SB Nation User Blog: Alex Boeder

Recap: Bucks 102, Knicks 87

Alex Boeder — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:29:17 -0000

[For nights that I report at the game on media row, like tonight, a photo.]

MILWAUKEE - The New York Knicks tonight continued their six-month national tour benefitting a positive cause: bringing cheer to dozens of cities across the country. The benefactor on this evening was the Milwaukee Bucks organization and the 15,486 strong at the Bradley Center. So, thanks for that.

In just the type of game that the Bucks need to win if they are to be taken at all seriously, the Bucks won. And they won big. At least as big as the final scoreline; probably bigger. Milwaukee led by 30 at halftime, and while New York shaved that lead in half by the end, they never really were in the game after the first quarter.

The Bucks were positively tyrannical to the Knicks in the first quarter, owning every bit and every facet of the game to stake a 40-22 lead. Really powerful stuff, and it continued that way for a while. Active, aware, team defense and criminally good shooting. A lot to be happy about, even if the second half usually felt more about waiting to win than anything else.

Three Bucks

Jodie Meeks. By virtue of being a second-round Bucks draft pick, it was only a matter of time before Meeks did this. Following in the footsteps of Michael Redd and Ramon Sessions and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and So On and So Forth, Meeks made a mighty nice impression and gave reason to think that the good second round vibes are still, well, good second round vibes.

After looking mostly out of sorts in 21 minutes over the span of the previous two games, the shooting guard played a bench-leading 27 minutes tonight. And he earned each one of them. Meeks sank his first three pointer as a Buck, a pure corner shot with a few minutes left in the first quarter. The form was nice as usual, only this time he was in form too. That we found out when he buried a couple more threes in the next couple minutes. And then, to beat the first quarter clock, another. First Bucks possession of the second quarter? Again. When you make 5-7 from outside, that's rightfully the focus; but Meeks did well in transition and defensively as well. A happy 19 points in a great sixth man role for this no longer end-of-the-bench rook'.

Ersan Ilyasova. There wasn't a certain play or moment that was the turning point of this game. Ersan Ilyasova was the turning point. It's sort of unbelievable considering how the first quarter ended, but the Knicks jumped on the Bucks 10-4. The Rooster did what all good roosters do, made mad three pointers, and allofasudden it looked like the Knicks were ready to D'Antoni the Bucks back more than a few notches in the defensive efficiency column.

Scott Skiles came to coach too, though, and offered as evidence that the Knicks weren't the only team prepared to utilize a sweet-shooting, European power forward. And so he subbed out the defensively guilty Hakim Warrick out barely two minutes into the game. Enter Ersan Ilyasova, who instantly impacted a little bit of everything, always in a good way. The poor start for Warrick and Milwaukee was really a blessing in disguise because this was a night that Ilyasova needed to see the floor, and not just viewing it from the bench.

And it's only a good thing that Ilyasova (0-2 on threes) didn't make his mark in his best game as a Buck in years by hitting shots from outside. No, he was aggressive, smart on both sides of the ball, and finished with 6 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists. And he led everyone with a +21 differential in one of those games that the differential stat proved illuminating.

Andrew Bogut. Lots of heroes on a night like this, but Bogut really stood out from the beginning. I was optimistic that 'Drew would take it to the solid but undersized David Lee, who at 6-9 really shouldn't be playing center. Well, no Emo Bogut tonight, and that correlates pretty strongly to a Bucks win.

Bogut went 4-4 from the field in the game's first five minutes, keeping the Bucks afloat before Jodie Meeks and co. ever-so-accurately shot the team out of this world. And this wasn't one of those games when Bogut hit a couple shots early and then disappeared. He gained the team's attention, and they found him enough so that Bogut led all scorers with 22 points on 8-14 shooting. Speaking of Andrew Bogut and shooting, get... this...

Three Numbers

6. Andrew Bogut went 6-6 from the line. Like, the free throw line. Tall Andrew Bogut, basketball player for the Bucks, Andrew Bogut. I know many of you did not get the chance to watch the game and are probably skeptical when you see something like: Andrew Bogut 6-6 FT. Maybe not even skeptical, maybe you just assume it was an error in the box score and carry along happily because the Bucks won. But I was in the building, and those alleged free throws were legit. All six.

