They’re back! After a lockout-sized hiatus, Buck Hits have returned to bring you the very best of the Bucks from around the web. Much to discuss, so without further adieu…

Recap

12/27/11 Bucks v. Wolves

Box Score

Analysis: JSOnline, Brewhoop, We’re Bucked

Power Rankings

Marc Stein: 17
NBA.com: 17
Charles Gardner: 16

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If you’re hardcore into labor negotiations and need the full breakdown, check out Larry Coon’s breakdown of the last CBA vs. the new CBA.

If you’re looking to learn some of the highlights and how they apply to the Bucks, we got you covered.

• Amnesty Clause

Upon first reports of the new CBA allowing teams to purge themselves of one bad contract, keyboards everywhere took a pounding as people excitedly slammed out the letters D-R-E-W G-O-O-D-E-N alongside the word good riddance. But intel appears to have quelled that movement amongst Bucks fans. Today, Chad Ford and John Hollinger report yet again, that the team is unlikely to use the amnesty clause on Gooden this season.

The clause would clear Drew Gooden’s contract from the Bucks salary cap (something the last amnesty provision didn’t do), which would give the team just over $6 million to do with what they may this off-season. But the team would still have to pay Gooden, so whatever player replacing him would essentially be earning his salary and Gooden’s salary. The doubling of salary is probably one reason Milwaukee hasn’t been so anxious to clear Gooden from the books.

The other reason is likely the lack of time Gooden spent on the court with Andrew Bogut last season.

Milwaukee’s ideal pairing up front spent just 411 minutes on the court together last season. By comparison, Bogut spent 826 minutes with Luc Mbah a Moute as his power forward last season. When Gooden wasn’t injured, he was often forced into a backup role, as the Bucks lacked much behind Bogut. If Milwaukee can get Bogut and Gooden on the floor together often this season and still doesn’t see results? This CBA’s amnesty clause can be rolled over and used any time until the next CBA expires, so long as it is used on deals signed during the last CBA. Next season could be Gooden’s last as a Buck if his pay and performance don’t line up a little closer.

If, as Don Walker’s sources say, the Bucks had been receiving roughly $5 million a year in revenue sharing, under the new agreement, that will jump to $15 million. Details have yet to be finalized on the revenue sharing deal though, so we can’t be sure just what sort of impact that extra $10 million will have, but any time a team with as thin as profit margin as the Bucks have can pick up three times as much money as they had been, that’s a help.

• Luxury Tax

Milwaukee has never paid a dollar in luxury tax penalties, and don’t expect that to change any time soon. Unless the extra revenue being generated from revenue sharing has The Senator feeling awfully generous, the additional luxury tax penalties that will be levied upon teams starting in 2012-13 should be all the more reason for Milwaukee to keep salaries relatively tight. Teams previously paid a dollar for every dollar they went over the calculated tax level, starting in 2012-13, penalties will grow with even $5 million above the tax level a team goes.

The league has advertised this sort of penalty system as a means of competitive balance. Their logic is major market teams won’t be able to spend as freely in free agency and through contract extensions if their owners are paying out so much in penalties. But this sort of tax could come back to haunt a young team like the Bucks if they hit big on a few drafts. If Bogut and Brandon Jennings are the anchors the Bucks are hoping for and if Tobias Harris or another young player proves to be someone worth legitimate money, all of those contracts adding up at once could be too much for a small market team to handle, revenue sharing or not.

The luxury tax keeps the onus on Milwaukee to be smart when handing out contracts to non-star players, but really won’t be an issue unless the team ends up with a couple of star young players.

• Restricted  and Unrestricted Free Agency

Teams will now have just three days to match an offer sheet signed by a restricted free agent. Mbah a Moute falls into that boat as soon as free agency gets started, so the Bucks could be one of the first teams to have to make a quick decision.

Additionally, free agent deals are now limited to five years with 7.5 percent raises for Bird free agents (a player who has played with a team for three years) and four years with 4.5 percent raises for other free agents. Shorter contracts are one thing owners were very insistent about, and I’m sure Herb Kohl felt no different, having had an up-close and personal seat for Michael Redd’s final few years in Milwaukee.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Choosing the top 20 Bucks’ players of the past 20 years was a pretty tough task. Choosing the best? Not so much. Ray Allen was the clear choice and nobody else was even close. It was his addition that turned things around for Milwaukee. Allen came to town and all of a sudden the Bucks started winning. The team went from a .305 winning percentage the year before his arrival to a .634 winning percentage in only his fifth season.

