Friday Bucks Notes

Mo and Redd were both rested vs. the Bulls Jonathan Daniel/Getty/NBAE

• The Bulls routed the Bucks 97-81 in Chicago last night (recap). Check out video highlights here. Pretty predictable outcome given Mo and Redd rested ahead of tonight's game in Minnesota, while Bogut missed out with his sprained left wrist. Fortunately Bogut is expected to play in the season opener. Other notes:
• The patchwork starting lineup was Bell, Mason, Simmons, Villanueva and Gadzuric.
  
• Charlie Villanueva started for the first time this preseason and was the Bucks' best player for the second straight game. He scored 19 on 6/10 fg along with 8 rebounds and a couple blocks in 27 minutes. Like on Tuesday, he was aggressive going to the hoop and showed some renewed interest on defense.
• Yi never really seemed in the flow of things, finishing 2/7 with 7 points and 3 rebounds in 21 minutes. Both of his field goals were on mid-range jumpers.
  
• Charlie Bell's line was better than Royal Ivey's, but Bell still seems less comfortable running the offense than Ivey.
• Jim Paschke was kind enough to mention us on his blog, while we've also infiltrated ESPN. Baby steps, people.
• Dave Cotey has a good summary of Yi's first month in the NBA. While ESPN and everyone else was more than happy to report Yi's purported "no comment" to the age question on his first day of practice, here's something I bet they won't report:

  The 19-year-old Yi's age continues to be a hot topic. After not commenting on the subject when he first arrived, he eventually addressed the claims that he is older than listed.

  "I feel nothing uncomfortable with people asking these questions, but as I've said numerous times, I was born in 1987," Yi said. "Those questions are meaningless to me."

  When the "no comment" story broke, one of the Chinese posters at RealGM said Yi actually responded rather dismissively to the question--as you can imagine, he's heard the question before and doesn't appreciate having to answer it constantly--but that his interpreter tried to be more diplomatic by issuing a "no comment." Of course that looked worse in the media, so it's interesting to see this follow-up. But given this quote isn't nearly as interesting, don't expect it to be publicized. And in case you're wondering, I do think Yi is probably 22 (about to turn 23 on Sunday). Also of note is that Larry Harris claims in the article they had Yi rated third overall. My guess is this might be some spin, given most sources suggest Al Horford was correctly third on the Bucks' board.

  "I try to make the team better," Harris said. "I felt we got the best player at six, and I said all along, we would have taken him at three if he were at three. I have all the faith in the world in him, but I don't want to put any pressure on him to perform. We're going to be patient with him and develop him."

• Don Walker writes that David Stern is expecting big things from Yi. Walker also writes that the Yi/Yao matchup on November 9th will be the first between two Chinese players, but Yao has played against Wang Zhizhi four times.

  "...From the NBA's perspective, having another bona fide Chinese superstar in waiting, he's coming here with less exposure and less experience than Yao (Ming), but there are very high hopes for him in his homeland."

  Asked for his reaction to Stern's comments, Yi, who is in Chicago tonight for the Bucks-Chicago Bulls exhibition game, seemed pleased. "This is my first season and there is a need to improve and work hard," he said.

  Asked if he was impressed that Stern singled him out in his remarks to reporters, Yi smiled and asked reporters to thank Stern for his comments.

Camp So Far...

With a week left before the opener in Orlando, it's probably worth taking a look at how the Bucks roster is taking shape. In the interests of full disclosure, I've only seen the first two games and listened to the last four on the radio. So everything here is based on a vague mixture of visual, audio, game reports and second-hand evidence. As always, big credit to the RealGM posters who have shared their first-hand accounts. You can check preseason stats here.

The MACC Fund game gave us our first real insight into what the rotation may look like--Larry Krystkowiak not only had all his players available to him, but he also used them in a manner more consistent with you know, winning games. It looks like LK is looking at a 9-10 man rotation when healthy, with Mo, Redd, Simmons, Yi and Bogut starting. The two forward spots could certainly change, pending Simmons' health and Yi's continued improvement. It seems like the latest murmurs are that Simmons may not yet be physically capable of playing big minutes, so that's the biggest thing to keep an eye on. Off the bench, Bell, Mason (or Simmons), Villanueva, and Gadzuric should see action every night, while Royal Ivey would probably be the next option depending on how Bell fares as a PG. At the end of the bench, Michael Ruffin and Ramon Sessions have non-guaranteed contracts, but both seem likely to stick with the team after the waiving of Samaki Walker brought the Bucks down to the regular season roster limit of 15 players. The rotations were similar two nights ago in Denver, though the Gadzuric and Bogut injuries and Mo Williams' ejection required Ruffin, Ivey and Sessions to get more minutes. On to the players:

Mo Williams - Seems to be showing more hustle defensively and ran the offense very effectively last Saturday (12 assists, 1 TO, 20 points on just 12 shots). If anyone was concerned about Mo slacking off now that he's got his big contract, fear not. Unlike Bell, Mo spent his free agent offseason working daily with noted personal coach Joe Abunassar in Vegas, and looks poised to improve on his breakout season. He seems to be taking his responsibility as a team leader seriously and while he may never be the "pure" point some would like him to be, he has an excellent chance of earning that fat contract. And yes, I'm going to conveniently ignore his 0-5, 2 assist, 2 technical performance...

Michael Redd - Has coasted for much of the preseason, often times not looking for his shot as he tried to allow other guys to get involved in games. In the second Utah game Redd actually had more rebounds (6) than shots (5), which I can guarantee won't happen again this season. Then last night in Denver he tallied 7 assists and 6 rebounds, pretty unheard of numbers for the old Redd. While you don't want Redd getting too far away from the thing he does best, it's encouraging to see this newfound willingness to pass, rebound and defend. While he hasn't been scoring as much, he's obviously the last guy on the team to worry about in that regard. His knee was still a bit sore over the summer but overall he's in great shape, having dropped about 10 pounds and getting his body fat down below 10%.