1. The Knicks missed many, many shots in the first half. They actually packed a tidy 25 misses into those 24 minutes. And with a quarter of a hundred opportunities for a second chance, New York managed to nab one offensive rebound in the first half. Just one.

.533. In the pregame back-and-forth, Scott Skiles remarked, "We beat the Knicks three times last year because we took away the three, we lost one time because we didn't." Well, the Knicks made 8-15 (.533) from deep, but the Bucks did so much else well (shooting, passing, drawing charges, etc.) that it didn't even matter.

Three Good

One Love. I didn't even mention it in the preview (other than noting the straight stat on top), but The ~~Scott Skiles Disciples~~ Bucks entered the game leading the NBA in defensive efficiency. First place, quite a feat even if only it was after four games. And in the face of a hot-shooting start by the up-tempo and offensively-capable Knicks, the Bucks allowed 35 first-half points. They gave up a few in the second half and that won't help, but they still held the Knicks to a season-low sum of 87. Number one on defense; love that. Let's get together and feeeeel alright.

27 Seconds. This game was filled with pretty shots (Jodie, looking in your direction), nice dunks (Hakim, nice comeback), and defensive hustle (thanks, you and you and...). Still there was a series of plays that didn't result in any points for the Bucks and in fact involved lots of missed shots worth truly celebrating: With nine minutes and change left in the game, Milwaukee hauled in four offensive rebounds in a row. This was rebounds from Mbah a Moute, Gadzuric, two from Ilyasova, and missed shots by Jennings, Meeks, Ilyasova, and Jennings again. Everyone on the floor for Milwaukee was a part of this. They didn't score and that's quite alright. One of the highlights of the game, for me. Four offensive rebounds in 27 seconds, just like that. Six offensive rebounds in 48 minutes, for the Knicks.

Bradley Center. The stadium came alive tonight. Happy fans are loud fans and there was a lot to cheer about. Really nice to be a part of that; to see, to hear, to feel the positive environment at the Bradley Center.

Three Bad

The revolution was not televised. Something of a shame that this was not shown on television because this was a fine night to watch the team. The good news (because on a night like this there is good even where there is bad) is that it will be more than a month (Dec. 19 versus Sacramento) before another game is not televised.

The Knicks. Sorry. But Coach D'Antoni might not disagree. This is the second game in a row that the Knicks have allowed 40 points in the first quarter. You can't make this stuff up. I mean, I could, but that would be awfully silly, and I didn't. After the game, the coach was a bit disappointed. There was this quote from D'Antoni post-game: "It seems like we've already played 55 games right now." And then this too: "It just seemed like they got into us, and we were four steps behind."

Duhon's Non-Scoringness. I noted in tonight's preview that starting point guard Chris Duhon didn't score in 39 minutes the last time out. Now, he did score infinitely times as many points tonight: He scored a point. 'Twas a free throw, and he shot 0-4 from the field with a -29 differential. So the actual Duhon Field Goal Watch (nearly 70 minutes, Jeremy at Bucksketball charts this streak) is still on. But the Knicks didn't really want Ramon Sessions or Brandon Jennings this summer.

Game Thread 5: Knicks/Bucks

Alex Boeder — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:55:58 -0000

Let's not do this tonight, cool?

2009/2010 NBA Season
	@
1-5 (0-2 road)		2-2 (1-0 home)
November 7th, 2009
Bradley Center
7:30 PM
Radio: 620 WTMJ TV: None
Probable starters:
Chris Duhon	PG	Brandon Jennings
Larry Hughes	SG	Charlie Bell
Danilo Gallinari	SF	Carlos Delfino
Wilson Chandler	PF	Hakim Warrick
David Lee	C	Andrew Bogut

(22nd) 101.7 - OFFENSE - 94.2 (29th)
(24th) 110.5 - DEFENSE - 91.3 (1st)
(4th) 96.1 - PACE - 92.8 (15th)

