The only consistent thing about these Milwaukee Bucks is that they are inconsistent. After an offensive explosion in Sacramento the Bucks shot under 40% against the Clippers. The defense was roughly the same, awful. The Clippers shot over 50% for the first time all year and the Brian Skinners and Mardy Collins’ of the world were hurting the Bucks dearly. The flight miles will add up this week for the Bucks with alternating home and road games all week. The Bucks finish off their mini tour of the west coast on Monday in another 4 game week during their busiest month of the season. Things do not get much easier when the Bucks come home to meet Dallas and get on the road again against Atlanta. Hopefully a home date Saturday against Sacramento will provide solace.

January 19th @ Portland (24-16)
Portland will be a tall task to say the least. Portland has one of the most imposing front courts in the NBA with 3 very productive players 6′11 or taller. LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, and former Buck Joel Przybilla give teams fits clogging up the lane and gobbling up any rebound that comes their way. Match them with a backcourt featuring burgeoning All-Star Brandon Roy, the clutch Travis Outlaw, and rookie phenom Rudy Fernandez, and Portland is one of the up and coming teams in the NBA. They will be without the services of former Buck Steve Blake, but that is likely a blessing in disguise. Once Blake went down they got a chance to take a closer look at summer league star Jerryd Bayless. Blake may be the sturdy veteran but Bayless is their future at the position. He has a lot of upside and looks like he could be the explosive scorer they need next to Roy.

January 21st vs. Dallas (23-17)
72% of Dallas’ shots are jump shots. What is crazy is that they don’t have particularly good jump shooters. Obviously Dirk has a world class shot, but after him who is hitting shots for them? Jason Kidd? Josh Howard? Erick Dampier? I know Jason Terry can fill it up when he gets hot, but if he is your #2 option you’re screwed. Word is the Mavs are working on a Josh Howard-Shawn Marion trade that may succeed in making them even worse than they already are…stay tuned. I was watching a Mavs game earlier this year and jotting down notes on the team and looking back through them my favorite was, “Antoine Wright has no one within 15 feet of him and still can’t get anything going. He started tonight.” That sounds promising.

January 23rd @ Atlanta (23-16)
The Hawks should be well rested by the time the Bucks come to town on Friday, having two days off before hand. Center Al Horford may gain the most with their up coming lighter workload after missing the last 4 games. He could be ready to go by the time the Bucks come to town. A return by Horford should provide a boost as the Hawks have lost 3 of 4 without him. Depth is not their strong suit. I have a friend who uses the Hawks pretty much every time we play NBA 2K9 and I’ve never seen him go to the bench. Why? When you’re relying on noted jackers like Flip Murray and Maurice Evans to provide your second unit boost, you know you’ll be playing your starters quite a bit. The Hawks do have some stingy D though, so be prepared for a low scoring affair here.

January 24th vs. Sacramento (10-31)
The Bucks meet their friends from Sac-town a week after a shootout back west. Redd was able to slice through the Sacramento defense for 3 quarter last week putting up a robust season high of 44. I wouldn’t expect this game to be the same high scoring affair with Bogut back in the line up, the Bucks are likely to slow it down some. John Salmons and Kevin Martin were pretty lethal from deep last game and everyone from Sacramento was eating from the line. Sacramento played some of the worst defense I’ve ever seen in the NBA last game so the Bucks will need to continue to exploit that if they hope to pull this one out…not that I think that’ll be a problem.

This could be a tough week for the Bucks. If they drop 3 here they’ll be looking at 5 games under .500 with another long week coming up next. Getting to .500 before February starts would be ideal, considering they only have 4 road games in the month. Bogut’s return should help, but iff they could come out of this week 2-2 it would have to be considered a success. Though I’ll say the Sacramento game is a must have no matter what.

Two more quick things I wanted to get up. One hilarious and one I promised to some friends earlier in the week.

I’ve been thinking about this one for a few weeks. I don’t remember if I read it somewhere, so if you’ve seen this comparison already and have another photo that is superior let me know. Personally I love this one and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. Add this to the obvious Sideshow Bob-Anderson Varejao look alike, and the Cavs are quite the cartoon.

Saw this over at fearthebeard.org and loved it. It’s an older video, but nonetheless it’s a great example of why Willie Warren has been the best freshman in the country thus far (with apologies to Greg Monroe). It’s been a weak class, but in the most recent ESPN Magazine they say Warren is a little taller than Ben Gordon and a little better too.