Charlie Bell - Was admittedly out-of-shape coming into camp and doesn't seem over the stress of his contentious negotiations. Has generally been off. His biggest problem is probably that his wife and kids are in Michigan for the school year, so before we condemn Charlie to trade bait let's give him some time. He's still fairly inexpensive (and untradable until December 20), so the Bucks can afford to be patient while he comes around.

Royal Ivey - One of the bright spots of the early preseason games (low expectations help in this regard), Ivey has shown a willingness to defend and even stick open jumpers. Should Bell continue to struggle, watch for Ivey to possibly steal some of his minutes. Any injury to the backcourt will push him into a more regular rotation spot, and if Simmons misses time look for Ivey to play more PG as Bell slides to SG and Redd more SF.

Ramon Sessions - One of two guys with NG'ed contracts, but he's young and the Bucks seem to like him so all signs suggest he'll make the roster. Hasn't played much at all but should get an opportunity to play in the D-League barring injuries to the backcourt.

Awvee Storey - Just a guy. Hasn't played much but hit some shots in the preseason opener and hasn't played much since. Has shown his reputed chippiness a couple times already, and in general from what we've seen it's kind of hard to tell why he needed a guaranteed deal. Seems likely to be inactive most nights.

Bobby Simmons - Has shot the ball exceptionally well so far when he's played (a silly 63% from the field including 6/9 from three point range), but physically he's still working his way back from his foot injury. Missed a couple games out of precautionary reasons, so that's still a big question mark. Will his foot hold up all season? Will he miss games here and there? Will his minutes be limited in some way? Kind of hard to tell right now, but a healthy Simmons is arguably the biggest x-factor right now for the team. I can't say I'd be willing to bet on him playing 75 games, but I'd be thrilled if he proved me wrong.

Desmond Mason - Some say he's still got that jump in his step, others say he appears slightly older than he did in his first stint with the Bucks. Either way his shot has not been there so far (34% from the field, 60% from the line), which is somewhat disconcerting given his offensive efficiency was well below average the last two seasons. While he can still be a contributor for his defensive effort, athleticism and leadership, he's not likely going to be an above-average starting SF anymore. Fortunately he won't be asked to create much offense if he does have to start. LK has stated he prefers Mason at small forward, but hopefully he's not asked to be a 35 mpg guy.

David Noel - I'm not going to lie, I really haven't noticed Noel this preseason, in either a good or bad way. If Simmons misses time he would move up the depth chart, but something tells me LK will try Redd and CV at the 3 before Noel gets any burn. On the bubble to be active most nights. The Bucks took a flier on him in the second round last year and he has neither embarrassed himself nor given much reason to think he's a diamond in the rough.

Yi Jianlian - Having watched Yi play in both the summer league and a number of international tournaments later in the summer, I have to say I think he's got a great chance to be a special player. Whether he's 19 or 22, his skillset is phenomenal, especially given his size and athleticism. It all starts with a sweet stroke that he can use both on the perimeter and in the post, where he also can use his quickness and good footwork to create shots. Expect to see him used mostly in pick/pop and on the perimeter as a rookie, but rest assured he's got more in his arsenal.

He'll have to deal with culture shock and an abnormal amount of pressure (both here and in China) on top of the usual rookie troubles, so it's not easy guessing what he'll be able to do over a full season. He's still trying to sort out what he can and can't get away with against NBA players (and refs), so he'll have his share of growing pains. Rebounding, foul trouble, turnovers, and guarding strong PFs in the post will all be areas he could struggle with. But everything we've seen in games and heard about practice suggests he's an extremely intelligent guy who learns quickly. So far he's gotten much better over the course of camp, including his excellent 15 point, 12 rebound, 1 turnover game last Saturday. I initially thought he'd come off the bench and be perhaps an 8/4 type guy, but I'm probably going to have to revise that upward a little, perhaps to something closer to Andrea Bargnani last year, only slightly more rebounding and much less three point shooting. With the Bucks' personnel up front I'm really not concerned about him being able to earn the minutes that he's supposedly been guaranteed--the only thing likely to prevent him from getting 20-25 mpg will be foul trouble. He's going to be good, it's just a matter of when. Next year is a much better bet than this year, but as of now he's probably the favorite to start.

Charlie Villanueva - I was definitely in the camp expecting CV to win a starting spot by having a good camp, but so far he'd been losing ground to Yi until last night the Denver game when he went off for 21/11/5. On a good note he's going to do more than Yi at least this year, but it seems like Yi's effort on both ends gives him the edge to start. While you knew his soft defense would be a problem playing for LK, his talent is undeniable and he's got a lot to prove after an injury-plagued first season in Milwaukee. The Bucks seem to be using him largely on the perimeter thus far, which is somewhat disappointing because he has a terrific feel around the hoop (something he took more advantage of last night). I'm hoping we see more aggressiveness from him going forward, though it's possible he's still a little tentative inside after coming back from all the shoulder problems. Keep in mind he faced a difficult rehab from shoulder surgery, so he didn't have the chance to work out much until the end of the summer. While the word is he was privately upset with the Bucks' drafting of Yi, he's saying all the right things and being very professional about the hoopla surrounding a player who likely was drafted to replace him.

CV's always been a tough player to figure out, and unless injuries force him to play more at SF it seems like he's going to be again relegated to more of a supporting role. A year ago CV was being touted as the Bucks' PF of the future, but it's been a rough ride after putting up 18/10 in the first four games last year, mostly due to the shoulder injury he sustained last November in Atlanta (he also had hamstring issues early last year). You can only hope he keeps his head up and works hard on both ends of the court. Coming off the bench could be a good role, as Krystkowiak has said he likes how CV can be an offensive focal point for the second unit. If he doesn't start he's certainly capable of putting up 6th man of the year type stats, especially since he should still get plenty of minutes.

Michael Ruffin - Ruffin was signed to bring a defensive option to the end of the bench, and so far LK has spoken highly enough of him that you'd think he'll still be around on opening night. Ruffin's deal is only NG'ed through October 26th, so we'll know by the end of the week for sure if he's sticking around. Given both Yi and CV aren't defensive stalwarts, Ruffin could see minutes if both of the youngsters are getting killed by foul trouble or if someone on the front line is injured. Otherwise he's a good practice guy.

