Tag: Milwaukee Bucks (Page 6 of 18)

      Scott Brooks named Coach of the Year

      April 21, 2010 /

      Per NBA.com…

      Back when the Thunder were 3-29 last season, the notion of the playoffs coming to Oklahoma City any time soon was unimaginable.

      But it was that same miserable stretch that made general manager Sam Presti confident that coach Scott Brooks was the right man to lead his team into the future.

      While Oklahoma City struggled to the worst start in the NBA, Presti was impressed by the way Brooks stayed the course and never tried to force immediate changes in hopes of making the Thunder better. He has now taken the youngest roster in the league and turned the team into a 50-game winner and a playoff team just one season after the horrendous start.

      For that best-in-the NBA turnaround, Brooks was recognized Wednesday as the NBA’s coach of the year. He received 71 of 123 first-place votes and 480 points to finish ahead of Milwaukee’s Scott Skiles (26 first-place votes, 313 points) and Portland’s Nate McMillan (9, 107).

      I thought that the race between Brooks and Skiles would be closer. Before the season, the over/under for Bucks’ wins was 28.5 while the Thunder had an over/under of 34.5. Milwaukee exceeded its total by 17.5, while Oklahoma City was +15.5. Granted, the Eastern Conference isn’t as strong as the West, but that was taken into account when the oddsmakers made the initial line. To Vegas, the Bucks were a bigger surprise, and let’s not forget that Skiles led his team to 46 wins without a transcendent, on-the-rise player like Kevin Durant or even a single All-Star. And he lost Michael Redd early in the season.

      Brooks did a hell of a job this year, but I think Skiles’ overall season was a bit better. But maybe I’m just a Bucks homer.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News

      Cavs, Hawks and Celtics hold home court

      April 17, 2010 /

      Cavs 96, Bulls 83
      Derrick Rose (28-7-10) pretty much had is way, but no other Bull scored more than 12 points in the loss. The Cavs looked great at the start and cruised to a 15-point halftime lead behind a svelte and energetic Shaquille O’Neal, who scored 10 points in the first two periods. The Bulls did cut the lead to seven with 6:20 to play in the game, but a 16-10 run by the Cavs put the game out of reach. LeBron posted 24-6-5 and Mo Williams added 19-4-10 in the win.

      Hawks 102, Bucks 92
      Atlanta got off to a blistering start and led by 17 after the first quarter and by 22 at halftime. But the Bucks fought back behind 34 points from Brandon Jennings and 16 points from John Salmons, and managed to cut the lead to seven with an Ersan Ilyasova three-pointer with 7:56 to play. But there was just too much Mike Bibby, who hit 8 of 9 from the field for a surprising 19 points. Joe Johnson led the way with 22-7-5 and Al Horford added 15-7 with five blocks. Scott Skiles may want to rethink his matchups. To start the game, his best defender, Luc Mbah a Moute, was watching Johnson, but that put Carlos Delfino on Josh Smith, who just owned him down low. If Johnson would’ve had a bad game, sure, keep Mbah a Moute on him, but if he’s going to score 20+ anyway, you might as well make things more difficult for Smith on the block.

      Celtics 85, Heat 76
      We’ve wondered all season if this lackluster Boston team can simply flip the switch, and they managed to do it in Game 1. Miami led by 14 with about seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but the C’s clamped down defensively and rattled off a 38-15 run over the remaining 19 minutes. There was a strange scene late in the fourth when Paul Pierce collapsed near the Miami bench with under a minute to play. Contrary to Hubie Brown’s analysis, Pierce injured his neck when his head got caught on the official as he headed out of bounds. While he was down, Quentin Richardson came over (for some unknown reason) and Kevn Garnett, who was standing over Pierce, threw a little elbow into Richardson to keep him back. The two started talking shit, and next thing you know, KG throws another elbow and gets tossed from the game. We’ll see if the league steps in and hands down any suspensions. There also may be an argument that a few Heat players “left the bench area” even though the scrum happened right in front of the Miami bench. In the end, someone for the Heat needs to step up and make some shots. Dwyane Wade (26-8-6) is a great, great player, but he can’t do it all by himself. Jermaine O’Neal and Michael Beasley combined to go 6 of 22 from the field for 14 points. That’s not going to get it done. (By the way, what the hell happened to O’Neal? He’s only 31 and should be in his less-explosive-but-savvy-enough-to-score-at-will phase.)

