News Review posted by Matt Clark

The Vince Carter Trade:  Ok, getting Vince Carter is good.  But losing Courtney Lee and forcing Turkoglu out of town as a result of it isn't good.  I would rather have Lee and Turkoglu than Carter.  So, to me, Orlando is now worse.  This is a downgrade.  New Jersey's still not a very good team.

The Richard Jefferson Trade:  Plain and simple, this was a steal for the Spurs.  They got younger, and now have 4 guys who can fill it up.  The Spurs are very close to being able to win another title.  They need to add one more quality center.  They don't have enough height on their roster right now.  The Bucks just wanted to save money.

The Shaq Trade:  Great trade for the Cavs.  Shaq can slow down Dwight Howard if the Cavs meet the Magic again in the playoffs.  Shaq can get a bucket on his own, and take pressure off LeBron.  Shaq even still commands a double team, at times.  There's no serious commitment to Shaq either, because he only has 1 year left on his deal.  Awesome trade for Cleveland.  The Suns also just wanted to save money.

Minnesota drafting Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn:  I don't like it.  You can't piss off your young point guard with tons of potential by drafting another point guard immediately after him.  I bet Rubio would be happy right now if he was the clear cut point guard on the team.  Minny clearly should've drafted Curry or DeRozan, both of whom could play shooting guard.

Milwaukee Bucks posted by john howard

The Milwaukee Bucks had a dissappointing year.  After trading for Richard Jefferson and having Michael Redd, it looked as if a serious move was going to happen.  Andrew Bogut and Redd played for less than half the season.  And that made all the difference.  This is a crucial time for the Bucks.  Keith Bogans and Damon Jones are both free agents. Charlie Vllanueva had a break out year and is a restricted free agent.  And, to top things off, Jefferson and Redd both could opt out of their contracts next summer.  If things don't go well this year, that could happen. Also, Ramon Sessions was a nice surprise. He is also a restricted free agent.

They have a nice starting lineup: PG-RAMON SESSIONS SG-REDD SF-JEFFERSON PF-VILLANUEVA C-BOGUT.

And the bench will have Luke Ridnour backing up the point and Charlie Bell with starting experience at the other guard.  Joe Alexander did nicely as a rookie last year. Help inside off the bench would be nice.  There are many good point guards in this year's draft and many mock drafts have the Bucks taking one.  This would make sense if they plan not to match offers on Sessions.  Or if they plan on more trades.  The Bucks have the 10th and 41st picks of the draft.  The 10th pick in the past 14 years has produced 2 all-stars and 7 starters and 6 bench players.  So, it figures that they will get a quality player.  The 41st pick has produced one starter and 2 bench players during the same span. The Bucks could be a viable threat this year if they stay signed and healthy.

Bucks Draft posted by Chris

Only being a couple weeks away from the draft, you look at what can the bucks do in the draft to take a step in the direction of at least having a winning season? Is there someone out there who can contribute instantly and make us a better team at pick 10? I would like to think so the bucks are slim at PF but there is no one that really wows you at 10 at PF, the bucks also have a huge need at PG with Luke being on his last year and Ramon being a free agent. This years draft is especially deep at PGs with Steph Curry, Ty Lawson, Johnny flynn all who could be available at 10. I truly believe one of the these guys could really make an impact I hate the last few years of decisions we have made starting back with getting rid of our talent every year Allen for Mason and half a season of Grandaddy Gary Payton, Tj ford, Sam Cassell Glenn Robinson, and the list continues. Also we have had horrible luck in the draft with the exception of Andrew Bogut, which if you look at it that draft that draft was the worst possible draft to have the number one pick, we could have gotten bogut at 5 any other year he would have come out. Yi was and will be terrible, Joe alexander is athletic and thats it, he will never start, the other year we didnt even have a first round thanks to the ray allen trade. This franchise is due to start winning and i love the moves we made last season but it is going to take a lot to undo all that has been done to us ( the organization, the fans, the nba) I believe a good franchise PG could be exactlty what we need and i believe we can get that at 10.

Charlie Villanueva Loses Bet, Wears Michigan State Jersey posted by Tripp

Hello Bucks Fans,

Charlie V (UConn) made a friendly wager with teammate Charlie Bell (Michigan State) about whose alma matter would win the Final Four game this past weekend. The loser would have to wear a jersey of the winners home school while doing an interview.

Here is Charlie V honoring his end of the bet:  http://twitpic.com/2yp4d

Tripp 

NBA All-Star Game: It's Worth a Watch posted by richard Kagan

The NBA all-star game is coming up this weekend. And, one of the most notable things about this game, is what happens after it. Shaq is supposed to play for Phoenix in the first regular season game after the All-star game. It's a time when you hear what teams are ready to make a 2nd half run, and what teams have helped themselves before the trading deadline. The Nets are tying to trade Jason Kidd, for half the Dallas team and $3million bucks. Shawn Marion looks like he can help out in Miami. If the Heat get a 3rd player who can play, they will not be cellar dwellers for long.

But it's a good time to see how great Kobe Bryant is, and the same for Carmelo Anthony, or Allen Iverson. Watch Steve Nash pass the ball, Chris Paul, look in command, for someone so young. David West of New Orleans can play. This game should be an affirmation of that. The Western Conference is loaded with talent. The East is good, but they will have their hands full. 

Chinese "Super Bowl" A Dud...Sort of posted by kellex

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/chinese-super-bowl-dudsort-of.h

So the "Chinese Superbowl" went down last night and proved to be a little bit of a flop with below average play from the two marquee Chinese players. It was just another game to most of us but the fact that 200 million viewers tuned in to watch China's biggest stars can only mean bigger things to come for the NBA .

