The incredible Milwaukee Bucks season encountered a stiff road block last Saturday when their star center Andrew Bogut, who was having a breakout season, suffered a horrific arm injury against the Phoenix Suns which has ended his season.
The Bucks, who were being picked to have a great chance to upset either Boston or Atlanta in the first round, are now pretty much being left for dead as they approach their first playoff appearance since 2006. But let’s look at this from two angles: small picture and big picture.
First of all, small picture. The Bucks were picked by nearly everyone to finish last in the Eastern Conference. That’s right. Even worse than the New Jersey Nets! The Bucks quickly suffered their annual season loss of star Michael Redd which to many indicated that this team would live up to their ominous pre-season expectations. Instead, we have been treated to a plethora of surprises. Bogut had an incredible season. Many now consider him to be one of the top five centers in the league. Rookie Brandon Jennings appears to be an up and coming star and will finish in the top three for rookie of the year. The Bucks acquired John Salmons at the trade deadline. At first, this appeared to be a ho hum trade. Instead, Salmons has become the star of this team. European players Ersan Iryaslova and Carols Delfino have been very pleasant surprises. Veterans Jerry Stackhouse and Kurt Thomas have brought much needed leadership to this team. And Coach Scott Skiles has the Bucks playing defense for the first time since I don’t remember when. To be going to the playoffs as a 5 or 6-seed in the East is much more than any of us could have anticipated at the beginning of the season. Even if Bogut had not been lost for the year, this team would still be an underdog even to win one playoff series and would definitely have not advanced past the second round.
Now for the big picture. Even though the Bucks will most likely go out in round one, they are going to get some great playoff experience. When you consider how this team plays under Skiles, I think they are going to give the Hawks or Celtics some tough physical games. Whether they take the series to seven or get swept is really immaterial in my opinion. The next step this team takes will not happen this season. It will happen beginning this off season with who the organization decides to keep and draft. And then we will see what happens next winter when there are expectations for this team. Bogut will be expected to continue playing at a high level. Jennings, Iryaslova and Delfino will be expected to continue their growth process. John Salmons will need to continue to produce. And Skiles must figure out how to use Michael Redd if and when he returns and stays healthy in 2010-11. Much like the Atlanta Hawks of last year, the Bucks should expect to contend for a top four seed in the East a year after their breakout season. They should win a first round series next year and be competitive in a second round series.
What they can’t allow to happen is what occurred in Philadelphia this year. It looked like the 76ers were primed to be that breakout team this year. Instead, they slid completely in the other direction. Next year should be exciting and has the potential to be very fun. There hasn’t been this much expected of the Milwaukee Bucks in ten years. It’s a good feeling!
(Notice I have no baseball predictions or comments as has been tradition. My hatred of Major League Baseball has finally resulted in me not even following it anymore. Bud Selig, the players' union, the owners and everyone associated with the head office of MLB has ruined the game for me. Call me a hater if you want, but I like my sports to have competitve balance. I have no desire to follow a sport that has become so corrupt.)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Slippery Home Stretch for Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks had been the hottest team in the NBA until these past few games. It will be interesting to see how this team handles the last week and a half of the regular season and how this affects their performance if and when they make the playoffs.
The acquisition of John Salmons along with the development of Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings have provided Bucks fans with the most exciting basketball we have seen in seven or eight years from the hometown team. They are playing defense, executing on offense, winning on the road and winning period. This team has risen from the depths of a 16-23 first half to on the verge of having a winning season and a playoff berth. As of just ten days ago, it looked like the Bucks were going to cruise into the Eastern conference playoffs as a 5-seed and have an interesting first round matchup with Atlanta or Boston.
Although they could still end up with this 5-seed, they are going to have to take it to yet another level to do that and then be prepared to take it up yet another step when the playoffs start. This past week has seen the Bucks drop two close road games against the best team in the East, Cleveland in which the Cavs shot 40 more free throws than the Bucks, and Charlotte in which the Bucks could not clamp down defensively at the end of regulation or overtime to pull out a win. Combine this with a loss to lowly Philadelphia and a demoralizing loss to Miami which has overtaken the Bucks for the 5-seed, and all of the sudden it appears that this Bucks team is not ready for a playoff run.
