Charlie Villanueva was on ESPN’s First and 10 Wednesday. The appearance reiterated a few things we’ve learned about him this year: he’s loquacious, he likes Twitter, and he dresses pretty well. We also found out that Charlie was named the nation’s most beautiful bald celebrity according to a contest sponsored by Eagle snacks.

How I missed that I don’t know, but there is something that we have yet to find out about Charlie V. and likely won’t for a few more years.

Can he be the future power forward on a playoff winning Bucks team?

Power forward is an intriguing and important position.

For years power forwards were looked to for rebounds, defense and blocked shots. Stepping out on the perimeter and jacking up three-pointers was not expected, encouraged or allowed for them. Even the scorers among them – Elvin Hayes, Kevin McHale, Karl Malone – were tough guy physical players. This is the mold of a Tim Duncan.

The seeds of change were planted in the late 80’s though. Charles Barkley brought a new brand of play. His athleticism and power were combined with adept perimeter skills. While Barkley was 6′5, this style of play birthed the style that the Kevin Garnetts, Dirk Nowitzkis and Antoine Walker’s laid claim to.

If Barkley knew that one day he would influence an Antoine Walker to walk up and down the court shooting treys and doing that head dance I feel like he would have done some things differently though.

Villanueva clearly resides in category two. He floats around the perimeter a lot and does a good job of it. When he is hot, he is one of the more productive scorers in recent Bucks memory. On the plus side he often crashes into the lane for rebounds, averaging over seven per game since the first of January. At time Villanueva shows the ability to combine the best of the two worlds. At least on the offensive end.

At the defensive end Villanueva is a work in progress. He has the athleticism necessary to be a competent defender, but seems to get lost often. I wouldn’t say that his defense is anything that stands out while watching games though. That may be a product of power forwards often not being a first option though. And it does hurt the Bucks that he is not a capable shot blocker. With Bogut out they offer little challenge on the back-line thanks to the struggles in this area of Villanueva and Elson.

Overall it’s tough to judge how he has progressed considering he is not playing with a capable center. If Bogut were down low he would be erasing some of the mistakes made by Charlie V. (and most Buck defenders) leaving things looking much brighter. At the offensive end he would provide a nice yang on the inside to Villanueva’s ying on the outside.

I just can’t shake the nagging feeling that Villanueva is not the kind of power forward that starts on really good basketball teams. When I look at the power forwards on recent championship teams I see Garnett. I see Duncan. I see Udonis Haslem. I see Rasheed Wallace. I see Big Shot Bob. I’m seeing a lot of guys who are playing a lot of defense. What I don’t see is a sweet shooting gunner who offers little resistance and scrap on the other end.

What is nice about Charlie V is that he’s only 24. He has time to develop into a Horryesque defender. But I’d feel a lot better about the Bucks probable attempts to resign him if I got a glimpse of that before the season ends.

If not, I guess I’ll just continue to watch him Twit.

I was successful in one prediction last week: I still suck at predictions. My hope for a 3-1 week to jumpstart a playoff run quickly spun into a 1-3 drop out of the current playoff picture. If the Bucks are going to claim to be a good home team don’t they have to beat teams like the Nets at home? Tuesday’s loss was very sad for a team attempting to pose as a good home team.

But there are more pressing issues at hand than my inability to see the future.

In recent memory has their been a Buck more clumsy with the ball than Keith Bogans? Here I thought the Bucks were getting a guy who could play some defense and shoot the three and they got a guy who does little of either of those things and has the ball mysteriously slip away from him fairly often.

Charlie Bell and Keith Bogans, thanks for your hard work and all this year, but can we see heavy doses of Joe Alexander for the rest of the year now? The Not-So Killer B’s tandem of Bell and Bogans equates into a fairly significant weakness any time either of them are on the court. Bell is more of a liability defensively than he ever gets credit for. How can he not be with a four-year-old hanging off of his right knee?

Bell and Bogans have PER’s of 9.82 and 8.59 respectively. To put that in perspective, another guy whose job is to come in and shoot, Kyle Korver, has a PER of 11.11 – in a down year. Bogans is a much better defender than Korver but I don’t believe there is significant evidence that Bell is. Who has lived off a reputation as a good defender longer than Charlie Bell? If he was good before he hasn’t been since he lost his right knee.

(Bell does offer some veteran leadership and is the Bucks player representative, which counts for something, but not enough to offset the poor play.)

Bogans has done most of his damage (he hasn’t really done any damage, I guess I should say most of the damage has been done to Bogans) as a member of the Magic so I’m less concerned about him. I think going forward the Bucks will realize as quickly as I have that he isn’t very good. When I thought he would be part of the Bucks playoff charge I was envisioning a Bruce Bowen type instead of a Bruce Banner (non Hulked up version) type.

