Milwaukee Bucks Thread 2009–2010 (part 2)

[nate82]

Eastern Conference

Seed Team GB

1 x-Cleveland -

2 Orlando 5.5

3 Atlanta 9

4 Boston 10

5 Milwaukee 15

6 Charlotte 17

7 Miami 17

8 Toronto 18.5

 

Bucks are closer to Boston right now than Atlanta.

In order for the Bucks to get the 4th seed they would have to pass Atlanta in W/L record. Boston is guaranteed a top 4 spot if they win their division and it looks as though they will. The Bucks could catch the Hawks but I'm not sure there is enough games left for the Bucks to catch them. I believe the Bucks will end up with the 5th or 6th seed though if Boston limps into the playoffs I would rather see the Bucks play the Celtics than the Hawks. I like the Bucks chances of beating the Celtics more than the Bucks beating the Hawks though I believe the Bucks match up better with the Hawks than they do with the Celtics.

[Diskono]

Hmm, didn't know that the division winners were guaranteed a 1-4 seed. Could have sworn somebody got 5th while winning their division a few years ago, but I'm definitely imagining things.

 

If the Bucks can somehow catch the Celtics AND the Hawks, they can get the 3rd seed, but 4th seems pretty much impossible, oddly enough.

[bucks2281]

Although unlikely, the Bucks may end up with a better record than the Celtics and still earn the 5 seed. In that case, they'd get homecourt -- seeding in the NBA is only about matchups/brackets.

[dadofandrew]

Closer to 8th than 4th, so I am not too worried. A playoff series against a beatable team (not CLE/ORL) is plenty good enough for me.

[Diskono]

There's a report that the Bucks had Shavlik Randolph and Alexander Johnson in for a workout. Scott is usually right on with rumors related to D-League players, so I definitely believe it...but whether or not they sign anybody is another story. Johnson has been tearing it up lately, so I'd really like to see what he can do.

[yoshii8]

Thats interesting, I've always been intrigued by Johnson's game. I hope they go w/ him, and let him learn from Kurt Thomas for the rest of the season. I think he will eventually be in a NBA rotation. I've never been a big Shavlik Randolph fan, it takes a lot for me to like a Duke player.

[Mr QL]

Ya, no thanks to Shavlik Randolph but Alexander Johnson is somewhat intriguing. Always nice to have an athlete to go with Jennings and he has some upside. I'd prefer a veteran player though if that were an option.

[Baldkin]

I like Johnson as well, he'd be a guy who could fill in at the 4 for 10-15 minutes a night, giving the Bucks more options in their rotation.

 

http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2010/3/15/1373456/alexander-johnson-nba-d-league has a great writeup on the guy. After reading it, it makes me wonder why he hasn't caught on anywhere before now.

[NievesNoNO]

Baldkin[/b]]I like Johnson as well, he'd be a guy who could fill in at the 4 for 10-15 minutes a night, giving the Bucks more options in their rotation.

 

http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2010/3/15/1373456/alexander-johnson-nba-d-league has a great writeup on the guy. After reading it, it makes me wonder why he hasn't caught on anywhere before now.

After reading the writeup, I also wondered the same thing. His NBA numbers actually seemed pretty decent all ready, albeit in pre-season and limited action, but still. Seems like a guy that would fit right in. A big bodied low post type presence that can grab some boards and bring some intensity. Yes, please!

 

[dadofandrew]

I don't care if they add Damon Jones, it's just offensive that they are in the playoff race and they're a man under the maximum roster size.

 

I like Brian Butch's present and future as much as either one of them, by the way.

[Diskono]

FWIW, Johnson is not playing for Sioux Falls tonight. And Joe Krabbenhoft is, just back from a stint in the Korean league.

[trwi7]

I don't care if they add Damon Jones, it's just offensive that they are in the playoff race and they're a man under the maximum roster size.

Why? It's not like they can play everyone on their roster. I'd rather they not waste money on 14th and 15th men.

 

[dadofandrew]

The salary for the minimum is pennies. With Redd out, Gadzuric on the roster, and the big guy they got in the 76ers deal, they are effectively at 11 guys. While no one is going to replace Bogut if he gets hurt, they need to have a big body in case Ersan or Thomas went down.

