Milwaukee Bucks Thread 2008–2009 (part 1)

[greeg35]

It will take about 1/4 of the season; but I think we will see a significant improvement in the quality of our team both defensively and offensively. It will take some time for the team to all get on the same page, naturally. Defensively Skiles is strong and consistent in his principles and demanding in how hard he expects his guys to play. That will begin to get real results partway through the season.

 

I have not gotten the impression that we will necessarily run more offense through Bogut specifically but that we will be smarter and more unselfish about passing the ball which means Bogut will see the ball more and that is good. I haven't seen Ridnour's name mentioned yet and I think he is a very underrated aquisition. Classic buy low guy; but he will be the real key to our offense. He is one of the best in the league at initiating the offense by getting the ball up the floor. As the year goes on, he will get guys like Jefferson, Redd, Bogut, and even Alexander easy scores on the break with the way he passes the ball. If its not there we'll settle into the half court. Heck, just not having Mo will improve our offense. I have been one of the biggest critics of Villanueva; but I think we may see some drastic improvement from him this year under skiles.

 

All that said, I think between 30-40 wins is about the most one can expect depending on when we start to gel. I like the way Hammond is building this franchise; we are still lacking top-tier talent; but have alot of second tier guys that hopefully will play the game the right way under Skiles. Now if we only had a new arena on the way... Glad to see no "NBA haters" inexplicably feel the need to read and contribute to this thread (yet).

[FVBrewerFan]

It's funny, but every new Head Coach comes in preaching defense. But defensive players are never added. You have Redd, Charlie V, and Ridnour who either have zero interest or zero ability in playing defense. Bogut isn't much better. RJ is the only starter that is even an average defensive player. Then you add Alexander off the bench with no defense... I just don't understand what they're trying to build here. I loved the RJ trade, but I don't understand anything else they've done this off-season.

[fondybrewfan]

I think Bogut could be considered an average defender. He struggles against the top centers in the league but who doesn't? His blocks went up a lot last year and he has always been good at taking a charge. Given his athletic ability I would rate him a decent defender. I know Redd and CV are just bad defensively but I guess I haven't been paying attention enough to know that Ridnour also sucks. Alexander has some potential to be a good defender because he is so athletic.

 

I don't think their is any doubt that the Bucks will have to outscore people to win. A 1-7 preseason doesn't instill a lot of confidence in me that they can be competitive this year. They are taking some good steps, Hammond got rid of some awful contracts and bring in RJ was a big positive and I think Alexander will pan out. Alexander might be more productive than Bogut was in his 1st year and I won't be suprised if he takes CV's spot shortly. He needs to add some bulk big time to play the hybrid #3/4 spot though.

[nate82]

It's funny, but every new Head Coach comes in preaching defense. But defensive players are never added. You have Redd, Charlie V, and Ridnour who either have zero interest or zero ability in playing defense. Bogut isn't much better. RJ is the only starter that is even an average defensive player. Then you add Alexander off the bench with no defense... I just don't understand what they're trying to build here. I loved the RJ trade, but I don't understand anything else they've done this off-season.

Bogut was the 4th best Center in the NBA in RPG, 7th in DRPG, and 7th in Rebounds. I wouldn't say that Bogut isn't much better when you are comparing him to Charlie V, Redd, and Ridnour he is clearly better than all three of them in comparison to their defensive stats. RJ and Bogut are going to be the only two starters to be actually decent defenders compared to the rest.

[homer]

When does Gadzurich's albatross of a contract finally expire?

[JJHardy7]

It's funny, but every new Head Coach comes in preaching defense. But defensive players are never added. You have Redd, Charlie V, and Ridnour who either have zero interest or zero ability in playing defense. Bogut isn't much better. RJ is the only starter that is even an average defensive player. Then you add Alexander off the bench with no defense... I just don't understand what they're trying to build here. I loved the RJ trade, but I don't understand anything else they've done this off-season.

 

I understand your post, but some of it is about flat out effort. Ridnour will give you a ton more effort than Mo Williams. I think the effort alone will make our defense against PGs better. Is he an all world defender? Not at all, but he will try and that's the most frustrating thing about Mo Williams. I also would take Bogut on defense over at least half if not more of the centers in the league. He's not an ideal shot blocker. I wish he was, but that's not his game. I think the 2nd round draft pick we had will play quite a few minutes and be a pretty darn good defender this year -- that was a major defensive player that was added. I agree that Redd and Charlie V aren't defenders, but at some point and time I think Bucks fans have to watch other NBA teams. Most NBA teams stink at defense. It's a scoring league in the regular season and the better defending teams usually move on in the playoffs.

 

I also think Alexander is going to develop into a nice defensive player. For all the crap Alexander gets around here, let's all remember he wanted to be in Milwaukee -- that doesn't happen often. I would wish Bucks fans here would get behind him, but that doesn't seem to be the case and some maybe missed his games in college. He won't be a stud in year one or so, but Alexander is a NBA starter and it's because he gives 100% effort. I have a feeling he'll be a fan favorite sooner rather than later, but for now some here think 'he sucks' and was a horrible pick. I don't think that's the case.

[Houlie24x]

I liked the Alexander pick. They drafted him knowing he is still raw so it shouldn't be expected that he plays well right away. He has looked pretty lost so far but so have a lot of rookies. I don't think they passed on anyone that would have been an immediate impact, at least not to the point where they make this team a real contender.

 

I'm not sure why so many are down on Bogut either. Maybe it has a lot to do with the fact that they passed on Paul. Bogut is probably a top 10 center and was 9th in blocks last season. If he wasn't such a terrible free throw shooter he would be pretty comparable to Pau Gasol. Villanueva has been pretty solid after the all star game and into this preseason. He could be a nice surprise this season.

