Re: Thoughts on the Bucks game

[Tammo29@xxxxxxx]

>>>>General observations:

... Ricky was spectacular.<<<<

I've been waiting for a game like that from Ricky.  I think we might have 
seen just the beginning of his awakening (that is if he can play defense well 
enough to stay on the court).


>>>>> Obie was really down on his defense, according to the papers this 
morning. I'm sure that's probably true, but that was true of everyone last night, 
with the possible exception of Marcus Banks. <<<<<<<<

I thought Paul played some great defense.  He held Thomas to 7 points and 
forced him into some really bad passes.  Kukoc had some points on him, but they 
were mostly after he was stopped initially and the rotating defense didn't get 
back to him.  He had Strickland frustrated and picked his pocket clean on one 
possession.  He had a blocked shot, three steals, drew a charge on Redd on a 
two on one, drew an offensive foul on Kukoc, a ton of deflections, plus he 
really put the clamps on TJ Ford for one possession down the stretch and forced 
him into a turnover.  Don't know what else you could have asked for.
The problem is, and this game is a perfect example, all five guys on the 
court have to put forth the same effort with this defense or it just doesn't work. 
 That is why there is such dramatic swings with this team when you put 
different guys on the floor.
We really did a great job defensively as a team for most of the first 
quarter.  We started to slide when the subs came in and never got back to the same 
level except for a short stretch in the second half.
I think Welsches offensive troubles affected his defense in the second half.  
He was a little slow on his rotations, Ricky sometimes forgot to rotate all 
together, and Walter.....I'm not sure where his head was. 


>>>... Banks played one of his best games. He's still taking too many shots 
and had one particularly bad stretch of about two minutes (I think it was in 
the second quarter) where he took a couple of bad shots and made a bad pass, but 
other than that, he was solid. He made some good decisions and did a nice job 
pressuring the ball. He's not the point guard T.J. Ford is (Milwaukee's 
rookie), and I'm not sure he ever will be, but he's coming along.<<<<

Hard to overlook his refusal to pass the ball up the court when we had a 4 on 
2 off a steal.  It should have been a lay-up, but he held unto it way too 
long and all we got was a McCarty brick from the corner.  There was another fast 
break that went for naught and one that he ended up hitting a little jumper, 
but also could have been a lay-up as he had players on both wings and only one 
defender.
Maybe I'm a stickler when it comes to good decisions off fast breaks. But 
I've watched some of the best fast breaking teams in college ball the last 10 
years. I feel that is a point guards number one responsibility on a running team. 
 Banks still has a lot to learn as far as I can see.  I heard Tommy say that 
he should look to score until he gets comfortable passing, but I find that 
hard to swallow.  It seems to me that just reinforces bad habits all the way 
around.


>>>>... Most of you probably know I'm a big Ohio State fan. I loved Michael 
Redd at OSU. He and Scoonie Penn took the Buckeyes to the 1999 Final Four. Redd 
had a great three-year career at OSU, then left early for the NBA. I never 
thought he was an NBA player. He was a good one-on-one guy, but a really suspect 
perimeter shooter. He wasn't a great athlete. But he's a great example of a 
player making the most out of what he has. He needed to become a better 
shooter, so he practiced to the point that now he's one of the league's best. He's 
still not a great athlete, but he has bulked up and become one of the stronger 
shooting guards in the league. He's turned himself from a second-round pick to 
an all-star candidate through hard work. And he's one of the nicer, more 
engaging players you'll ever meet. Just wanted to say that. With Redd, Kukoc and 
Ford, the Bucks have become one of my favorite teams to watch when the Celts 
aren't on.<<<<