The immortal tandem of Blue Edwards and Brad Lohaus represented the Milwaukee Bucks in the original NBA Jam They weren’t particularly apt at three of the four things required to win at NBA Jam: shooting threes, dunking, or requiring the assistance of firemen. Computer-controlled Lohaus was great at the fourth thing: getting conspicuous no-calls on defense. They were essentially the worst team in the game.

The real life Bucks around that time weren’t much better. In the 1991-92 season, the Bucks missed the playoffs for the first time since 1979. Two seasons later, they’d bottom out with a 20-62 record. Since then, the Bucks haven’t been that bad, but they’ve been pretty mediocre with flashes of hope every now and then.

It’s the flashes of hope that this next Bucksketball series is dedicated too. The 20 best Bucks since 1991, compiled, organized and written about for your reading pleasure. The list is mostly filled with guys that tantalized and teased us with potential, but never fully delivered and guys that just busted their asses off with everything they had which was never enough. There are a few genuine greats near the end though.

I’m not going to lie. This list is underwhelming. Sometimes you might think, “Why’d they put him so high!” But then you’ll look back over the last 20 years and realize, “Oh, that’s why.” Personally, I still can’t believe Ervin Johnson is as high as he is, but then again, I don’t know where else to put him.

Disclaimer: this list isn’t perfect. It was formed by guys who might have a bias or two and misremembered a play here or there. It’ll come as no surprise that the list skews heavily toward the much loved Light it up! Light it up! teams at the turn of the millennium. If you don’t think Benoit Benjamin got his due, then speak up. We’d love your comments!  Share your rankings too. Keep it civil.

The following list is full of a few honorable mentions. These five guys aren’t necessarily the next best five. They’re just random guys that are definitely in the top 40. In no particular order:

Read more…

Last second victories are sweet.  They’re more exciting, fun to watch and dramatic.  They’re everything kids dream about as they grow up.

But are they the magic elixirs many hope they will end up being?

Common thought is that a win like the Bucks thrilling win over the Pacers last night gives the players something more than the average win does.  That thrill of, “hey, something finally has gone right for us”, carries over and helps the players grow more cohesive and play with more energy going forward.  When a struggling team wins a game like the one the Bucks won over the Pacers, everyone wonders, has momentum shifted?  Will things now turn around?

I’m inclined to believe it just isn’t that simple.  I’ve seen this movie before. Read more…

Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 0-1
Inactive: Chris Douglas Roberts, Michael Redd, Darington Hobson

at

Minnesota Timberwolves (Kurt Rambis) 0-1
Inactive: Martell Webster, Johnny Flynn, Maurice Ager

Date: 10/29/2010
Game Time: 7:00 PM (CST)
TV: FS Wisconsin

The Other Guys: A Wolf Among Wolves

Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Luke Ridnour

They got to spend a season going against each other in practice and now can do the same thing when it matters.  Jennings and Ridnour know each other well, so there shouldn’t be much surprise here.  Physically, Jennings has the edge, but Ridnour has been more consistent over.  Ridnour is certainly no Chris Paul, so Jennings shouldn’t have as much of a problem keeping him out of the paint.  The better he controls Ridnour, the easier it is for the rest of the Bucks to stick with their men.  Penetrating against Ridnour is significantly less difficult than on Paul too.  Jennings should have an even better night than he did in the opener.

Advantage: Bucks Read more…

I thought this was pretty cool.  That new scoreboard at the Bradley Center sure looks like an improvement.

********

If you haven’t checked out John Hollinger’s extended Bucks season preview yet, take the time to do so.  It’s very, very thorough and well thought out.  What I thought especially seemed on point was his failure to panic over the loss of Luke Ridnour.  He obviously had an unbelievable year last year, but that’s the thing.  It was UNBELIEVABLE.  Ridnour likely wouldn’t have produced with as much success this season, so Keyon Dooling will probably be a similar player, but much less expensive.

********

Frank and Alex have officially previewed the season.

********

Charles F. Gardner reports that Drew Gooden has some playful jabbing for the Bucks rookies and comments on Coach Scott Skiles organization skills.  Also, Gardner reports on Skiles trying to calm the Larry Sanders needs minutes chatter early.

********

A negative sign in the Erick Dampier watch: he’s attended a Raptors practice.  If winning is Dampier’s number one motivation, he’ll avoid the Raptors.  Winning usually isn’t people’s top priority though.  Money often does the talking for free agents, but oddly enough, Toronto can only offer the minimum to Dampier.  How he’d end up with Toronto boggles the mind.  The Raptors do appear to be most in need of a center of all the teams coveting Dampier though, as Andrea Bargnani and Amir Johnson are their most enticing options at the moment, neither being much of a real center.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed Keyon Dooling to a two-year-deal to backup Brandon Jennings.

After the departure of Luke Ridnour, backup point guard was the last hole on a roster that’s become incredibly deep this off-season. Heading into his 11th season, the 6-foot-3, 195 pound Dooling brings a different dimension to the point guard spot with size the Bucks did not have last season.

Despite the size advantage Dooling has over Ridnour, he’ll be stepping into some pretty big shoes. Ridnour surprised everyone with  by far the best season of his career last year, posting a 17.7 PER while dropping jaws with a shooting percentage line of .478/.381/.909. Of course, that merely boosted Ridnour’s career numbers to .424/.347/.864, so it may be difficult for him to replicate last year’s stellar efforts. And without those shooting percentages, Ridnour becomes considerably less valuable. While he led the Bucks in assist percentage last season and generally showed tons of toughness, his size limits him to having success guarding point guards only.

Dooling likely won’t be able to match what Ridnour did offensively last season, but it stands to reason that he can give the Bucks nearly exactly what Ridnour would give them in a typical Luke Ridnour season. Dooling has a career true shooting percentage of .516 and a career effective field goal percentage of .464. Nearly identical are Ridnour’s career numbers of .512 and .463 respectively.

Essentially, the only area in which one could expect Ridnour to easily outshine Dooling next season is free-throw shooting. Ridnour’s career percentage from the line is .864, while Dooling lags slightly behind at .798. Ridnour helped seal a number of games down the line last season, but with a season of work under Jennings belt and the full season additions of John Salmons and Corey Maggette, it seems safe to say Ridnour wouldn’t be needed at the end of games as much. Read more…