Tag: Milwaukee Bucks (Page 18 of 18)

      NBA season tips off tonight

      October 28, 2008 /

      TNT has a nice doubleheader to start the NBA season.

      Cavs @ Celtics, 8 PM ET
      LeBron James and his new sidekick – Mo Williams – head into Beantown to face the defending champion Celtics, who have to refocus themselves after their magical 2007-08 season.

      Trail Blazers @ Lakers, 10:30 PM ET
      The Lakers are the consensus favorite to win the title this season, while the Trail Blazers are a popular darkhorse playoff pick in the West. Will Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol play well together? Is Greg Oden ready to emerge? This game also features a great matchup between Kobe Bryant and Brandon Roy.

      InDemand is running a free preview of NBA League Pass, so you can also see how the new-look Bucks fare against the Bulls at 8:30 ET.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      2008 NBA Preview: #18 Milwaukee Bucks

      October 20, 2008 /

      Offseason Movement: New GM John Hammond was busy this summer wheeling and dealing. Two starters from last season are gone. The Bucks traded Mo Williams to Cleveland in a three-way deal that brought Luke Ridnour from Seattle/OKC. Williams was more of a scorer, while Ridnour is definitely a pass-first point guard. The team also traded Yi Jianlian (and Bobby Simmons) to the Nets for Richard Jefferson. This move implies that the team is in “win now” mode, which makes sense given the roster.
      Keep Your Eye On: Charlie Villanueva
      Everyone thought that Charlie V would be one of the first Bucks to go once Hammond took over, but the team dealt Yi instead and they’re expecting V to take over at power forward. In the 31 games he started last season, he averaged 15/8, so if he can play enough defense to make new coach Scott Skiles happy, he could be in for a big year. The Bucks sure need him to break out, and there’s a good bet that he will, especially if he takes the ball to the hole more.
      The Big Question: Can Scott Skiles whip this team into shape?
      For the last several years, the Bucks have lacked a defensive mindset and toughness. There’s definitely enough talent to compete; a starting five of Ridnour, Michael Redd, Jefferson, Villanueva and Bogut makes for a good young core of skilled offensive players. If Skiles can get them to increase their effort on defense, the team should make a jump in the standings. It’s no sure thing that all the players will buy in; it’s just as likely that the Bucks will be looking at a losing record two months in and Skiles will have a revolt on his hands.
      Outlook: Encouraging. The addition of Jefferson is a huge upgrade at small forward, which has been a weak spot for the last two seasons. The loss of Yi is a loss of potential only, as Villanueva should be able to produce better numbers from that position. Assuming good play from Redd and continued growth from Bogut, the Bucks are one of the darkhorses in the East. If Ridnour helps the team meld into a single cohesive unit offensively and Skiles can get them into the middle of the pack defensively, then the Bucks will be in business.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Cavs acquire Mo Williams via trade

      August 13, 2008 /

      The Cleveland Cavaliers may have found LeBron’s sidekick… Mo Williams.

      Mo Williams, the high-scoring point guard from Milwaukee, will go to Cleveland in the deal, which should be announced later Wednesday.

      The 6-foot-1 Williams averaged 17.2 points and a team-high 6.3 assists for the Bucks last season.

      Cleveland will send shooting guard Damon Jones to Milwaukee and forward Joe Smith to Oklahoma City.

      Milwaukee also will get point guard Luke Ridnour and forward Adrian Griffin from Oklahoma City.

      Oklahoma City, formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics, also gets Desmond Mason, the athletic small forward, from the Bucks.

      I know there are many Bucks fans celebrating this move. A lot of people don’t like Mo’s game since he’s not a pass-first point guard. But he was 16th in the league in assists (6.3), and he’s a terrific scorer (17.2 ppg) and a pretty good rebounder (3.5 rpg) for a point guard. He’s sort of a poor man’s Gilbert Arenas. He’s not a terribly good defender, but since leaving the Jazz a few years ago, he hasn’t been around a defensive-minded coach. If Mike Brown can get some defense out of him, he could turn Williams into an All-Star caliber player. I love this trade for the Cavs.

      And, as a Bucks fan, I hate this trade for Milwaukee. Luke Ridnour? Really? That’s the best you can do for a guy who averaged 17 points and six assists last season? Bucks GM John Hammond made some nice moves this offseason, but I don’t like this trade one bit.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Cavs pursuing Mo Williams?