Oddly enough this Saturday Bell and Bogans had their best games since Washington last Saturday. Bogans still stumbled around a bit though and Bell still missed enough open shots that I was bothered. It just seems to me that it would be more productive for the future of the Bucks if Joe Alexander was getting some of the time these two were getting. I know that may be admitting defeat and dropping out of the playoff race essentially, but at this point if you’re the Bucks why kid yourself? Onto the week ahead…

March 10th vs. New York (25-36)
The Knicks continue to chuck with reckless abandon. They’re averaging 28 three point attempts per game. That must be why they acquired Larry Hughes, to slow things down. Their defense continues to be for lack of a better term defenseless. In the month of February they were able to hold an opponent under 100 points just one time. Fortunately the Bucks thrive in these types of games recently, so this should be a win.

March 13th vs. New Orleans (39-22)
Remember when New Orleans was disappointing this year? What happened to that team? Suddenly they are third in the West and surging. Tyson Chandler has looked very feisty since returning from injury and his trade untrade fiasco. The Bucks certainly wish he had been gone in their last game in New Orleans. Chandler’s tip with time running down bailed out the Hornets after the Bucks fought back into the game during garbage time. Chris Paul continues to play point guard better than anyone anywhere and now that Chandler is healthy and springy again they are certainly looking dangerous.

I often think of superstars as stoppers. I’m not talking Bruce Bown or Ruben Patterson kind of stoppers. I’m talking the guys who hit the “SHUT UP” shots to swing momentum and do not allow for mistakes on the defensive end from their guys. Stoppers put teams in the playoffs.

Plainly put, the Bucks do not have stoppers. When the Bucks absolutely need points or free throws to stop a momentum shift, they cannot do it. When the Bucks need to make sure they take it up a notch on defense and lock down to prevent a run, they cannot do it. They are stopper less. That is what happens when a team is without a superstar. The Kobe Bryant’s, Lebron James’ and Dwyane Wade’s of the world can control the collective wills of their teams and will everyone else up a notch to make sure the team gets a stop on defense. They can then turn around and come back down the court and turn the heat up with timely buckets or free throws.

Were Michael Redd healthy you can’t help but wonder how he would fill the role offensively. Combined with the point guarding skills of a Ramon Sessions would Redd be more effective than ever? Even when he was healthy this year he rarely had Sessions delivering the ball to him. Would he be the offensive catalyst the Bucks need in games like the Bulls game when things began to slip out of hand. Instead of settling for long twos by a hit or miss Richard Jefferson.

It’s been proven time and again that this is a superstar driven league. Star players sense moments when they are needed and raise their games to another level when the time calls for it. As well as Ben Gordon played in this crucial game against the Bucks, I was even more impressed with Derek Rose. Rose has a clear sense of when it is time to take over and finishes so many important “and 1’s” around the hoop. He carved through the lane time and time again against the Bucks at moments when it seemed the Bucks may be on the comeback trail. His strength and speed overwhelmed the Bucks and left them flailing their arms in an attempt to block his path. It was his wearing down of the Bucks that opened up the game for the Gordon’s and Kirk Hinrich’s.

During those moments that Rose realizes he is too quick for men his size and too powerful for those with his quickness it is scary. He has the LeBron ability to bounce off defenders as he gets in the lane and the skill to finish at the rim. Rookies are not supposed to do things like this. Even scarier is that this is all coming from a guy who really gets what being a teammate is all about. When Rose figures out a consistent form on his midrange and outside jump shot I don’t see how anyone outside of the LeBron-Kobe-Wade stratosphere will be able to stop him.

Along with their recently improved depth, Rose is the key factor in the playoff race. New Jersey has Vince Carter and Devin Harris and the Bucks have the ever improving duo of Charlie V. and Ramon Sessions, but superstardom is reserved for a select few. Rose has only begun to knock at that door, but if we remember Dwyane Wade and his phenomenal rookie year in the playoffs we know what those who hold that key is capable of.

Meanwhile, the Bucks will continue to search for their very own star. The only stopper they appear on the horizon of is a stoppage of playoff hope.

Winter nights are cold in Milwaukee. Yahoo! says it is 28 degrees out right now, I’d say it’s closer to 10, probably because I endured the long miserable loser walk to the car after the Bucks game. It may be March 3rd but it feels like the depths of a long winter after a crushing loss for the Bucks.

This was a game they had in hand multiple times, yet let slip away time and time again.

Again the three-point shot was a harrowing enemy of Milwaukee’s. In a crucial run in the final stanza the Nets sandwiched three long range bombs around a Devin Harris lay-up. Time and time again the Bucks inability to successfully defend the pick and roll stood out like a sore thumb as the Nets exploited it to find open shooters planted in the corners. How long have Ryan Anderson and Jarvis Hayes been so lights out? Is Ryan Anderson always this good? I just checked his stats and he plays less than 20 minutes a night and shoots under 40 percent. How did he turn into Nowitzki tonight?

