It's FAAAAAAAANTASTIC!!

I heard someone on the radio project the Bucks lineup to be:

PG - Ramon Sessions
SG - Mike Redd (Coming off an ACL)
SF - Luc Richard
PF - Kurt Thomas
C - Dandy Andy Bogut (Off a back injury)

2nd String:
PG - Ridnour/Jennings
SG - Chuck Bell
SF - Joe Alexander
PF - Malik Allen
C - Danny G

Am I wrong in saying this looks like complete dumpster fire? You have one scorer (Redd) out of the whole bunch. He should love it though...he'll get about 32 shots per game.

This Will Make You Cringe

SI laid out the best draft picks, by slot, in NBA history. Three of these guys were drafted by the Bucks, but ended up playing elsewhere. Two Hall of Famers, and one possibly on his way. Ouch. Imagine teaming Dr. J with Kareem and Oscar??

9. Dirk Nowitzki, Bucks, 1998

12. Julius Erving, Bucks, 1972 - Had Erving signed with Milwaukee, he would have been teammates with Abdul-Jabbar and Robertson; instead, he moved to the ABA...

23. Alex English, 1976, Bucks

K bye Richard Jefferson!

Hmmm...I must admit I didn't see this one coming. I guess all he was worth was a 1-year run.

The Milwaukee Bucks agreed to trade Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto a Bucks source told ESPN.com.

Two Name was the guy who told me about this...referring to it as a "pure salary dump." Can't say I disagree. According to the article all 3 of the guys we are getting in return have expiring contracts...which in the poker game of the NBA are basically wild cards. They are highly valuable in numerous ways.

And...the Bucks continue their complete revamp AGAIN this off season. Seems like they don't know which way to go.

More questions will be answered (or not) depending on who they draft. The fate of Charlie V and Ramon Sessions are the other two big question marks besides the draft.

And oh...I think I might have scooped the JS on the ESPN article...so you know...I got that going for me...which is nice.

Jim's Favorite Team

Jim Paschke said something that I thought was really interesting during the Bucks broadcast on Saturday night vs. the Wizards.

He mentioned his latest blog post on Bucks.com, where he said that he wrote:

This may be my favorite team in the 23 years I’ve been handling television for the Bucks.

At first I thought that was a little crazy. Paschke started announcing Bucks games in 1985. But I then realized that the Bucks have been generally turrible during Jim's years behind the microphone. Like .468 winning percentage turrible, with teams that won 30 or less games 7 times, including a thrilling 20-win season.

Yes, his tenure includes teams that won 57, 50, 49, and 52 games, including the magical 2000-01 team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals and almost earned the right to be steamrolled by Kobe/Shaq.

But this current team is very likeable. They have 20-win talent without Redd and Bogut. But they try hard, which honestly is 1/2 the battle in the NBA. As a result, they generally win the games that they're supposed to win, and even manage to win some games they have no business winning.

I like this team too.

"Andy, It's Mr Stern On Line One..."

David Stern has to love this comment from Andy Bogut:

Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut says on his Web site he is spending the all-star break in Las Vegas.

"It's good to get away and have a change of scenery for a little while," Bogut said. "We all know the main reason why I'm here. To play cards. I'm going to enter a couple of tournaments around here and hopefully can learn from the experience. It's safe to say Vegas has the craftiest and sharkiest players on earth."

The Commish might have his eye on the big fella. After all, Stern "suspended" Michael F-ing Jordan for a year and a half for gambling. Yeah, do you actually think MJ was bored with collecting NBA titles and seriously wanted to ride the buses and hit .190 in the Southern League? Sure he did...

Did Ricky Pierce Sign a 10-Day Contract?

I'm not sure how the Milwaukee Bucks, as presently constructed, managed to score 124 points against Houston tonight, but the Rockets should be ashamed of themselves.

This comes on the heels of Milwaukee scoring 125 or whatever in an overtime loss against Detroit. WTF?

These injuries for the Bucks couldn't have come at a better time for Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villanueva.