Andrew Bogut - Count me among those who think Bogut is primed to breakthrough with a 15/10, marginal all-star type season. Like last year, Bogut came into camp with extra bulk, only this time he's strengthened his legs more than his upper body; hopefully that means he'll be strong enough to bang with any bigs down low without sacrificing quickness. In the preseason so far two numbers jump out: he's blocked 8 shots in 5 games and he's shooting 67% from the line. Granted, the sample size is incredibly small, but if Bogut can be around 70% from the line he can afford to be much more aggressive (and efficient) offensively. And given the Bucks were last in the league in shot-blocking, Bogut's ability to average somewhere north of a block per game would be a big help. His shot release looks cleaner this year, which will hopefully mean his mid-range shot will finally be a weapon.

It seems like Bogut has been a year behind in meeting people's expectations his first two seasons; many expected last year's numbers as a rookie, and that he'd be around 15/10 last year. Bogut is the first to admit his consistency wasn't there last year, but now everything seems to be coming together: he's a year wiser, physically stronger, and playing for a coach he seems on the same page with. Now let's cross our fingers that the MRI on his wrist doesn't bring bad news.

Dan Gadzuric - Since signing his six year, $36 million contract in the summer of 2005, Gadzuric has struggled to find a place in the rotation but that could change this year. He actually started two games at PF alongside Bogut to start the preseason, but since then has settled in as the primary backup at center. While he still tends to foul too much, in limited minutes it shouldn't be a huge concern. Where Gadzuric can help most is on the glass; he had the best rebound rate (17.2) of anyone on the Bucks last year and his energy is difficult to match. And while Gadz isn't a lock-down defender he could provide some relief if/when Yi and CV are overmatched.

Jake Voskuhl - Jake's also just a guy. He's smart enough to know what he can and can't get away with, and right now it doesn't look like he'll be relied on very much unless one of the other bigs gets hurt.

Thursday Bucks Notes

Mo didn't have a good time in Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

• The Bucks take on the Bulls tonight at 7:30 CT in Chicago. Listen to the game free on NBA.com. This game is also supposed to be broadcast in China, so watch this space for live Sopcast streams.
• Bogut is listed as day-to-day with the wrist injury he sustained in Denver on Tuesday, but don't read too much into that. X-rays were negative in Denver but an MRI was done yesterday. Charles Gardner writes:

  Bogut underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam on Wednesday in Chicago, following the Bucks' practice session at Attack Athletics. He did not practice with the team but shot some free throws and did conditioning work on the side. Results of the MRI were not immediately available, and Bucks general manager Larry Harris said Wednesday night that he expected to have the results today.

• Gardner also writes that Dan Gadzuric practiced after missing the Denver game.

  "He's had a couple dings and bruises," Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said of Gadzuric. "He played three or four days with a sore knee but didn't complain about it. But it swelled up on him, and he hasn't been completely healthy."

• Sports Illustrated projects the Bucks to finish 11th in the East, but don't expect them to give much explanation as to why. Their preview is mostly just has a write-up on Andrew Bogut
• SI also has a scout's take on the Bucks. Most of it's very reasonable, but if I were to nitpick I'd have to highlight the part about Mo Williams' defense:

  A lot of teams had interest in Mo Williams last summer. He probably isn't worth all of the money he got [six-year deal worth more than $50 million], but he fills a difficult position and he was one of the better free agents available. He's become more of a scorer than a point guard, a shoot-first, pass-second guy. In the long run, that's another reason why Milwaukee is probably not a playoff team, because he looks to score more than to set up the other guys. But Williams also does a good job of keeping opposing point guards out of the paint from half-court. He's very athletic and strong, and he can guard the ball ...

Nuggets Beat Bucks / Wednesday Notes

Yi meets Miss Teen Colorado. Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty

• The Nuggets downed the Bucks 114-102 Tuesday night in Denver, evening their record at 3-3. It was a foul fest with the two teams combining for a whopping 88 free throws. The Bucks trailed most of the game, coming within a bucket of the lead in the final quarter before the immortal Chucky Atkins put the Nuggets over the top. Iverson had 21 to lead Denver. Read the JS recap here. Key facts:
• Charlie Villanueva was the biggest bright spot, filling up the stat sheet with 21 points (9/16 fg), 11 rebounds and 5 assists. He was aggressive going to the hoop all night, which was great to see given his recent tendency to float around the perimeter. If CV wants to step up and seize the starting PF spot that's just fine with me.
  
• Andrew Bogut left the game in the third with what appeared to be a leg injury, but was later revealed to be a left wrist sprain (x-rays negative). Hopefully it's not a serious sprain, because I sprained both wrists when I was in high school and it's not pleasant. Then again, Bogut is probably tougher than a 15-year old me.
  
• Redd also had a nice all around game, scoring 19 points along with 7 assists and 6 boards. Yes, you read that correctly, 7 assists.
  
• Yi was wasteful with 5 turnovers but continued to shoot well from the perimeter. He finished with 12 points on 4/6 fg (1/1 from distance) and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes.
  
• Mo got tossed after disagreeing with a foul call in the third quarter; Mason and LK got techs as well in the sequence.
• Bobby Simmons evidently wasn't interested in playing, picking up 5 fouls in only 8 minutes. He made 1/2 threes.
  
• Gadzuric missed the game with a strained knee.
  
• Truman Reed writes that Yi Jianlian is ready for the spotlight. While you would expect the stuff on Bucks.com to always have a positive spin, I always like Reed's stuff because it's a) long and b) full of quotes. Keep it up, Truman.
  

  "An average NBA game in the United States is viewed by 10 million people," Harris said. "One Friday night Houston Rockets game (with China native Yao Ming on center stage) is viewed by 187 million people in China. Yi comes from the capital city in China that has 15 million people and a province of 74 million people.