Of course, Allen was about more than just wins and losses. He had that picture perfect jump shot. He unleashed his fair share of fierce dunks. Above all, Allen gave the Bucks a player to counter the superstars of the NBA. No game exemplified this better than Ray’s epic duel with Allen Iverson in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Although Iverson outscored Allen 46-41, Milwaukee came out on top in that game.

The media attention, however brief and small it was, Allen brought to the Bucks should also not be discounted. In addition to what he did on the court, he also co-starred in the ridiculously awesome He Got Game alongside Denzel Washington. Outside of Shaq and MJ, how many NBA players can you say played a major role in a widely released movie?

Along with all of the good, Allen is also connected to one of my lowest points as a Bucks fan.

I was watching ESPN News when they reported he had been traded to Seattle for Gary Payton. At first, I couldn’t believe it. I thought there was a mistake. Then I just got really sad. I remember calling my two friends who were also fans of the team and just venting. We were 15 years old at the time so our conversation assuredly featured a lot of “worst trade ever” type talk. I moped around for what today seemed like weeks, but was actually probably only a couple days. “How could the Bucks do this to me?” my teenage mind wondered.

Then a funny thing happened. Payton and Desmond Mason suited up for their first game as a Buck on Feb. 22. And what do you know? They won. Payton had 22 points and nine assists. Mason showed the athleticism that made him such an exciting player in Seattle. No matter how much I loved Allen, I realized I was a Bucks fan first. No matter who they throw out on the court or how many times they trade my favorite player, my loyalty will remain. I also realized just because Allen was miles away in Washington, it would be pretty easy to follow him via the Internet. Although I couldn’t watch him every game, I didn’t completely lose the player I had enjoyed watching.

Looking back on the trade now, I still don’t like it from a Bucks perspective, but it is far from the “worst trade ever” that my young self once proclaimed. Things clearly weren’t working with Allen and George Karl. Some sort of shake up was necessary. Did that mean Milwaukee had to trade away its best player? No, absolutely not, but it makes it a little easier to see why the trade was made. In addition, the trade ushered in the Michael Redd era. With Allen gone, Redd was able to step into the starting shooting guard role and brought us a few years of excellent production. There is a good chance Redd would have been relegated to a sixth man role for his formidable years if Allen was never moved. Or maybe Redd would have been the one traded. Either way, we would not have had the experience we did with Redd if Allen remained on the Bucks.

Allen will forever hold a special place for me. He was the guy who was the best player when I really started to love the Bucks. For most former Milwaukee players, my interest for them fades when they leave the team. Allen was an exception. As soon as I could find one, I purchased a poster of Allen as a Sonic. It still hangs on my bedroom wall in my parent’s house…right next to my poster of Ray as a Buck.

How did you feel about the Ray trade at the time? How do you feel about it now?

Josh Hilgendorf is a contributor to Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Ask any NBA fan if there is a Milwaukee Bucks player they can remember over the past 20 years and, after thinking for a while, they’ll probably say Michael Redd. But that’s only because he or she forgot the Bucks used to actually have a real live superstar in Ray Allen.

It seems like a lifetime ago that he was the most identifiable Bucks player. At that time, Allen was as associated with the Bucks as they were with him. But Allen moved on quickly. He had success leading the Seattle Sonics and ultimate success with the Boston Celtics. Now, the Bucks are almost just a  footnote in Allen’s career. Milwaukee seems little more than the spot where he began his pre-game routine, fine tuned it, perfected it.

In Allen’s NBA life, the Bucks are the girlfriend he met when he was young. He was serious about her, as she was about him. They had some amazing times together and when things were at their best, it seemed like they would be together forever. There wasn’t enough to keep them together though. He couldn’t take the team where it wanted to be by himself and the team couldn’t surround Allen with the help he needed. Things got messy when George Karl alienated his star, as he’s so good at doing. Karl wanted back an old flame in Gary Payton and Allen and the Bucks split.

Allen moved on and thrived in each new setting he was placed in. His new life in Seattle with another high scoring team that prided itself on its shooting wasn’t all that different from the one he once knew in Milwaukee. And when it was time for him to settle down and accept a smaller but equally important role in Boston, Allen was ready. He didn’t need to be the star in a new Big Three with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. He just needed to be reliable. It was the perfect role for the man who still holds the Bucks consecutive games streak with 400.