-Michael Redd is completely locked in. What’s nice about it is that he is getting a lot of his points in transition and off good looks. He hasn’t forced much.
-If the Bucks are going to win games without Bogut this is how they’ll have to do it, the pace will need to be furious.
-Everyone on the Bucks team had to yell to Fransisco Elson to shoot the ball at the end of the first half before he realized he had to put it up…so naturally he canned it.
-Johnny Mac is in rare form tonight, from the lack of calls for the Bucks, to his admonishing of the Bucks for the FT’s they are allowing, he is full of fire tonight. Actual quote after easy dunk by Charlie V., “Now that’s just stupid…you can’t find your man, DON’T LOOK AT SOMEONE ELSE GO FIND HIM! They have NO DEFENSE!”
-Luke Ridnour does have quite a knack for sticking threes when the Bucks look like they are going to flounder. He must have Sam Cassell’s old locker.
-Kevin Martin is deadly if he gets an inch.
-I feel a lot better about Charlie V.’s three point shooting when it comes from the top of the key or right near there.
-Damon Jones had three terrific bench moments. First was on a layup by Alexander when Jones did the “grab the guy next to me like I’m going to collapse because I’m so shocked/excited” move. Then when Ridnour came to the bench later he and Jones bumped fists and “blew it up” which was great. How long have they been working on that? In the fourth when no one on the Bucks realized that Jason Thompson was completely unguarded under the hoop Jones jumped out of his chair and started screaming at everyone that he was there. He almost took the initiative to get on the court and guard him himself.
-Brad Miller took a hard spill near the end trying to block Charlie V.’s shot, he’ll need to find a way to get his mind off of that one.
-Almost a huge blown game, turns into a huge relief. Hopefully the Bucks can unlock a formula for success without Bogut from this game. Yes the Kings suck, I’ve noted that before, but when the Bucks were forcing turnovers and getting into the offense quick they looked really good. When they are missing their inside presence they need to run on everything; misses, steals, turnovers, and makes. Getting into the offense quick allows for better looks. They don’t necessarily need to shoot right away, but getting into things quickly will be a key to success without Bogut.

Chris Paul- “When I’m on the court…if my mom was across from me she’d have to get out the way.”

Great players are a different breed. Chris Paul’s above quote seems like something that any player would say, but the difference with guys like Paul, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Kobe Bryant is that they really mean it. There presence on the court creates a different atmosphere in the arena and a different game on the court. Each of them is so talented and special, that they can dominate the game in a different way. Aside from their collective will to win each of these guys shows uncanny ability to make decisions. Howard may lag behind in this category, largely because he is not a ball handler, but each of the guards do a tremendous job of making the correct decision in important moments.

Tonight on ESPN fans were treated to a double header featuring each of these MVP candidates. Game 1 pitted Chris Paul’s New Orleans Hornets heading into Cleveland to take on LeBron James’ Cavaliers. In the pregame highlight montage Bucks fans were reminded of an especially ugly sight, LeBron’s block on Ramon Sessions from a few weeks back. LeBron is like Danny Almonte, except he isn’t lying about his age and the kids he playing against look like 3rd graders. James is the most physically gifted player I have ever seen. 6′8 270 and able to move like that? I think I know what happend. God is a Cavalier fan, and all the moves he tried to make didn’t work. Like if you’re playing a video game and you’re doing everything fair and it’s still not working out. Well God said, “Forget it, I’ll just create a guy who’ll crush everyone.” And that is how we end up with LeBron James, the genetic freak. LeBron asserted his punishing physical style early bouncing Chris Paul off of him as he grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up for 2. James also did a great job in the game early of letting the game come to him. It all comes back to making decisions. He took an active role in facilitating for the rest of the team early when the Hornets brought pressure on him. He decided to get his other guys involved, knowing that later in the game would be the time for him to force the action and take over. What troubled me about LeBron in the game the other night against the Bulls was when he didn’t take over at the end of regulation. He hit some shots to keep it close and got a good look at the hoop to win at the buzzer, but when you are LeBron James that is when you waltz on down to the hoop and attempt to rip the rim off of the backboard.

