Defense matters in the NBA.  When it comes to the best big men in the world, there is Dwight Howard and then there is Bucks center Andrew Bogut.  Ball Don’t Lie’s Kelly Dwyer — one of most dogged NBA junkies in the blogosphere — concurs.

Bucks fans have seen Bogut improve every year in the face of a couple of broken noses, a smashed kneecap, a bashed upper thigh and a troublesome lower back.  The rest of the NBA finally took notice last February as Bogues — healthy at last — anchored coach Scott Skiles’ tenacious, turnover machine defense and at age 25 seized the mantle of leadership, lifting his Bucks out of the abyss of the Michael Redd era and reenergizing a fan base that had been dormant since the trade of Ray Allen in 2003.

No, Bogut didn’t make the 2010 All-Star team but everybody from Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy to the TNT’s Round Mound of opinion, Charles Barkley, went on record saying he should have — and would have had the Eastern Conference coaches been able to recast their ballots a couple of weeks after the voting deadline.  At season’s end, Bogut was voted 3rd team All-Pro by the league’s media, just missing the 2nd team with the 11th highest overall vote total.

Dwyer, at heart a Bulls fan and a bonafide Scott Skiles expert, tends to pay more attention to the Bucks than most NBA geeks, and his meta-awareness of the game’s sometimes unmeasurable intangibles is unrivaled.  Here’s his take on Bogut:

That’s right. The man who I think is the second-best center in the NBA didn’t even make the All-Star team last season.

This isn’t me trying to be obscure — Bogut was a No. 1 overall pick fercryin’outloud. It’s just the end result of seeing this guy work expertly on either end of the court last season. Bogut was an at-times dominant defender on par with Dwight Howard, especially when Howard started 2009-10 slow. And Bogut’s versatile offensive game still isn’t being taken advantage enough by his Bucks teammates.

All he does is do everything well, save for the odd trip to the free-throw line. And because he turns 26 just a month into the season and so many other bigs are either playing out of position, coming back from injury or starting to put it all together, I think Bogut establishes himself as a clear No. 2 in 2010-11. To those that pay attention to defense, at least.

As for Dwyer’s Top 11, I’ve gotta take issue with Hawks big man Al Horford’s #4 ranking, and I think it’s fair to say that the Lakers Pau Gasol plays as much center as teammate Andrew Bynum (#5), given Bynum’s ever-nagging knee problems.  Spurs Hall-of-Famer-to-be Tim Duncan plays center most of the time, too, it should be noted, and deserves to be in the Top 5, nevermind the Spurs’ insistence on listing Duncan as a forward, which they’ve continued to do since David Robinson retired in 2003.  Duncan’s the Spurs center.

Ranking Brook Lopez  # 3 seems to beg a “what has Lopez accomplished?” question, and wouldn’t a lot of teams take Joakim Noah’s defense and rebounding over Lopez’s sometimes uninspired D?  No way is Lopez the #3 center in the league but I realize that Dwyer was giving a nod to Lopez’s offensive game and that youth weighed in KD was balancing his criteria.

I could quibble all day into next season about rankings 3-11 (that’s what we obnoxious and insufferable NBA blogo-junkies do).  But the spot that Dwyer nailed was the one that mattered most and is most contentious among NBA faithful who care about center play — #2 behind Howard.  Bogut earned it last season and will have to fight to defend it through the coming season as guys like Lopez, Bynum, Noah, Greg Oden and Marc Gasol continue to improve and they all try to stay as healthy as the freakishly fit Dwight from another planet.  I can’t wait.

And damn you Dwyer for getting your center rankings done before I even started mine.

Filed under: Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « Al Horford - Andrew Bogut - Andrew Bynum - Ball Don't Lie - Brook Lopez - Charles Barkley - Dwight Howard - Greg Oden - Joakim Noah - Kelly Dwyer - NBA Center Rankings - Pau Gasol - Stan Van Gundy - Tim Duncan »
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Filed under: Bucks History, Essential Reading by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « Bob Boozer »
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The Bucks don’t have a center on the bench to back up Andrew Bogut.

Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t have a job, and his asking price for 2010-11 may be coming down.

If Bucks GM John Hammond doesn’t already have Shaq’s agent on speed-dial, what’s he waiting for?

Bogut’s coming off his first All-Pro season but he’s also rehabbing his mangled right paw and the Bucks still have Bogues on medical watch from the serious lower back problems that forced him to miss half the 2009 season.  Whether the Bucks prospects live or die with Bogut’s health is still a little unclear given the roster changes this summer, but nobody’s going to take them seriously in the playoffs if Bogut’s not healthy in April and May. They need a veteran big to help them manage the health of their 25-year-old star through the NBA’s 82-game ordeal.