K bye Bucks!

Francisco Elson...now it's your time to shine!

So...it turns out Andrew Bogut actually has a broken back? Good lord. I just hope this doesn't affect Bogut long term...like you know...over the course of the next 6 years of his contract (or however long it is).

If you read the Weekly Bucks Reports, or watch bits and pieces of any of the games, you know the difference Bogut has on the Bucks. His contributions are both direct with the stats he gives, and indirect with his passing and defensive presence. Teams also have to plan their defense differently with him on the court. With him, the Bucks are a two-dimensional team on offense. Now, they'll become a jump-shooting team exclusively, and opposing teams will have less to plan for.

Anyway, it's too bad for the Bucks. I was coming around on them. They were making a nice playoff run this year before the injury bug hit them. They're chances of making the playoffs now have decreased by...um...100%. They're done.

We'll see if Two Name wouldn't mind switching to a Weekly Marquette Report.

Bucks Action On and (Mostly) Off the Court

As I mentioned in a prior post, Goldy and I checked out your 2008-09 Milwaukee Bucks for the first time this season on Saturday night against the Pacers. My dad had 2 tickets he wasn't going to use...why not?

The highlights:

• On the way to the game, Goldy and I tried to figure out who was on the Pacers. Collectively, we came up with 3 names: TJ Ford, Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger. When we got to the game we could name 2 others by sight: Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster. The other 8 active players (Dunleavy was hurt)? A mystery until game-time.
• One guy we should have gotten was Roy Hibbert. After 2 possessions, Goldy declared Hibbert as a useless NBA player. On this night, at least, Goldy was correct.
• Our tickets promised access to the "200 Club". Unfortunately, when we arrived we learned that the 200 Club wasn't open yet - it would be opening Dec. 27. The guy we asked said that we could "probably" get into the Courtside Club instead. So we tried - no dice, we got turned away at the door unceremoniously. Maybe if I flashed my Chuckie Hacks press pass? Oh well.
• Good to see Jeff Foster (who Goldy also called Jeff Fischer and Greg Foster at different points during the night) running a 1-man weave in pre-game warmups. He appears to be friendless on the team. It must have worked, since Foster torched the Bucks (relatively speaking) for about 14 points.
• Random uniform watch: Ahman Green, Ron Dayne (Badgers, not Giants/Broncos/Texans) and the runaway winner, a Michael Jordan White Sox jersey. I think I saw 1 Bucks uniform with the current look - Richard Jefferson.
• Herb Kohl rocking the aforementioned slacks along with a green (ish) sport coat that I really can't describe. Definitely not any green that the Bucks have ever used, unless it used to be forest green but has faded after 23 years of dry cleaning. At one point the indoor Bango blimp stopped and hovered over the Senator, and then dropped a bunch of coupons right on top of him. That blimp got uncomfortably close to us - to the point where I probably could have stuck my hand in the plastic rotors.
• The Open Pantry is sponsoring the blimp this year - ouch. Another lead sponsor for the Bucks appears to be some energy drink (can't remember what it's called) whose slogan is "It's No Bull". The Bucks may be hurting for sponsors not only because Larry Harris ran the team into the ground but also because according to a fan demographic study about 25% of Bucks fans are unemployed. Outstanding.
• Speaking of the Open Pantry, the line of the night was uttered to a girl who appeared to work for Open Pantry and was approaching people and trying to get people to text something to a phone number (I just overheard a conversation). She was naturally wearing a mini-skirt and high heels. We walk out on the concourse just in time to hear some 40-something guy say to her "what are you, 17?" Nice.
• Somebody had a sign up for the entire game in the lower bowl, probably 8 rows up from the court that read "TJ Ford - No Bailout Tonight" or something like that. Get it? Ford? Bailout? Ha! It took Goldy and I a minute to catch on. The more pathetic thing was that these people were able to rest this sign on an entire empty row of seats in front of them for about 2 1/2 quarters until folks from the upper tank probably wandered down for better seats.
• On the subject of TJ Ford, that guy is absolutely terrified of contact these days. Not saying I blame him, but he did the following at least 10 times: beat his man off the dribble, got all the way to the rim, and then fired a pass out beyond the 3-point line to Marquis Daniels or some other scrub. Every time he did hit the deck, Goldy immediately made a neck injury joke. He did hit enough jumpers to score 25 points - that guy absolutely never had a jumper when he played for Milwaukee.
• At one point in the game, All-Time-Great Pacer Austin Croshere hit a vengeance 3 against his old team. Goldy literally leaped out of his seat in excitement. He was apparently the only one who could tell how good that felt for Austin.