[greeg35]

Defense is more than the sum of its individual parts. Positioning, discipline, and effort are alot more important than having a "lock down defender" in my book. Doesn't hurt to have a few of those though.

 

I've always been up on Bogut. He does alot of things the average basketball fan does not appreciate; but are really important to a team.

[bacon06]

I always liked Bogut, and after seeing that video of him high fiving himself at the free throw line last year put him over the top for me. That was awesome.

[trwi7]

Bogut was the 4th best Center in the NBA in RPG, 7th in DRPG, and 7th in Rebounds.

 

Bogut's a very average rebounder. Of course he's going to be towards the top in RPG. He plays a ton of minutes. But overall, he's very average.

 

When does Gadzurich's albatross of a contract finally expire?

 

Three years. The same time Redd's and Jefferson's expire.

[Oldcity]

Is being at least average at everything really that bad? If he's average defensively, offensively and at rebounding that makes him pretty valuable. Most centers are below average at either offense or defense.

 

And this is beside my point, but I'd argue he's above average at offense and rebounding.

[yoshii8]

Bucks cut Adrian Griffen, and signed Austin Croshere to a free agent contract today. I think Indy was trying to trade Tinsley to keep him, but ended up having to cut him. I like him better than Malik Allen. Could be a decent signing.

[Diskono]

Austin Croshere...wow. Can we sign God Shammgod too?

[homer]

Didn't Croshere play for Dallas last year? I don't think he's been on Indy for a couple of seasons.

[patrickgpe]

i think he went to dallas 2 seasons ago, to golden state last year, signed with indy in the off season and was released on thursday.

[yoshii8]

Austin Croshere...wow. Can we sign God Shammgod too?

That Providence team was awesome, I remember thinking that God Shammgod was going to be awesome in the NBA, his career didn't quite pan out.

[yoshii8]

In Croshere, we got a guy that has made the playoffs every year of his career before last season, and he has played on some good teams and averaged over 10 mpg the last 2 seasons, so he could be a decent guy off the bench. Like I said before, I'd rather see him on the floor than Allen, Gadz, and Elson.

[fondybrewfan]

Seriousy who gives Dan Gadzuric a 6 year $36M dollar deal? He is a back up center for god sakes. That has got to be one of the worst contracts in Bucks history. It literally made no sense at the time. I guess the same could be said about giving Redd a max contract. One dimensional players should not be getting max contracts. I think Kohl was behind that however.

[bthurley19]

There is actually talk that Skiles may go with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute as the starter at PF tonight. I think Mbah a Moute actually looked better than Alexander in the preseason. I've never been a fan of CV, so this is a good move to me.

[yoshii8]

I really liked what I saw from LRMAM, I remember watching him at UCLA his freshman year, and thinking he was going to be really good. I think that he is going to be a very solid player. I still think that Villanueva will start, but it will be nice to have a defensive stopper, high energy guy on the bench in Moute.

[davego]

LRMAM should take the role (all be it in a different position on the floor) that Dez was suppose to have. If he can play 20-25 minutes a game @ the 4/5 that would be great. I still think Allen is going to play a bit more then we might think...think 1992 Packers with Harry Sidney.

[nate82]

Who is going to win tonight the Bucks or da Bulls?

 

Bucks possible starting 5

C: Bogut

PF: C. Villanueva

SF: Jefferson

SG: Redd

PG: Ridnour

 

Bulls possible starting 5

C: Gooden/Ruffin

PF: Gooden/Ruffin/Noah

SF: Deng

SG: Gordon/Hughes/Hinrich

PG: Hinrich/Rose

 

I believe Hinrich will get the start over Rose at the PG tonight I don't think Rose will get as many starts or playing minutes in his first year. I'll give the Bucks the advantage at C and SF. If Gooden is at PF it will be the Bulls advantage if it is Ruffin or Noah it is a wash between them and Villanueva. SG and PG I'll give an advantage to the Bulls only because they are better defenders than what the Bucks have. The bench is in favor of the Bulls though. With Rose/Hinrich, Gordon/Hughes, and Ruffin/Noah on the bench is better than what the Bucks have on the bench.

 

This should be a good game tonight but I don't expect the Bucks to win this one. Bulls 89 Bucks 79. The scores are usually low the first couple of weeks of the season. I don't see the Bulls as being any better than the Bucks right now though if Rose proves he is a legitimate PG then the Bulls are better than the Bucks and by a lot.

[yoshii8]

Bulls possible starting 5

C: Gooden/Ruffin

PF: Gooden/Ruffin/Noah

SF: Deng

SG: Gordon/Hughes/Hinrich

PG: Hinrich/Rose

Larry Hughes is out for at least the first couple weeks of the season, and so I think their depth chart looks more like this:

 

C: Gooden, Noah, Aaron Gray, Ruffin

PF: Tyrus Thomas, Gooden, Noah, Ruffin

SF: Deng, Nocioni, Sefolosha

SG: Hinrich, Gordon, Sefolosha

PG: Rose, Hinrich

 

I'm very excited about this game, and I'm predicting a 95-89 Bucks victory.

[bucks2281]

Maybe I'm dreaming, but I thought Ridnour was out with a bad knee tonight?

 

I'm cautiously optimistic about this season -- I really like what Skiles will bring to this team. My God, the Kohl/Harris/Larry K/Stotts regime was absolutely toxic, so it probably won't get any worse. I think homecourt will give Chicago a slight edge tonight, but I'm looking to spoiling the inagural game in Oklahoma City tomorrow.

[yoshii8]

I think the report is that Ridnour is having back spasms, and is "iffy" for the game tonight. If him or Bogut doesn't play then I change my prediction to a Bulls win. Especially if Lue starts or plays more than 10 minutes.