Shaq meets and exceeds the job requirements, no doubt about that, and he “knows somebody” at Bucks HQ — coach Scott Skiles and The Diesel have been pals since their playing days on the early 1990s Orlando Magic.  It wasn’t always that way in Orlando — Skiles, Shaq and Larry Krystkowiak were the combatants in one of the NBA’s more infamous practice brawls — but the mutual respect between Shaq and Skiles was pretty well documented during the Bulls-Heat playoff series’ in 2006 and 2007.

The Diesel doesn’t have much left in the tank, but if Bogut can stay relatively healthy (there’s that “if” again) the Bucks don’t need a full time center — nor do they need Shaq to resemble the center who was 3rd team All-Pro with the Suns just 18 months ago.  They only need Shaq to be better than the two guys who manned the post against the Hawks last spring, Kurt Thomas and Dan Gadzuric.  Sitting on the bench in street clothes, Shaq would be more valuable to the team and to Bogut than KT and Gadz.

The only real questions, then, are money and desire.  The Bucks can’t really afford to pay him much more than the veteran minimum.  Setting aside the money question, if Shaq wants to play, and wants to play for Skiles and  add to his legacy by helping one of the games rising young centers, Milwaukee is the place for him to be.

***************

For the full story on the Shaq-Skiles-Krystkowiak melee, check out Chris Sheridan’s definitive account from a few years back when Krykstkowiak was coaching the Bucks.  Sounds like Larry got the worst end of it.

***************

Just when it was safe for Bucks fans to come back in the room, the elephant wakes up.

Filed under: Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « Andrew Bogut - Dan Gadzuric - John Hammond - Kurt Thomas - Orlando Magic - Scott Skiles - Shaquille O'Neal »
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Is there a more slumbering time to be a basketball junkie than the dog days of summer, when it’s so dam hot you can’t get a game on without melting the soles of your shoes?   Last year I broke the tedium by posting video of stripper babes dancing in a hot tub at a Las Vegas nightclub (the post had something to do with NBA summer league in Vegas) but that was when The Jinx was still on the Journal Sentinel sports server — my dancing stripper babes in their Vegas hot tub had to come down.

This summer, I’m too swamped with various get-rich-in-the-slowest-way-I-can-possibly-come-up-with-next schemes to even blog about “The Decision,” which I didn’t bother watching because ESPN’s basketball coverage tends to be nauseatingly bad no matter what the subject matter is.

Lebron James as prima donna with Michael Wilbon’s nose in his keester for an hour is excruciating to think about, much less envision as watchable TV programming.   But ESPN couldn’t help itself and neither could Lebron.  One would think a guy who shares a hometown with avant-punk marketing geniuses Devo (“Are We Not Men?”) would know better.  Or maybe being from Akron, Ohio, is like, well, being from Akron. (What was I trying to say here?)

Lebron might have saved himself a lot of criticism (and the world would undoubtedly be a better place today) had he simply taken the story to the better basketball broadcaster, TNT, where he could have taken his knocks from the Round Mound, Kenny the Jet, McHale and Weber like any ballplayer should.  It might even have been interesting.

Two things to be thankful for:

1) Lebron’s not a Chicago Bull, good on many levels for the Bucks (who get a more balanced rivalry) and it’s not all bad for the Bulls, either. They’ll have to gut it out Lebron-less with guys like Rose and Noah who are growing into bigtime stars (and headaches) just fine in their own right. Bogut-Jennings vs. Noah-Rose didn’t need Lebron in the mix to distort their emerging rivalry.

2) Now that he’s playing on Dwyane Wade’s team, The Nickname “The King” will die the mercy killing it deserves.

********

Bucks note: A lot of moves by  Bucks GM John Hammond this summer, my favorite one the resigning of guard John Salmons to be Brandon Jennings’ backcourt running mate for the next few years. Great job by Hammond defining the Bucks needs and the value of Salmons to the team for themselves rather than allowing the market to determine those things.

The Bucks have guaranteed 30-year-old Salmons about $36 million over four years, which is right about what Salmons was worth in light of other starting SG salaries (Ben Gordon’s to name one).

There are plenty of Bucks fans who think four years is far too long-term for a 30-year-old guard, but wait — there’s a fifth year too, which the Bucks can buy out of if Salmons is shot at 35.  Yes, the Bucks wanted The Fish that bad, and they landed him.

Good work by Hammond, enuff said.  I don’t want to think about Cory Maggette just now.

And Hammond isn’t finished shaping the 2010-11 roster.  Not yet.

********

What’s this link? … which I found laying around on the site.

“This is no time to quibble about details.

“Outside of the Milwaukee Bucks’ overpowering run to the 1971 NBA championship, the 4-minute finish Wednesday night was, without question, the greatest stretch in franchise history.  Are you kidding?”

