The Milwauke Bucks, one of the great Mysteries of the league

[Guy986]

Their best player is an Australian.
Their starting PG shoots 3/14 from the field every game.
They are starting a Small Forward at the 4.
Carlos Delfino and Charile Bell are their starting wing.

You look at their roster and you think, How are they winning all these games? How are they even respectable? On paper, they look like they have the worst talent in the entire league. You think the Houston Rockets are devoid of talent? If you combine the two teams, this is what the starting lineup would look like.

Aaron Brooks
Trevor Ariza (Martin should start here but lets not count him yet)
Shane Battier
Luis Scola
Andrew Boguts

This is how bad the Milwaukee Bucks are. Only one guy from their team would start on the Rockets. (Altho he would probably be the best player from the 2 teams)

I've seen alot of their games and they're actually quite fun to watch. They hustle, they move the ball well, they rebound, they defend and most importantly they play as a unit. The Bucks really only have 2 good defensive players. They defend better than you'd imagine considering how many liabilities they have out there. The Bucks shouldn't be this good. They're way waaaaaaay overachieving.



I present to you, the Coach of the Year.

[Nolan]

Skiles has done an amazing job with that Bucks team. If they make the playoffs he should get serious consideration for COY.

[nitric0]

According to Barkley, Vinny Del Negro has COY locked up

[SUN]

I agree with you. I'm very surprised that the Bucks are winning, but I think Rick is the coach of the year - for obvious reasons.

[Ito]

It's no mystery... they are winning games because they got Jennings in the draft. Jennings play making ability is underrated.

[Guy986]

Is their a worst team on paper than the Bucks?

Jennings/Ridnour
Bell/Salmons
Delfino/Stackhouse
MBah a Moute/ Ilyasova
Andrew Boguts/ Kurt Thomas


John Salmon is probably their 2nd best player already. And he was what..... the 4th best guy on the Bulls?

[Guy986]

It's no mystery... they are winning games because they got Jennings in the draft. Jennings play making ability is underrated.

Jennings is not even the best point guard on his team.....

[IamRapsMvP]

The Bucks? LOL, i don't think anyone really cares about them to be honest.

[ANTETOKOUNBROS]

The Bucks? LOL, i don't think anyone really cares about them to be honest.

I'm sure no one outside of Canada cares about the Raptors, except for Miami fans since they are rooting for their future Wade side-kick, Bosh.

It is nice to hear from non-Bucks fans - giving our team a little props.

[DanoMac]

Good post. Being a Bucks fan, it's nice to get recognition. And yes, I definitely agree with you that Skiles should get some consideration for COTY, but there are far more deserving candidates right now (Larry Brown, Lawrence Frank for having to coach a bunch of schmucks). A few points though...

Aaron Brooks wouldn't start over Brandon Jennings. At this time? Of course. But never in my life right now would I swap Jennings for Brooks as a Bucks fan. Not to mention despite Jennings' recent shooting woes, his floor leadership has been incredible, and the Bucks are just a better flowing team when he's on the court.

We are starting a SF at the 4, but it's working out so what's the big deal? Mbah a Moute is more of a tweener than a natural 3, but he does an absolute wonderful job of defending, no matter who the opposition. And Ersan Ilyasova is also a big spark at the 4 off the bench. Delfino and Bell are our starting wings as of now, but I expect Salmons to soon take over the starting spot at the 2. And Delfino, while it would be a gigantic compliment to label him as "good", has been much more productive at the 3 at a much cheaper price than Richard Jefferson was last year. A very good move on GM John Hammond's part.

We only have 2 good defensive players? Bogut is one of the best at his position defending. Mbah a Moute is one of the best man defenders in the league. Jennings has done a great job at defending the 1 during his rookie year. Delfino's block on Demar Derozan's dunk says enough. Charlie Bell is a fantastic defender at the 2. And Kurt Thomas is and will always be a beast despite his age.

The Bucks future, although questionable at times, also looks bright. They have young building blocks in Jennings, Mbah a Moute, Ilyasova, and Bogut. They acquired two second round picks at the deadline along with the right to swap firsts with the Bulls. We ditch Redd and Gadzuric's salary at the end of next year (about $25 million) for room to sign a big name.

[Guy986]

I forgot about Kurt Thomas. Make it 3.

[DanoMac]

I forgot about Kurt Thomas. Make it 3.

Okay, so we have two STANDOUT defenders in Mbah a Moute and Bogut. And above average defenders in Bell, Delfino, Thomas, and Jennings. How many teams can say that?

[ANTETOKOUNBROS]

I forgot about Kurt Thomas. Make it 3.