Three Points

New York, meet Brandon Jennings. Jennings wanted to play for the Knicks. And why not? For a point guard, in that system, in that city: the world is yours. Instead the New York Knickerbockers opted to take Jordan Hill two spots ahead of the Bucks on draft night. Coincidentally, once upon a time, Jennings and Hill were destined to play together at the University of Arizona. But Jennings went to Italy, where his draft stock certainly didn't rise, while Hill's certainly did at 'Zona. Now their paths will cross. And now the Knicks start a point guard who, well, he didn't exactly score in 39 minutes last night. [Full disclosure: Chris Duhon did drop eight dimes with just a single turnover in their loss to the Cavs.] Hill? Scored his first six NBA points last night. Jennings? Not a Knicks fan.
This land is my land, this land is your Landry. He's only played a minute this year, but Milwaukee native and University of Wisconsin hooper Marcus Landry returns home tonight with the Knicks. Welcome.
The Knicks, they are-a-struggling. Not a beautiful struggle sort of struggling either. Falling to what is most likely a rather angry Cavs team last night isn't much of an indictment, but getting worked by the Pacers the game prior is. Yes... 'twas that bad. This is a prime, prime I tell you, opportunity for the Bucks to gain a winning record and momentum for this nice little home swing. I don't even really want to comtemplate the notion of dropping this game. Hopefully Bogut will continue to assert himself offensively against David Lee, a capable defender but just 6-9, 240; the Knicks have only used Darko Milicic sparingly this year, but he'll probably find the court tonight.

Coverage

Posting and Toasting / Knickerblogger / New York Times

Recap: Bulls 83, Bucks 81

Alex Boeder — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:44:21 -0000

Box Score

The Bucks ever-so-narrowly missed the chance to win in Chicago for the first time in eight tries. And they did so by missing by a lot. Twice.

With 14 second to go in the fourth and the Bulls up 83-81, Brandon Jennings pulled up for a jumper just past the free throw line, but Derrick Rose blocked the attempt with ease. For Rose, the play provided a bit of sweet redemption because Jennings had forced him into a turnover and then floated a jumper over him just two possessions earlier.

Still, the block gave the ball back to Chicago with little time and less hope. But Joakim Noah (he of the absurd free throw form) spun consecutive free throws off the rim to give Milwaukee hope with 12 seconds to spare.

Unfortunately, the final try proved just as futile as the previous one. Jennings found an all-too-hesitant Ersan Ilyasova beyond the arc who fired a shot that hardly got closer to the rim than when Rose stuffed Jennings. Airball, out of bounds, game over.

The under-one-minute sequences underscored Milwaukee's thin late-game offensive options. Jennings was again very good, but after taking the previous three shots the Bucks had to figure the defense would cave around him. So they tried to spring free Ilysasova, who with the game on the line came up just as his final line (0-3 for 0 points and 3 fouls.) indicates: empty.

Three Bucks

Brandon Jennings. There is style (personified by God Shammgod here) and there is substance (think Tim Duncan since the first time you saw him play until further notice). Jennings shows both plenty of style and plenty of substance. And not just "for a 20 year-old" either. Case in anecdotal point: late second-quarter, Young Buck knifes down the middle of the lane and every-so-slightly darts left, helping draw attention away from Dan Gadzuric, who is cutting to his right. A simple around-the-back pass results in a~~n easy~~ dunk for Gadzuric. Style and substance, at once.

Jennings certainly more than held his own in an initial matchup with Derrick Rose, an accomplishment in itself. Unafraid to assume the desperately-needed role of scoring point guard on a team with limited firepower and without its best scorer, the rook' netted a cool 25 points. As such, he's led the Bucks in scoring in all three games. And he's fast showing a defensive character. Jennings led the club with a pair of steals, and he defended Rose into a turnover on a decisive play with less than half a minute in the game. In fact, he stayed in front of Rose pretty nicely for much of the game, and contributed to Chicago's point guard pretty pedestrian 5 assist, 5 turnover line. For Jennings, 25 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, some learning, and even more growing. Well-done.

Andrew Bogut. The defense was mostly steady, and though we could use a few more offensive bursts with Redd sidelined, Bogut stepped up on both ends of the floor tonight. 'Drew threw in eight straight in the second quarter, with all but one shot coming from one or the other baseline on running half-hook types. The Bucks again found Bogut for a few scores in the fourth, and he finished with 16 points, a delightful sum after the first two games.

Maybe you watched the second Bucks/Bulls preseason game, probably not. Bogut didn't play, which worked out nicely for Joakim Noah, who pitched in 23 points and 20 boards. With the Bucks' big man back in the middle tonight, Noahwas nearly nothing until an emphatic slam late in the fourth quarter. Not coincidental.