That was Journal Sentinel Bucks columnist Michael Hunt writing at the height of Bucks excitement, jsut moments after Ersan “Bobby Jones” Ilyasova stunned the Hawks by stealing Game 5 right from under their uninspired noses.

Is he kidding?  Apparently not. Where was the Milwaukee daily newspaper’s Bucks columnist during the Nellie years? …

…. When in 1983 the Marques-and-Sidney Milwaukee Bucks swept the Bird-McHale-Parrish Boston Celtics out of the playoffs.

Sure, Game 5 against the Hawks was thrilling.  But the Bucks didn’t win the series. And they were only playing the Hawks.

Sweeping Larry Bird’s Celtics was the unthinkable impossible.  The 1983 Milwaukee Bucks, to this day one of the best teams in NBA history to not win the title, swept Larry Bird’s Celtics. How quickly we forget.

How it is that the Milwaukee daily sports guy has apparently forgotten Nellie and even been dismissive of the Nellie era lately (this isn’t the only recent bout of Nellie forgetfulness by Hunt) is a mystery, one I don’t have time to solve at the moment.   For now, let’s say that the hangover from the Michael Redd era will be with Bucks fans for a while, and it has many strange side-effects.

I’d better get to work on a few more of those fish tie blogs.

Filed under: Bucks History, Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « Brandon Jennings - Cory Maggette - Delonte West - Don Nelson - John Hammond - John Salmons - Lebron James - Marques Johnson - Sidney Moncrief »
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I’ve joined NBA draft night just in time to hear Jay Bilas describe Gordon Hayward as “an elite shooter” and realized it was going to be a long night of sneering banality from the wardens of college ball unless I acted quickly.  Off went the toob and over to Ball Don’t Lie I went for the annual draft live blog, hosted by Trey Kirby and featuring special guest sham from shamsports.com, where I had just gone to find out how long the Bucks will be stuck with Cory Maggette (three more years at $31 million total).

Meanwhile in the draft …

That “elite” shooter Hayward went to the Jazz with the #9 pick, by the way.  And the Pacers drafted Paul George with the #11 pick, taking two perimeter forwards the Bucks worked out off the board. The Bucks will draft in a few minutes.

Here’s that Ball Don’t Lie link again if you prefer your NBA analysis from guys who like pro basketball and actually think a good night of fun is sitting around at the NBA draft making up stupid nicknames for the players.

Kentucky’s Patrick “Swayze RIP” Patterson fell all the way to 14th, just out of the Bucks grasp. 

With the 15th pick the Bucks selected …

Larry – “Remember Gary Shandling for the his Amazing HBO show, not the movie where he played The Alien” –  Sanders, the 6′9″, 210-pound forward-center from Virginia Commonwealth.  Who is Larry Sanders?  Raw, wingspan, thin, not much of scorer but is scoring what a good team should want from a rookie, especially one drafted 15th?  No. Learning to play Skiles-style defense will dominate Sanders’ NBA life for some time with the Bucks. 

Check that – the Bucks list Sanders at 6′11″ and 235, so size was probably the deciding factor here. Here’s the Bucks description of From Bucks.com Draft Central:

Larry Sanders – VCU – Junior 11/21/88 – 6′11″ – 235 lbs – Forward | Draft Profile Career Highlights: Team was 75-27 during his three seasons with two regular season CAA titles and one postseason CAA title. Two-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year. Strengths: Extremely long and athletic forward who can rebound and block shots at a high clip. Runs the floor extremely well for his size. Has a frame that should fill out nicely. Offensive game is a work in progress.

From the BDL peanut gallery:

Andy – Desipio.com:  Bilas just compared Sanders to Theo Ratliff. Huh? You mean he already has a huge expiring contract?

Sham can’t believe Sanders went ahead of Solomon Alabi, center from Nigeria who played at Florida State.

I also thought the Bucks would take a good look at Alabi, figuring if they decided to go big, might as well go as big as possible and draft the center from Nigeria (also building on the international  character of the team, missing one player now that the stumbling Dutchman, Dan Gadzuric,  is a Golden State Warrior). But I’m not sure the Bucks ever got a good look at Alabi.

Sanders they did get a good look at, though it wasn’t so clear at first how much they liked what they saw.  After a June 14 workout, Bucks director of scouting, Billy McKinney said it was “a bit of a stretch” to say that Sanders was “in the mix” at #15:

“I think that might be a little bit of a stretch, but anything is possible. This draft is a little bit crazy right now because we’re not sure how the top 15 is shaking out. Every week we go through mock drafts and we look at the mock drafts and different people are all over the board. We think that might be a little bit of a stretch (to have Sanders at 15) but we have him in anyway to look at him in the event that something might happen in the event that we might move back.”

Sanders’ shotblocking abilities may have tipped the Bucks decision his way: “We’re a defensive oriented team and of course, one of the things that we’re looking at of course in the draft is trying to get more length and athleticism,” McKinney said.

