in the summer led them to effectively use their remaining dollars under the tax on Warrick, Delfino, and Ukic. If Sessions had signed a max MLE deal watching him leave would have been somewhat tolerable, but for four years and $16 million it's tougher to stomach. (Frank)

2. What are the team's biggest strengths?

Scott Skiles. Ethnic diversity.

And, um...scrappiness? OK, maybe I'm being redundant. It's actually pretty simple: the success of the 09/10 Bucks will be mostly dependent on their ability to take another step forward defensively and rebound the way they did in the first half of 09/10.

That doesn't mean they'll be boring. Skiles' teams have always relied on defense and rebounding to play at a fast pace, and that was the formula we began to see a year ago. Before Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut were lost to season-ending injuries, the Bucks were a top five rebounding team and top ten defensively--no small feat for a franchise that had finished in the lower half of the league's defensive efficiency rankings every year since 1991. Leading that effort is '08 second rounder Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who will compete with Delfino for the starting SF spot and will regularly draw the task of guarding the opponent's best wing scorer.

While they ended up middle-of-the-pack in both rebounding and defensive efficiency, they forced more turnovers than any other team in the league and should be even better now that they've added the ballhawking Jennings, don't have Villanueva getting minutes at PF, and will (hopefully) have Bogut back full-time in the middle. In other words, the Bucks will win by minimizing opponent opportunities (by forcing turnovers and not giving up second chances) and pushing the pace the other way. (Frank)

3. What are the team's biggest weaknesses?

Losing Jefferson, Sessions, and Villanueva necessarily leaves the cupboard rather bare offensively, but those losses will be blunted by the return of Redd and Bogut. Still, don't expect the Bucks to win any shootouts, as they're short on guys who can create their own shot and only Redd and Warrick have shown any ability to get to the line consistently.

More generally, the Bucks simply don't have clear-cut NBA starters aside from Redd and Bogut. There's no shortage of athletes or quality role players, but having the best roster from 11-15 doesn't get you all that much--and it's generally pretty pointless to being pay a few vaguely capable guys to wear street clothes each night. So while there's been lots of talk by the Bucks about being three-deep at every position, that's largely just distracting from the lack of proven quality at most positions. Skiles has admitted the rotation is something of a free-for-all at the moment, with virtually everyone on the roster capable of getting rotation minutes at some point this season. But would that be true if the Bucks had more established players at the point and forward spots? No.

With Bogut back and Villanueva gone, the Bucks also will hope to shore up their porous interior defense. As part of that, the Bucks led the league in fouls a year ago and early indications from the preseason are that not much has changed on that front, though Bogut has played sparingly as well. Bogut has improved steadily over the years in that department, and Kurt Thomas immediately provides a big boost as well. (Frank)

4. What are the goals for this team?

Media, fans, players--certainly they all have different ideas, though all can agree that after five straight last-place finishes in the Central, escaping the division basement would provide a long overdue baby step in the right direction and toward respectability. If that doesn’t happen, well, don’t count the national media among those surprised: they have lower expectations for Milwaukee this year than their usual, remarkably low expectations. Most who follow the team closely however probably peg the Bucks as a similarly capable side to last year. The offseason headlines naturally tilt toward the big names lost or dealt away, but if the team’s two most important chips (Redd and Bogut) return to health, the Bucks should be a mildly competitive team.

So, what should Redd and Bogut aim for, realistically? They are mainstays on these last-place finishers, but the last time either played 80 games, they both did--and the Bucks won 40 games and made the playoffs (2005-06). The chances the Bucks do the same this year are probably the same as the odds Redd and Bogut both stay on the floor without a scrape. Likely? No. Possible? Possible. (Alex)

Projected Finish: 34-48. We're projecting the same record as a year ago for a reason. While the losses of Sessions and Jefferson leave a void at two key positions, don't underestimate the impact of having Redd and Bogut healthy again. Bogut in particular has a chance to prove he's worth the $60 million contract he inked two summers ago, as he'll get every chance to be a bigger factor offensively in addition to his usual role of anchoring the defense. If he can't score 15+ ppg it will only further exacerbate the Bucks' lack of scoring depth.