The Bucks never really recovered from the breakup. The team had the same problems surrounding Allen’s replacement that they had surrounding Allen. It’s not very difficult to imagine our feelings about Allen being pretty close to our feelings about Redd had he stuck around. Both were big time scorers, while Allen was more reliable and a better creator, his job in Milwaukee was never going to be very different than the one Redd took on.

One of the most significant differences between Allen and Redd was how the Bucks fared during each of their peaks. While Allen played with the most talented set of teammates the Bucks have had in 20 years, Redd was surrounded by an ever changing cast of castoffs. A Mo Williams here, a Ruben Patterson there, Redd was never given the same chance to be a star Allen was despite eclipsing many of Allen’s marks as a scorer and matching many as a shooter. If you’re thinking about a three-point shooter on the Milwaukee Bucks, Allen and Redd go hand in hand.

But that’s the difficulty of the NBA. It’s not enough to be good, you have to be in the right situation and take advantage of it. Allen maximized his situation at every stop along the way in his NBA career. And I mean maximize dearly and truly. Ray Allen landed a starring role in a Spike Lee movie while he was the MILWAUKEE BUCKS SHOOTING GUARD.

Currently we all take note of the near constant buzz that seems to surround Brandon Jennings, but Jennings gets his pub in a much different way than Ray did. Jennings is vocal on Twitter, shouting out where he’s going to be and what he’ll be doing. He’s vocal on the court, strutting about with his mouth moving and head waving regardless of who the Bucks are playing. Jennings is an attention grabber, whether the reasons are right or wrong.

Allen was never that guy. He was quiet and unassuming. He didn’t coral attention. Even his game was based on a simple, feathery jump-shot. Allen would scream after only the biggest of dunks in only the biggest of moments. He didn’t have much to say on the court.

His game never stopped talking though. It talked enough that it got him to talking with Lee and a starring role next to Denzel Washington.

His game made him a superstar and everything else came along with it. And while Jennings has earned himself some attention with his play and with his personality, he has a ways to go before he earns that superstar title.

Redd replaced him as a shooter and Jennings has replaced him as someone worth talking about on the Bucks, but neither has been able to accomplish Allen’s most impressive feat. Become a superstar in Milwaukee. So as we approach 10 years since Allen last played for the Bucks, we’re still waiting for that next superstar to come along.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Redd would hold the ball and size up the defense from the wing. For two, three, even four second, Redd would stand. Sometimes he’d jab-step, sometimes his back would be to the hoop and sometimes he would face up and just look around. Maybe his defender felt nervous about all the ways a scorer in his prime like Redd could attack him. As losses started to pile up and Redd’s scoring remained high while his assist totals remained low, it was moments like these that became easy to criticize. Michael Redd wasn’t a very enjoyable isolation scorer.

Injuries always nagged at Redd, but they stopped nagging and started taking more action in late 2008. It started with a sprained ankle. He landed awkwardly trying to chase down a loose ball. After that, it seemed every time he jumped, something went wrong. Redd came down on a teammate in January of 2009, tearing both his ACL and MCL. He re-injured the knee on a dunk in just the second game of the next season. He tore the same ACL and MCL on what seemed to be a routine jump shot and landing almost a year to the day in January of 2010.

Michael Redd is no longer the shooter or scorer the league had come to know him as. When basketball resumes, he’ll be a free agent. He’s likely played his last game as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. He’ll find a job again. The memory of what he was and the little bit that he showed in an abbreviated 10 game 2010-11 season have earned him another job. But for now, it wil be the big contract, the ball holding, the losses and the injuries that come to the minds of Bucks fans when Redd’s name is brought up.

Give it some time. As both parties move on and a new star begins to assert his will on the Bucks, we’ll look back on a more complete picture of Michael Redd. Instead of just a contract and games missed, we’ll remember all the points he scored and the fun we had watching him. We’ll remember that big game against Utah and that stroke he made smooth despite it’s obvious flaws. We’ll remember one of the best Milwaukee Bucks players of all time. – JS

***

NBA players always get crapped on for not being in shape and not trying very hard after they sign their huge contracts. That’s not the case for Michael Redd. After he signed his $91 million contract during the 2005 offseason, rumors started to swirl that Redd was shedding his baby fat. Those rumors were confirmed when Jon McGlocklin spent the first half of the season gushing about how toned Redd was. For the 2005-06 season, Redd averaged 25.4 ppg and a 21.2 PER as he led the Bucks to the playoffs. In the next season, he averaged 26.7 ppg with a 22.3 PER before his injury (he would have been a top 5 scorer that season had he played all of it). Those seasons would be the highest marks he’d ever have in ppg and PER. They were much better than his one all-star year in 2004.