This could also mean that the Bucks are in the market for more experienced help in the paint for Bogut and may want to trade up for, say, Patrick Patterson, or trade out of the draft for NBA experience. As of the Gadzuric/Bell for Magette trade, the Bucks don’t have a backup center under contract.

The guy I thought the Bucks would end up with, Luke Babbitt (6′9″ scorer/shooter out of Nevada) went in the very next pick, to the T-Wolves at #16. But the T-Wolves are trading Babbitt to Portland for Martell Webster.  Babbitt, obviously, was not enough of a paint defender/rebounder/shotblocker to fit the Bucks needs, however much they liked his offensive game.

5 picks (three straight PFs taken by the Rockets, Bucks and T-Wolves.)

 12. Memphis Grizzlies – Xavier “Ohio” Henry
13. Toronto Raptors – Ed “Dangerous Danny” Davis
14. Houston Rockets – Patrick “Swayze (R.I.P.)” Patterson
15. Milwaukee Bucks – Larry “Remember Garry Shandling For His Amazing HBO Show, Not The Movie Where He Played The Alien” Sanders
16. Minnesota T’Wolves - Luke “Rain Man (Shouts to The Jones)” Babbitt – traded to Portland for Martell Webster]

Now the Bucks are describing Sanders as 6′9″.  From the the email I just received from the team:

The Larry Sanders Show Coming to Milwaukee
 The Bucks select 6′9” forward Larry Sanders from VCU. Sanders averaged 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game for Virginia Commonwealth last season. Stay tuned to Bucks.com for info and additional draft coverage.

How tall is this guy Sanders really? And when are the Bucks ever going to get their PR #@% together. Pick a height people, especially when drafting for wingspan.

 

…. It’s 9:45 pm as I type this and the Bucks are about to pick with #37 in the 2nd round.  Sham continues to call for center Solomon Alabi. Like sham, I’m beginning to wonder why 35 teams would take a pass on Alabi and am beginning to like the idea that the Bucks will take the Florida State big man. Bogut can’t have too much help coming off another injury. The Pistons take a point guard named Terrico (or letters arranged to that effect) at #36 and the Ball Don’t Lie guys wonder if he was stoned in some photo they’re looking at.   Bucks at #37 take … 

 

Darington Hobson – New Mexico – Junior 9/29/87 – 6’7” – 205 lbs – Guard | Draft Profile Career Highlights: Made an immediate impact at New Mexico after transferring from the College of Eastern Utah. Was conference’s Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Year in his only season at New Mexico. Strengths: Skilled wing who can play three positions. Very good ballhandler for his size. Has good court vision. Can score in a variety of ways. Sticks his nose in on the glass.

McKinney didn’t have much to say about Hobson after the workout, judging by the workout notes. Hobson worked out with Luke Babbittt, Gordon Hayward, Lazar Hayward and Jordon Crawford, shooting guard out of Xavier. Needless to say, the Haywards and Babbitt got most of the attention. Crawford also went in the first round. I’m guessing that the Bucks took “the best player available here,” though I’s still not sure why that “best player available” isn’t Alabi.   I can’t find a profile of Alabi on Bucks Draft Central, so he must not have come in for a workout. 

 

With their #44 pick from the Warriors (part of the Maggette trade, originally the Blazers pick) the Bucks ended up with Jerome Jordan, a 7-footer out of Tulsa. I guess that shoots the workout theory — the Bucks didn’t work Jordan or Alabi out. Maybe these 7-footers didn’t get around as much as some of the other guys, heat and humidity being what it’s been around here lately. For a minute or two there it looked like the Bucks had taken Gani Lawal, a power forward out of Ga. Tech.

Yahoo Analysis: Jerome Jordan is the rare example of a kid who stayed too long in college since he’d have been more likely to crack the first round had he left as an underclassman. Still, there is upside here if Jordan can diversify his game since the Tulsa big man has been playing basketball for only five years. — Jeff Eisenberg

He’s 7-feet tall. That’s two backup centers added to the fold in this draft. The Bucks have one more pick in this draft, believe it or not – four altogether. This ought to be interesting. It’s pick # 47, the only pick the Bucks have in this draft that was originally theirs.

Keith “Tiny” Gallon – Oklahoma – Freshman 6’9” – 296 lbs – Forward Finished fourth on the team with 10.3 points and first with 7.9 rebounds. Hit 54.7 percent of his field goal attempts (122-223). Attended Oak Hill Academy for his Junior and Senior years of high school.

Bucks workout notes here.  Billy McKinney was fairly impressed with the entire group (Wayne Chism, Gani Lawal) that was in Milwaukee June 2 for a workout. But he seemed most impressed with the power forwards, who locked up on the blocks for some rugged matchups. It was exactly what the Bucks wanted to see.  It’s important to note that Gallon may have had the edge — he played high school ball with Brandon Jennings at Oak Hill Academy.

