Well things did not go exactly as planned for the Bucks this week. The injury bug reared its creepy little head again claiming Bogut for all but one game. This led to extended stretches of Gadz and Fransisco Elson manning the middle. Giving those two playing time in the middle is like giving a 5 year old a can of gas and some matches, and telling him to watch your house while your gone. When you get back, the house is going to be up in flames. Fortunately Bogut returned before the whole house had gone up, but the kids were still pouring gas everywhere. Redd rounded back into form this week going on a scoring tear, averaging almost 28 points per game this week. Alas the Bucks rounded back into the defensive form that has kept them at the cellar of the Central Division the last few years, as they allowed an average of 103.25 points per game this week. Were it not for late game heroics twice by Luke Ridnour they could have finished the week without a win. On the other hand were it not for a MIRACULOUS three by Andre Miller on Wednesday they could have went 3-1, so whatever. (I can’t stress enough how lucky that shot was by Miller. I recognize that he took it just like any other shot, but anytime a guy like that hits a three at any point, its an act of god. And while I’m thinking of it, how were him and Royal Ivey canning everything they shot on Wednesday? I almost wanted to walk out of the BC and into traffic after that madness.) Add it all up and the Bucks remain at 18-21 three games under .500.

January 12th @ Washington (7-29)
Looks can be deceiving. It’s easy to look at a Washington team at 22 games under .500 and think the Bucks should win in a laugher, but upon analyzing who the Wizards have beat, things get confusing. With wins over Utah, Houston, Detroit, and Cleveland, the Wizards have shown they can at time be frisky. There really is no reason that this team should be as bad as their record. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler are two physical, tough players that should alone be worth 20 wins. The rest of the cast is playing horrible basketball, led by the reliable underachiever Andray Blatche. When your trading FOR Mike James you know things are bad. Mike James and Damon Jones should have plenty to talk about after the game though, between them they have been on 19 teams (I’m considering each season a different team for each franchise) in 19 seasons. Speaking of James…he was on Supernanny! Watch at the 45 second mark, you will not regret it. He knows his math. If the Bucks can contain Butler and Jamison, they should be able to come away with one here, having already beat Washington once at home using that plan. Much like Homer Simpson, the Bucks will be trying to leave those two saying “Can’t someone else do it!?”

January 14th vs. Miami (19-16)
Sure to be one of the Bucks chief competitors for a back end playoff spot, the Dwyane Wades come to town on Wednesday. The Marquette alum is sure to draw a larger crowd than usual for the home team, which will hopefully work out in Milwaukee’s favor. Hell, even I have broken my 5 dollar rule for this game and bought lower level seats. (The 5 dollar Rule is basically my plan on getting cheap tickets. Every game arrive minutes before the game starts and negotiate with scalpers from a position of power. The most I’ve paid is 5 dollars. The best I’ve done this year is 3 tickets for 10 dollars, I implore all of you to do the same). Wade has been incredible this year, but is doing everything practically by himself. Shawn Marion was a product of SSOL in Phoenix and former college double double machine Mike Beasley has been underwhelming, averaging just 13 points and 5 rebounds per game. There isn’t a center on the roster, unless you count Joel Anthony or Jamal Magloire, and personally I don’t count either. Obviously stopping Wade will be the priority, but the Bucks need to do a better job of defending the three when a guy like him drives. Why do Charlie Bell, Michael Redd, and Richard Jefferson insist on helping out off their man? Your not really helping guys. Your not stopping the drive, your not defending the post, and your giving up an open three. Pretty soon I think Skiles will pop off the bench and show them what he wants, like one of those high school scrimmages between teams where coaches could manipulate the action.

January16th @ Sacramento (8-29)
The stretch of winnable games continues with a trip toward the left coast to face the worst they have to offer. Sacramento has Beno Udrih starting at point guard. Another classic case of a team over valuing a player because he is there player and they’ve had good times together. Udrih got 8 million a year this off season after not getting 8 minutes when he was in San Antonio. If a guy is given up on by San Antonio, doesn’t that mean he probably isn’t very good? Isn’t it clear that they have a pretty good idea what they are doing there? Regardless, Sacramento has perpetually underrated Kevin Martin and his disgusting jump shot. Speaking of Martin, is he the worst player to play with in a video game? He’s so good and it’s so tempting to shoot with him, but you know it’s going to get blocked because it looks like he shoots from his knees. His shot is the exact opposite of Redd’s slingshot. Anyway, the Kings suck.

January 17th @ Los Angeles Clippers (8-29)
The Clip show is a show no one wants to watch. They made moves this off season that many people thought would make them competitive. Why they thought that I’ll never know. I might be the biggest Baron Davis fan on the planet, but he was surrounded with guys who simply aren’t a good fit. Not to mention he has played like garbage, to be kind. Zach Randolph brought a spark for a couple weeks, but the Clips continue to lose games like its their job. They did that job very well when Milwaukee laughed them off the court near the end of December. The noose around Mike Dunleavy’s neck continues to tighten.

It’s always tough to go out west, but these are the kinds of games that playoff teams win. This is the second week of a two week stretch where the Bucks had a good chance to make up some ground on the .500 mark and put themselves in good position for the playoffs. Week one did not go great, week two awaits.