Redd’s legacy has become a story of a bad contract and a bad knee which is so unfair. It should be that he cared and busted his butt every game. He could score with the best of them and is one of the greatest shooters ever. The last thing Redd wanted was for anyone to regret his contract. Some things are just out of our control.

Even if he had never gotten injured, was he still worth the $91 million? There’s some validity to saying no, he was never a superstar. But I think he could have become one. He was getting better every season and got to play with the worlds’ best on 2008 Team USA. But it’s hard to say, I’m not good with hypotheticals. What I do know is that Bucks fans now, would shovel so much money to a guy who could average 25 a game and shoot .390 from the three. – IS

***

I’ve never met Michael Redd. I’ve never shook his hand. I’ve never asked him any questions. For someone I have had absolutely no personal contact with, I have a pretty good idea of how any interaction with him would go. Redd would give me a friendly hand shake. He would politely answer all my questions. He might even ask me about my family. Basically, by all accounts, Redd is a great guy.

Great guys don’t always make great basketball players. However, for the better part of five seasons, that is what Redd was for the Bucks. Since Ray Allen was sent to Seattle, Redd is the only Milwaukee player selected to the all-star team. He upped his scoring average in each of his first seven seasons, culminating in a 26.7 point per game average in the 2006-07 season. Redd was even a member of Team USA.

So if a player seemingly has such a great personality and so many accolades, why do I have so many negative thoughts about him? The answer is two-fold. First, Redd suffers in the “What has he done for me lately” category. After all, he has been in street clothes for most of the past three seasons. And when he did briefly play last season, he was a shadow of his former self. Two devastating injuries will do that to you.

And while Redd was recovering in Ohio or awkwardly sitting on the end of the Bucks’ bench, he was getting a fat paycheck. I shouldn’t blame Redd for these things. He didn’t force Milwaukee to give him a giant, franchise-crippling contract. He didn’t try to blow out his knee. But it still happened, and I still think about it. No matter how hard I try to remember Redd for his uncanny ability to put the ball in the hoop while shouting “Oh, and-one,”  I can’t help but picture him doing it with dollar signs circling his head. – JH

Jeremy Schmidt, Josh Hilgendorf and Ian Segovia write the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Click their names to follow them on Twitter.

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Initially, I didn’t like Desmond Mason. It wasn’t his fault. I was just filled with a lot of teen angst at the time, but didn’t have a lot to complain about. Therefore all my impotent rage was directed at everything and everyone associated with the trade that sent Kevin Ollie’s mustache out of Milwaukee (oh, and Ray Allen too).

But then Mason got on the court. And dunked. And dunked. And dunked. And dunked his way into my heart. Ultimately, isn’t it all about the highlights!!!

He didn’t win a lot. His stats are modest. His hook shot was weird. For someone with his length and athleticism, defense just wasn’t his thing. He wasn’t great. At his best, he was just good. Yet, he was still magnificent.

That might be a weird word choice since the typical word for most journeymen is unremarkable. When history looks back on Mason, he might be categorized as such. But believe me when I say that he got roars reserved for superstars. Whereas it might take Kevin Durant 40 points and an entire game to get people out of their seats, it only took Mason one second and 38 inches.

He had four go-to dunk moves that I had memorized by his second season. The first two are obvious. The baseline drive and the transition dunk where he curls to the basket just as the ball goes into the air. The third move was near the elbow. He’d jostle for position, spin outside, then quick cut to the basket for a big alley-oop. My favorite was a give-n-go. Mason would hand it off at the wing then jog around the perimeter. If the lane was open, there would be alley-oops all day. Off these four moves, Mason’s compiled an absurd list of poster victims: Shaquille O’Neal, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Yao Ming, Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki. The best poster came against his teammate, Michael Redd.

Mike James was pushing the break and saw Redd sprinting ahead on the opposite end. Mason was sprinting down the middle and slightly behind James. When the lob was thrown, Redd went up and Mason flushed it. He did his signature hang from the rim and spin, then did the rarely seen(from him) hop up-and-down celebration.