With the NBA invading China, India and Russia you can expect to see some great things as an NBA fan. 200 million viewers is a number that only real Super Bowls would normally see and we hit that number for a regular season basketball game!

By The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — China's biggest basketball star scored 12 points and struggled on defense. The country's fresh new face shot 1 for 10 from the field.

Not exactly what the 200 million people tuning in hoped to see.

The second edition of Yao vs. Yi didn't quite live up to its billing as the "Chinese Super Bowl" as Yao Ming's Houston Rockets beat Yi Jianlian and the Milwaukee Bucks 91-83 on Saturday despite relatively quiet nights by both of China's biggest basketball exports.

"Both of us struggled a little bit, but we got the win," Yao said.

Continue reading "Chinese "Super Bowl" A Dud...Sort of"

Wildebeasts or Lions? posted by Donald L. Vasicek

The National Basketball Association exhibits two kinds of NBA players.  One is the wildebeast. The other is the lion.  What do you mean?

I mean that there are players in the National Basketball Association's Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trailblazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle Sonics, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, New Orleans, and I apologize if I left anyone out, who cow towe to team owners, peer groups, and making money, glitz, glamor, being effeminate, etc.  There are also professional basketball players who cow towe to their concept of self.  They always go to their strength.  Their strength resides in their hearts and minds. They believe in who they are because they know who they are.  Money, team owners, peer groups, glitz, glamor, being effeminate, etc. are particles of dust when juxtaposing them to their desire to perform to their greatest abilities as a professional basketball player.

 The question is, which of these players is a wildebeast and which of them is a lion?  You only have one guess. 

Cavs Win in Double Overtime Should Provide Boost posted by Steve DiMatteo

This is exactly the kind of win the Cleveland Cavaliers needed to get themselves out of a terribly pesky slump.  The Cavs beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday in two overtimes, 104-99.  It was the kind of hard-fought game throughout that the Cavs were accustomed to winning last season, but had trouble doing so this early in the 07-08 season.

LeBron James led the way for the Cavs (how surprising) with 31 points, making him the youngest player in the history of the NBA to make it to 9,000 points in a career.  It is obvious that his finger is still not completely healthy, but for him to still score 30+ points is nothing short than MVP-caliber play.  Lucky for him his supporting cast decided to show up as well with Devin Brown having a solid night to further boost the team.

The roles of LeBron's supporting players is the most important aspect to the Cavs.  It's difficult to figure out what kind of team they really are with so many players being injured at different times.  However, everyone is getting healthy at once, and the full bench is beginning to pay dividends, thus ending just about every excuse one could come up with for the team's lackluster play as of late.  The success of the Cleveland Cavaliers rides on that bench production and improved defense, the main reason for the team's appearance in the Finals last June.

And we should have known Larry Hughes would hit a shooting slump again sooner rather than later.  Something needs to happen to put this team over the hump and truly be able to compete for a championship.

It Takes Double Time posted by Chris Derrick

So King James and his ailing Cavs defeat the Bucks in OT last night. I'm surprised that the Cavs needed the 2nd extra period to eek out a win... the sad thing is, whenever I see the Bucks play against the Cleveland Cavaliers I have a series of "what might have been" thoughts cascading into my head. Why? Because Michael Redd should be playing alongside LeBron. But for some reason, the Cavs couldn't make a competitive offer to the man two or three seasons ago when he was a free agent. Or maybe Redd, like so many other players, ain't tryin' to play roundball in the Mistake By The Lake! Imagine if LeBron was dishing off to Michael Redd in the corner instead of Larry Hughes? Imagine Redd leading the break off a defensive rebound outlet pass, he could dish to LeBron or take it to rack himself and bring the crowd at The Q to its feet? Those are just pipe dreams... sadly.

Coach Mike Brown is still in search of his rotation, which is understandable considernig LeBron was sidelined with an injruy, so was Larry Hughes and the Brazilian Sensation wanted more money and more respect -- Alex's comments about not wanting to play in Cleveland are probably the tip of the iceberg about rising players not wishing to earn their huge paychecks in Cleveland. But it's not like this roster doesn't know how to play and SUCCEED together, they did it last season and with good results. Why is it so difficult now?

Well, the match-up that everyone wants to see if the Cavs versus the Celtics... that preview of the Eastern Conference Finals... Maybe we'll see the Pistons cause a funk in the post-season, but the Cavs have the Pistons cards -- pushed them to the brink two seasons ago and smashed them last season (neither team made any significant roster changes, so I expect the results to be the same should they meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals).

Pistons add G Gordon, F Villanueva (AP)

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Bucks won't make offer to F Villanueva (AP)

The Milwaukee Bucks have made qualifying offers to restricted free agent guard Ramon Sessions and forward Ersan Ilyasova, but will not make an offer to forward Charlie Villanueva -- allowing one of their top scorers from last season to become an unrestricted free agent. Meanwhile, the team also is dealing with a potentially embarrassing YouTube moment from first-round draft pick Brandon Jennings. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Bucks won't make offer to Villanueva (AP)

The Milwaukee Bucks have made qualifying offers to restricted free agents Ramon Sessions and Ersan Ilyasova, but will not make an offer to Charlie Villanueva. Bucks general manager John Hammond said Monday the offers to Sessions and Ilyasova give them the right to match contract offers from other teams. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Jennings changes mind, attends draft (AP)

Brandon Jennings' first decision was to not attend the NBA draft. When he was taken 10th by the Milwaukee Bucks, he showed up. About a half hour before the draft got under way Thursday night, Jennings' agent released a statement that his client, who decided to play in Europe last season rather than attend college, would be with his family rather than at the draft with many of the other... [read full article]

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Jefferson glad to be with winning Spurs (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports