Last night
as you know was the NBA tip-off. It was an absolutely awesome night. The
Milwaukee Bucks played in the first game, however it was not natioanlly televised. It's okay I forgive your mistake giant media companies, it's your loss anyway. The team showed that they were a incredibly promising team all game long. The overall game they played just was so much smarter than last year that it put them in a position to win at the end of the game. The previously griped about
substituion problems were fixed under new coach Terry Stotts. I was excited right away when I saw Michael Redd getting lots of touches,
unlike last year, and when he did touch the ball he was putting it through the basket. Redd has such a sweet shot that it's hard for him to have an off night, just get the ball in his hands. This I think was as much as a reflection of improved coaching as it was having T.J. Ford back in the lineup distributing the ball.
The Bucks looked good the whole game. Lots of hustle. T.J. Ford sprinted the ball down the court every time, which really helped setup the offense and get lots of easy shots. The overall shot selection was so much improved over last year, if things go as they did last night, they shouldn't worry about getting blown out ever, unlike last year. Last year an off-night would result in the Bucks losing by 20+. This year I think they could win in an off-night.
Dan Gadzuric showed this turn around jump shot a few times last night that could make him an All-Star center, and he's the third best center on the team! Where did that come from? It was awesome, do it all year long! We're going to win lots of games if we can get that kind of production that deep on the bench.
Jamal Magloire, after only being with the team for a few days, showed lots of promise. He showed signs of what I thought were fatigue, perhaps mental fatigue resulting from being traded to the Bucks just a few days ago and having try and adjust his game to fit in with his new team. His play should be a huge factor in pushing us over the top and getting us deep into the playoffs this year.
Michael Redd looked great, his three-pointer to tie the game was exactly what needed to happen. Best player with the ball in his hands at crunch time. He turned it up in the fourth quarter, when we need him most. That's leading and that's why he got the huge contract.
Bobby Simmons looked like a steal, he dropped 22 points and had 12 rebounds, he was there all game long providing that boost when we needed him.
Charlie Bell, the tenth man, played a good game. He was left on the court to long to be exposed for his defensive weaknesses, but on offense his was unstoppable. I would expect to see him in shorter and shorter bursts as T.J. Ford gets back into his NBA form and Mo Williams learns how to provide a spark off the bench as the backup point guard. We could also be seeing plenty of Charlie Bell at the two-guard position, but I would hope that's only because we're taking Redd out of the game because we're blowing out the other team.
Andrew Bogut played like he's going to be Rookie of the Year, and he should be. He hustled and ran the court gracefully, which put him in positions to make big plays that other big men couldn't be making. He was a rebound shy of a double-double. If he puts up those kinds of numbers every night, we're playoff bound for sure.
The veteran Toni Kukoc played a solid game when he was on the court, exactly what we need from him with a team of young players.
This was all I will add without Joe Smith who was hurt. Add him in to the rotation and we would have been able to avoid overtime and win in the first 48 minutes with ease.
The promise is real, we're a deep team and we're going to go far into the playoffs. Terry Stotts you showed why you're the head coach. As I griped about last year, Terry Porter just did not show a great basketball IQ when he was coaching. You (I'm talking to you Terry Stotts) on the other hand ran great substitions, you had a bad lineup at the start of the fourth, but you fixed that quickly. Way to show that you have a high basketball IQ.
As I had mentioned last year when Terry Porter was still the coach and needed my help badly, I am available to be an assistant coach for all home games. I live only a couple of blocks from the stadium, so I can make it to the games even if I have class! Larry Harris already stole
my master plan, why not just hire me?
Add a big man (Bogut, Magloire), check. Get a defensive motivator (Bobby Simmons, Jamaal Magloire), check. Get players to free up Redd (Smith, Bogut, Magloire, Simmons, Ford, Bell, Jiri Welsch), check. Substitute more, check. Call more plays for Redd, check. Wow, you really did steal