So that was our night out with the Bucks. I'd highly recommend catching a game, if your dad has free tickets. By the way, the Bucks were up by 18 at halftime, pissed away that lead entirely by the 4-minute mark in the 4th quarter, then went on a 19-0 run to end the game, but Two Name will probably tell you about that tomorrow. The Pacers are, um, not good at basketball, from what I saw.

21 Years And Counting

Looks like the Bucks made it 21 years since their last win in Phoenix. The Suns won 74-64. Wait...that's the halftime score? Holy Crap!

A Chuckie Hacks congratulations!

Chuckie Hacks would like to send out a special congratulations to Mr. Dan Gadzuric of the Milwaukee Bucks, who with 3 blocks last night, jumped up another spot in the prestigious Bucks' record for blocked shots. He now sits 8th on the team's all time list (He's coming after you Jack Sikma).

Gadzuric played well last night, scoring 11 and grabbing 14 boards in only 20 or so minutes off the bench. With about 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter with Gadzuric on his way to a decent game, play by play maestro Jim Paschke had this to say regarding Gadzuric (paraphrasing):

Gadzuric in his 7th NBA season. He's got 7 points tonight. Maybe this...(pause) is his break out year.

Ahhh...Dan Gadzuric...we all love you.

Bucks Looked Better, Thunder is a Terrible Nickname

I again watched about 40% of the Bucks game last night, and it looked a lot better. The Thunder (is that a dumb name or what) is a bad team, but I still saw signs of things to like from the Bucks.

In one possession in the first quarter, all five players touched the ball in what ended up being a dunk for Bogut. Three of the passes were especially shocking - Redd passed up an open 3 because Jefferson had a better look, and then Jefferson saw that Charlie V. was open down low with an even better look, and then when the defense collapsed on Charlie he got it to Bogut for an uncontested shot.

It almost brought a tear to my eye. Almost.

This could have been a tough game, it being the first game of a new franchise's existence and all, but the Bucks pretty much removed the crowd from the game by racing out to a big lead and then held on for the rest of the way.

Bucks Game 1 Review

Against my better judgement, I gave the Bucks a shot. I watched about %80 of it. As a writer for a Wisconsin Sports Blog, I thought I owed it to them to check out the opening game, My bad.

All I have to say is: Nothing's changed. Its the same exact team as last year. New coach, new GM, trades, draft picks...doesn't matter. Charmain Villenueva is still soft. The guards still can't guard a folding chair. Redd still jacks up off-balance 20 footers with 2 guys in his face. The point guards blow (Tyronne Lue might be the worst Buck that actually gets minutes in a long time). Bogut still has zero post moves. McGlocklin and Paschke are still trying to pump up this garbage. Dan Gazuric still makes me laugh. And Knight Jr (Skiles) the disciplinarian didn't inspire much more hustle and defense than the previous coaches.

Bright spots: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Fuamatu-Maafala was a good 2nd round pick. He plays some D and hit a few open jumpers. He'll stick around the league for a decade. Jefferson is way better than Yi. That's about it.

That's it, I'm done. They had their chance. This is the last word I write about the current Bucks (old Randy Breuer references allowed) unless Skiles throws a folding chair across the court.

I also watched about 6 minutes of the Portland-Lakers game just to see Oden. He moves like a 38 year old Robert Parish, and that's not a good thing.