This game was an indication of how great Chirs Paul is though. (I realize he played poorly and was ejected, but that doesn’t change my point. Also Byron Scott ran possibly the worst offense I’ve ever seen for the entire 4th quarter.) Watching the rest of his teammates can be painful at times. I know that David West was an all-star last year, but is he even better than Udonis Haslem? At 82games.com it shows that West and Haslem use jump shots to account for 72 and 71 percent of their shots respectively, while hitting 42.8 and 42.6 percent. West just shoots a lot more, because Chris Paul isn’t taking a free throw every other possession like Dwyane Wade. (Sorry, I can’t control the D-Wade 2003 finals hate. I was really riding the Dirk bandwagon then, at least before he missed those free throws and Wade was gifted a ring.) West’s career skyrocketed after Paul was drafted. He didn’t see a lot of playing time before Paul arrived, but since Paul has adopted him as pick and roll partner he has been shooting wide open midrange shots ever since. I don’t think it’s a bad shot for him by any means, or that he is a bad player, but he isn’t the number 2 guy on a championship team. The fact Paul put them in that discussion last year speaks volumes about his skill for making others better. I mean they almost went to the championship with a 2 guard situation featuring Mo Peterson, Devin Brown, Jannero Pargo, and Rasual Butler. As long as I’m talking about the supporting cast on New Orleans I have another question…why does everyone think the Hornets are so young? As of opening day, they were the second OLDEST team in the league!! What is young about that? Because they have Chris Paul everyone thinks there some young bunch of go getters, there not, they have one player who brought a bunch of role players to the brink of the title last year. At halftime Jalen Rose gave a speech about how they’ll get better when they get older, although it sounded much different because when Jalen Rose speaks, it sounds like a sedated Ahmad Rashad.

Much like LeBron James, Dwight Howard has a game built around intimidation. He may not be as quick as LeBron, but he is built like a house. Actually more than a house, Howard is built like an arena and super quick off his feet for a guy who is 6′11. The strides Howard has made defensively are what makes Orlando a team knocking on the door of the elite. When a team has someone like Howard to defend the rim, it’s such a luxury to their perimeter defenders and allows them to play much more aggressive and feel more confident. On top of that Howard grabs 13% of all offensive rebound opportunities and 25.6% of defensive, 2nd and 4th in the league respectively. Simply said, he dominates the rim on both ends of the ball. In his first few years in the league he relied solely on his athleticism to get him by offensively, but he has evolved nicely. He still won’t step out very far and be effective, but he has added and array of spins and jump hooks that make him worth a double team. And when Howard can draw that double team the Magic get lethal. Now that they’ve added even more firepower with that guy who used to go to Duke that disappeared for a while they are really shooting the lights out (check out his last 5) Another plus for Howard is that he is hilarious. He picked up Kobe on a switch in the fourth quarter and while Bryant was dribbling on the iso Howard engaged in some serious trash talk. He coerced Kobe into a contested jumper but then was so excited when Kobe missed he forgot to go get the rebound, much to Stan Van Gundy’s dismay. Howard and Bryant continued their battle at the free throw line and Howard had a huge smile on his face the whole time. As much as I love Tim Duncan, Howard is like the anti Duncan, he just loves everything.

Kobe Bryant has a whole different kind of dominance. Don’t get me wrong, Kobe is a hell of an athlete, but that is not what is so overwhelming about his game. Kobe has more shots in his repertoire than anyone in the entire league. As I’m watching the Orlando Los Angeles game, I just saw him bust out a left handed shot that I hadn’t seen before and a not so new but equally awesome scoop shot finger roll. (Also something I hadn’t seen, Marcin Gortat get crowned, but Tervor Ariza did that and then some with a nasty flush on his dome). Where he has grown in addition to that is how he knows when it’s time for him to bust out the tool box full of offensive maneuvers and when to get it going for the rest of his team. With guys like Odom, Bynum, and Gasol on his team now he knows to get them going early because a lot of their game depends on their confidence. If they are able to get involved in the offense they can be trusted to be aggressive later rather than simply deferring to Bryant and watching. (This actually happend in this evenings game when Odom went to the rack a few times in a row with about a minute left and kept getting fouls. Naturally he was 50% on free throws, and on the first shot he hit in this stretch he had a look on his face like he was a 10 year old kid who couldn’t believe he did something right.) When the rest of his team is standing and watching, that is when Kobe can’t be at his full power. Part of his arsenal is changing his mind while he is in the air and making the correct decision, and there is just no answer when a guy can do that. And he juggles all these skills and responsibilities while being a look-down defender who can guard any player from 1-3 when needed.

Ultimately between James great strides on the defensive end and his teams dominance of anyone who even parks in their parking lot, he has the upper hand at MVP. Personally I feel like he deserves it the most, but with Chris Paul a close second, because I can’t think of more than a few point guards who could step into his place and keep them in the playoffs. But I can’t think of ANYONE that has the impact on a team that James has on both ends of the court on his teams ability to play and mind set about the game. When you have LeBron James you come into every game with the best player, and that is a feeling that leads to success for everyone on the team. And in the end, that’s what makes him the best of a different breed.

