Day 6

November 3, 2008

It was a lazy Sunday in the NBA with only two games on the schedule, none of which really was cause for any excitement.

  • I was able to catch some of the Knicks/Bucks game and the Bucks pretty much owned on defense.  The Knicks shot a horrid 37% and 36 of their 81 field goal attempts were 3-pointers.  Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva were killing them on the inside, especially in the first half and Ramon Sessions did his best Jason Kidd impersonation, 2 assists and 3 rebounds shy of a triple double.  Even Luc Ricard Mbah a Moute got in on the action with 11 points and 10 rebounds, numbers I thought he wouldn’t even have in the D-League.
  • David Lee, Jamal Crawford, and Chris Duhon combined for 10 points.  And sixth-man Wilson Chandler was 3-13 from the field and had 7 points.  Not really the kind of production you’re looking for from 4 of your top 6 guys.
  • I was actually shocked the Knicks were only down by 4 at the half.  They were getting outplayed pretty badly.
  • Michael Redd sprained his ankle.  Hopefully it’s not too serious.
  • I will go on record as saying Chris Duhon is definitely NOT the answer at point guard for the Knicks.  I am still wondering why they signed him.  The inactive Stephon Marbury is a billion times better than him, even with his head tattoo.  His teammates must really not like him.
  • Good to see the Oklahoma City Thunder get their first win in thefranchise’s history tonight, especially at home.

PATHETIC STAT LINE OF THE NIGHT

Jamal Crawford gave him a run for his money, but Randy Foye wins tonight:

30 MINS   2 PTS   6 ASTS   3 REBS   0 STLS   0 BLKS   5 TOS   0-10 FG   0-3 3-PT   2-2 FT   -1 +/-

IMPRESSIVE STATE LINE OF THE NIGHT

A couple guys had some nice nights including Al Jefferson (24 PTS/13 REBS), Quentin Richardson (28 PTS/9 REBS), and Andrew Bogut had a +20 +/- but it looks like the Thunder’s bench carried them to victory tonight.  Rusell Westbrook was +7 and Chris Wilcox, Desmond Mason, and Joe Smith all had a +12 while the starters were all negative.  So good job to the Thunder’s bench for winning the game for the team.

Note: The Bucks’ starting lineup all had insane +/-’s but you gotta hand it to the bench of Oklahoma City for picking up the slack for the starters.

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Posted by david im

Milwaukee Bucks Preview

October 3, 2008

MILWAUKEE BUCKS (26-56)

The Milwaukee Bucks made some noise this offseason by trading away Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons for Richard Jefferson. The move seemed good at the time as it legitimized the Bucks by giving them another proven veteran and scoring option.  But then they made a questionable deal by trading away Mo Williams for in my opinion, next to nothing (Damon Jones, Adrian Grffin and Luke Ridnour).  Williams is one of the better point guards in the league as his 17.2 ppg and 6.3 apg last year will indicate and it’s odd why Milwaukee would just give him away like that.

Face of the Franchise: Michael Redd. The lefty sharpshooter from Ohio St. has gone all the way from 2nd round pick to franchise player to Redeem Teamer. His numbers declined a bit last year after pretty much improving on them every season since his rookie year.  I wonder if playing with and against the best players in the world this past summer elevated his game or if it will fatigue him in the latter months of the season.

Send Him Away: Dan Gadzuric. A backup center who plays 10 minutes a game and averages 3 ppg and 3 rpg making roughly $6.5 million a year?  Please.  Send him to the Knicks.

RJ should feel right at home with the Bucks.  Just ask Andrew Bogut.

Impact Newcomer: Richard Jefferson. Before Mo Williams was sent away, I thought the RJ move would vault the Bucks into the playoffs.  He’s an athletic guy who can score and defend the other team’s top perimeter player, something Michael Redd could not give them.  With Mo gone, he definitely needs to pick up more of the scoring load in order to give this team a chance.

I guess Andrew Bogut and Richard Jefferson will be hanging out together.

X-Factor: Andrew Bogut. The former 1st overall pick who was taken ahead of Deron Williams and Chris Paul needs to show he is worth the 5-year $72.5 million ($60 million guaranteed) extension he just signed.  He’ll never be in their class but if he continues to improve like he’s done every year, he’ll almost make Milwaukee fans forget who they COULD’VE had.

Forecast: Mid Lottery. As I mentioned before, I thought this was a playoff team with Mo Williams.  Without him, I don’t see them making the playoffs.  I just don’t see a team with Luke Ridnour running the offense making the playoffs.

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Posted by david im