Even though his hops were otherworldly, the rest of his game was very down to earth (his highest PER is 15. 7, his first year in Milwaukee). I have trouble remembering other parts of his game because it was so mundane. His career is kind of like those advice books The Secret or Eat, Pray, Love where there are a bunch of inspirational quotes with a bunch of junk connecting it all (I realize in this metaphor that I am the girlfriend trying to convince you that this book is very much worth your time). Dunks are fun and all, but are ultimately meaningless if they aren’t supported by a stronger foundation of passing, rebounding and other skills. In 20 years, I don’t know if I’ll remember Mason at all which is sad. He was fun. He was a big reason to watch some mediocre teams.

Final unrelated tangent: Did you know Desmond Mason was an artist? I don’t mean this in some high-brow, “dunking is art,” kind of way. I mean it in the most literal, “he paints things,” kind of way. He’s really good, I think, but I’m not an art critic. It’s always nice to find something that breaks the athlete stereotypes. I was surprised initially by the discovery, but it makes total sense. He always seemed to be okay with not being a star. He was always on Sportcenter’s Top 10, but had no desire to be on it. It’s a lot easier to be that way when you’re talented in other areas.

Ian Segovia is a contributor to Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter, fan us up on Facebook.

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I’ve heard Milwaukee Bucks management approached Michael Redd before the lockout about returning for another season, although my impeccable sources insist he’s going to wind up with one of the Eastern Conference’s title contenders.

Awwwwwwww.  It was all but certain before, but it seems that Michael Redd is finally gone from Milwaukee. Unless of course, Milwaukee ends up being the only team that offers anything to Redd which is definitely in the realm of possibility.

Redd’s legacy in Milwaukee is tricky. Jeremy has talked about this before. He’s not a great player, but based on the criteria the Bucks have established, then his number should hang in the rafters. Redd was a better player than Brian Winters (best/second best player on bad teams) or Jon McGlocklin (5th wheel on good teams). His career as a Buck was better than Bob Lanier’s (career averages plummeted when he was traded to Bucks). What does all this mean? The Bucks haven’t had very good players.

Random thoughts on the no. 5 scorer in Bucks history:

• Defining game: 57 points against Utah…in a loss. No assists. 25 points in the 4th quarter. Tied the game with just enough time to lose. In 2006, if I told you that stat line and asked you whose it was, the first answer would be Kobe Bryant, but Redd wouldn’t be far behind.
• My vote for Most Fun Shooting Stroke ever
• If you take a deep 3 from the right wing, it should be Wisconsin state law that you yell, “Michael Redd!”
• If Redd ends up going to the Heat, I wouldn’t be able to handle all the puns when he has a good shooting night.
• Redd should go play for the New York Knicks. It was always his destiny to be the 2 guard for the Steve Nash/Mike D’antoni Suns. Now that he’s half the player he was, it’d be apt that he goes to play for half of that tandem.

I’ll miss him. And I’ll forever yell his name during pick-up games, if only to confuse and infuriate the guy who yells, “Kobe!”

Ian Segovia is a contributor to Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter.

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Continued to scrap
One of the walking wounded
Lost his long ball touch

Every NBA player needs a card to play that makes him unique.  Ilyasova’s appeared to be his combination of scrappy play with a solid touch from three-point range.  After last season, Coach Scott Skiles talked of his hopes that Ilyasova would turn into a 37-38% shooter from three.  That didn’t pan out.  Ilyasova took a step back as a shooter, falling to sub-30% from deep.  Going forward, that’ll be where Ilyasova must straighten himself out.  He was among the team’s leaders in charges taken, but he’ll never be the defender Mbah a Moute is at the four, and his rebounding is no better than average.

Brandon Jennings

Question of import:
Did his development stall?
Most pressing issue

Watching Chris Paul terrorize the Lakers is frustrating as a Bucks fan.  Size wise, Paul is no bigger than Jennings.  Maybe he’s a bit thicker, but he seems to have a sense ingrained in him about what to do and when to do it.  Jennings may not have that, but he could still be an effective player.  Some are jumping ship on him already, others are giving him a bit more string.  But after his third year, we’ll probably have a fairly good idea about whether or not Jennings is the right guy at the point guard position for the Bucks.  This will be a huge off-season for him.