As everyone and their mother knows by now, the Bucks could be on the verge of a major trade. This is from ESPN.com via the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.

The Grizzlies want to deal second-year point guard Mike Conley to the Milwaukee Bucks, and receive guard Ramon Sessions and swingman Joe Alexander in return, but the ball doesn’t appear to be in their court. Milwaukee is apparently weighing the proposal as talks are ongoing, based on conversations with people knowledgeable about the trade discussions.
A team insider said the Griz wouldn’t be devastated if the deal didn’t come to fruition because no one mentioned in the transaction is established. Plus, Conley has already shown an ability to bounce back from a string of poor performances. — Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Much has been said about this trade and it’s recapped quite well at Brewhoop and The Bratwurst, but I have some different questions about it.

Everyone acknowledges that this trade is a largely a salary cap deal. (I’ll say however that if the Bucks also land the Grizzlies first round pick from this season in this supposed deal it would make it more acceptable. There will be a pretty healthy class of point guards this year.) Sessions will be a RFA this off season and Alexander will get a bump in year 2 of his rookie deal. If we dump them we should be able to remain under a luxury tax, even with the league expecting the cap to decrease from last year. So this is more a “business decision” than basketball decision. Okay, it’s Herb Kohl’s team and he can do whatever he wants with it. If he doesn’t want to pay luxury taxes I understand, the economy sucks. I’m left with one troubling question though…how will this serve to better the business? In any business scenario in Kohl’s life has he ever acquired lesser talent to do the jobs he needed done because they were cheaper? If the Bucks insist on dealing Sessions due to his impending semi-free agency, why don’t the Bucks work out a deal where Redd can be taken too?

For a long time I’ve felt like the best move the Bucks could make is dumping Redd on Cleveland for Wally Sczerbiak, JJ Hickson, and a pick. If Cleveland is willing to give up anyone right now I’m not sure, because their chemistry this year has been terrific. I can’t imagine a team KEEPING Wally Sczerbiak for chemistry reasons though, because from all accounts he is one of the worst teammates in the league. Listen to Bill Simmons podcast with Marc Stein and Rick Bucher for further info on that. The fact that I haven’t heard even a whisper about Redd or Richard Jefferson being moved is a bit hard to take, considering how productive it would be to swap them for a power forward. Wouldn’t Toronto immediately take Redd and Gadzuric for Jermaine O’Neal at this point? Doesn’t that give Bosh incentive to stick around past 2010? The Craptors have been without a swing man since Vince Carter left, this gives them a scoring threat who can create. O’Neal is not the same guy he used to be, but he can be used as a trade chip, or just fill a hole at power forward while allowing some of the Bucks younger guys minutes at the swing positions. I have created a three way deal where the Bucks also get the best tattoo in basketball…Stephon Marbury’s head! I would gladly put up with Marbury for a few months to be rid of the huge contract Redd has. I think it would work subbing Jefferson in for him also, there pretty close. Plus the Bucks get David Lee! Think of the potential!! These next two seasons need to be about growth and development, not holding on to false hope that Redd and Jefferson will get a team anywhere. Parting with them will be tough and likely hurt the Bucks chances to make the playoffs this year, but it is for the greater good.

If recent league history is an indicator, putting salary cap before basketball can be costly. Could the Suns use a reliable back up point guard right now? Absolutely. Unfortunately for them they sold their draft picks instead of using them on Sergio Rodriguez or Rajon Rando. Not to mention they gave away Kurt Thomas AND 2 first round picks for a second round pick, so they could get under the salary cap. Think the Bulls could use an athletic young guard who can shoot the lights out and dunk from any where? Too bad they traded J.R. Smith for Howard Eisley’s retiring contract and 2 second round picks. I know they had a log jam, but that was a free up cap space move if I ever saw one. Acquiring him was just a way to get out from under Tyson Chandler’s contract. Basketball trades need to be about basketball first. When the Sonics moved out of Seattle much was made about them losing money and fans being apathetic to the team. They claimed all kinds of losses and noted how poor attendance figures were, but lead city attorney Paul Lawrence made a great point

“The key to whether the team is going to make money or not, regardless of whether they’re in Seattle or Oklahoma City is how well the team does,” Lawrence said. “If the team has a turnaround like the Boston Celtics…I assure you they’ll make money no matter where they are.”

And that really is what it all comes down to. To run a successful business, you need a successful product. In the coming weeks Bucks fans will know whether or not the Bucks leaders grasp that idea.