Milwaukee Bucks Thread 2009–2010 (part 1)

[ILuvDaBush]

Our best rebounding center and our best rebounding (and best defensive) forward are out. We have two good point guards. We have a court-stretching forward and a high-flying forward. We have two hybrid guard-forwards who embrace the idea of volume-shooting. And our centers are a savvy veteran and an "A for effort" overpaid Bruin. And a Charlie Bell with a pear-shaped body. If not for the last part, we could probably go run-and-gun.

[trwi7]

our best rebounding (and best defensive) forward are out.

Ersan is playing.

[ILuvDaBush]

To which I retorte, yes, which is why I think this game will ultimately hinge on the Rashard v. Ersan matchup. But for a lockdown defender on either forward, it has to be Luc Richard. He brings a defensive soccer mentality to his basketball game. "Marking the tall guy in the box (paint)... Luc Richard! Shutting down the sprinting winger on the counterattack, your local prince."

[homer]

The bucks weren't a .650 team or whatever their winning percentage was. They are probably closer to a .500 team when healthy which is still light years better than most people thought going into the season. The latest run is just correcting back to the mean.

[ILuvDaBush]

Except so many of our recent losses could have easily been bandaged by the presence of Bogut. Our rebounding and paint defense have fallen off a cliff.

[bucks2281]

IMO, we'd have at least two more wins if we had been at full health. The Spurs game would have been a coinflip because Bogut owns Duncan, the Hornets game was inexplicably awful, and I'd like to think Bogut and/or Luc Richard would have been the difference against the Magic.

 

Interesting week ahead: Chicago, @Washington, @Detroit, Cleveland.

[GAME05]

I don't have you all's knowledge about the Bucks, but could a person argue that if Redd and Bogut hadn't have gotten injured, that Jennings wouldn't have blossomed as quickly as he has? Maybe it means a few more losses in the short-term, but maybe Jennings wouldn't have come to discover that he had the ability to take over.

 

Really enjoying this Bucks thread, though. Always thought the NBA was boring until lately. (I think that makes me a fair-weather fan.)

[trwi7]

Jennings took over when Bogut was still playing. He's really struggled with Bogut out. Redd has literally no positive impact on this team.

[ILuvDaBush]

Jennings was whipping it to Bogut in the paint. Jennings would have at least two double-doubles with Bogut still in.

[Gobias Industries]

Jennings was whipping it to Bogut in the paint. Jennings would have at least two double-doubles with Bogut still in.

Jennings definitely gets Bogut more touches than the other PG's he's played with, but rarely do you see him get Bogut an easy dunk. Bogut's improvement has a lot more to do with him using an effective face-up game.

 

Once Bogut and LRMAM get back this team should be able to compete each night. With good health the rest of the way, I think they could win low 40's.

 

Redd is finished. I don't think he'll ever be an effective player again.

[Diskono]

Redd is finished. I don't think he'll ever be an effective player again.

Could be. He's coming back from a very serious injury, and its possible he might not ever be the same. I was surprised he was able start the season on the active roster. Now, he just looks gassed the second he comes into the game. It seems like the Bucks have now decided against trying to rush him back, and they're right to shut him down for now. Best we can do is give him all the time in the world and hope he's back to normal. Otherwise, I'd consider Delfino at SG once Mbah a Moute returns. That, or giving Warrick more minutes at SF. Both have been a pleasant surprise defensively, and we know they can score.

 

Another question sure to come up soon: should we trade Ridnour? He's been huge for us, but his hot shooting is bound to return to Earth at some point. The combination of expiring contract + good player has to have a ton of value. We'll need to take a longer contract back, but it should be able to get us a pretty good player.

[fondybrewfan]

I'll agree with those who said that if we had Bogut we would have beaten Orlando, OKC, and NO.

 

Teams are obviously playing much more tight on Jennings now (especially since he is probably the only legitimate offensive threat we have right now) so he is going to have to adapt. He is going to have to start hitting those floaters and other shots in the lane.

 

Jennings hasn't made the best decisions in the paint either. He gets way to many shots blocked, when he is down there he should really know better and dish off

[zurch1818]

It looks like Bogut might be coming back today against the Bulls. Link

[homer]

Welcome back, Mr. Bogut. We missed you and your double doubles.

[berniebrewer4life]

Jeez, Bogut back already? That was really quick. Glad to have him back too, he played a huge role tonight. Hopefully this will be a real breakout year for him with both Redd and Jennings in the lineup.

[danzig6767]

Jeez, Bogut back already? That was really quick. Glad to have him back too, he played a huge role tonight. Hopefully this will be a real breakout year for him with both Redd and Jennings in the lineup.

If Bogut wants to have a breakout year, the best chance for that will be if Redd stays injured. Redd between age, injuries, and him never being one to stay in great shape have all caught up with him. The last thing Bogut and the Bucks need is Redd out there jacking up bad shots that should be going to other players and both Delfino/Bell are significantly better defenders. At best, the team can hope Redd gets his shot back decent enough that he'd be able to provide some scoring off the bench. I don't want to see him anywhere near the starting lineup again though.

[Invader3K]

Sorry if this was mentioned already, but there's a nice article on Jennings in the latest Sports Illustrated.

[Diskono]

If you believe PER (which is questionable, but handy), Redd was one of the best defensive SGs in the NBA last season. Just sayin.

 

Here is his opponent's PER compared to last year's All-Star SGs:

Redd 12.8
Allen 12.3
Johnson 13.7
Bryant 14.1
Wade 15.4
Roy 17.1

That's not to say he can definitely duplicate that performance now, especially with the injury, of course. And before last season, he was very average. But...it has happened before! And if he doesn't perform, Skiles will bench him.

[Buckylovesbeer]

It may just be me, but when Redd plays the team slows its pace down. Which makes them not as fun to watch, and thus far, not as good of a team. Redd out = Bucks more likely to win.

 

I have always supported Redd, but I am beginning to lean in the direction of trading him. I never thought I would say that......

[FVBrewerFan]

Buckylovesbeer wrote:

I have always supported Redd, but I am beginning to lean in the direction of trading him. I never thought I would say that......

I like Redd too, class act. The problem is, who would trade for Michael Redd right now? He will have to prove he is healthy AND can still shoot. Even at that he carries a huge cap number for another couple years.

[Gobias Industries]

If you believe PER (which is questionable, but handy), Redd was one of the best defensive SGs in the NBA last season. Just sayin

I think PER is a decent offensive efficiency stat, and Michael Redd DID improve on defense last year (he knew he finally had a coach that would bench him if he didn't). That said, I'd say Redd's numbers are probably skewed because he only played 30-odd games last year. He was fine last year, but no way was he well above avg.

 

It's painfully obvious the Bucks are better team with Redd out, allowing the offense to run through Bogut. If Redd was still an elite shooter, he'd be perfect for this team. But he's not. He's been an unathletic (now extremely unathletic) slasher for about 2 years now. Hopefully he never plays another game for the Bucks, and insurance picks up the tab for the next 1.5 years.

 

Ilyasova has me just as excited as Jennings. That guy has the potential to be a devastating defender at the 4 (he's already very good). Great contract by Hammond.

[fondybrewfan]

Hopefully he never plays another game for the Bucks, and insurance picks up the tab for the next 1.5 years.

 

Ilyasova has me just as excited as Jennings. That guy has the potential to be a devastating defender at the 4 (he's already very good). Great contract by Hammond.

Redd is only signed through this year. I would give it about a 2% chance that he is back with the Bucks unless he takes an absolutely huge pay cut.

 

Ersan has been nothing short of incredible in the young season. He absolutely sucked his first time around. Now he is bigger, stronger and much more confident.

 

I wonder if Skiles would ever consider using a starting lineup of

 

Jennings

Ridnour

MBM

Ersan

Bogut.

 

Those probably are the top 5 players right now IMO.

[gobrew23]

Redd is only signed through this year. I would give it about a 2% chance that he is back with the Bucks unless he takes an absolutely huge pay cut.

Redd has a player option at $18.3 million for the 2010/2011 season. There is no chance he turns that down. I'd say it's pretty much guaranteed he'll be back next year.

 

EDIT: typo

[patrickgpe]

yeah the '11 offseason could be promising, as the bucks will loose 2 huge albatross contracts and really have no huge commitments of players who are not contributing. Hopefully the bucks have the money to sign LRBM after this season. So far I like what Hammond has done, by not giving any big long term contracts because they seem to bite us in the behind every time.

[yoshii8]

LRMAM is not a free agent after this season, he still has one season left. Great win by the Bucks last night, Bogut played really well, we are such a better team w/ him around.