Moreover, the Bucks' bench is deeper and should offset some of the uncertainty surrounding the starting forward and point guard positions. There's certainly enough upside to contend for one of the final playoff spots, but it will require the health (and productivity) of the big names, Skiles to again get the most out of his team defensively, and at least a couple of the young players--Ilyasova, Jennings, and Mbah a Moute primarily--to make an impact. Given the Bucks never seem to get everything to go their way, we won't hold our breath.

Poll

How many games do the Bucks win in 09/10?

Less than 20

16 votes

20-25

32 votes

26-30

63 votes

31-35

105 votes

36-40

186 votes

41-45

127 votes

46-50

21 votes

50+

27 votes

577 votes | Poll has closed

Tip-In, Toronto Raptors' Post-Game Report: Making the Pieces Fit

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:01:46 -0000

More photos » by Jessica Hill - AP

In his Raptors' debut, Hedo had a tough time staying with Pierce, and unlike the Celtics, the Raptors are going to need some time to get on the same page at both ends of the court.

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The Raptors dropped a 106 to 90 decision to the Celtics last night in pre-season action. But as Franchise discusses this morning, it's going to take some time for Toronto's upgrade in talent to all get on the same page...

One of my constant rants last year concerning this Toronto Raptors' basketball club, was that for all the talk Bryan Colangelo had done in the off-season about "his best Raptors club on paper," the talent just wasn't there. I wanted to scream at times when I saw a line-up of Roko Ukic, Joey Graham, Jason Kapono and Kris Humphries out there with the likes of Bosh or Bargs, and it was obvious as early as pre-season to me that we were dealing with at best a .500 club.

What about this year then? Through five pre-season games the Raptors find themselves with a 2 and 3 record, the third loss coming last night at the hands of the Boston Celtics. Are there early signs of another disappointing regular season?

The short answer to that question is that it's too early to tell.

It's pre-season, and a team with 12 new faces is still trying to figure things out at both ends of the court. Contrast this to the Celtics, who have the exact same core as the past two seasons and it showed last night as the game went along.

And of course, Toronto is still getting some healthy bodies in and out of the line-up for the first time.

Hedo made his debut last night and looked pretty much as I expected he would; some nice dishes (he led the team in assists along with Jack), some terrible shot selection, and some "I'm still trying to get into shape" attempts at guarding his man.

But Antoine Wright, a player who prior to the start of the season was expected to play a major role on D for this team has yet to play, and various others, from Chris Bosh to Jose Calderon, still look to be finding their groove.

Bosh had his best performance of the pre-season with 21 points on eight of 13 shooting but was hampered by foul trouble. However he does look stronger and more powerful, especially on offense, yet as lithe and slippery as he's always been. His jab step and pull-up from the left block is virtually unguardable and once he gets accustomed to his new peers, fans could be in for a real treat.

And I guess that's the long answer to the question I previously posed; the signs I've seen so far this pre-season indicate that there's simply too much talent on this roster for the team not to be successful.

The real challenge is going to be for Jay Triano and his coaching staff to maximize this influx of talent, and make it work as a cohesive unit, and last night's game was a perfect example of this. While Bosh was dominant on offense, he was a bit too dominant and other starters like Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu weren't getting enough touches. It's going to take some time for these three to get acclimatized but once they do, they represent extremely tough match-ups for opponents.

And players like Sonny Weems and Amir Johnson, who were anticipated to spend time at the end of the bench, have really played well, while others like DeMar DeRozan and Marco Belinelli, who were suposed to take on a bigger role with the club, have been a bit underwhelming.

I'd even throw the point guard situation in the mix as point on Triano's "to figure out asap" list.

Calderon to me still doesn't look like he's got that bounce in his step back from two seasons ago at either end of the court and frankly, Jarrett Jack has been playing like the starter and Jose the back-up. With Jack's ability to bull-doze his way to the rim and create shots with the clock winding down, I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who found himself wondering if we'd see Jack closing out games at some point this season, or at least on the court with Jose in the game's final minutes.