Okay, so we have two STANDOUT defenders in Mbah a Moute and Bogut. And above average defenders in Bell, Delfino, Thomas, and Jennings. How many teams can say that?

BJ isn't an above average defender just yet; he still needs to learn to fight screens and keep his man in front of him more consistently. I don't think he's been maximizing his quickness yet; a lot of it has to do with his lack of strength at his age, but at least he has the tools to be a good defender in this league.

[Ito]

It's no mystery... they are winning games because they got Jennings in the draft. Jennings play making ability is underrated.

Jennings is not even the best point guard on his team.....

he's not? oh yeah because Ridnour is way better than him right, Lol realgm is full of funny people

[2011Champs]

Is their a worst team on paper than the Bucks?

Jennings/Ridnour
Bell/Salmons
Delfino/Stackhouse
MBah a Moute/ Ilyasova
Andrew Boguts/ Kurt Thomas


John Salmon is probably their 2nd best player already. And he was what..... the 4th best guy on the Bulls?

It is a team game. Bucks must have the best chemistry in the league. Big names don't always equal good record.

[raps4life~]

The Bucks? LOL, i don't think anyone really cares about them to be honest.

How old are you? 8? It's because of posters like you that everyone thinks Raptors fans are dumbasses.

[DumbyTheWizard]

COY usually goes to one of the top seeds coaches, so I think Sloan has a shot at it this year if the Jazz finish 2nd-3rd in the west...

[AntiSuperstar]

The Bucks really only have 2 good defensive players. They defend better than you'd imagine considering how many liabilities they have out there.

This is the one point I disagree on. The Bucks rotation has Bell, Bogut, Mbah a Moute, and Delfino, all good defenders. Kurt Thomas isn't bad either. Charlie Bell is a very underrated defender around the league, he's like a lesser Joe Dumars. Mbah a Moute is versatile, and Delfino is still an above average man on man defender while arguably being the team's best perimeter help defender. Bogut boxes out well, draws charges, and does a good enough job of contesting shots and securing rebounds. Thomas is more hustle than anything, but he still makes mostly smart rotations, is a very solid presence on the boards(both with boxing out and keeping opposing Centers off the glass and actually securing rebounds), and will draw a good charge or give a hard foul instead of allowing a layup here and there. The Bucks have good talent on defense, it's offense where they are lacking(Much less so though it seems so far with the additions of Stack and Salmons). The Bucks actually added Royal Ivey as well who brings another quality defender, I don't know if he will ever get minutes though.

I don't know why anyone mentions Jennings though. Not a good defender. He still hasn't figured out how to properly react to pick and roll situations and that's made even worse by the fact that he's so light and has trouble getting through screens. I like that he will help the bigs out and rebound when a ball is near him, and I like that he's willing to defend fullcourt(though this is pretty much a staple of Scott Skiles' teams), but on the whole Jennings' defense isn't good.

[DanoMac]

The Bucks really only have 2 good defensive players. They defend better than you'd imagine considering how many liabilities they have out there.

This is the one point I disagree on. The Bucks rotation has Bell, Bogut, Mbah a Moute, and Delfino, all good defenders. Kurt Thomas isn't bad either. Charlie Bell is a very underrated defender around the league, he's like a lesser Joe Dumars. Mbah a Moute is versatile, and Delfino is still an above average man on man defender while arguably being the team's best perimeter help defender. Bogut boxes out well, draws charges, and does a good enough job of contesting shots and securing rebounds. Thomas is more hustle than anything, but he still makes mostly smart rotations, is a very solid presence on the boards(both with boxing out and keeping opposing Centers off the glass and actually securing rebounds), and will draw a good charge or give a hard foul instead of allowing a layup here and there. The Bucks have good talent on defense, it's offense where they are lacking(Much less so though it seems so far with the additions of Stack and Salmons). The Bucks actually added Royal Ivey as well who brings another quality defender, I don't know if he will ever get minutes though.

I don't know why anyone mentions Jennings though. Not a good defender. He still hasn't figured out how to properly react to pick and roll situations and that's made even worse by the fact that he's so light and has trouble getting through screens. I like that he will help the bigs out and rebound when a ball is near him, and I like that he's willing to defend fullcourt(though this is pretty much a staple of Scott Skiles' teams), but on the whole Jennings' defense isn't good.

Maybe it was premature of me to say that Jennings defense was "good". A better way to put it might be is that he's a lot further along defensively as a 20 year old rookie than most if not all Bucks fans thought he'd be.

[Wooderson]

Bogut should get some consideration for DPOY. I think Dwights pretty clearly the best defensive player in the league but Boguts not far behind. He's second in the league in blocks and leads the league in blocks + charges drawn by a considerable margin. He's the main reason Mke is able to stay in games despite the inept offense.