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Here is the reverse winning percentage as of today.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/standings ... asontype=2

When you look at the stats, here are our close teams.

5. NY 18-41
6. Char 19-39
7. LAC 19-38
8. Mil 22-37
9. Indy 23-36
10. Chic 23-35
11. Atl 24-32

We aren't going to catch Seattle at the 4th seed since they have a 15-43 record. All the others are catchable, but I think it will be hard. It would seem we could just hope to hit the 6th seed and get lucky in the lotto again.

It has begun...

Yep, time to hope for losses again.

I think we need to compile a list of the major impact players in the upcoming draft and then cross them off all of our lists for the Bucks. That way, we avoid the disappointment of not being able to get them when the ping-pong balls don't go the Bucks' way. The biggest problem last year was getting our hopes up and then having them dashed when the Bucks landed at six and thus missed out on the chance to get one of the four big-time impact players in that draft.

europa wrote:I think we need to compile a list of the major impact players in the upcoming draft and then cross them off all of our lists for the Bucks. That way, we avoid the disappointment of not being able to get them when the ping-pong balls don't go the Bucks' way. The biggest problem last year was getting our hopes up and then having them dashed when the Bucks landed at six and thus missed out on the chance to get one of the four big-time impact players in that draft.

True.

I hope we pull a rabbit out of the hat and either get lucky in the lotto or make a big trade to move up.

I want Rose. I would give up whatever it takes to get him. Unlikely? For sure, but I would try.

I sure hope you aren't naming Conley as one of those 4 big time impact players.

Chapter29 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



True.

I hope we pull a rabbit out of the hat and either get lucky in the lotto or make a big trade to move up.

I want Rose. I would give up whatever it takes to get him. Unlikely? For sure, but I would try.

Ditto. That's why I really wish the Bucks had been able to pull off the Villanueva/6 for Horford trade I lobbied for prior to last year's draft. The only thing more devastating than remembering the night the Bucks fell out of the top four in the lottery is watching Horford and realizing how much better this team would be if it had drafted him.

Yi will definitely be in the Conley/Horford tier by the time he develops. No doubt about that.

Doesn't matter if we missed out last year (which is debatable and I disagree). The worse your record the better shot you have, just common sense.

There are several outcomes that would make me satisfied with the lotto.

-We land a top 3 pick and get an impact player.
-We trade our top 10 pick and Redd for a top 3 pick and get an impact player.
-We trade our top 10 pick and Yi for a borderline superstar such as Brand.

Luke23 wrote:Yi will definitely be in the Conley/Horford tier by the time he develops. No doubt about that.

I don't have much of an opinion about Conley, but I strongly disagree that Yi will ever be in the Horford tier. I'm not even sure if I think Yi will ever become as good as Horford already is as a rookie.

Horford at age 21 is putting up 9.5 ppg (48%), 10 rpg, 1 bpg
Yi at age 23 is putting up 9.0 ppg (43%), 5.4 rpg, 0.9 bpg

Yi is a good (but streaky) jump shooter, and has good athleticism, but that's about all we can say about him. He is not a good passer, is a terrible ball handler, and has horrible hands/coordination in relation to catching passes, picking up lose balls, and fighting for rebounds.

In time, Yi will be a solid role player that can knock down open shots, and play adequate defense. But his basic lack of eye-hand coordination will probably never go away. Either you can control your body or you can't. Are there examples of people who entered the league clumsy and became graceful and in control?

Horford is already a solid interior defender, one of the best rebounders in the NBA as a rookie, and a heady passer. He's also most likely two years younger than Yi. Look at Yi's game log for the past month, and tell me that this is a future star:

March 1: 0 points, 0 rebounds (6 minutes)
Feb 28: 0 points, 1 rebound (10 minutes)
Feb 26: 2 points, 3 rebounds (16 minutes)
Feb 23: 4 points, 2 rebounds (9 minutes)
Feb 22: 8 points, 6 rebounds (20 minutes)
Feb 20: 8 points, 2 rebounds (25 minutes)
Feb 13: 13 points, 3 rebounds (22 minutes)
Feb 11: 13 points, 5 rebounds (27 minutes)
Feb 9: 4 points, 5 rebounds (14 minutes)
Feb 2: 6 points, 7 rebounds (30 minutes)

Why will Yi become better than Villanueva or Ilyasova, who are all around the same age? Those debates I could get into, but as good as a future all-star like Horford as well??