Corey Maggette

On a losing team
Designated driver was
Pulled over as well

Brought in to even out the Bucks free throw numbers, Maggette largely did his thing.  Per 36 minutes, he attempted 8.4 free throws per game — in line with his 8.7 per game numbers per 36 for his career.  But he had trouble earning consistent minutes down the stretch, as Skiles went largely exclusively with John Salmons and Carlos Delfino at the wings.  Maggette had his moments before that — the game at Golden State comes to mind — but for whatever reason, he could never earn his coach’s trust.  Milwaukee may look to move him this summer, but it doesn’t appear that he’s pressed the issue just yet.  He was largely regarded as a positive teammate and got praise for just being a good guy.  In the NBA though, that’s not enough.

Luc Mbah a Moute

Offense of three years
Still a work in progress. But
Defense is fine tuned.

In his third year, his offensive numbers were eerily similar to those of his rookie season.  His playing time at the four was squeezed when the Bucks were at their healthiest and when Carlos Delfino was out, Mbah a Moute had to fill in at the three quite a bit.  This was fine defensively, but offensively, it was as bad a fit for him as ever.  He’ll be a restricted free agent whenever the off-season starts, we’ll see how much Milwaukee values his defensive contributions then.

Michael Redd

A touching comeback.
After so long, could move on.
A hopeful future.

Redd went out scoring 11 points in Oklahoma City.  He wasn’t able to lead the Bucks back from the depths they sunk to this season, only earning modest playing time until the team was officially eliminated.  His injuries have taken a lot out of him physically, but he still seems to have the same positive attitude that’s gotten him this far.  I don’t doubt that Redd can stick on a team’s rotation next season, but he’ll need to figure out his three-point shooting.  He made just four of 17 this season and struggled last season as well.

John Salmons

Oh my the struggles.
Crumbled under contract’s weight.
Needs to build back up.

When blame is being divvied out, Salmons has been more than willing to take his share.  And he’s more than deserving of that same share.  He spent most of the season with a sub-40% field goal percentage, a disastrous number from a player that was assumed to take on the biggest role offensively on the team.

Larry Sanders

Long with many tools.
Now, dangerous shot-blocker.
Leaves us wanting more.

Sanders minutes fluctuated, presumably with his attention to detail.  There were time when we’d see Sanders catch a tongue lashing while on the court from Coach Skiles and times in which he was pulled, instructed and re-inserted immediately.  It was a learning season for him.  But he seemed to be getting better all the time.  He’s always willing to taken an open 18-foot jump shot, the next steps for him are making those more often and building an attack move off of that.  If he can take those two steps in cohesion before next season, there may be a lot of minutes available for him.  He’s already a premier shot-blocker.

Brian Skinner

Always good soldier
Two games, no attempts.
Still, had a cool beard.

Skinner hung around Milwaukee and got a job when the team was a little thin up front.  He drives a huge Hummer and looked capable during the pre-season.  Seems unlikely he’ll ever have a regular NBA job again though.

Garrett Temple

Had chance, mixed results.
Bright guy, quick learner. Had flaws.
Errant shot. Could stick.

Temple seemed to get it while he was out there.  He just couldn’t get his shots to fall with much regularity while with the Bucks.  That was a problem for him wherever he was in the NBA this season.  He shot less than 30% on the year, that’s not going to cut it for a fringe player who looks like he’ll be makings his bones on defense.  That’s all well and good, but even the best defenders must be below average offensive players.  Not completely abysmal offensive players.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook (right sidebar).

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After months of injuries, underwhelming performances, failures to execute, missed shots and fourth quarter collapses, most people feel like they have a pretty good handle on this Bucks team.  But Wednesday night’s 104-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors certainly didn’t fit the profile that’s been established.

Recent gruesome losses featuring very poor fourth quarter performances were still fresh in the minds of Bucks fans when Toronto turned a 85-80 deficit into a 88-87 lead with 4:48 left in the fourth quarter.  But this time, the Bucks were able to use the same fight they had against the Bobcats and mix in enough made shots to flip the script.  35 seconds and three offensive rebounds after an Andrea Bargnani layup would put the Bucks behind, Carlos Delfino responded with a three from the corner to conclude a possession in which the Bucks went one for four with three offensive rebounds.  It wasn’t so unlike the final possession against Charlotte, but it was TOTALLY unlike that final possession, in that the Bucks found a way to finish it out.