Charlie Bell. Far from a poor showing in a fill-in role for Redd starting at the two, Bell began the night by frustrating John Salmons, which led to a 3-12, 4-turnover night for Chicago's starting shooting guard. And while he couldn't replicate a Redd-like scoring punch, he did notch 11 points on 5-11 from the field and hit a big three in the fourth quarter to close the gap to 78-75. In sum, Bell played a great game off the bench, only he was forced into the starting lineup before that could happen.

Three Numbers

2. Players not named Brandon Jennings (who made 3-4) on the Bucks combined to make two free throws tonight in Chicago. Not a terribly efficient two free throws either, considering it required six attempts. The Bulls absolutely hammered the Bucks at the line, making 20-31 compared to 5-10. That major descrepancy tipped the final score scale in Chicago's favor.

5. The Bulls connected on their final five attempts from long-distance. And that came after an 0-6 start on threes in the first half. Jannero Pargo (2-3) and Brad Miller (1-1) delivered off the bench for big threes and combined for 23 points -- a whole lot more than the combined eight points Milwaukee got from six different reserves. And the Bucks' bench shot 0-6 on three-pointers, including Ersan's Air.

12. Rose's block on Jennings was the most memorable (and reminiscent of this one against Rondo in the playoffs), but it was just one of 12 for the Bulls. Noah led the way with five while Deng and Salmons followed with a pair each. Each Bucks starter was blocked at least once, and Jennings and Delfino were each stuffed thrice. This group isn't going to make that many shots in the first place; can't afford that many with no hope whatsoever of making it to the basket. Meanwhile, Bogut registered three of Milwaukee's five blocks.

Three Good

Super Tuesday. Like every election day, statisticians tonight projected that candidates won political elections far before all of the votes were counted. Mattero'fact, even before everyone voted, they drew conclusions by considering populations and samples. And they always are able to do this with (varying degrees of) confidence. This type of scientific, qualitative predictive analysis would typically caution against reading too much into even a purely random sample size of 3 out of 82. Even if the results are overwhelming. And it's fine (if not wise) to keep that general line of logic in mind when considering the early Brandon Jennings Rookie of the Year campaign. Then again, Jennings has every look of a top contender thus far. He surely has the attention of voters here and now. After a More-Than-Good Friday in Philly and Stirring Saturday in Milwaukee, this was a rather Super Tuesday in Chicago for Jennings. Looking forward to this ____ Friday in Minneapolis.

Bogut/Jennings. As noted above. With Redd out, this inside-outside duo will need to produce games like this for Milwaukee to have a shot to win. And like tonight, that might not even be good enough. But these two can give the Bucks a chance.

Up... The Bucks carried their momentum from the triumph at the BC on Saturday to the Windy City in a most excellent first quarter, stealing a 25-13 lead after the first twelve. And they fought through the second on the back of Bogut to carry a healthy 14-point lead into the locker room. Really inspiring stuff. They looked like a club coached by Scott Skiles, and I mean that in only the best way: on the ground fighting for loose balls, hounding defensively both inside and out, everyone passing the ball, and generally making the most of a very limited unit.

Three Bad

...and Down. But in stark contrast to the game before, the Bucks deflated in the third quarter, and they couldn't keep pace with a free-flowing Bulls attack that moved the ball quickly offensively. After holding the Bulls to an awfully silly 29 points in the first half, the Bucks allowed 54 after halftime. A two-point loss in Chicago on the heels of losing Redd isn't so bad, but when you have an 18 point cushion on the road, don't lose it -- because this team won't have that very often in the first place.

Eight too much. The divisional and geographic rivals continue to fatten up against their northern neighbors: The Bulls have run off eight straight wins on their home floor against the Bucks.

Defending Deng. Luol Deng, Man of the Match. 24 points, 20 rebounds, and if that doesn't explain his aggressiveness enough then the fact he made 9-11 free throws compared to Milwaukee's entire team making 5-10 free throw should give you a feel. The Bucks threw some different people at Deng, but that didn't much matter; not tonight.

Game Thread 3: Bucks/Bulls

Alex Boeder — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:09:10 -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

Game Thread 1: Bucks/76ers

Alex Boeder — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:03:47 -0000

Fresh Prince: In West Philadelphia, neither born nor raised.