Too often a players collegiate achievements are crowded with doubters insisting, “He’ll never be anything in the NBA.” Specifically this argument crops up when my friends and I discuss the Marquette back court. I would refer to them as “The Big Three”, but I’m tired of everyone being “The Big Three”. “The Tantalizing Trio”, “The Triple Threats”, or if you include Hayward “Hawk, Block, and Two Smoking Barrels” would all be better. Anything is better than “The Big Three”. What happened to clever nicknames? Phi Slamma Jamma, Run-TMC, or The Fab Five? All were better nicknames, but now every time there are three good players its “The Big Three”. Anyway that foolishness is beside the point. The point is that during arguments about these gentlemen, they are eventually written off as great college players who, aside from McNeal, have little pro hope. I’ll be the first to admit, I have doubted them for a long time and neglected to spend the time and effort analyzing their prospects. But let us really break this down and compare these guys to some pros and see if they have a shot.

We’ll start with James. Dominic James burst on the scene as a freshman averaging 15 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and a few seasons worth of highlight dunks and blocks. He had picked up where Dwyane Wade had left off a few seasons before. Marquette was desperate for another star after a few less than stellar seasons wrought with injury and little at guard after Travis Diener. After a sophomore season that was not quite as stellar as his entry into the college world (To be frank, he didn’t see a shot he didn’t like all season. I think once the ball came to him on the bench and he threw up an airball), James declared for the NBA Draft. After going through the pre draft camps and workouts James quickly found that his lack of jumpshot and shaky point guard skills were not going to get him any higher than the second round, if that. He quickly withdrew his name and is now playing in his senior season. James has seemed a new man this year, working relentlessly on the defensive end, and doing more to get his fellow guards involved, while at least appearing to try and dribble less. Despite his athletic ability, one of the drawbacks on James is his diminutive stature. Listed at a mere 5-11, James would likely struggle to guard a lot of bigger guards in the NBA. However it seems that it has always been those point guard skills that have been holding him back in the eyes of scouts. If he keeps developing those this season, he seems a lock for a second round pick. For fun, lets look at players 6 foot or less in the NBA this season.

NBA Players 6 Foot or Under
Speedy Claxton
DJ Augustin
Sean Singletary
JJ Barea
Will Bynum
Allen Iverson
Aaron Brooks
TJ Ford
Kyle Lowry
Sebastian Telfair
Nate Robinson
Chucky Atkins
Jameer Nelson
Dee Brown
Brevin Knight

If James is able to turn around his jumpshooting and free throw woes, while maintaining his explosion and defensive effort, there is no reason he shouldn’t be able to carve out a Chucky Atkinsesque niche on a team. At the very least, if Dee Brown is able to keep grasping onto 10 day contracts, one has to think James could do the same.

Few players have made greater one year strides in Marquette history as Wes Matthews. After being the forgotten man to an extent the past three years, Matthews has taken over the show this year averaging a robust 18.9 points per game. His new found assertiveness can be seen especially at the stripe where he has had at least 5 free throws in every game except 3 this year. Most impressive about Matthews is his shooting percentage, which has skyrocketed almost 10% this season. Perhaps it is a coincidence, perhaps not, but since Tom Crean has left Marquette, Matthews game has gone to another level. Could it be because the new coach is a little less about himself? Who knows, but if I had to guess I’d say Crean lived in a house with lots of mirrors and Buzz might not even own a home. Personally, I’d rather play for the second guy. With the way he is shooting threes this year, combined with his overall improvements on the offensive end, Matthews has certainly thrown his name into the draft discussion. He will at least garner looks in the second round, perhaps carving out a Charlie Bell type role after a few years. Players who play as smart as him and are as smooth offensively and work that hard defensively usually find a way to stick around.

Now onto the crown jewel of the Marquette backcourt, Jerel McNeal. McNeal has been a terror on the defensive end since he entered college. Playing the passing lanes to perfection and locking up anyone he was assigned to. I doubted McNeal earlier in the year and was treated to this quote by a friend of mine:

In Sports Illustrated, when referring to Jerel McNeal, Connecticut point guard A.J. Price, “He never gambles. He only goes for a steal when he’s sure he can get it.”

McNeal is not just a defender in name only, he gets after it. When watching the second half of the West Virginia game the other day my dad treated me to a bit of wisdom himself. “I figured it out, I know who he reminds me of, Sidney Moncrief!” Naturally I doubted him without ever having seen a minute of Moncrief play and proceeded to look up Moncrief on basketballreference.com. Moncrief has almost exactly the same measurements as McNeal. I attempted to verify the comparison on youtube and found this Moncrief Interview. The few highlights they have on there do a pretty good job of proving his point. McNeal seems hellbent on proving himself as a future pro this season. He has taken more threes than free throws, as if to say, “HEY GUYS I’VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS, I CAN SHOOT NOW!!!” I’ll give him credit though, he has been hitting at a much more regular clip than any of his firs three seasons. The deciding factore in getting a guy from that first round bubble into a secure pick is usually tournament play. If “McSteal” is able to get Marquette deep into the tournament, I think he has a great shot of securing a round one pick and working his way into a NBA rotation. Taking a page from the book of the recent great guard groups of Illinois and Villanova, it looks like the Marquette backcourt will not let their stars burn out in college.