As I was coming home from the game I turned on the radio to the post game show.

Bad idea.

I heard callers lambaste the Bucks inability to play fundamental basketball, claim they would never attend another NBA game, sing the praises of college and its terrific fundamentals (isn’t that what WNBA fans say?), and pound the play of Luke Ridnour as the sole transgression that costs the Bucks the game.

Ridnour is not better than Sessions and shouldn’t be starting. But Scott Skiles appears to realize that. He played about 20 minutes and was rarely in the back court with Sessions. I liked that move. I think the Bucks are a better team when Sessions is running the show with Bogans or Bell beside him. The problem tonight was that Bogans and Bell weren’t playing well.

This was indeed a sloppy game but it was as hard fought a competition as I had seen in a while. The Bradley Center was disappointingly empty –I’d imagine due to high school games and UWM’s tournament game — but lively with the fans that made it.

This loss had little to do with poor fundamental basketball.

(Although at the start of the fourth quarter some lazy passes and mental lapses allowed the Nets to surge to a lead. The Bucks recovered and were up eight before the three-point Harris sandwich.)

Ultimately the team with more talent will usually win the game and the Nets simply had more talent tonight than the Bucks. Ryan Anderson, Jarvis Hayes, Vince Carter, Devin Harris and Brook Lopez were all former first round picks for a reason. They hit the shots that mattered in the fourth and the Bucks could not seal the deal. Despite rants from callers gone wild, there is still time to recover. Unfortunately this blow certainly sets the Bucks back and has me turning up my heater tonight.

If the Bucks want to continue to lose on the road and win at home I’ll take that. The Bucks have 12 home games left and 8 on the road, at the current pace the Bucks would end up pulling even by season’s end. (It’s March so maybe I’ll do this whole post in Green.)

Maybe not though.

The loss to New Orleans hurt. Coming back that much only to fall short on a tip in, I was sure would have residual effect for Saturday. I underestimated the terribleness of Washington. How can they be this bad? Is Gilbert Arenas that good? Does Brendan Haywood carry that much weight as a defensive force? At no point was Saturday’s game a contest. It could have been about halfway through the 4th, but my key to the rest of the season Keith Bogans drilled a big three. One of two he hit. I have hope.

The upcoming week screams OPPORTUNITY. New Jersey and Chicago are the Bucks primary competition for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. My prediction is a 3-1 week where the Bucks can begin to spring themselves into a playoff burst. Be forewarned; my predictions usually suck.

March 3rd vs. New Jersey (26-33)
New Jersey comes back to Milwaukee on Tuesday in front of what surely will be a lively crowd. The last time Jersey came into the BC Wauwatosa legend Devin Harris missed the game with an injury. That was a helluva game. Bobby Simmons let fly a three from the corner that seemed to put the game in New Jersey’s favor, before Luke Ridnour hit a floater with less than a second left to secure it for the Bucks. This weeks game obviously has a little more weight attached to it, given the Nets are only a game and a half back from Milwaukee. Given the way that Detroit has fallen off the map as of late, none of these teams scrambling behind them has really put too much pressure on them. It’s a shame that Detroit has gotten away with this foolishness they’re calling basketball.

March 4th @ Cleveland (46-12)
Can we cancel this game? Hasn’t Lebron done enough to harm Milwaukee recently. And now apparently Cleveland will be replacing the awful Ben Wallace with the still talented Joe Smith. Smith is in his “Scott Williams Stage” now but that means he can still can a baseline jumper and be an important guy. If the Bucks win in Cleveland they should be granted a playoff bid right then and there.

March 6th @ Chicago (27-33)
The rivalry continues. I should say semi-rivalry. When Chicago last visited things got a liiitle chippy and there was actually some crowd noise involved. I’m not saying the Cubs and the Brewers need to watch out for this rivalry becoming king of the Milwaukee Chicago sports universe, but at least an interesting under current appears to be developing. I’m glad these two are battling for a playoff spot, that can only add to the distaste. I’m thinking things may get testy again with the playoff spot still on the line. The New Jersey Chicago matchups this week will go a long way towards deciding who’s playing in late April and who is sitting at home waiting for the 13th pick in the lottery.

March 7th vs. Golden State (20-39)
It’s always fun to see Don Nelson and his lovable brand of up-tempo basketball running up and down the court. Nelson has recently decided to sit one of his veterans every game to make way for a younger player. Seems like he might just be trying to piss off some guys, but you never really know what Nellie is thinking. Golden State has a ton of young guys who are fun to watch. Anthony Randolph might be a star one day. Marco Bellinelli used his last game Milwaukee to create a highlight tape. This could be the Bucks toughest game of the week or easiest game of the week. You never know what you’ll get when Don Nelson brings his brand of fun into town.