They have now dropped three straight games against fellow Eastern conference contenders and have watched Miami, Charlotte, Toronto and Chicago all surpass them in recent performance over the past ten days. Add to that, that the top four seeds, Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta and Orlando are all beginning to step it up as well, and it appears that the Bucks have quickly fallen from the league’s hottest team to the most suspect as we hit two weeks before the playoffs tip off.
And it isn’t going to get easier for the Bucks. Their last seven games include contests against Phoenix, Chicago, Atlanta and two against Boston. All four teams are in a similar position as the Bucks as they are fighting for playoff positioning or in the case of Chicago, trying to make it into the playoffs.
From a fan perspective, I am just excited that the Bucks are in a position to make the playoffs. But, even this isn’t a gimme anymore. If the Bucks lose to Phoenix and then can’t beat the Bulls Tuesday night, Milwaukee would then ride a 4-game losing streak and be only five games over .500. With five games to play, they could be staring at only a three game lead over the Bulls for that final playoff position. Stranger things have happened.
Of course, the other downer would be if the Bucks slip to seven or eight in the standings and have to open with Cleveland or Orlando. This would not bode well for a Bucks team especially if they are struggling. A sweep out of the playoffs would be eminent.
It’s tough to look at the glass half full when you are a Bucks fan. It’s rare that this team puts it together at all, not to mention at the right time. Hopefully Scott Skiles can get this team coached up again to be physical and execute like they did in February and most of March. They are going to need to if they are going to continue to give us anything to cheer about.
Visit my website at www.songerstudio.com
The acquisition of John Salmons along with the development of Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings have provided Bucks fans with the most exciting basketball we have seen in seven or eight years from the hometown team. They are playing defense, executing on offense, winning on the road and winning period. This team has risen from the depths of a 16-23 first half to on the verge of having a winning season and a playoff berth. As of just ten days ago, it looked like the Bucks were going to cruise into the Eastern conference playoffs as a 5-seed and have an interesting first round matchup with Atlanta or Boston.
Although they could still end up with this 5-seed, they are going to have to take it to yet another level to do that and then be prepared to take it up yet another step when the playoffs start. This past week has seen the Bucks drop two close road games against the best team in the East, Cleveland in which the Cavs shot 40 more free throws than the Bucks, and Charlotte in which the Bucks could not clamp down defensively at the end of regulation or overtime to pull out a win. Combine this with a loss to lowly Philadelphia and a demoralizing loss to Miami which has overtaken the Bucks for the 5-seed, and all of the sudden it appears that this Bucks team is not ready for a playoff run.
They have now dropped three straight games against fellow Eastern conference contenders and have watched Miami, Charlotte, Toronto and Chicago all surpass them in recent performance over the past ten days. Add to that, that the top four seeds, Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta and Orlando are all beginning to step it up as well, and it appears that the Bucks have quickly fallen from the league’s hottest team to the most suspect as we hit two weeks before the playoffs tip off.
And it isn’t going to get easier for the Bucks. Their last seven games include contests against Phoenix, Chicago, Atlanta and two against Boston. All four teams are in a similar position as the Bucks as they are fighting for playoff positioning or in the case of Chicago, trying to make it into the playoffs.
From a fan perspective, I am just excited that the Bucks are in a position to make the playoffs. But, even this isn’t a gimme anymore. If the Bucks lose to Phoenix and then can’t beat the Bulls Tuesday night, Milwaukee would then ride a 4-game losing streak and be only five games over .500. With five games to play, they could be staring at only a three game lead over the Bulls for that final playoff position. Stranger things have happened.
Of course, the other downer would be if the Bucks slip to seven or eight in the standings and have to open with Cleveland or Orlando. This would not bode well for a Bucks team especially if they are struggling. A sweep out of the playoffs would be eminent.
It’s tough to look at the glass half full when you are a Bucks fan. It’s rare that this team puts it together at all, not to mention at the right time. Hopefully Scott Skiles can get this team coached up again to be physical and execute like they did in February and most of March. They are going to need to if they are going to continue to give us anything to cheer about.
Visit my website at www.songerstudio.com
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