  "I've talked to Charlie Villanueva, who's from New York City. They have eight million people there. Yi's city doubles that, plus his province has 74 million people. I don't think people here can really comprehend that."

• Tom Enlund writes that the coaches will likely pick the team captain(s) this weekend. Last year the captains were Redd, Mo and Bogut, with Mason being the only new guy who might be in the captain discussion. It seems like keeping the same captains would be the safe and obvious choice, though I could also see them picking Redd as the sole captain. Those are the two most politically obvious options, so we'll see if the coaches try to send a message or not.
• NBA.com has an interview with Bogut about his journey to the NBA.
  
• Brandon Haraway has a pretty solid preview of the 07/08 Bucks.

  The Bucks should have learned that they can compete in the East after so many straight dismal seasons. They have a true star in Michael Redd, a top pick center in Andrew Bogut, a better than average point guard in Mo Williams, and talent at the forwards positions in the form of Charlie Villnueva, Yi Jianlian, and Bobby Simmons. They have the personnel to do big things in the East, and they should know this, as the majority of this squad went through the good and bad last year. People forget this team was probably playoff-bound last year before Redd went down, and they played all year long without Simmons.

Wednesday Bucks Notes

• The Bucks got it handed to them by the Nuggets last night, falling 104-78. Milwaukee was without Andrew Bogut (flu), Michael Redd (rested?), and Bobby Simmons, who missed a second straight game with soreness in his surgically repaired heel. That last part should strike fear into Bucks fans everywhere, though Simmons supposedly practiced yesterday. Hopefully it's just part of Simmons' getting his foot used to the rigors of playing again and not an omen of things to come. As for the game, the Bucks who did play were again ridiculously sloppy, chalking up 26 turnovers after they had a staggering 30 TOs on Saturday against the Jazz. LK has noted the Bucks' focus on defense, but at some point they need to clean up their act on the offensive end. Charlie Bell had all 17 of his points in the second quarter to keep the game close, but the Nuggets blew it open in the third, outscoring the Bucks 33-15. Yi had a hard time defending Kenyon Martin, who was making his first start in about a year, but the Chinese rookie did manage to pull down 7 rebounds along with his 9 points, 3 TOs and a block in 20 minutes.
  
• Gery Woelfel writes that Yi Jianlian has some impressive measurements. Because Yi didn't go to the Orlando pre-draft combine, I had relied on measurements Chad Ford got from a pre-draft workout.

  Yi has size, athleticism and skill. He measures 7-foot-1 in shoes, with a 7-foot-4¼ wingspan, huge hands and a 38-inch vertical jump. He runs up and down the floor well and is very quick laterally. And he's adding muscle (he's up to 248 pounds).

  Woelfel was told that Yi is 6'11" without shoes, 7'0.25" with shoes, a 7'3.5" wingspan and that he weighs 246 pounds. Meanwhile, he has the lowest body fat percentage on the team at just 3.5%. Not sure why the numbers would differ, but there ya go. The most interesting thing to me is that Yi has managed to keep his weight constant in spite of playing so much this summer. The fact that he can carry so much weight on his slender-looking frame is a good hint at how much lower body strength he already has. And Yi knows he still has work to do.

  “We have him on a program where he’s going to lift every day when there’s not a game and not on Sunday,’’ Wilson said. “But we had a (preseason) gamer last Saturday night and he wanted to lift that day, so we lifted.

  “He seems to like it. I think he knows how beneficial it (lifting) can be for him.’’

  Yi concurred, saying, “I like it … I need it.’’

  Yi then laughed and added, “I’m too skinny.’’

• Tony Mejia of CBS Sportsline has a pretty fair assessment of the Bucks 07/08 chances.

  Power Ranking Rank: 19th
  
  Projected Record: 39-43, 4th Central
  
  Best case scenario: Larry Harris is correct in his assumption that Larry Krystkowiak is the coach to get the most out of the Bucks, particularly former No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut, and 45-50 wins follow.
  
  Worst case scenario: Injuries and bad defense continue to be the norm, dooming Harris and wasting yet another year when the Bucks should've been more of a factor in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
  
  X-factor: Milwaukee didn't have the luxury of Bobby Simmons' versatility last season, so healthy, he could make a substantial difference.
  
  Early season schedule: The Bucks start the season on the road against two other teams hoping to make a move, Orlando and Charlotte. Milwaukee's first home game will be Nov. 3 against rival Chicago, which was actually worse off than the Bucks when Harris took over as GM back in 2003.

• Jeff Brown of the La Cross Tribune writes the Bucks won't be worrying about highlight reels this season.

  “Last year we played too much one-on-one, and that eventually hurt us. To win basketball games, you have to play strong defense,” Bogut said. “Coach always says it doesn’t show up on SportsCenter if you block a shot. We don’t want to show up on SportsCenter. We want to win games.”

• Truman Reed at Bucks.com writes about Samaki Walker and Yi Jianlian's summer connection.
  

  "I didn't have any intentions of coming back to the NBA at that point," Walker said. "I was just doing a routine workout at my gym. One day, the big fella walked in, we bonded from there, and one workout turned into two and so forth."

  Walker discovered quickly that the Bucks were getting a special player and person. The sneak preview met with rave reviews.

  "The guy's athleticism and skill at his position is subpar to none at that position," Walker said. "This kid can light it up from 17 to 18 feet, he can put it on the floor at 6-11 or 7 feet, he can make things happen. Once you've seen Yi's footwork and his mechanics, you can't help but be impressed."

  "He can be as good as he wants. The kid is going to be an All-Star, without question, if he wants to be. He can be if he wants to be. He has All-Star potential, and I'll say that with total realism. The sky is the limit for him."

  Walker analyzed Yi in much the same way that a scout would.

  "I'm very impressed with his skill set," he said. "I was really impressed with his speed, his strength -- even though he's a slender guy, his base is very solid. And he's not afraid of contact.

Tuesday Bucks Notes

• The Bucks take on the Nuggets tonight at 7 pm CT at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
  
• Charles Gardner talks to Andrew Bogut's longtime friend/personal coach, Sinisa Markovic. Markovic flew to Milwaukee earlier this year at Bogut's request, worked with him this summer in Australia, and has been living with Bogut during camp. Markovic heads back to Australia tomorrow, but hopefully all that work will pay dividends.

  "He's more active defensively, and offensively we still have to do a little bit more work on it," Markovic said.
  
  Bogut has increased the range on his jump shot and displayed the ability to hit from 15 feet, which could greatly enhance his game.
  
  "He has to, it's a must," Markovic said of the improved jumper. "Otherwise, I will be back again."

  Gardner also notes that Bogut's team during scrimmages today included Mo, Redd, Mason and Yi, so we'll see if that lineup starts tomorrow night in Green Bay.
  
• Steve Sneddon writes about Ramon Sessions' adjustment to the NBA.
  
• Not that we really need much more coverage of Yi Jianlian, but Scott Venci at the Green Bay Press Gazette has a good article on Yi's preseason so far. He sheds a little more light on the decision to draft Yi and the Bucks' expectations.
  

  "Certainly, my coaching staff was on board," Harris said of the selection. "You need the support from the top down. When you make the decision to do this, with all the things that were out there, everyone needed to be on the same page.

  "On that draft night, when Senator Kohl said, 'Larry and Larry, is this the guy that you want?' We said, 'Yes, we are in this together.'"

• In an article about fundraising in college sports, Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philly Inquirer notes that Bogut donated $125,000 to the University of Utah last year.
  
• There's an interesting thread over at RealGM on Yi's name. Most people who follow the Bucks probably understand that Yi is his family name (hence it's on his jersey, like Yao), but I thought the description of "Jianlian" was of particular interest. So here's my understanding--feel free to correct me in the comments:
  
• His full name, as with many Chinese names, is three Chinese characters, so that's why you sometimes see Jianlian spelled as "Jian Lian." Some Chinese have only two characters, like Yao Ming.
  
• Effectively "Lian" is his given name, but unlike in Western cultures, the given name in China isn't used except by close relatives. So my guess is that's the reason the two characters have been combined into the single "Jianlian," since none of us would use the names Jian or Lian separately.
  
• You've probably heard some people, including Herb Kohl, refer to Yi as "Ah Lian." Adding an "Ah" to the given name is a common way of nicknaming in China, notably in Cantonese (which is spoken in the Southeast part of China where Yi is from). If you watch the Chinese news reports on Yi, they also sometimes use this nickname for him. So feel free to call Yi that if you run into him. Some Chinese fans have even taken to jokingly calling Bogut "Ah Bo" using the same logic.
  
• I also asked in that thread about the pronunciation of Jianlian, which is typically pronounced as four syllables by us Americans: Jee-Ahn Lee-Ahn. Watching some of China's games this summer, the Chinese announcers typically compressed those four syllables into about two long ones, sounding more like "Jehn-Lyehn." That's because Chinese characters are monosyllabic, but the pronunciation of "Jian" and "Lian" is simply very difficult for those of us who don't speak Chinese, hence "Jianlian" is typically pronounced phonetically by us Americans.
  

Bucks Fall to Jazz

The Bucks dropped their first BC game of the preseason 92-78 to the Jazz. I listened to most of the game on the radio, so I can't give that much insight into how the team looked, but overall it was an extremely sloppy game. Bobby Simmons did not play, though I haven't seen anything suggesting it was due to injury...let's hope that holds. Mo Williams returned from missing the last game to score 22 pts along with 5 assists, but he also had 6 TOs in 33 minutes. Redd had an interesting stat line, tallying more rebounds (6) than field goal attempts (5) in 24 minutes. And he even blocked a shot! I can't say I'm concerned with Redd's low key preseason so far; he's clearly trying to be more than a scorer, but I doubt once the season starts he'll continue to avoid doing the thing he does best. He does appear serious about keeping teammates involved and bringing more defensive intensity, so hopefully he can do that while still pouring in the points at an efficient clip.

Bogut quietly had a very encouraging line in 22 minutes: 10 points including 4/4 from the line as well as 7 rebounds and 4, count 'em, 4 blocks. Yi meanwhile had another very uneven game, scoring 13 points but racking up a cringe-worthy 8 turnovers. That was a theme for the night, as the Bucks totaled a staggering 30 turnovers. On a positive note, they held the Jazz to only 37.7% from the field.

Thursday Bucks Notes

• Bob Wolfley at the JS uncovered a video with some insight on the rivalry between Yi's two fan clubs: yifansclub.com and yifansclub.org. It's all in good fun, so don't shoot the messenger, people.
  
• NBA.com highlights of the Bucks' win over the Jazz. Shockingly no Yi!
  
• Steve Luhm's JS recap from the game last night (box score). Luhm writes for the Salt Lake Tribune but I'm guessing the JS didn't send anyone to Utah for the game. As usual, we're left to overanalyze Yi's performance, but I was more interested in the explanation of Mo Williams' absence:

  Sessions benefited from the absence of Mo Williams who, according to Krystkowiak, "dinged" his shoulder Tuesday night against Chicago and was held out as a precaution.

  Keep in mind Mo injured his left shoulder against Denver last year and wore a vest during parts of camp, so keep an eye on this. The offense continues to look ragged but coming into camp we knew that part of the Bucks' game should be fine. The defense was the question, and so far, so good according to Coach K:

  "It's certainly not time to celebrate because it's going to be a work in progress," he said. "But I've been somewhat blown away with our guys' focus defensively" since the start of training camp.

• Luhm also has a brief article on Andrew Bogut, who continues to have fans in Utah after his brief but prestigious college career there.
  
• Marty Burns at CNN/SI writes about Yi's first week in camp. Aside from his comment about Yi being best suited to SF, Burns continues to provide probably the best national media coverage of the Yi situation.
• Charles Gardner writes that Larry Harris was pleased with the Bucks' opener against the Bulls.