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

      Your quick and dirty NBA Playoffs preview

      April 15, 2010 /

      The matchups are set and the first round starts this weekend. In the East, the top four teams — Cleveland, Orlando, Boston and Atlanta — seem like good bets to advance, while in the West, I wouldn’t be shocked if the bottom four seeds — Utah, Portland, San Antonio and Oklahoma City — were to make the second round. Here’s a quick look at each series:

      EASTERN CONFERENCE

      Cavaliers vs. Bulls
      It’s not often that a team that had a 10-game losing streak end in mid-February recovers and makes the postseason, but that’s exactly what the Bulls have done, winning 10 of their last 14 to capture the final playoff spot in the East. Chicago has the tools to make this a series, and with Shaquille O’Neal coming back from a long break, there’s a chance this could go to six or seven games. But in the end, Cleveland should have plenty of firepower to put the Bulls away.

      Celtics vs. Heat
      If there’s going to be an upset in the East, this will probably be it. The C’s have limped into the playoffs, losing eight of their last 13 games. Meanwhile, the Heat went 18-4 in February and March, but were just 4-3 against teams with winning records. Boston swept the season series despite Dwyane Wade’s terrific numbers (34-5-9, 50% shooting), so if anyone else steps up, the streaking Heat have a good shot at stealing the first or second game and gaining control of the series.

      Hawks vs. Bucks
      If Andrew Bogut were healthy, I’d pick Milwaukee, but the Bucks are going to have a tough time winning a seven-game series against a pretty good Atlanta team that has won 13 of its last 19 games. The Bucks’ defense could keep the games (and the series) close, but the Hawks should have enough to move on.

      Magic vs. Bobcats
      Orlando is peaking at the right time, going 19-3 in February and March. However, one of those losses was at home against Charlotte. The Bobcats are playing well too — they’re 16-7 over their last 23 games. Both teams are excellent defesively; they’re tied for first in defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions), so expect a few tight games. But Orlando just has too much talent.

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

      The 10 worst GMs in the NBA

      April 7, 2010 /

      Pacman Jonesin’ has a pretty good list of the ten worst general managers in the NBA. To his credit, the author — “Drew D” — revisited his list to see how the GMs have fared since he first wrote it.

      For the most part, these are easy targets, but the author is eating some crow for including Sam Presti (at #10) and John Hammond (at #4), whom are both in the running for this season’s Executive of the Year award.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Bucks lose Bogut for the season after gruesome injury

      April 4, 2010 /

      Andrew Bogut will likely miss the remainder of the season and the playoffs due to injuries suffered last night against the Suns.

      The Milwaukee Bucks will have to move on to the NBA playoffs without center Andrew Bogut, who suffered season-ending injuries in the team’s 107-98 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night at the Bradley Center.

      A source said early Sunday that Bogut suffered a dislocated right elbow, sprained wrist and broken right hand and would likely undergo surgery.

      Bogut was injured on a play in the second quarter when he took a long pass from teammate Carlos Delfino and dunked the ball. But the fifth-year pro fell hard to the floor, landed awkwardly and immediately screamed in pain, in a play that happened directly in front of the Bucks bench.

      Obviously, this puts a huge damper on what was otherwise a terrific season by the upstart Bucks. Nobody wanted to play Milwaukee in the first round of the playoffs.

      Hopefully, Bogut’s career isn’t threatened in any way.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