0-0		0-1
	vs.
October 30, 2009 - 6:00 PM CT
Wachovia Center
TV: FSN Wisconsin HD Radio: 620 WTMJ
Probable starters:
Brandon Jennings	PG	Louis Williams
Michael Redd	SG	Andre Iguodala
Luc Mbah a Moute	SF	Thaddeus Young
Kurt Thomas	PF	Elton Brand
Andrew Bogut	C	Samuel Dalembert

Three Points

The Point. When news arrived that Jennings would start (gracias, Scott Skiles -- I like Skiles pronounced in Spanish), my eternal point-guard-state-of-mind inevitably turned to a charming little opening night matchup: Louis Williams vs Brandon Jennings. Williams (6-1, 175) is one of the few starting points in the NBA who is both as slight as Jennings (6-1, 170) and as potentially electric.
So while Jennings won't be physically overmatched, make no mistake: He will face a steep challenge defending the Sixer point guard. Sure, Williams made a nice 3.8 free throws per game last year; more illustrative is that he drew 174 fouls and attempted 1018 field goals, for a DrawFoul% (yes, DrawFoul%, it's almost 2010, party people) of 17.1. For perspective, Ramon Sessions led Milwaukee at 15.7 last year. Translation: It ain't easy staying in front of Williams. Then again, Williams shot a career-low 39.8 % from the field last year, so questionable outside shooting is another facet the starting point guards might share. However, Williams started Philly's opener in fine form, converting 6-9 from the field (and 2-3 from outside) for 18 points, 4 assists, and no turnovers in a 120-106 loss in Orlando on Wednesday.
Marreese's Pieces in Sam's Club. While the Sixers were the NBA's worst three-point shooting team last season, they are liable to inflict much harm in the paint. We know Williams is able to get into the lane at his leisure. And Philadelphia has a trio of very capable big men in Samuel Dalembert, Elton Brand, and Marreese Speights.
The Haitian Sensation in particular has scored much historical success against Bogut -- especially in the last three head-to-head matchups, all Philly wins. In those three contests, Dalembert averaged 12.7 points, compared to Bogut's 4.7. That will not work. And don't overlook Speights, who made 10-11 from the field for 26 points off the bench in the team's opener. Meanwhile, defensive ace Mbah a Moute will shadow (among others) the fast-rising Thaddeus Young, whom the Sixers settled for on draft night a couple years ago, writes Bob Cooney at Philly.com, oh dear...
Little did they know that then-general manager Billy King was working the phone lines feverishly. So busy was King looking for a deal that he did not come out to address the media about his draft night (which also included getting current backup Jason Smith) until just after midnight.

"Our main thing that night was to move up to get Yi," King said recently. "We were trying to get up in the top where the proven players were, which was clearly in the top seven or eight. As it turns out in this case, maybe some of the best moves you make are the ones you don't make."

And maybe fighting for a playoff spot and landing late in the lottery isn't always so precarious. Let's remember to cheer for wins, only settle for a high draft pick, and not the other way around. Speaking of which...
Game Prediction? Personally: Bucks 88 Sixers 86 (not Frank-co-signed). Surely the Sixers will look sharp -- they'll don an updated, classic uniform this year. But it's late-October and thus, Milwaukoptimism doesn't spoil ~~for easily one, two weeks~~. What say you?

Philadelphia Coverage

Sixers 4 Guidos / Liberty Ballers / Philadunkia / Philly

Recap: Bulls 87 Bucks 86

Alex Boeder — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:11:37 -0000

Box Score / Recap

Yes, preseason. Yes, Bucks/Bulls preseason again. No Derrick Rose. No Andrew Bogut. No real meaning.

Yes, a nice start. Yes, final-minute dramatics. Yes... a Dan Gadzuric fadeaway last-second shot.

No, not kidding.

I caught an online stream of the game, and I make observations with slightly more varied sentence structure after the jump.

For all of that offseason non-movement that finally culminated in the movement of Ramon Sessions from Milwaukee to Minneapolis, there remain remnants of Ramon reincarnated. For better and worse. Those offseason-rumors about Jennings (2-13 from the field) lacking a consistent jumper aren't just rumors. To be fair though, a few of those misses were of the last-second-heave variety. Thanks for trying, and not worrying about the shooting percentage.

Jennings (10/12/6) made up for the misses in other areas though. His court vision tonight was a very pleasant sight. He greeted halftime with more assists than the entire Bulls team (7-6). And Jennings built on that with more than a few nifty dishes in the second half, including one in which he hauled in a deflection of a block of Ersan Ilyasova's shot, and fed the Turk a laser for an and-one and some redemption.