  "We had a team defensively that showed great grit throughout the whole game," Harris said. "In the first half we had 10 steals and 15 turnovers we forced. Again, we really focused our first week on defense, and that was very apparent by our aggressiveness.

  "From a players' standpoint, I think Andrew really got us started early. He's played very well in camp. Awvee Storey and Royal Ivey did a nice job off the bench. Desmond Mason did a good job for us to start the game.

  "Mo (Williams) and Michael (Redd) have been through the wars in the pre-season, so they were just kind of getting their feet wet."

• This summer the posters at YaoMania.com, the official Yao Ming fan club, were great for providing pictures, video and commentary on Yi's performances with the Chinese national team, and now they have a board focused on Yi as well.
  

Tuesday Bucks Notes

• Charles Gardner caught up with Andrew Bogut at the Bucks' annual golf outing. He's gotten rid of his controversial haircut, and also talks about how he spent his summer, his new house, the adjustments Yi faces, and the Charlie Bell situation.
  

  "I think [Yi] has a chance to be very, very good," Bogut said. "I've played against him a couple of times and he's just very quick and mobile for a big guy. It's going to take time to adjust. He's probably going to come out and play well and then have an adjustment, especially coming from China.

  "I think it was a great pick. A lot of people knocked it, and I applaud Larry Harris for sticking to his guns."

  Bogut said he liked the way the team was shaping up, including the signings of guards Mo Williams and Charlie Bell, both of whom were offered contracts by the Miami Heat. The Bucks matched Miami's five-year, $18 million offer to Bell last week.

  "Mo was probably the big one, and that kind of hurt us in the Charlie sweepstakes," Bogut said. "You've got to feel for what he (Bell) went through.

  "I'm just glad we have Charlie back. I think he's an integral part of our team."

• Gardner also writes about the preparations Milwaukee's Chinese community is making for Yi's arrival.

  Li said a welcome party for Yi is being planned, with the help of Mayor Tom Barrett's office and the Chinese consulate in Chicago. Fans from Milwaukee, Chicago, Appleton and Madison are expected to attend the event.
  
  And there's no doubt that Yi's progress with the Bucks will be eagerly watched in China. Kenneth Chang of the Ascent Sports Group will provide analysis and color for a Guangzhou sports channel that will televise a number of Bucks games this season.
  
  Most of the games will be Friday night games here, airing live on Saturday morning in China. Chang, who attended the Bucks golf outing on Monday, said stations in about 20 Chinese cities are purchasing those rights from NBATV, for games involving the Bucks and Yao Ming's Houston Rockets.
  
  "The Chinese people are excited that another great player can come out to play in the NBA," Chang said. "It's very significant for the (Chinese) national team, that Yi can have at least one full season in the NBA training and playing. He will have more physical contact and more experience, like Yao, so they can team up together when they play in the (2008 Beijing) Olympics."

• As alluded to yesterday, Brian Skinner officially signed with the Suns. After the Bucks didn't pick up his $5.85 million option, Skinner turned down a smaller but still guaranteed multimillion dollar offer from the Bucks, thinking he could do better. The Bucks in turn signed Jake Voskuhl for $3 million, a number Jake probably feels pretty good about right now. Skinner will get only the veteran's minimum of $1.1 million with the Suns, only half of which is guaranteed. Obviously everyone would rather play for the Suns than Bucks, but it's pretty rare for role players to take notable pay cuts to play for a winner. So let's bid Brian good luck and hope his agent is a better judge of the market next year.
  
• And not to rip on Gardner--he's the only one writing anything about the Bucks right now--but it seems odd that he wrote both a Bucks blog item and a note at the end of the Bogut article about Greer being released, yet nowhere does he mention that the impetus for releasing Greer was so that he could sign a much more lucrative deal with Olympiacos. Not that the Bucks were desperate to keep him, but it's also not exactly the Damir Markota situation.
  

Bogut Speaks

Andrew Bogut: Remember him?


Amid the Yi Jianlian soap opera, Mo Williams signing and Charlie Bell squabbles, you can almost forget that Andrew Bogut managed to offend some people with both his mouth and his hair this summer. Entering a pivotal third season, the former first overall pick is coming off an uneven sophomore campaign, improving statistically but lacking consistency before a foot injury shelved him for the final 16 games of the season. Over at RealGM one of the Aussie posters was kind enough to transcribe an interview Andrew Bogut did for Handle, an Australian basketball magazine. There's no online version of the mag, but you can see a picture of the most recent Bogut cover here (as a sidenote, is Bogut on the cover of every other issue?). It's a pretty wide-ranging discussion, so here are some highlights:

Q). At the All-Star weekend, you told me you were looking forward to working on your game this off season. What is it that you’ve been doing?

A). I needed to get back into the weight room. I haven’t really had an off season where I could lift, and I’ve felt my body getting stronger, especially my legs. When you’re playing 12 months a year, you can’t lift much in the legs because you’re body wont take it, and now I’m on the court every day, but I’m not overworking - certain days I just shoot for an hour and that's it. My trainer keeps me on my toes, and he never lets me know what we’ll be doing, so I never know what to expect. The best thing about basketball is you can never be perfect. No one has ever been perfect, and you can always get better, change something and improve. I’m looking to improve every facet of my game. The game gives you so much back. If you’re willing to do the work, you respect what it takes to be on an elite level.

Larry Krystkowiak reportedly told season ticketholders last week that Bogut weighed in at a fit 270 pounds when he came back from Australia, a figure that I did a double-take at. Remember last year Bogut showed up at around 255 pounds to start the season (he's been listed at 245), but looked a step slow and easily winded early on, later admitting it was too much. The bulk was mainly in his upper body when he probably needed it more in his base, so it's encouraging to hear his new regiment was focused there. I'm definitely to curious to see if a) Bogut is really 270 and b) he can carry that much weight effectively, but at this point he sounds like a guy who might be on the verge of having a breakout season.

Q). How did the coaching change affect you last year?