Milwaukee would feature plenty of Drew Gooden to hold the Raptors, as Gooden’s touch from long range was alive and well, but the Bucks even mixed in an Andrew Bogut right-handed hook from the paint to keep the Raptors at bay.  Multiple players making shots when the Bucks needed them to be made?  This group didn’t resemble the Bucks of the past week.

That’s the beauty of playing Toronto though.  Milwaukee’s victory left them with a 3-0 lead over their Canadian counterparts this season.  In each game Milwaukee’s offense was able to do virtually as it pleased.  So when I say this game seemed a bit of a tease, I keep the Bucks-Raptors series this season in mind.  The long since banished to the end of the bench Corey Maggette logged a double-double in the Bucks first trip to Toronto,  a game I think of when I see Gooden score 22 points and grab 11 rebounds.  Will Gooden always get looks good enough to end up six of eight from 20-feet out?  Probably not, even though he’s been a good shooter on long two’s this season (45% from 16-23 feet).

So forgive me if I see this game as less proof of what a healthy Bucks team can do and more an indictment of just how bad Toronto is.  That said, it’s still fun to see a victory and a team that’s working hard get a reward for their efforts.

Notes

It’s done.  It has happened.  Brandon Jennings has finished the month of March with a shooting percentage better than 40%.  After a 25 points on eight of 18 shooting night, Jennings finished the month of March as a 40.9% shooter.  This marks the second month of Jennings’s career in which he’s shot better than 40%.  As the Bucks either gloriously streak towards the playoffs or humbly bow out and play out the schedule, Jennings progress is likely the most important development to pay attention to for Bucks fans.  Milwaukee’s young point guard was equal parts orchestrator and scorer for the Bucks Wednesday night, mixing seven assists in with his team high point total.  But the key for Jennings will be consistently finishing in the paint and knocking down open threes.  If he continues to progress in those two areas, he’ll be just what the Bucks need going forward.

• It was a fairly quiet night for John Salmons, he made just two shots and attempted just six, but his drive and dish game was good as ever, and his teammates rewarded his efforts.  Salmons dished out seven assists, tying Jennings for team lead on a night in which the Bucks handed out 26 helpers.  Milwaukee’s a very unselfish team and that generally doesn’t change whether they are hitting shots or missing them.  Wednesday night just happened to be one of those nights in which they were making their shots again, allowing their assist totals to rise.

• Michael Redd caught a pass on a kickout from Earl Boykins. Redd found Gooden, who made a sharp bounce pass to the corner back to Boykins who quickly kicked back out to an open Redd waiting on the left wing.  Redd let loose on a three 447 days after he last scored a point in the NBA and once again, could find a number at the end of his line in the box score, as it dropped through the net.  Redd finished two for two, scored five points and probably felt as good as anyone in the locker room at the end of the night.  Congrats Mike.

• While Gooden’s offensive contributions shouldn’t be overlooked on this one night, it’s his rebounding that may matter even more.  Gooden isn’t always going to be so threatening a weapon on offense, but his skills as a rebounder will likely be on display most every night when he’s healthy.  It’s here that the differences between he, Larry Sanders and Jon Brockman are most glaring.  Gooden’s ability to keep possessions alive offensively and close them out on defense should not be undersold.  He certainly can be an effective player in the Bucks rotation going forward, for this reason alone.

Final Thoughts

An Indiana victory leaves the Bucks still three games back for the final playoff spot.  The losses to Sacramento and Charlotte look worse with each passing day, especially when a look ahead at the Bucks schedule brings back-to-back road games with Orlando and Miami in sight.  But yes, the Bucks cannot look so far ahead.  They can only look to Indiana on Friday, the must winniest must win this season.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook (right sidebar).

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(H/T The Basketball Jones and Outside The NBA)

It was tough to watch the Chicago Bulls dominate the Milwaukee Bucks down the stretch last Saturday.  But hey, that’s what the Bulls do.  They are the best defensive team in the league and have the leading MVP candidate on their side.  Beating them is a tough task for any team, even one throwing everything it had at them simply to stay in the playoff race.  After that loss, it seemed like the Bucks may still be trending positively.  Giving the Bulls all they could handle seemed like a good thing, even if the offense imploded in the end again.  But that had a lot to do with that stingy Bulls defense, right?

Wrong.  When the offense stalls for the Bucks, it still has a lot more to do with the Bucks than it has to do with any other team.  Milwaukee reminded us all that much down the stretch of their 87-86 loss at the hands of the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night.