On Gani Lawal…
“He played well, too. It was a very competitive group, Gani Lawal going against Wayne Chism, sometimes Tiny Gallon and other times Deon Thompson. He’s very athletic, really good offensive rebounder and plays well off the ball.”

On Keith “Tiny” Gallon…
“Well that tells you a lot. It’s kind of an oxymoron when you look at Tiny he’s a big man. What I can say about him is that he’s done a great job of maintaining his weight, or getting it down. He started out, we talked to him in Chicago, he weighed 350 in high school. He’s down to 295 now, so his trend, in terms of his weight, has been going down. I’m sure once he gets with a pro team and is able to work with a strength and conditioning coach on a regular basis, he’s going to be even smaller. Maybe he’ll be Tiny, version two.”

And there you have it, Bucks draft day 2010.  Shotblocking Larry Sanders, small forward Hobson, big center Jerome Jordan and a big forward named Tiny Gallon.  Any draft day that ends with the Bucks having a guy with a wieght problem named Tiny Gallon has been a good day.

On Gallon making a name for himself aside from playing with Brandon Jennings in high school…
“That’s very important at this level for him. They played together at Oak Hill Academy for those people that don’t know that, and he and Brandon have a very good relationship, but in terms of how he will play in the pro game is going to depend on his merit—his work ethic, his commitment to keeping his weight down and improving his skill as a player.”

Filed under: Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « Ball Don't Lie - Billy McKinney - Corey Maggette - Dan Gadzuric - Larry Sanders - Luke Babbitt - Milwaukee Bucks - NBA Draft - Patrick Patterson - Scott Skiles - Solomon Alabi »
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On the night of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, is it time to start thinking about the NBA draft?  Probably not just yet, not when the actual NBA (as opposed to the possible future NBA) is about to play its biggest showcase.  Still, I’m going to play a game here and see if I can hammer out a Bucks draft rundown in the 20 minutes or so that I’ve got before the Celtics and Lakers tip off Game 7.

When is the 2010 draft anyway?  I’m not even sure to tell you the truth. But judging by the swarm of activity at Bucks headquarters in this week, I’d say the draft is coming up fairly soon — let’s call it next week. Good enough, soon enough. Let’s get it over with.

The Bucks yesterday worked out six guys, one of them likely to be the guy they pick at #15.  No, Bucks scouting director Billy McKinney would not come right out and admit that one of the six would be the pick but he might as well have, probably should have — who does he think he’s fooling with quotes like this?

“These are the kind of workouts, last year, as we were preparing for the draft and had Brandon Jennings and the group in, not to say that one of these guys will be the 15th pick, but it’s the kind of workout that we’re looking for in terms of trying to further evaluate to make a decision for the draft.” Billy McKinney, Bucks director of scouting, quote from Bucks Draft Central.

Here are the six, in no particular order except that I do think the first two (Hayward, Babbitt) will be gone when the Bucks pick at #15:

Gordon Hayward, versatile forward who led Butler to the NCAA title game last March. Great floor game, good passer, aggressive scorer. Hayward slip to 15 but that’s doubtful. If he does, Bucks snap him up. The Bucks see him as a perimeter player, either “the two guard, or the three guard,” McKinney said. Yeah, Billy actually said “three guard” in reference to Hayward. I don’t think we’ll see him in Bucks uniform next season.

 Luke Babbitt, a 6′9″ scorer and good shooter who was WAC player of the year in his final season at Nevada. He could solve some of the Bucks inconsistencies from the outside, and the Bucks are calling Babbitt an “extremely skilled scorer.”  He’s THE man if he’s still on the draft board at #15. The problem is, the Utah Jazz like Babbitt, too, and they have a top 10 pick.  Here’s hoping the Jazz let Babbitt fall to the Bucks.

Jordan Crawford, 6′4 shooting guard from Xavier, led the Atlantic 10 in scoring as a sophomore this past season. If the Bucks decide that they need a shooting guard more than anything else, Crawford’s the guy.  I think they like Babbitt better, but largely because Babbitt’s 6′9″. 

OK, so there was a particular order after all. Not much of a shocker that Babbitt, Hayward and Crawford are the top three guys. I’m a little surprised that the Bucks aren’t looking more at power forwards. PF, as always with the Bucks, is an area of need unless Darnell Jackson (picked up off the waiver wire from the Cavs last spring) can have an impact as a 6′9″-6′10″ rebounder.  From the Bucks perspective, having Jackson on the roster is probably about the same, if not better than using a draft pick at PF.

Another big concern (probably the biggest right now other than Andrew Bogut’s health) is that the Bucks may not be able to resign shooting guard John Salmons, which will make finding a scorer a priority.

Lazar Hayward. Bucks fans should know Lazar well enough, of course, having followed his career at Marquette. There’s little doubt Lazar’s an NBA player, and why shouldn’t he be?  He scored about 20 pts per game in the Big East, and at 6′6″ he rebounded tall in the toughest college league of them all.  That’s nothing to snort at. Hayward’s going to make whichever team that takes him very happy over the next few years, precisely what the Bucks were thinking this week in having him in St. Francis with this top group.  Lazar will be a smart pick at #15, and is likely to be gone by the time the Bucks pick next with Philly’s 2nd round pick.

Terrico White.  A shooter from Mississippi. I like the thinking here in looking at the best shooters possible. Carlos Delfino is not going to transform suddenly into a great NBA shooter, nor is he going to improve much at this point in his career. In fact, I’d bank on Luc Mbah a Moute improving his shot more than Delfino improves his.  See the problem here?  The shooting of a few other guys (Brandon Jennings anyone?) is worth mentioning here … but time’s-a-wasting and there was far too much clanking going on in the last two seasons by the Scott Skiles Bucks to account for it while Game 7 awaits.

Darington Hobson. Another scorer, smooth wing player, big guard small forward.  Things must not be going to well in the Salmons negotiations. Sweeten the pot, GM Hammond, sweeten the pot.

Dammit, I think I missed most of the first quarter. It’s only 8:25 pm (thirty minutes for this post, not the advertised 15. How did that happen?) …  the Celtics are up 17-13. 

Now its 23-14, Celtics with a chance to extend it even further with less than 8 seconds left in the 1st quarter. Ray Allen gets a look at a three but it’s off, 23-14…  one quarter in the books.

Ray has one three for the game thus far (1-3 from downtown), a good sign for the Celtics.  An even better sign is that Kobe is 1-7 from the floor and Pau Gasol is 2-8.   No, they’re not going to shoot 12-60 for the game but Kobe’s out to gun in the deciding game, no matter the outcome. And he takes the first shot of the 2nd quarter …

Ray misses another three and is now 1-4 from downtown as he and Kobe go to the bench for the first time in the game.  The score is 23-19, Boston into a timeout with 10 mins to play in the 2nd.    ….

Filed under: Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
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It can’t be written better than Wojnarowski wrote it for Yahoo Sports.  “It” being The Play that has so far defined the 2010 NBA Playoffs.  It … ”came out of nowhere, out of Rajon Rondo’s(notes) wildest imagination.

The ball poked into the backcourt, and the Orlando Magic’s Jason Williams(notes) chased it past midcourt and all the way to the 3-point line. He had a good step, maybe two, on Rondo, and just when Williams reached down to pick up the ball, Rondo did something you’ve never seen on the basketball court – one more thing that makes you wonder what in the world can the Los Angeles Lakers do with him.

Rondo dove flat-out, thrust his arm between Williams’ legs, used his right hand to stop the ball and scooped it into his control. When he transferred the ball from his right to left hand, Rondo was still laying on the floor. Williams had watched all of this happen in a blur, and just stood there, blankly, wondering what the hell was happening around him. Rondo bounced to his feet, dribbled hard twice, crossed over the Magic guard and hit a twisting, spinning layup.

When you watch the play again and again in slow motion, take a long look at the fans on the baseline. Eyes wide, jaws dropped, those were the precise expressions. These are the playoffs of Rajon Rondo leaving everyone with a “What the %$&! did he just do?” moment.

The ”quarterback” has defined what’s right with the Boston Celtics on their run to the finals — Rondo is everywhere, offensively and defensively, he wants it more than the point guards in front of him, and is making the right decisions running the Celtics offense.  Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are still good enough to make it very difficult to beat the Celtics in a seven-game playoff series, even moreso when their young point guard — next to an offensive liability in 2008 — is making magical plays.

Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen and Big Baby Davis give the C’s the bench edge. It’s a better bench than the 2008 champions, though not as slick on the perimeter (no Eddie House, Sam Cassell or James Posey). The Celtics are beating teams much closer to the hoop this time around.

For the Lakers, Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum give the Lakers some toughness and tallness that they lacked two years ago.  Artest, in particular, gives them a defensive option on Pierce and Allen that they didn’t have in 2008. However, try as I might, it’s pretty difficult to imagine Ray and Pierce being outmanned by Artest — unless the officials allow Ron-Ron’s defensive mayhem and antics on the perimeter. But I don’t see it bothering Pierce too much, while Allen takes a certain glee in getting Kobe’s goat, dating back to the rivalry that developed when Ray ended up in Seattle in 2003 — “I don’t want to hear my name mentioned in the same sentence as Ray Allen,” Kobe said two years ago. This is no friendly rivalry.

So where does that leave the Lakers?  Kobe’s the man, banged up or not (he’s probably in pretty good shape after a week off) but Pau Gasol’s scowl still doesn’t equal toughness against Perkins, Garnett and Rasheed. A lot depends on  Bynum and forward Lamar Odom. This is not necessarily a bad thing for the Lakers, as Odom is usually an all-around menace against the Celtics, against whom his experience counts more than scowls and antics. For Bynum, the 2010 Finals are another big moment, proving ground to claim a piece of turf in the NBA paint, territory that he’ll be battling for for years to come with the Howard, Bogut (the other AB) and Noah. Gasol will need his help as the Celtics form a crowd near the basket as they did to Dwight Howard in the East Finals. Perkins is two seasons more crafty than he was in 2008, and his new partner in crime is the always volatile Rasheed, more than a match for Pau. 

I like Bynum’s chances of having a major impact in this series. Bynum is the only 7-footer in this series, standing out in a mean crowd of 6′10″ and 6′11″ big men. Wingspan matters, but is Bynum tough enough?  We’ll find out how much the Lakers missed him in 2008.

Prediction: Close to call overall, of course, and I’m loathe to make predictions. The Celtics are playing better basketball right now. That’s worth a few games early on. The longer the series goes, the less I like the Celtics chances. Best way around this dilemma is a duel prediction:  Celtics in six.  But if they can’t finish the Lakers off in LA by game six, Lakers in seven.

Filed under: NBA Playoffs, Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « Boston Celtics - Pau Gasol - Rajon Rondo »
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Are the 2010 Celtics better than the 2008 championship team?  They might be, despite the wear and tear on The Big Three (as undetectable as wear and tear may be on Ray Allen).  These days, there’s as much reason to talk about the other Allen, forward Tony.

Rajon Rondo’s certainly a lot better than the guy that Delonte West didn’t bother to guard in the 2008 Cavs-Celtics series.  Rasheed Wallace is a better big man off the bench than P.J. Brown or Leon Powe. Of course.  Glen “Big Baby” Davis is a wrecking ball off the bench, and a couple of years removed from 2008 when he looked raw and uncomfortable on the court, like he didn’t know the plays. Big Baby has improved each season since the title.  Michael Finley?  Nice guy to have around as a 9th man. 

Factor in a finally healthy Tony Brown having a breakout playoff run, and the supporting cast in Boston circa 2010 is hands down better than the guys who helped the Big Three win it all in 2008. And they’ve all been tested by the rigors of a couple of injury plagued seasons.

Still, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce can be good for 47 combined points on any given night or day, as they were in Sunday in Orlando.  When that happens the C’s are near impossible to beat, Game 1 and home court advantage to Boston, 92-88.

Somebody might want to wake Vince Carter up before the East Finals are over.

“I think it was a wake-up call that we really needed. Now it’s what are we going to do about it? How do we respond?” — Carter after Game 1.

Count me as one who never thought the Magic could win it all with VC at shooting guard.  They won’t, not this year anyway.

Thanks go to the NBA blog Both Teams Played Hard  for the photo.

And if you get a chance, do take a look at Dwyer’s Behind the Box Score entry on Celtics-Magic Game 1.

Filed under: NBA Playoffs, Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « 2010 NBA Playoffs - Boston Celtics - NBA Playoffs - Orlando Magic - Paul Pierce - Rajon Rondo - Rasheed Wallace - Ray Allen - Tony Allen - Vince Carter »
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He didn’t make the cut on the All-defensive teams but Andrew Bogut’s break-out season didn’t go unrecognized.  The Milwaukee Bucks have an All-Pro center for the first time since Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Bogut today joined Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Suns forward/center Ama’re Stoudemire as the league’s All-NBA centers, becoming the first Australian player ever voted All-Pro.  Bogut was voted 3rd-team All-NBA by the league’s media, receiving the 11th-highest vote total (149) and finishing ahead of big men Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol.

Bogues averaged 15.9 pts, 10.2 rebs and was 2nd in the NBA to Howard in blocked shots (2.5 per game). The league’s two best centers were the only players to average more than 15 pts, 10 boards and 2 blocks per game. …  Bogut was also 2nd to Howard in defensive rating and 9th in defensive rebounding % and total rebound %. 

More importantly, the Bucks were 40-29 in AB’s 69 games and are finally poised to become a force in the East, five seasons after drafting the 7-footer #1 overall out of the University of Utah (2005).

Kareem (1970 draft) is the only other Bucks #1 overall pick to win All-NBA honors. Center Kent Benson (1977) and forward Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson (1994) never achieved it, though the Dog was a two-time All-Star. 