Weekly Bucks Report - Bucks 2008 Preview - Part 1

Every Monday or Tuesday this NBA season, a report on the Milwaukee Bucks will be posted right here at Chuckie Hacks. It will be written by a man known in certain circles as Two Name, a man who knows far too much about the Milwaukee Bucks (and the NBA for that matter) for his own good.

After the recent success of the Brewers and Packers, the Bucks are definitely 3rd (or even 4th) fiddle in Milwaukee, and might not gather much attention around the rest of the state. I'm sure a good percentage of folks in WI harbor negative feelings towards the NBA (myself included), but that's not going to stop us from posting these reports every week. At least we can say this about this upcoming team: Bobby Simmons (aka: the Jeffrey Hammonds of Bucks history) is not longer with the team. Thank God.

The first report is a preview of the Bucks, broken down into 2 parts. Check us out tomorrow afternoon for the 2nd half of the Bucks preview.

Loyal, crazed Bucks fans reside in the minority, not the majority, in the city of Milwaukee. It’s unfortunate, but understandable. All Milwaukee fans want is teams that play hard and make them feel like they didn’t throw away money when they came to the arena. The Bucks haven’t provided fans with that feeling lately.

With GM John Hammond and coach Scott Skiles now running the show, I think fans will turn the corner and start supporting the Bucks again. Not everybody will be all-in this season, because the team will struggle. But at least they will be able to witness the building blocks in place. Fans who do come to the BC will need to keep a program on hand to learn about all the new players comprising this revamped roster. With that in mind …

Let’s take a closer look at the team heading into the opener Tuesday against the Bulls in Chicago, starting with the projected starting five. The next installment will contain write-ups on the reserves, with a few other thoughts.

Luke Ridnour
2007-2008 stats: 6.4 ppg; 4 apg; 1.5 rpg (with Seattle)
The numbers aren’t great, that’s for sure. He was the backup point guard in Seattle – the worst team in the Western Conference last year – and he played behind Earl Watson, not exactly a household name in the Association. That being said, we actually will get to see a player who relishes being a point guard and all that role entails – passing, penetrating, and putting the best players in position to score. That will be a welcome sight for Bucks fans after watching shoot-first, out-of-control floor “leaders” of the past, such as Sam Cassell (yes, Sam was great for what he was, but that wasn’t being a point guard), T.J. Ford, and Mo Williams. Scott Skiles demands more out of his point guard than another other position on the floor, hence why Mo is running with LeBron and Ridnour is quarterbacking the Bucks. Ridnour will not “wow” you, but he’s an efficient NBA player, and he won’t make you pull your hair out after witnessing the point guard hoist up jumpers before a single teammate possesses the ball. Last point about Ridnour that many forget: The committee for USA Basketball invited him to try out for the team that competed in the World Championships in 2006 and the Olympics this summer. He didn’t make the roster, but interesting nonetheless.

Michael Redd
2007-2008 stats: 22.7 ppg; 3.4 apg; 4.3 rpg
I like this guy. I really do. But I like the Mike Redd that played behind Ray Allen early in his career and earned both his money and his minutes. After getting paid with a careless maximum contract, it’s gone to his head. He believes he’s in the same tier as superstars in his salary bracket, but he’s not even close. So, too often, he tries to shoot himself into that bracket by hogging the ball, trying to fill the box score. He ran three coaches out of town, despite the persona that he’s such a great citizen, teammate, Christian, blah, blah, blah. But, finally, the Bucks have a coach Redd cannot control, which is good for him and the team. He is a superb shooter, and it ends there. That specific ability is the only reason he has a gold medal. If he wants to take the ball to the rim and get fouled from time to time, that’s fine, but the offense no longer should run through No. 22. Andrew Bogut and Richard Jefferson will take the scoring pressure off Redd, but he still can have a significant impact with his shooting ability. He doesn’t have to worry about Mo not passing to him, which resulted in stagnant possessions with Redd holding the ball for the duration of the shot clock. Now there’s a point guard who will find him on the perimeter to knock down shots. Scoring will go down for Mike, but overall team impact should elevate – IF he buys in.