The Celtics commentators last night mentioned that Toronto was probably Boston's biggest competition for the Atlantic Division crown but from what I've seen so far, the Dinos have a long way to go before that statement rings true. Hopefully tonight's game against the Rockets, which we'll be previewing later today, will be another step in the right direction.

Again, the talent is there, but I expect a good month or so of growing pains before we really start to see evidence of how good this club could be.

FRANCHISE

Bucks Open Practice Review

Alex Boeder — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:10:54 -0000

Bucks season at the Bradley Center commences.

We're talkin' about practice, man.

So keep that in mind. Though this time we're talking about a game (or at least a scrimmage) too.

The Bradley Center hosted an open practice to unveil the 2009-10 Milwaukee Bucks this afternoon. A nice public service, because it's nigh time to reacquaint yourself with the team: There's quite a bit of turnover from the last time we saw the them.

Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut have returned. Even Ersan Ilyasova came back. And we caught first glimpses of new-Bucks, including Brandon Jennings, Hakim Warrick, Carlos Delfino, Jodie Meeks, Kurt Thomas, and Roko Ukic.

Twenty-eight minutes of purely Bucks basketball today. Plenty of time to learn. Though it's also plenty early, and remember that. It's plenty early in two months. We're just dealing with perhapses today: It's only October 3.

But it is October. And today felt like it.

"Our bench is going to be very strong," Scott Skiles told Jim Paschke and the crowd prior to tip-off.

Who, exactly, will comprise the bench (and the starting lineup) is a very worthwhile question then. If the open practice is any indication, we might have an idea. The game pitted White v. Black on the scoreboard, and White looked suspiciously like what Scott Skiles might be considering as his starting five: Luke Ridnour/Michael Redd/Luc Mbah a Moute/Ersan Ilyasova/Andrew Bogut. A lot can and will change during the next three weeks, but that lineup was not put together coincidentally.

To start, they faced Brandon Jennings/Charlie Bell/Carlos Delfino/Kurt Thomas. And if this was a matchup of starters versus bench, then the bench was not exactly "very strong" in the opening period.

White built a 26-9 lead after the first eight-minute quarter thanks to sloppy play by Black, but (and this is the part you're more interested in) also thanks to the sharpness of Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, and co. Redd played decisively, looked strong, and generally didn't show any lasting signs of injury. He netted a cool 11 points in the first eight minutes, including a swished three to close the period. He also looked good going to the hoop, drew a couple fouls, and led everyone with 18 points overall. The pace of the game (practice, remember) was naturally slower and sloppier than regular season ball, but Redd earned favorable reviews with this performance. Encouraging.

Meanwhile, Bogut remains stiff at the free throw line, but was active on both sides of the ball. He didn't overwhelm, but was solid. He barely played in the second half, and was situated on the baseline sort of Steve Nash-style in the third quarter, but rejoined teammates on the bench shortly after. Nothing to read into there; Bogut appears ready to go.

Charlie Bell, ummm, did his job today like he has all summer. Some players looked a bit weary late in the game, but Bell appeared in good condition throughout. He was energized defensively and gained confidence after hitting a couple jumpers in a row in the second quarter. It should be noted that some players switched teams during the game, including Bell and Brandon Jennings, so the 54-47 final score in favor of White is even more meaningless than you would think. Which is to say, extraordinarily meaningless.

Speaking of Jennings, the rookie played like a... rookie. A gifted rookie, but most certainly a rookie. He opened the game by hitting a three, but then didn't score again until making a few fourth quarter free throws. In between, he committed more than a couple turnovers, including two of the flashy-pass-gone-bad variety. Still, it's plain to see Jennings already offers great quickness and ballhandling skills. Ukic orchestrated the offense under more control and picked off a few passes defensively in a pretty nice showing. Ridnour was Ridnour-like, and whether or not any of the team's point guards can shoot is a legitimate question heading into the season.

Newcomers Hakim Warrick and Carlos Delfino were only noticeable in how quiet they were offensively. Neither had scored a few minutes into the third quarter when Delfino drove and dished to Warrick for a one-handed slam... Unfortunately that came after Delfino was whistled for an offensive foul. Probably just one of those days for these two; this is after all an absurdly small sample size and not a terribly competitive match.

Ilysasova meanwhile seemed to stay close to the action in general. He started better than he finished, but the forward isn't afraid to shoot the ball or try to create things offensively, which is nice to see.

Gadzuric waited 1:37 to commit his first foul, as Black racked up five fouls in the first period, which equaled five more than White. And Gadzuric also tossed an airball in the second half, but one way or another finished with 15 points. Which is more than he scored in all but one game during the last two years.

So I hope you were there today.

Bucks camp opens...and the questions begin

Frank Madden — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:28:55 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Winner gets the starting small forward spot

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The NBA is back...kind of.

Media day was Monday, meaning official practices are officially upon us. That also means all the questions brought about by a summer of upheaval start getting answered tomorrow. Who starts at the forward spots? Will Brandon Jennings be able to replace the departed Ramon Sessions? Will Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut be healthy enough to carry a team full of middling vets and young unknowns? Will the Bucks be as bad as ~~some~~ most of the experts are predicting?

Bogut and Jennings spoke to Dennis Krause last week

We won't have definitive answers to any of those questions soon, but we're at least getting some hints. As expected, the Bucks are taking things easy with their two biggest names, but the good news is that they've yet to have any setbacks. Take it away, Charles Gardner:

"I might hold them out of some things early on," Skiles said. "Andrew has already been in here playing five-on-five; Michael played a game the other day of five-on-five.

"If somebody comes to practice and they're sitting on the side, more than likely it won't be because they're out of anything. It will be because I took them out. I want to err on the side of caution, especially early on here, and build their minutes up during the exhibition season."

Hey, baby steps, people. Speaking of which, it's anyone's guess as to how quickly Jennings assumes the starting point guard position, but in the meantime Luke Ridnour is filling the role of unthreatening veteran quite nicely. Tom Enlund reports that Ridnour is saying all the right things:

"That’s what happens. I’m excited to be able to help him get better in any way I can and push him. The biggest thing for all of us is to make the team better. That’s what we have to focus on instead of individually. We all have to play individually but it’s about the team."

Fortunately, the public won't have to wait long to get a first look at the 09/10 Bucks: the team's having a free open practice this Saturday, October 3 at the BC, and their preseason opener is just a day later in Minnesota. There's a tailgate starting at 11:30 with $1 food items, with the practice starting at 1 pm. Say what you will about the Bucks' prospects for the season, but you can't complain about that deal. Tickets for the preseason home games go on sale Thursday, and while not free, the Bucks should be a fun team to watch in October given how many young guys they have fighting for minutes. Besides, there's no better deal than the MACC Fund game--watching hoops AND helping the best charity around. It's October 23, so mark your calendars.

The players' official numbers are also out, so you're now free to order that Roko Ukic jersey you've been pining for (#20!). The other new guys' numerical choices are: Jennings #3, Meeks #23, Hakim Warrick #21, Carlos Delfino #10, and Kurt Thomas #40. Ersan Ilyasova has been listed for a while on the Bucks.com team roster page as #8 (his national team number), but the training camp roster lists him as #7, so we'll see which is right.

There's no indication from the league transactions wire that Walter Sharpe has been waived, but since he's out for the season with a knee injury he's not participating in camp. However, the Bucks do have Marquette alum Dominic James, Temple SG Mark Tyndale and D-League big Marcus Hubbard on the training camp roster as extra bodies. Since the Bucks are at the max roster of 15 even without Sharpe, it's likely that they'll eat his guaranteed salary before the season begins in order to get down to 15. In the meantime, there's no harm in keeping him on the ledger, just in case the Bucks make a trade that requires some additional salary thrown in.

Poll

Camp's starting. Whatdya think?

Awesome. Good to have NBA hoops back, even if it's just preseason.

117 votes

It's OK. I'll pay more attention when the real games start.

47 votes

Whatever. I thought this website was about hula-hoops filled with beer.

23 votes

187 votes | Poll has closed

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Milwaukee Bucks: Saving a few buck$

jae — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Jason DeCrow - AP

Brandon Jennings desperately tries to hide his excitement after being selected by Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

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This is a story of a team dead set on avoiding the NBA's salary tax. This is a story of a team with a lofty payroll but without similarly lofty win totals. This is the story of the Bucks offseason, and the team it has produced.

It was a busy off-season for Bucks GM John Hammond. High profile and highly paid SF Richard Jefferson was traded to the Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. Bowen was waived as his salary was only partially guaranteed. Oberto was promptly sent to the Pistons for Amir Johnson, who himself was later traded to Toronto along with Sonny Weems for Ukic and Delfino. Weems had not been under the Bucks' control long himself, having been acquired earlier in the offseason from Denver along with Walter Sharpe in exchange for Malik Allen. In the end, it much ado about nothing, or as close to nothing as the Bucks could manage as all moves seemed to point to getting the team safely under the luxury tax rather than upgrading or even rearranging talent.

Arriving:

Brandon Jennings (Drafted #10 overall after year overseas)

Jodie Meeks (Drafted #41 overall out of Kentucky)

Hakim Warrick (FA, MEM)

Kurt Thomas (Trade from Spurs)

Ersan İlyasova (FA, Turkey)

Carlos Delfino (Trade from TOR)

Roko Ukic (Trade from TOR)

Departing:

Ramon Sessions (FA to MIN)

Charlie Villanueva (FA to DET)

Richard Jefferson (Trade with SAN)

Synopsis:

Salary reduction seemed to be the name of the game. Ramon Sessions, a gifted young point guard with a knack for getting the ball in his hands and then getting it to the hot hand, leaves the team for Minnesota. The Bucks opted not to match a modest by NBA standards offer from the T-Wolves [Oh if only the Warriors had made such an offer, he'd have at worst solidified the backup PG position behind still untested Monta Ellis or provided a means to keep Monta as a combo guard along side Sessions, who plays bigger than his combine measurements would suggest.] Charlie Villanueva was similarly allowed to depart to Detroit rather than incur the wrath of the luxury tax that keeping him well could have resulted in.

From a business perspective these moves may make sense. It makes little sense to pay premium matching dollars for a team that seemed unlikely to vastly improve on their 34 win season. However, these moves mean that staying at that level may be difficult and it looks like another trip back to the lottery. The ever-bizarre nature of the CBA's tax and cap rules have conspired to slice deep into the Bucks' chances for 09-10.

The cupboard isn't entirely bare. Michael Redd can shoot and score. Luke Ridnour is a competent solution at the point (though certainly not good enough to make Sessions expendable). Andrew Bogut is an above average center who hits his shots and grabs rebounds, but he does not appear to be a franchise cornerstone. These returning starters are joined by 2^nd year SF Joe Alexander. Alexander has the athletic tools to excel but showed little as a rookie. He will have to do more, much more for Milwaukee to have any realistic shot at improvement. Hakim Warrick, signed away from the Grizzlies, will likely join Bogut in the front court. Warrick is another top notch athlete, but the net effect is that of a tweener forward, lacking the rebounding ability to solidify the 4 spot and without the perimeter skills to be an effective "3". His high percentage scoring is a plus, but the rest of his game is quietly underwhelming. The most intriguing story may be Brandon Jennings. Jennings showed signs of being an electric playmaker, but whether he can quickly move up to direct an NBA club and whether he can shoot well enough to be a legitimate scoring threat remain to be seen.

Other intrigue? Dan Gadzuric and Francisco Elson give the team a pair of adequate backup centers who both hail from the Netherlands.

Anyone who can get excited about Meeks and the triple-shot of 'meh' in the form of Ukic, Delfino and İlyasova should seek help.

Prediction: 27 wins.

For more on the Milwaukee Bucks check out Brew Hoop:

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys
Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother
Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver
Miami Heat: Need to get the point
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets: The Year of the Yi
New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Super Sonics
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia Sixers
Phoenix Suns
Portland TrailBlazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Rewind

Poll

What lesser known Bucks player are you most likely to totally and completely ignore?

Carlos Delfino

33 votes

Ersan İlyasova

268 votes

Roko Ukic

146 votes

447 votes | Poll has closed