"has horrible hands/coordination in relation to catching passes, picking up lose balls, and fighting for rebounds"

The common excuse for Yi's ineffectiveness in these areas has been that he hasn't yet developed the strength he needs (but will).

But your explanation seems to fit what I've been seeing at least as well.

Sorry if I'm one that never HOPES for losses, I just can't do that. But when the team loses, I won't be upset or angry. That's how I deal with tanking.

I can't write off Yi yet......those first six weeks he played really well. And even most of the ESPN guys believed him to eventually be an all-star player. The only concern I have with Yi is this damn Olympic situation which will strain his body and not allow him to slow down and recover for an offseason.

But I do think what this team does with Mo and Redd is more important this offseason than the lotto pick.....given that this draft is not perceived to be nearly as strong and we'll probably be picking in the 6-9 range.

unklchuk wrote:"has horrible hands/coordination in relation to catching passes, picking up lose balls, and fighting for rebounds"

The common excuse for Yi's ineffectiveness in these areas has been that he hasn't yet developed the strength he needs (but will).

But your explanation seems to fit what I've been seeing at least as well.

I don't think catching passes is strength related. My anecdotal evidence is that I have no trouble catching passes, and I am scrawny with far less strength than Yi. Fighting for lose balls I can understand, but to me the two are symptoms of the same problem as opposed to coincidental similarities.

It's way too soon to write off Yi. I am concerned, however, that he really is regressing as the season draws to a close. I had hoped that his play would be like Bargnani's last season which really peaked as the season went along. But it's been the reverse and that is troublesome.

I still like his potential but I still think back to the lottery night last summer and how disappointing it was to know the Bucks were going to miss out on Horford and Conley. And every time I watch Horford this season, the disappointment grows even more. He's a terrific player and would make the Bucks so much better in my opinion. Durant will probably win the award but I think Horford deserves Rookie of the Year. He's done more on a better team.

Europa....I won't be down this year if we don't place top three in the lotto......none of these guys are game changing type prospects like we had last year. I will at this point hope we get a top two pick but if we don't it won't be the end of the world.

In my mind at least, Adamcz's questijoning of Yi's eye/hand coordination doesn't write Yi off. No, Europa didn't literally say that, but it's a possible translation or mistranslation of what he said.

To me it just makes Yi more of a #6 lotto pick - not a top 3 guy who miraculously slipped down to us.

Though it does seem reasonably possible that rookie overload has affected Yi's hands as well as his head. As he figures our the game (thus simplifying it) I can hope he'll become more sure handed.

Yi's not the first rookie to hit the rookie wall.. that's why they call it the rookie wall.

Add in the fact that the Bucks are extremely disfunctional, and you can only really count on the guards getting big numbers on any given night, and I don't see how people can be down on Yi.

adamcz wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

I don't think catching passes is strength related. My anecdotal evidence is that I have no trouble catching passes, and I am scrawny with far less strength than Yi. Fighting for lose balls I can understand, but to me the two are symptoms of the same problem as opposed to coincidental similarities.

It's more strength related than you think. Sure, you can catch passes now, but Yi didn't have any problems last year in the CBA, either. The question is, can you catch passes while being jostled by a 250 lb professional athlete? There's more to it than you think there is.

Wise1 wrote:I sure hope you aren't naming Conley as one of those 4 big time impact players.

If he is, that is ridiculous.

Conley could be great, but he won't be an impact player in the league for at least another season.

Oden, Durant, and Horford were the clear cut impact players in the draft from day one.

emunney wrote:It's more strength related than you think. Sure, you can catch passes now, but Yi didn't have any problems last year in the CBA, either. The question is, can you catch passes while being jostled by a 250 lb professional athlete? There's more to it than you think there is.

Fair point. I'm sure I wouldn't catch them any better than Yi does. But a lot of other young NBA players (such as Charlie V) do a better job at it.