Bucks sign Yi

[trwi7]

http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=2&date=8/29/2007&id=28518

Oh yeah there was never anything to worry about.http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/pimp.gif

[SeriesFinale]

Good news...early bird gets the worm.

[patrickgpe]

some good news after that dismal game last night

[HebrewHammer]

Good for the Bucks. This is good news that it didn't get into training camp and disrupt things. It's nice he signed well before camp so he can be a part of the team without causing a distraction.

 

And Kudos to Larry Harris for playing hardball and selecting the best player available.

 

Hopefully this kid (he's really 19, right?) pans out.

[owbc]

It was a huge risk to draft him and it's starting to look like a brilliant move by Harris. He might struggle some in the beginning, but I expect him to get the Bucks back in the playoffs by next year.

[davego]

Can he pitch in the 7th inning?

[tigerbrew]

Finally, it took him long enough to sign. Looks like Yi will be wearing number 9 instead of 11. Good luck and play hard for the Milwaukee Bucks, Yi.

 

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[patrickgpe]

his jersey he is holding up during his press photos has him wearing 11

[nBo Baseball]

Yi had to sign with the Bucks. The team is owned by a US Senator, not some little wimp who would get frazzled over the demands of Baby Yi, the Comish Stern isn't taken Hip Hop Yi's Crap. Or he could have stayed in China.

I think the Bucks made the right choice. They played hard ball and won but you knew they'd win.

[HebrewHammer]

Maybe things are about to turn around a bit for the Bucks, who pretty much hit rock bottom last season. New coach, Des is back, resigned Williams for a fair contract, Redd looks better than ever and the rookie got signed. Now if CV can stay healthy and Bogut can take a leap, this team might be in business. At least be an interesting team.

[crewcrazy]

Now here's to hoping we didn't go through all these headaches for a massive bust. I'm not overly impressed by him, but hopefully he develops into a decent player.

[Mr QL]

He'll be a player, I'm sure of it. I've been following for a long time and think he will blend very well next to Bogut.

 

Great news.

[HebrewHammer]

We have 3 young guys with potential in the front court, and 2 guys in the back court who are more or less proven.

 

I'm still not sure where the defense is going to come form, but we have assets. We have 5 players that aren't garbage or throw aways. (Redd, Williams, CV, Bogut and Yi).

 

We'll have options in terms of making trades down the road to address our needs. I'd imagine we aren't going to keep all 3 of those guys in the front court.

 

I guess my biggest hope is for Bogut to pan out and take that leap. I remember a string of games last season in January where he went nuts, grabbing all sorts of rebounds and scoring points. He needs to step up and really take some command this year. It's year 3 that guys start to make an impact in this league.

 

I don't expect CV to break out much since he missed so much of last year and is basically a year behind. Maybe late in the year, but we'll see.

 

I don't see Yi doing much this year other than maybe 15 minutes off the bench. He'll be a 7th man, but he's definitely a project player who could pay off big in a couple years.

 

You'd have to imagine with those 5 guys, in 2 years they could be a force. Redd will be as good as he'll get and Williams will be entering his prime. Both players will have a lot of experience and will have played together for awhile. Bogut and CV will have enough experience and have had played together and hopefully realize the potential they both appear to have. Yi will be in his third season and be ready to seriously contribute to a winning team. Who knows, Bobby Simmons might amount to something if his injury problems are healed. He was a good player who hasn't been healthy since he's been here.

 

They need to keep drafting well, not make panic moves and let their young guys develop over the next 3 years. At that time they should have 6 above average to very good players and enough young guys/draft picks to make a trade for that player that puts them over the top and makes them a contender.

[danzig6767]

We have 3 young guys with potential in the front court, and 2 guys in the back court who are more or less proven.

 

I'm still not sure where the defense is going to come form, but we have assets. We have 5 players that aren't garbage or throw aways. (Redd, Williams, CV, Bogut and Yi).

 

We'll have options in terms of making trades down the road to address our needs. I'd imagine we aren't going to keep all 3 of those guys in the front court.

 

I guess my biggest hope is for Bogut to pan out and take that leap. I remember a string of games last season in January where he went nuts, grabbing all sorts of rebounds and scoring points. He needs to step up and really take some command this year. It's year 3 that guys start to make an impact in this league.

 

I don't expect CV to break out much since he missed so much of last year and is basically a year behind. Maybe late in the year, but we'll see.