A). The fact Terry Stotts was fired was a reflection of our team losing games. In any sport today the coach can be a scapegoat - look at Kevin Sheedy in Essondon - and, unfortunately, that’s the nature of the business. Stotts felt like he was in the hot seat early on, and he told us so in a couple of team meetings. He wanted to continue to coach the way that had made him successful, and you have to respect that about the guy. He was unlucky, in a way, because in January we went on a roll with six straight wins before Michael Redd and Mo Williams went down, which twisted his fate. Larry Krystkowiak is a great acquisition; he’s a hard nosed coach and I think it was a positive move for the organisation, but I do think Stotts was a great coach for whom the pieces just didn't fall into place.

Bogut's ambivalence for Stotts was never much of a secret, but you at least need to give Bogut credit for saying polite things about Stotts since the switch. Some have used Stotts as a scapegoat for Bogut's inconsistency, but at some point you have to grow up--certainly if Krystkowiak can't get the best out of Bogut he'll be out of excuses.

Q). Is it reassuring to know that you’ll be with the Bucks for more seasons?

A). It’s nice, but the NBA is a business first and foremost: you don’t know what will happen. They re-sign me today, but can trade me tomorrow if they can bring in a player of a higher calibre, or who is a better fit. If Miami packages Shaq and Wade up for me, Redd and another player, the Bucks would make the move - who wouldn’t? You just never know what might happen in the NBA, but I’m very happy to be in Milwaukee, and I always have been. I love the people there, and they’ve been very helpful since I arrived. It’s a small city, so getting around isn’t a problem, and I just brought a house, so I’m finally going to get out of my apartment. I think a large part of my growing pains for these first two years was the fact that I went from living in an apartment to spending all my time in a hotel on the road, so there wasn’t any change up. Now when I get home after a road trip, I’ll have a little serenity and a backyard to relax in.

Ah, say all the right things, Drew. We love it! No, seriously, we do. He apparently moved to Mequon, so now he's really made it.

Q). Ever feel that you will be ostracised for your comments?

A). The toughest thing is always what your team-mates think. I spoke to a couple of our players to get my point of view across and explain myself to them. They knew from day one that I wasn’t the kind of guy who was in the NBA for the fame and the lifestyle that comes with that, and they’ve respected me for that. The way The Age article came out it makes it seem like I was calling them out, which I wasn’t. If it was worded in a different way , things wouldn’t have blown up, and I know that’s my own fault. I’m sure I’ll cop it from other players in the league, but I’m not afraid of going back to the US because of that, and I look forward to the challenge. I think in my first two seasons in the NBA, I might have taken a step back and have only just gotten my feet wet. I’m comfortable with where I’m at, and my team-mates are comfortable with me. I’m not looking to take crap from anybody, but I definitely respect Etan Thomas’ point of view. He has a right to say what he did, not just because he’s an American guy, but because he was making a point that was correct. I’m surprised that there weren’t more responses like that. If someone said something like that about Australia, they’d cop it from all angles. I’m definitely outspoken at times, and I should be able to keep quieter at times but, saying that, I definitely don’t want to be someone’s puppet.

The Thomas/Bogut thing seems pretty much done and dusted, at least in part because Bogut isn't a high profile player and Milwaukee isn't a high-profile team. So we likely won't hear much about this story once the season starts, but it'd certainly be interesting to see if Bogut and Thomas have a chat the next time the Bucks play the Wiz.

Thursday Bucks Notes

Aside from the ongoing Charlie Bell saga...

• The Bucks have invited Puerto Rican national team forward Angelo Reyes to camp. The 6'8", 220 lb Reyes finished second in the recent FIBA Tournament of the Americas with 9.5 rpg. With Damir Markota gone Reyes should have an outside chance at a roster spot, but don't bank on it.
  
• An Australian RealGM poster was nice enough to transcribe a recent Bogut article from Melbourne's MX newspaper (no real website unfortunately). The highlights:

  "In my first year i didn't really go out at all and then one of the veterans told me sometimes you've got to let yourself go. You can't waste time dwelling on your past games."
  
  "I've got a long way to go to get to the player I want to be in my career. I don't think I've really proven yet that I can cut it week after week. I've shown glimpses but I definitely have to improve. The one word that sums it up is inconsistency."

  
  

Wednesday Bucks Notes

• Charles Gardner with details on the ongoing Charlie Bell discussions.

  "We're still talking and a good dialogue is going on," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said on Tuesday. "I would say progress is being made, and hopefully something will be done soon. "We're trying to financially get to a number where we both can be happy."

  Read: a deal will probably get done soon. The Bucks have brought in some free agents to work out, including former Jazz and Illinois PG Dee Brown, but the bottom line is Bell is far more valuable than anyone they can find on the street right now.
  
• Over at the JS Forum there's a thread detailing two conference calls today with Jim Paschke and Larry Krystkowiak. All the details seem fairly reasonable, save for the part about Andrew Bogut being up to 270 pounds and that being a good thing. Last year Bogut showed up supposedly around 255 but he lost a step and didn't carry the added weight particularly well. Over the course of the season he shed some of those pounds and looked a lot more comfortable, once again being able to face up and beat guys off the dribble, especially to his left. A guy like Bogut needs to build core strength more than pure upper body bulk, so if he is heavier hopefully it's because he's strengthened his base. But I'm not sure how likely that is, especially given he was recovering from his foot injury at the beginning of the summer. Still, some good tidbits in there.
• Word is Damir Markota has signed with Spartak St. Petersburg.
  

Markota Waived!

So just days after we were discussing Damir Markota's uh, interesting reasons for not trying hard last season, the Bucks stepped up and waived him. I figured the Bucks would be loathe to do so given it'd be simple to just stash him in the D-League for another season rather than admit their mistake, but being both bad at basketball and immature off the court does apparently count for something. At least in the NBA.