Andrew Bogut
2007-2008 stats: 14.3 ppg; 9.8 rpg; 2.6 apg; 1.7 bpg
I’ve been a Bogut guy since he was at Utah. I vigorously defended him as he struggled to become a key cog on this team. Bucks fans were disappointed at first, but most have come around. He achieved the above stats without being considered the No. 1 or 2 option last season. Now that he is the No.1 option – at least he is being paid as such and Skiles has hinted that this will be the case – 18 points and 10 rebounds should be the rule, not the exception. He should touch the ball on each possession. Not shoot every time, but find a cutting Jefferson or Redd spotting up for an open jumper if he doesn’t take it himself. The Bucks look lost without him in the preseason. He is attracting double teams, which makes it easier for a roster not loaded with the most talented players in the world. He will be an All-Star this year, assuming he stays healthy, which has been a problem this offseason/preseason. His free-throw shooting is atrocious, but he’ll soon find out that Skiles won’t give him the ball late if he’s throwing up bricks at the stripe. Big year coming up for my guy.

Charlie Villanueva
2007-2008 stats: 11.7 ppg; 6.1 rpg; 1.0 apg
Charlie V is the player with the most potential on this roster. What can’t he do? Shoot? Check. Rebound? Check. Penetrate? Check. Hustle? Oh wait … If he wants to, Villanueva can realize that untapped potential this season. IF he wants to. Yi is no longer in his path, so playing time will be aplenty. According to offseason reports, he has been working his ass off coming into the year. He’s talked about getting eight rebounds a game. I like all of this. But until he brings it 100 percent every night, he will be considered a disappointment. Remember, he was picked seventh overall in 2005, six spots behind Bogut.

Richard Jefferson
2007-2008 stats: 22.6 ppg; 4.2 rpg; 3.1 apg (with New Jersey)
Love this addition. The Bucks haven’t had a guy with this much talent – who doesn’t settle for jump shots – in a long time. He loves to slash to the hoop and puts pressure on the defense. I envision his ability to get to the basket leading to easy jumpers for Redd and layups for Bogut. He’s physical and plays strong defense. I like how he nearly fought the Bulls’ Andres Nocioni the other night – we need more guys like RJ. He will play with fire and comes with a winning pedigree. Good luck to Yi, but we won’t miss him when Jefferson is having a lasting impact this year.

Buried On The Depth Chart

Is anything more under the radar on the Wisconsin sports scene than the Bucks? Not only has training camp started, they had an exhibition game tonight! Yeah, they lost by 38. No, seriously, they started already. With the Brewers playing October baseball for the first time since I was 6, and the heart of the Packers/Badgers football season stealing the rest of the headlines...the Bucks are even a bigger afterthought than normal. That will happen when your team is expected to win 40 games - at very best. I'm still convinced that if they loaded the Mayflower trucks and headed to Las Vegas tomorrow, about 1,200 die hards would be pissed off: that's it. I'll let some ESPN writer provide a preview...God knows I don't follow this mess:

Nonetheless, there are just too many holes here for the Bucks to succeed with the reckless quick-fix approach that they're pursuing. The frontcourt is a mess, and if they have any injuries at all they'll be in a totally untenable situation. In the backcourt, the Bucks appear to have three backup point guards and no starters.

The sum of it all is that, basically, I don't get it. Milwaukee has capped itself out for three years and stuck itself with several midcareer players who are almost certain to decline in coming seasons, and for what? The chance to go 38-44 and get swept in the first round of the playoffs? Have they sunk so far that this is the new standard of success?

If so, they may be able to clear their lowered bar and declare victory. More likely, though, their still-numerous holes will keep them scrambling for more veteran retreads, and they'll sink deeper into salary-cap hell while losing the battle of the treadmill.

When did the Houston Rockets move to Milwaukee?

I guess these are the new alternate road jerseys for the Bucks. Better than purple.

