Nothing hurts more than losing your spot at the gym because you lost to a bunch of random dudes. That’s what happened to the Lakers last night in Milwaukee. With Stephen Jackson corporate thuggin’ it off-court (suspended for verbal abuse of an official), Andrew Bogut out with his yearly injury and Brandon Jennings playing more passively than at any point over the past month, the Lakers took body blows from Drew Gooden, Mike Dunleavy and Ersan Ilyasova before finally falling 100-89. Read More »
After an outstanding prep career where he was named a McDonald’s All American and Mr. Basketball in the State of New York, Tobias Harris spent his lone season of college at the University of Tennessee before being selected 19th overall this June. First selected by the Bobcats before being trading to the Bucks on Draft Night, the Dix Hills, N.Y. native is ready to go. So after following his career since before he even entered high school, we decided there was no one better to turn to for the inside scoop on the life of an NBA rookie. In his initial entry, the man they call “All Business” talks about being drafted, his summer workout routine and how he’s spent the lockout so far.Read More »
Bill Russell‘s 11 NBA championships. Wilt‘s 100-point *insert noun that is exponentially better than “outburst” here.* Oscar Robertson‘s 41 triple-doubles in 79 games during the 1961-62 season. Call me ignorant, but I don’t think they’ll ever break. All these things we’re aware of, but we’re also conscious they’ll never be topped because they were set in a different era.
As we mentioned, the Bucks were the real winners in the draft’s only mega-deal, combining with Charlotte and Sacramento in an exchange that netted them Stephen Jackson, Beno Udrih, Shaun Livingston and the No. 19 pick, Tobias Harris. They flushed out some dead weight (Corey Maggette, John Salmons), players who were supposed to take them to the next level last year, but ended up pairing to destroy the offense and dampen expectations. Read More »
With the sudden retirement of Shaquille O’Neal from the NBA, we got to thinking about all the great players that the Big Social Security Applier played with during his 19 seasons in the league. There’s a long list of All-Stars, but in making the list, we ask this question: Who was at their best while playing with Shaq? For example, the Kevin Garnett that O’Neal played with this season won’t rank as highly as the 2007-08 Amar’e Stoudemire that he shared the court with in his Phoenix stint.
Obviously, we’ll save all the center slots for the Big Aristotle himself, but without further adieu, we present the First, Second and Third All-Shaq teams: Read More »
Whether it’s accurate or not, you often hear Kevin Garnett being referred to as a bully. Well, last night the Boston Celtics did what bullies do – they humiliated a weaker, defenseless opponent. The Milwaukee Bucks experienced the equivalent of having their lunch money taken and then stuffed in a locker as Boston held them to just 56 points – a record low for the shot clock era (Boston scored 87). It was an absolute defensive clinic by the Celtics who just imposed their will on the Bucks. “That’s about as humiliating a defeat as you’ll ever see,” a disgusted Scott Skiles said after the game. “They got us on our heels and took our competitive fight away from us. We pretty much just gave into it.” … How bad was it for the Bucks? Earl Barron (10 points) was the only Milwaukee player who finished in double figures. John Salmons, who seems to exist only to put the ball in the hoop, failed to record a single point … Read More »
December 30, 1990. Scott Skiles made NBA history by dishing out an NBA-record 30 assists during the Magic’s 155-116 victory over the Nuggets. In addition to the dimes, Skiles also managed to score 22 points, grab six boards and steal the ball twice. When you think about it, his 30 assists and 22 points make him directly responsible for at least 82 points.
For the most part, NBA teams will do one of two things when it’s high-pressure time to get a bucket: (1) High screen-and-roll with their best playmaker and their best big man, (2) Iso for their best 1-on-1 scorer. Or, if you’re the Spurs, you might run an actual play that requires more than two guys to move. But it’s those first two options that make the Bucks so tough to figure out when it came to identifying a go-to guy. Read More »
While everyone has anointed the Heat as the Eastern Conference frontrunner (I believe they are), and the Magic, Celtics and Bulls as the best bet to challenge them, one team has slowly solidified its status as a contender: the Milwaukee Bucks. They didn’t have max money to shell out on free agents, but that hasn’t stopped them from having a brilliant offseason – even if it has gone largely unnoticed. Read More »
On just about every level of basketball, a coach’s fate is largely determined by the expectations preceding him. For proof, look no further than the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks.
It’s been a couple of weeks since coach Mike Woodson‘s Hawks waxed Scott Skiles‘ Bucks in Games Six and Seven of their first-round playoff series, and yet today it’s Skiles whose team is considered moving in the right direction, while Woodson is unemployed and his former team faces a mini-rebuilding summer. It worked out that way because the Bucks overachieved beyond preseason expectations that they’d be one of the worst teams in the NBA, while the Hawks fell short of expectations, looking like they didn’t belong on the court with the Eastern Conference’s elite after eliminating Milwaukee.
So with Skiles’ job secure for the foreseeable future, what do the Bucks have to do this offseason to stay on the right track? Read More »
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