[TooLiveBrew]

Couldn't they just pick someone up if that happens?

[trwi7]

The salary for the minimum is pennies.

 

And those pennies start to add up.

 

With Redd out, Gadzuric on the roster, and the big guy they got in the 76ers deal, they are effectively at 11 guys.

 

How many players do you think play a night? Maybe 10 max, all if it's a blowout. There's no need for 15 guys since they're not going to play. Boston has 14, Atlanta has 13, Dallas has 13, Denver has 13, Los Angeles has 13, Orlando has 13, Phoenix has 13 and Utah has 13. How are all of these contending teams managing without a full roster?!?!

 

Couldn't they just pick someone up if that happens?

 

Yes. It really makes no sense to pick up a guy unless you have the intention of playing him. I don't know if they plan on playing whoever they sign, but it's a waste of money if they don't play him.

[bullox]

Sure they could wait and see where the wind takes them. Or they could be prepared for something that may happen in the future by bringing someone in, getting them used to the system and players, and having them primed and ready should something take place. Makes more sense to me.

[dadofandrew]

What Bullox said.

 

Also, I don't think you can add a player in the playoffs. Not to mention, you can get a good idea if it's a guy you want to keep or not for the future over the last month.

 

If this player can literally garner a single rebound and put back, it could bump them up a seed and possibly a playoff series win. You don't worry about some fella costing them 20 games of minimum in this circumstance.

[Diskono]

And those pennies start to add up.

As long as we're not hitting the luxury tax threshold, why should we care? Its Herb Kohl's money. If he wants to spend another 100k or so, I'm not going to tell him he can't. Its not like its taking away from a pool of money that could be spent on a better player.

[trwi7]

As long as we're not hitting the luxury tax threshold, why should we care? Its Herb Kohl's money.

Because over 20 years, when you spend $1-2 million a year on 14th and 15th men who don't play, it ends up being a lot of money? That's $20-40 million wasted on scrubs who don't play. That $20-40 million could go towards a new arena. That $20-40 million could go towards buying picks and using those picks to get players who actually play. That's the problem.

 

 

[GAME05]

we'd be in bad shape to begin with if we hit the playoffs and were suddenly in need of giving a 12th man any meaningful minutes.

 

plus a ton of guys on the roster already can already move up or down a position, be it PF/C or SF/PF or what have you. we'd have more talent on the court with the players we have now in an unnatural position than by playing someone from off the street.

[JJHardy7]

Because over 20 years, when you spend $1-2 million a year on 14th and 15th men who don't play, it ends up being a lot of money? That's $20-40 million wasted on scrubs who don't play. That $20-40 million could go towards a new arena. That $20-40 million could go towards buying picks and using those picks to get players who actually play. That's the problem.

 

I don't know if the Bucks are worried about the next 20 years, but I guess that is not the point.

 

I agree that you don't NEED 15 guys on the roster. I would hope that if they do sign a guy like this it really isn't a play for this year. If he does have a future in the league, it would prevent another team from signing him. No harm in signing him if you think he could make the roster next year.

[trwi7]

I don't know if the Bucks are worried about the next 20 years, but I guess that is not the point.

I'm talking about the previous 20 years where we signed guys like Tyronn Lue and Jake Voskuhl to be 14th and 15th guys on the roster instead of just saving that money for something more useful.

[zzzmanwitz]

You do need players on the bench for practices. Its hard to run a practice with only 10 guys. I'm not sure how much it would cost to get strictly practice players, but i think you get my point.

[trwi7]

You do need players on the bench for practices. Its hard to run a practice with only 10 guys. I'm not sure how much it would cost to get strictly practice players, but i think you get my point.

 

The minimum you can have on your roster is 13. I'm arguing why you don't need 14 and 15 on your roster.

[Diskono]

Because over 20 years, when you spend $1-2 million a year on 14th and 15th men who don't play, it ends up being a lot of money? That's $20-40 million wasted on scrubs who don't play. That $20-40 million could go towards a new arena. That $20-40 million could go towards buying picks and using those picks to get players who actually play. That's the problem.

That could be, though its impossible to say how that money would get reallocated. It could very well be that ownership tells the GM, "here is this year's budget for player salaries, use it or lose it", and then Kohl uses whatever is left over to buy campaign ads or something.