Just when your hopes were getting up about the Bucks

Jesus Christ.

“I think it’s a ligament,” Bogut said.

I was actually somewhat excited about the upcoming Bucks' season. When I mean excited, I mean on a scale of 0 to 10...maybe a 3. But that was better then last year when my excitement level was 0...so there.

We dumped the two most hated players in Milwaukee, and drafted an athletic role player. The team resigns the steadily improving 7 footer, and things actually are looking up.

Anyway, here's to hoping it's nothing serious.

UPDATE: Well, it appears to be just a sprained ankle...and Bogut won't miss any significant time.

Gil Arenas - Not Moving To Milwaukee Anytime Soon

From his blog:

Richard Jefferson going to Milwaukee …. HAHAHA! Oh man, now that is funny. When I heard that, I started laughing. Oh man, did I start laughing. You know why? Because every player hates Milwaukee. Nobody wants to live in Milwaukee. I’m sorry, Milwaukee, to come down hard on you, but no one in the NBA wants to play in Milwaukee. From him going from New Jersey, actually from New York (because he lives in New York), from New York to Milwaukee is like going … let’s just say it’s not going to sit well with you. That was a funny one when I heard that one. I know Yi is happy though.

Ahhhhhh!!! A Bucks Post!

Dare I say it, are the Milwaukee Bucks making smart, interesting, & exciting moves to get people WANT to care about Milwaukee Bucks basketball again? It's a step in the right direction for sure.

We are a WI-sports blog...so let's break it down.

First, they dump the hated Bobby Simmons (Who I'm officially labeling the "Jeffrey Hammonds" of basketball) and a tall Chinese guy who is either 20 or 24 and is scared to play down low for a career 17-5 big man who can bang down low.

Now...I don't claim to know the NBA that well...but this seems like a great move for the Bucks. I'd like to think that if you'd ask any Bucks fan, "Who would you rather have right now...Jefferson or Yi?" they would respond by saying, "Are you crazy? Jefferson!"

Apparently his contract isn't that bad either. Something like $40 million for the next 3 years. Whatever...sounds ok to me.

Then they take the beast that is Joe Alexander from West Virginia in the draft. Awesome. He's going to fit in nicely with the team as the 6th/7th man that can play the 3 or the 4. Here is Bill Simmons' take:
Milwaukee takes Joe Alexander with the eighth pick, a good idea because Bilas thinks he's a "freak of an athlete" and has "freakish athleticism." And if that's not enough, he was born in Taiwan and speaks Mandarini. I like what I'm doing as the new Bucks GM -- I stole Richard Jefferson for a broken-down Bobby Simmons and the Chairman, and I drafted a proven college player with freakish athleticism who speaks Mandarin and gives the state of Wisconsin a white guy to rally around. I'm 2-for-2! YES WE CAN!

So there you have it. Bill likes both the moves the Bucks made yesterday. It appears to be a step in the right direction.

NOW...one more move has to be made. Either Redd or Mo has to go...(or the Senator).

Yeah, That's Jeff Grayer!

As a Wisconsin-based sports blog, I feel obligated to mention the NBA draft is tonight. The Bucks pick 8th. Who do you want? Who don't you want? Do you really give a crap?

Oh, and I herd some rumor of a Easy Yi and Simmons trade to New Jersey for some guy. I'll try to find more details.

Dwayne's In My Fave Five

OK - just a quick thought.

If Dwayne Wade is being shopped by the Heat (and it sounds like he is), and you are the Bucks new GM, wouldn't you do everything in your power to see if you could bring Wade back to the Bradley Center?

I don't know what the Heat are looking for in exchange for Wade, but they were sure hot after a couple of the Bucks players last offseason that I wouldn't mind parting with (Mo, Bell) and I would think virtually everyone on the Bucks roster would be available (as would be the #8 overall pick).

I know Wade has broken down during the last couple of seasons, but if you want a guy to instantly revitalize that Bucks franchise, is there a better guy in the NBA to do it with? The city absolutely loves him.

Just sayin'.