      August 11, 2008 /

      This is one of those rumor-of-a-rumor stories, but the Cavs could be talking with the Bucks about point guard Mo Williams.

      A league source said the Cavs might be pursuing Bucks point guard Mo Williams. All the details aren’t known, but the Cavs, Bucks and Oklahoma City (formerly Seattle) are reportedly involved.

      If Williams is headed to the Cavs, however, would Delonte West be included in such a deal? He’s a restricted free agent who has been a regular at Cleveland Clinic Courts for much of the summer. It wouldn’t make any sense to have Williams and West on the same roster since both expects to be starters.

      Some have questioned how Redd would have fit in with superstar LeBron James. The same questions could be asked about Williams, who is a prolific scorer who is used to getting his shots.

      He’s shredded the Cavs over the years. He’s not known as being a top defender, even though he boasts quickness and speed.

      He averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 assists and shot 48 percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the 3-point arc last season.

      I love these stories. The Cavs “might” be pursuing Mo Williams? That could be said about any player and any team.

      Anyway, as a Bucks fan, I’d really like to see how Mo and Michael Redd respond to new head coach Scott Skiles before jettisoning either of them. Neither is a great defender, but if Skiles can at least get them to put forth the necessary effort on that end of the court, the Bucks would quickly become a playoff contender.

      From the Cavs point of view, Mo would be a pretty nice fit. He’s a terrific scorer and a capable playmaker, and his salary isn’t bad for the production he brings.

      8/12 Update: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Bucks Blog is reporting that a three-way deal (involving the Cavs) for Mo is indeed in the works. Reportedly, the Bucks are targeting Luke Ridnour of the newly-founded Oklahoma City franchise. I’m not sure what the Bucks are thinking here, unless they are certain that Scott Skiles and Mo Williams can’t co-exist. Ridnour has proven to be a backup in this league, and while he’s a pass-first point guard, he isn’t known at all for his defense.

      Fantasy Basketball, General Sports, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Ric Bucher said something stupid today

      July 10, 2008 /

      So I’m watching SportsCenter this morning and they’re talking about all the NBA happenings, and the SC guy (I forget his name) asked Ric Bucher about the five-year, $72.5 million contract that Andrew Bogut signed.

      Bucher makes a good point that it’s probably a big number for Bogut – I estimated his value at $12.0 M – $12.5 M per season – and that the other GMs around the league are likely angry at John Hammond for skewing the pay scale for big men. He mentioned restricted free agents Emeka Okafor and Andris Biedrins as two guys that will probably look at the contract that Bogut signed and think they deserve something similar.

      I don’t have a problem with these points as they are completely valid (though neither Okafor or Biedrins have the polished low post game that Bogut has).

      The SC guy threw out the name “Jim McIlvaine” (referring to the absurd contract that McIlvaine signed after having accomplished nothing in the league) to which Bucher chuckled, and then replied, “More like Travis Knight.”

      Both Knight and McIlvaine are poster boys for overpaid big men in the NBA. McIlvaine made almost $28 million over a career in which he averaged 2.7 points and 3.1 rebounds. For his part, Knight posted 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds while earning more than $18 million in his career.

      Both players were grossly overpaid, but neither player is even in the same league talent-wise as Andrew Bogut, who averaged 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds as a rookie, 12.3 points and 8.8 rebounds in his sophomore season and 14.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in his third season. Does he deserve a contract that averages $14.5 million a year? Probably not. But does he deserve to be compared to Jim McIlvaine and Travis Knight? Hell no.

      Truth be told, the contract is about $2 million per season more than Bogut is worth, but small market teams that haven’t won recently usually have to overpay to keep their stars. Given the 16.3 points and 11.6 rebounds that Bogut averaged after the All-Star break, along with the improvement he’s made in blocking shots (from 0.5 bpg in 2006-07 to 1.7 bpg last season), as a Bucks fan I’m happy they locked him up.

      Update (8/8/08): Bogut’s base deal was for five years and $60 million. Hard-to-reach incentives bring the total possible value of the contract up to $72.5 million, so the $12 million per season estimate was right on the money. (Don’t worry, I won’t break my arm patting myself on the back. I know you were worried.)

      NBA

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