Bogut becomes the 9th All-Pro in Bucks history. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 5 times: 1st Team (1971-74); 2nd Team (1970)

Sidney Moncrief, 5 times: 1st Team (1983); 2nd Team (1982, 1984-86)

Marques Johnson, 3 times: 1st Team (1979); 2nd Team (1980-81)

Terry Cummings, 2 times: 2nd Team (1985); 3rd Team (1989)

Oscar Roberston: 2nd Team, 1970 1971

Vin Baker: 3rd Team, 1997

Ray Allen: 3rd Team, 2001

Michael Redd: 3rd Team, 2004

Andrew Bogut: 3rd Team, 2010

Note:  3rd Team All-NBA didn’t exist until 1989.

Filed under: Bucks History, Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « 2010 All-NBA Team - Andrew Bogut - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Lebron James - Marques Johnson - Oscar Robertson - Sidney Moncrief »
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Bucks center Andrew Bogut missed the cut for the 2010 NBA All-Defensive teams despite being 2nd in the league only to Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard in blocked shots and defensive rating.  The two All-D teams are selected by position in a vote of the league’s 30 head coaches.

What’s defensive rating?  That’s the all-important stat that shows how many points per 100 possessions a team allows when a player is on the floor.  Howard, as usual, had no peer with a 95.4 rating, while Bogut was all alone at #2 in the 98.0 range. The rest of the league leader board picks up at #3 with Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace (99.7).

Howard led the league in blocked shots (228 total, 2.8 per game) with Bogut (175, 2.5) right behind him despite missing 13 games and being hampered with injuries early in the season.  Josh Smith was a distant third with 2.1 blocks per game. 

The Bucks were the #3 defensive team in the NBA, right there with Howard’s Magic and Larry Brown’s Bobocats (Wallace).  The Bucks were the only team in the NBA’s top 5 that did not have a player voted all-NBA defensive. Recognition for Bogut and the Bucks was a no-brainer here.

It sucks to be an NBA center not named Dwight Howard.

Howard, the Defensive Player of the Year, took his rightful place as 1st-team All-D center. Out of 29 possible votes (coaches can’t vote for their own players), Howard received 28 1st-team votes.

Naming the #2 center should have been easy enough in a position by position vote, which is what the NBA says the All-defensive vote is supposed to be. So where did those backup center votes go?   To Clippers-Trailblazers ageless wonder Marcus Camby (10 votes) and Bogut (8).  Bulls center Joakim Noah (4) and the Celtics’ Kendrick Perkins (2) also received 2nd-team votes, with Perkins and Camby lucking into a 1st-team vote apiece. 

Centers receiving votes:  1) Dwight Howard;  2) Marcus Camby; 3) Andrew Bogut; 4) Joakim Noah; 5) Kendrick Perkins. 

Wild cards: Tim Duncan and Andy Varejao

OK, so Camby was the selection as All-defensive 2nd team center, correct? 

Nope. It was Tim Duncan, who was on 13 ballots — mostly as a forward.  I haven’t seen the ballots but if Howard’s the #1 center on every ballot but two, then at least six of Duncan’s 8 1st team votes are as a forward. I’m assuming most of Duncan’s five 2nd-team votes were in the  forward slot as well.  Varejao played a fair amount of center in the absences of Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in Cleveland, so it’s fair to say that a couple of Andy’s 2nd team votes may have been center votes. A couple.

The NBA obviously didn’t stick to its position-by-position results with the center spot and Duncan, who does actually play center in San Antonio (this is the opposite of the “Duncan as forward” All-Star ballot thing). Here Duncan gets most of his points as a 1st-team forward. Doesn’t it seem that the obvious thing would be to bump a forward (Varejao in this case) off this list?   It makes more sense than snubbing the centers.

It gets a little more complicated when you realize that Duncan actually plays more center than Camby, a Clippers forward for most of this season.  So here you have a guy who plays mostly center (Duncan), voted in as a forward, bumping a guy voted as a center who mostly played forward (Camby).  When it’s time for the year-end accolades, it sucks to be a center not named Dwight Howard

I realize that the Milwaukee Bucks aren’t the first NBA team that comes to mind for media vote awards like Rookie of the Year, but it’s a problem when the coaches can’t even remember the Bucks. And it’s a problem when  the league’s 2nd-best defensive center, the anchor of the #3 defense in the league, #2 in blocked shots and defensive rating, can’t get recognized.

For anybody that thinks I’m overstating the issue (who cares about 2nd-team defensive awards, right?), Bogut would have missed the 3rd team, too, had the league stuck to its voting results  …

– Camby was 11th with 12 pts. Bogut was 16th, tied with teammate Luc Mbah a Moute (8 pts each).  Guard Jason Kidd, Camby, forward Ron Artest, point guard Deron Williams and guard Kirk Hinrich finished just ahead of Bogues and Mbah a Moute. 

Filed under: Uncategorized by J.D. Mo.
Tags: « 2010 NBA All-Defensive - Andrew Bogut - Lebron James - Luc Mbah a Moute - NBA All-defensive - NBA Centers - Swight Howard - Tim Duncan »
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