I'd have to guess his latest comments were perhaps the final nail in the coffin, and with Krystkowiak trying to build a more disciplined team Markota was probably viewed as a bad apple not worth wasting time on. Given he was friends with Bogut this might also be a bit of a wakeup call to the former #1 overall pick--no more coddling, Drew. In fairness Bogut doesn't have a rep for being much of a party animal, but his friendship with Markota was largely rumored to have been a reason the Bucks acquired Markota in the first place (and for a high '07 second rounder no less). I'll be curious to hear how much of his remaining two years' salary (about $1.5 million total, the minimum for a player of his tenure) was guaranteed.

Monday Bucks Notes

• Beijing-based blogger Jonathan Ansfield offers a great summary of the Yi Jianlian situation here.

  Alas Team Yi’s fighting a losing public relations battle. Virtually everyone, save Yi’s American agent and his Cantonese team – his biggest and most powerful stakeholders – thinks Yi should sign and suit up with the Bucks this season. NBA rules dictate that if he is to play in the league next year, he must. The 2008 Chinese Olympics squad clearly needs him, as well and Chinese basketball authorities granted him unprecedented permission to join the entire pre-draft road show, fully anticipating that he would. The vast majority of Chinese fans, Internet polls and bulletin board have shown, are vehemently pushing him to go to Milwaukee.

• Andrew Bogut did a radio interview in Australia. Listen here. He talks a little about coming back from his foot injury and also mentions that at this stage of his career he'd prefer a gold medal with Australia to an NBA title.
• In his latest mailbag, Bill Simmons assigns Yi Jianlian his new nickname: The Chairman.

  Q: I know it's pretty obvious, but Yi Jianlian's nickname has to be "The Chairman," right?
  --M. Filion, Montreal

  SG: Has to be. There hasn't been a more effective nickname in years. Not only does it sound like the right nickname for him ("Chairman Yi"), but the joke-trapped-inside-the-joke (during ESPN's lottery show, there was video of Yi posting up actual chairs and spinning around them for layups) will never stop being funny. And when you think about it, we haven't been able to call anyone "The Chairman" since Sinatra died. So it's done -- we're calling Yi "The Chairman." This meeting is adjourned.

Another Bogut Sighting

Here's a new video of Andrew Bogut on the "The Footy Show" in Australia a week or two ago. He talks a little bit about following Aussie rules football, a general discussion of coaches and teammates, and but not a whole lot of substance. More importantly, it's another chance to look at his interesting summer haircut. His shaved head has grown in a bit since a month ago when he first debuted his new look on "The Nation," another Aussie TV show, but he's still got the Jedi tail that we first discussed back then. In both shows he laughs off the new 'do by saying he "lost a bet." The look is something of an homage to Aussie boxer Kostya Tszyu.

With his hair filled in a bit I don't think he'll be able to supplant Drew Gooden as the king of bad NBA haircuts, but there's always time to shave it again or make the tail longer.

Wednesday Bucks Notes

• China annihilated New Zealand 93-63 for their second victory in the Stankovic Cup this morning. Yi Jianlian finished with 17 points to lead all scorers. I caught the first half before leaving for work and China was up 46-24, with Yi contributing 8 points and 6 rebounds at the half (by my count at least). Wang Zhizhi returned after missing the previous couple games, and was leading the way offensively, while Yi was playing more of a garbage man role. Perhaps most importantly for the Chinese, their erratic guards were actually playing quite well. The Chinese play the NBDL Ambassadors tomorrow morning in their final game of the round-robin tournament. NBATV has been showing the Ambassadors' games on tape delay, so look for that on Thursday afternoon most likely.
  

• Keith Brewster has posted an email interview he did with Andrew Bogut. Probably the most important thing from the interview:

  KB: How is the recovery from your foot sprain progressing?
  AB: The foot is 100%. It's been great to have a proper offseason to get in the weights and other on-court things that need work.

• As first speculated on RealGM, the Celtics are reportedly talking to a number of free agent PGs, including Charlie Bell.

  Presently, agents and league sources confirm that the Celts are looking at four point guards and five big men as they try to find the right players to support their talented trio.
  Eddie House, Troy Hudson, Brevin Knight and Charlie Bell are reportedly on the point guard list. Bell is a restricted free agent, which makes his situation a little different (Milwaukee can match any offer he gets). Hudson had his contract bought out by the Timberwolves yesterday, making him a free agent. And while the C’s were previously steering away from Knight because of alleged locker room issues, a source said, “Hey, just about everyone that’s out there now has (a few) spots.”

  While Bell might be the most attractive of those options given his versatility and the fact that the Celtics aren't looking for a starter, his restricted status could be a major sticking point.
• In addition to the Bucks Diary which has been around for a few months, Alex Boeder has also started a Bucks blog. Looks good so far, and so far he's also covering some more general NBA issues.
  

Bogut's New Look

So for the past few days Australian Bucks fans have been talking about Andrew Bogut's new 'do that he broke out on an Australian talk show called The Nation last weekend. The last few years we've seen Bogut sporting various types of mops, frosted tips in the back, dyed black and of course the Italian soccer-style thin hairband. And now we finally have some video of his most daring 'do yet...and it's certainly, uh, interesting. Like, Drew Gooden interesting. Basically it's a shaved head with a little Jedi braid on the back, somewhat reminiscent of Jet Li in the "Once Upon a Time in China" movies. Who knows, maybe it will make Yi feel more at home. Apparently it's something of an homage to Aussie boxer Kostya Tszyu. Why does Andrew do it? Well, we know in the past it's always been about the ladies:

However, he doesn't have a girlfriend and he has resorted to black hair dye to attract women. "Yankee sheilas go off for the black hair," he says, laughing. "I'm thinking of doing something pretty stupid soon, too. Maybe a good old mullet."

As for the rest of the interview, there's not much substance. He alludes to the trouble he got into for his recent interview talking about the excesses of the NBA lifestyle, and when prodded about Milwaukee jokingly refers to the town's reputation as the drunkest and fattest city in America. The Milwaukee tourism board thanks you, Andrew! Believe it or not, Men's Fitness did some survey where Milwaukee ranked as the fifth fittest city in America. Ha! As for drunkest, well...fine, guilty as charged.