 

I don't see Yi doing much this year other than maybe 15 minutes off the bench. He'll be a 7th man, but he's definitely a project player who could pay off big in a couple years.

 

You'd have to imagine with those 5 guys, in 2 years they could be a force. Redd will be as good as he'll get and Williams will be entering his prime. Both players will have a lot of experience and will have played together for awhile. Bogut and CV will have enough experience and have had played together and hopefully realize the potential they both appear to have. Yi will be in his third season and be ready to seriously contribute to a winning team. Who knows, Bobby Simmons might amount to something if his injury problems are healed. He was a good player who hasn't been healthy since he's been here.

 

They need to keep drafting well, not make panic moves and let their young guys develop over the next 3 years. At that time they should have 6 above average to very good players and enough young guys/draft picks to make a trade for that player that puts them over the top and makes them a contender.

 

All pretty much true,the one big problem though is,none of the main players on the team plays good defense and some are horrible defenders.Hard to advance in the playoffs with a team that can't get stops and can only win when their offense is on.

 

[davego]

Somehow Larry has to convince Mo and Redd to also be passers. That is how the 'bigs' can get more involved. I seriously do not want to watch 10,000 ball-screens for the guards (again). I'm hoping that we are going to ge away from calling a set play every other time down the court. IMO that his how this cast of players could have some success.

 

Best defender on the team maybe Mason. Bogut has shown some ability to defend, but certainly needs some help from the #4. Where this team really had issues last year was defending in the back court...not sure if the Bucks have improved enough there. Guess that is the challenge (of many) Larry has on his plate.

[HebrewHammer]

Defense is something these guys haven't been good at, but there's more than a couple reasons for it. One the more they play together the better their defense will get. Defense is a team game too and more experienced players will play better and better defense. I'm not saying these guys would ever be a top defense, but they could be middle of the road.

 

Secondly, to get the e bigs more involved, Mo and Bogut have to develop a 2 man game. These guys have to be the 2 pronged pivot on the team. It's vital for the teams success that Bogut becomes a focal point in the middle and becomes the inside pivot we need to work the ball inside to out.

 

If Mo and Bogut can develop some serious chemistry over the next few years, we're in business. These guys need to create a 2 man game that collapses and shifts defenses into mismatches.

 

They should be able to run a 4 around 1 style of offense in the half court, modified to allow for more of a 2 man game between Mo and Bogut. They have the personal for it, considering Simmons comes back. They have big bodied SF's in Simmons and Mason who can set excellent screens for pick and rolls with Redd. They have a PF in CV that should create mismatches on offense.

 

Their offense should be good if they play team oriented ball. the ultimate goal should usually be to get Redd and open look. But they need to make it easier on Mike and not just give it to him and expect him to always create a shot, which he does well. But last year the offense would stall when he wasn't on. It's now that they need Bogut to control the paint and work the ball inside, exploiting his well above average passing skills for the position. CV is going to have to be able to play inside and out, helping Bogut when he's in trouble and staying outside to give Bogut space to operate and another passing option.

 

Last year they tried doing this but it wasn't very successful. Mainly because Bogut had a tough time inside with the ball and the team did a bad job giving him the ball inside. He would get the ball and basically go one on one with another center with the opposite PF coming in for a double when Bogut got close. The other 4 guys would basically stand around the perimeter and watch. I blame Stotts for this. Today they should be able to bring the ball up, spread the defense and find Bogut inside. Mo needs to stay strong side with Bogut to open up that 2 man game. Bogut shouldn't have to dribble much at all. It should be inside, a look for a shot or a pass and then back out. If Mo isn't open at this time CV needs to come on from the weak side to help bail him out. Simmons should be setting screens for Redd to come off of at this time and either Bogut or Mo should be able to find him. Redd should look to shoot if he's open almost always.

 

The point is they need to dribble a whole lot less, get the ball inside and then outside and use screens to get one of the best shooter in the league open. Quick passing and less dribbling should keep the offense fresh and running smoothly for some time. It allows Redd to get the most shots and be open for them and also gives everyone else a chance to get the ball and make a great pass or take a high percentage shot.

 

You hope this becomes possible with chemistry.

[Baldkin]

Hoping it comes true, and watching Redd and Mo the last two years....

 

To quote Grumpier old men, "You can wish in one hand, and crap in the other, and see what gets filled first."