Equally encouraging were a few of Jennings' decisive darts to the basket, which resulted in a 6-7 free-throw line, and opened up teammates on the perimeter. If Jennings, like Sessions, learns to hide his limitations and emphasize his strong suits - using speed and awareness to open up others and to attack the hoop for higher percentage chances - he can quickly force his way into regular season, regular minutes, like Sessions.

Granted, I didn't watch the previous game, so this is based on catching Jennings on one of his better nights. And that down-and-up form is surely how the season will go for the almost-20-year-old. So watch them all if you want a true read.

Less news is the best kind of news when it comes to Michael Redd and the preseason, so: He looked crisp early, sank a few nice shots including a three to open the game, played about 15 minutes, and all is well.

Other than Kurt Thomas clanging into and briefly forcing Joakim Noah to the bench, the Bucks were rather hopeless to stop Chicago's man in the middle. Noah piled up a dominant 21 points, 16 boards, and 3 blocks. Obviously this is a scenario where Andrew Bogut's interior defense was sorely missed, but still.

At least Hakim Warrick asserted himself on the offensive end, contributing a team-high 25 points on 9-14 in 32 minutes before fouling out. The points were mostly quiet, but they added up nicely, and no one converted more at the line than Warrick, who hit 7-9. Ilyasova (14/6) was just okay tonight, managing a lot of shots (14) in not a lot of minutes (17) while not making many (5) either.

Back to the beginning, and back to the end, all at once. The Bucks had an opportunity to steal the game on the final possession down by a point, but Brandon Jennings missed an ill-advised, long and contested jumper with about six seconds to go. He has all the makings of a lead point guard, and the confidence is nice, but his shot selection isn't quite yet as nice.

A fortunate tip out of bounds gave the Bucks the ball with inside three seconds. So naturally they found an open Gadz (6 offensive boards in 10 minutes, well done) and the rest of the story is the story headline.

Bucks Open Practice Review

Alex Boeder — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:49:35 -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.

Sunday Notes: The number one Brandon, Ray v. Redd, an early look East, what's in a name

Alex Boeder — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:03:26 -0000

Greetings, earthlings. It's good to be here, it's so good to be here. So, when you type "Brandon" in Google Search, the top recommended entry is the star in the above Under Armour video: Brandon Jennings. He's already rather ubiquitous, particularly for a 19 year-old who didn't play college ball and has yet to play pro ball stateside. A good fit for a team with both visibility and profitability issues, it would seem. How high can this apparent budding star take Milwaukee? Well, the Bucks made an international splash in the draft a couple years ago. That recent bit of history shows this much is equally obvious and true: for the Jennings Effect to truly take hold, it must happen on the court. Regardless, nice vid. And for the record, all of these thousands of years later, I'm still playing a hopeless game of catch-up to Alexander the Great in the Google Search for "Alex."