The Bucks missed their final 11 shots and failed to score over the last 3:51.  But if you’ve kept up with the Bucks this season, none of that will surprise you.  Finding someone to score late in the fourth quarter when defensive intensity picks up has been a problem for the Bucks all season.  Once reliable John Salmons has vanished, and without him, the Bucks have been lost.  Monday night, it was Brandon Jennings’ turn to take on the late game scoring responsibilities.  And his heartbreaking final 15 seconds aptly summed up his entire fourth quarter performance.

After three quarters, Jennings was eight of 15 from the field with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

In the fourth quarter, Jennings made two of 12 shots, scored seven points and led the Bucks right out of the playoffs.  Do I blame him for this?  Not really.  It shouldn’t be on a 21-year-old, second year, moderately talented point guard to lift a franchise into the playoffs.  Jennings took responsibility during the game because that’s the kind of player he is.  Don’t think for a second Jennings didn’t think he was going to make each and every shot he took in that fourth quarter.  He was trying to will his team to victory, that’s a great quality to see in a young player.

Obviously his performance wasn’t on par with his mentality.  But that’s to be expected of a developing player.  The true tragedy in yet another Bucks collapse was that the team had to rely on Jennings because his fellow guards are so unreliable.  73 games into the season and Milwaukee still isn’t sure where it can go when it needs a bucket.  Forget the injuries, forget scheduling, forget the first few quarters, that’s the most damning thing about these Milwaukee Bucks.

Offense

The question that can be asked after the Bucks blew their nine point fourth quarter lead though is a big one: What happened to Andrew Bogut?  Milwaukee’s center was feasting on an undersized Bobcats front line throughout the game.  After three quarters, Bogut had 26 points on 13 of 17 shooting.  With no Kwame Brown, DeSegana Diop or Joel Przybilla, the ‘Cats were forced to sick the slender Tyrus Thomas and the portly Boris Diaw on Bogut.  And, as he should have, Bogut dominated.  Until the fourth quarter.

Bogut attempted just two shots in the fourth, as the Bucks stopped riding him.  Why?  Perhaps Jennings got a little shot happy.  Perhaps Bogut’s free throw issues this season make him an unreliable late game option.  I have no idea.  But seeing Bogut attempt just two shots in the fourth quarter was a bit gut-wrenching in this match-up.  Bogut finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

• He’s back.  After much speculation on when Michael Redd would return, the one time All-Star played his first game in over a year against the Bobcats in Charlotte on Monday.  Coach Scott Skiles had been non-committed on exactly when Redd would get back in a game, only saying it would depend on the flow of each game.  After Milwaukee’s guards did little off the bench Saturday against the Bulls, Redd was the first guard off the bench, entering the game for Salmons with 9:53 to play.  Redd looked spry and shocked a nation by failing to hit a shot, but passing out four assists.  It will be more than a little interesting to see how Redd’s situation plays out over the next few weeks.  If he somehow shows the ability to be a reliable late game scorer again, that would be a fitting end to a spectacularly bizarre season.

• Despite Redd’s return, the Bucks again got very little from their bench.  Bucks reserves scored just nine points on four of 18 shooting.  Drew Gooden, playing in his first game since late January, made just one of six shots, grabbed four offensive rebounds and eight rebounds total.  How does that work out, you ask?  Despite those offensive boards, four of Gooden’s six attempts were from beyond 17-feet.  He missed all four.

Defense

As usual, Milwaukee’s defense gave them a chance to win.  Charlotte scored 14 points in the paint in the first quarter, but Milwaukee used their significant size advantage and made them earn it from outside after that, allowing just 18 more points in the paint the rest of the way.  That size difference came in handy on the glass as well, as the Bucks out-rebounded the ‘Cats, 46-37.

• But late, the Bobcats made their shots.  Gerald Henderson scored Charlotte’s final seven points, including back to back jumpers off pin down screens that Milwaukee simply couldn’t stop.  Henderson caught and shot immediately after coming around screens on his last two jumpers that put Charlotte down one and then up one.  There was no hesitation or doubt in Henderson’s mind.  It’s great to see that out of anyone, but it’s better when they combine that with a made shot.  Charlotte did that, Milwaukee didn’t.

Final Thoughts

Three games out of the playoffs, nine games to play.

or

Three games out of the seventh pick in the draft with nine games to play.

You’re call.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook (right sidebar).

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