 

I love the Bucks, but, unless they actually throw the ball inside they will, yet again, not be a very good team. Bogut had many games last year where teams would never double team him, and he would be owning the other teams center, and he'd end up with 8 touches the whole game. I really hope this changes this year, and that Mo gets away from being a dribbling shoot first point guard, and turns into a distributor. The Bucks have so many guys who can score, that ball movement (and running the court!) should be a huge priority.

 

I hope I don't have to become a Suns fan again this year, because I can't stand to watch the iso on the wing/ball screen offense for an entire year.

[HebrewHammer]

And not only that but when they get Bogut the ball inside, they better not just stand around the perimeter and have him post up or some garbage like that.

 

What bothered me about Stotts is that he never tried to exploit Bogut's biggest strength : passing. I don't want to see Bogut dribbling too much inside and trying to post up a center. Guys need to be moving around and getting open so he can quickly get them the ball. We need to see better off the ball slashing and such so we can exploit our strengths inside.

[danzig6767]

I expect the Bucks to be one of the better offensive teams in the NBA and one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA.The one area that could improve quite a bit is rebounding,they were a horrible rebounding team party because of injuries,partly because Stotts loved small ball,and partly because Bogut rebounds hard on nights when he feels like it.

 

I agree that defense is part effort/teamwork,but it is also individual skill.There isn't a single above average defender in the projected starting five,teamwork can only help so much when you have so many average at best and poor defenders.The guards allow way to much penetration and none of the bigs offer any help defense,the Bucks bigs were the worst shotblocking group in the NBA last season along with being soft as melted butter.

[HebrewHammer]

Bogut isn't much of a shot blocker and doesn't project to be. Teams aren't scared to take it inside. So it's partly the guards allowing too much penetration but also the fact that opponents will race to the pain more often because their shot isn't being altered or blocked much at all. Bogut takes charges, but a charge isn't worth nearly as much as a block in terms of keeping people out of the paint. Players aren't going to stop going into the paint because they got called for a charge on the center last time. They're going to wise up and go around him and look for his move. Blocks are a sign of altering shots. If a guy is blocking a couple shots a game, it means he's also altering a whole lot more shots a game, and players will generally avoid trying to go inside too much for fear of altering a shot and creating an easy defensive rebound.

 

So if Bogut can develop into a guy who alters shots, we're in business. If players are not as prone to take it inside for fear of altering, the guards won't be giving up nearly as much penetration. Remember, a guards main defensive purpose is to not give up open 3's in the NBA. If you're asking a guard to not allow open 3's while also blocking off an opponents first step to the hoop, you're asking for a lot. The Bucks would start to get burned by the 3 last year when the guards would play to protect the paint. Keep in mind they almost always outscored their opponents in points in the paint. But it was often at the expense of giving up a high 3 pointer percentage. The last thing you want to do in the NBA is allow an opponent to take a boatload of shots for 3 and make 35% of them more. That will kill you.

 

So they would protect the arc and get burned inside because the bigs didn't alter anything at all. Bogut and CV were simply terrible at protecting the paint and getting superior positioning on defense. They were often put into positions that allowed for penetrators not to be bothered.

 

This is why the Pistons had such a great defense in the past. Wallace was a grade A shot blocker/alterer and 'Sheed was pretty above average too. It was rare for teams to challenge in the paint much. So the guards would play off the offense and force them to take a covered 3 or take their chances inside. Of course, neither option was very good for the offense so they didn't score much. Hence, the Pistons are a great defense. You probably heard often of the "funneling" of players to the inside. They would give you the paint, but never an open 3. They knew if you went inside you would shoot at a very pedestrian average due to shot altering. It also helped Prince is a very good man defender often put on the opponents best player.

[davego]

The point is they need to dribble a whole lot less, get the ball inside and then outside and use screens to get one of the best shooter in the league open. Quick passing and less dribbling should keep the offense fresh and running smoothly for some time. It allows Redd to get the most shots and be open for them and also gives everyone else a chance to get the ball and make a great pass or take a high percentage shot.

 

Well stated. What I was thinking, but you put it better.

[tigerbrew]

his jersey he is holding up during his press photos has him wearing 11

Yi is wearing number 9, fans can now purchase his number 9 home replica jersey at the online Bradley Center sports store.

[Oldcity]

resigned Williams for a fair contract

Isn't that putting it lightly?http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/frown.gif