Dime: Who's better: Ray Allen or Michael Redd?
Judging by the comments at Dime, Jesus walks over Mike. The perspective over there tilts nationally, but I doubt you would get much of an argument from either observant Boston or Milwaukee fans, and that's the clincher. Unfortunately, this is the same comparison Redd has dealt with for a long while now, and it's a difficult one to win in the hearts and minds of Milwaukeeans. I recall plenty of love for Ray in the stands when I reported at the Celtics/Bucks game last spring, even as the Bucks won and Allen scored just nine points on 2-11 shooting. What will it take to alter perception? Redd might be good enough to win a championship as a number three guy, and doing so for the Bucks rather than a different team would change everything in a hurry. For that to happen, he/we should hope Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings progress into the elite quickly, since Mike turns 30 in just over a week. Or the Bucks could go the Boston route and use an offseason to surround Redd with a pair of Hall-of-Fame types. From 24 wins to 66 and a title, in a year. And Milwaukee is working off 34 victories. Just like that.
SLAM: Early look at the East
After tying for 11th (and thus also 12th) in the East last season, and after all of the offseason changes, Lang Whitaker has the Bucks pretty much staying put in the 12-spot. That's a realistic place. Just as last season, challenging for a final playoff spot appears to be a best-case scenario. He has the Bucks ahead of the Pacers, which is sort of a big deal because if that came true it would snap Milwaukee's five-year run finishing last in the Central. Not so good: In an 11-expert panel published by the Orlando Sentinel, the Bucks finished 14th out of 15 in the conference.
SLAM: Chatting with Meeks
Scroll down just a bit to read Tzvi Twersky's interview with Jodie Meeks.
Hoops World: What's in a name?
An interesting rundown of Eastern Conference team nickname origins, put together by Joel Brigham. The birth of the "Bucks" is a good, if not somewhat typical, story. The Orlando Juice? So close, yet so far away.
Fan House: The Tip-Off Timer and '74 Bucks
Counting days until the regular season, Tim Povtak picked Milwaukee's 1974 title team as reason to celebrate that we were a mere 74 days from regular season basketball as of Friday; the first NBA regular season game is Cavaliers v. Celtics on October 27. The Bucks start three days later in the country's former capital, Philadelphia.
ESPN Milwaukee: Charlie Bell on the D-List
Charlie relays to the good people at 540 ESPN some of his experiences doing work around the state this summer. Oh, and there is some dialogue about Bell's other job.
Fox Sports: Putting some D in the NBA
First Shoals and now Rosen. Included among Charley Rosen's alphabetical list of the league's top defensive performers is just one Buck. Who? None other than current internet sensation Kurt Thomas. Also, one way or another, three players who played for Milwaukee last season made the cut: Keith Bogans, Royal Ivey, and Richard Jefferson.

The Search for a Ten at #10: Mock Drafts

Alex Boeder — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:37:38 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Lawson lifts net.

Browse more photos »

You might prefer DeJuan Blair, Stephen Curry, or Ty Lawson, though there is a fair share of contention. And there are also no locks at #10 based on these 20 mocks:

Ball Don't Lie: Ty Lawson
Chad Ford: Jonny Flynn
CollegeHoops.net: DeMar DeRozan
Dime: Tyreke Evans
Draft Express: Jonny Flynn
Hoops Addict: Tyreke Evans
Hoops Analyst: DeJuan Blair
Hoops Hype: DeJuan Blair
Hoops World: Earl Clark
Inside Hoops: Jonny Flynn
Knickerblogger: DeJuan Blair
NBADraft.net: Eric Maynor
NBCSports: DeMar DeRozan
Pro Basketball News: Ty Lawson
Ridiculous Upside: Jordan Hill
Rotoworld: DeMar DeRozan
NBA Fanhouse: James Johnson
SI.com: Jrue Holiday
Sporting News: Ty Lawson
The Sports Xchange: Stephen Curry

The breakdown: Blair (3) Flynn (3) Lawson (3) DeRozan (3) Evans (2) Clark (1) Curry (1) Hill (1) Holiday (1) Johnson (1) Maynor (1)

Bucks Team 2000s: First Round vs Second Round

Alex Boeder — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:06:31 -0000

While you are voting for your preferred #10, don't forget about #41: An unusual bit of draft history has seen the Bucks score about as often in the second round as the in first since the turn of this century. Which got me hypothetical-ing...

Probable starters:
	vs
BrewHoop Court
T.J. Ford (2003: 1.8)	PG	Ramon Sessions (2007: 2.26)
Joe Alexander (2008: 1.8)	SG	Michael Redd (2000: 2.14)
Yi Jianlian (2007: 1.6)	SF	Luc Mbah a Moute (2008: 2.7)
Marcus Haislip (2002: 1.13)	PF	Ersan Ilyasova (2006: 2.6)
Andrew Bogut (2005: 1.1)	C	Dan Gadzuric (2002: 2.5)

You can choose from a few more solid second rounders, including Keith Bogans (2003: 2.14), Flip Murray (2002: 2.13), and Jason Hart (2000: 2.20) And of course this doesn't include Mo Williams (2003: 2.18), whom the Bucks grabbed after a short first season in Utah.

The only other first round option is Jason Collier (2000: 1.15). This is considering only players the Bucks actually picked, but if we went back a couple more years, the first rounders would have Dirk Nowitzki (1998: 1.9) while Rafer Alston (1998: 2.10) would become a second round possibility. Alas, this post-1900's only.

Poll

5 on 5, pick your victor.

2000s First Round Bucks

55 votes

2000s Second Round Bucks

345 votes

400 votes | Poll has closed