Well, I'm finally back from my fabulous cruise. I'll do another post later on when I get pictures and such sorted out. Needless to say, I'm rested, relaxed and not quite as tan as I would have liked to be. The wifey insisted that I put on SPF 900 so I actually got whiter the longer I was out in the sun. It was like being covered with White-Out. Anyway, let's see what went on with the Bucks (I'll get to the Badgers another day).
The Bucks were on a tear in December and got over .500 they were the darlings of the NBA for a while. Teams got destroyed by overplaying Redd and Williams as Bogut and Patterson were playing at an otherworldly level. Some even suggested that Stotts was to be credited for this, he shouldn't be. It was the team chemistry that was getting into full swing, players were getting comfortable in their roles. This is a young team and they needed time to gel. Then their #1 and #2 threats went down.
Now the Bucks are predictably atrocious. I wrote back on the 9th of this month that after Redd's injury, this season was over. The Bucks losing 9 of their last 10 since then and neither Redd or Mo due back for another couple of weeks. But, I believe that I spoke too soon and was too pessimistic. "He got too much sun on his trip" you may say, but that's not it. Why the turnaround you may ask? I'll give you 5 reasons:
1 - Earl Boykins. This little fireball is a nightmare for opposing teams. Who the hell can guard him? Nobody. He's too fast. He's also a scoring machine since the trade. He's dropping almost 20/game since the trade. 20! Holy crap did we get a steal on this from Denver. What are teams going to do when Redd, Mo and Earl are on the floor? You cannot guard that much offense, especially when Earl and Mo attack the hoop as they do. Plus, he can come in for Williams and the Bucks lose nothing on offense.
2 - Charlie Bell. He's been put into more minutes with Redd gone and he's been hot and cold. He seems to be forcing his shot too much, but I believe that when his role is reduced, he'll slip into more of a comfort zone as he won't feel as much pressure. He's learning the limits of his game now and that is going to help him immensely. He's still a solid sub and good defender.
3 - Charlie Villanueva. He drops a double double in his first game back from injury in 30 minutes of action. With Skinner getting so much time while Charlie was out, they form a very solid #4 duo. Charlie has more ability to get that tough inside prescence to aid Bogut.
4 - These 3 players help make a much deeper quality bench for the Bucks. The Bucks can now go 3-4 players deep on the bench and still have a good unit out there at all times.
5 - The Bucks are still in the East. At a sad 17-26 record and losing 10 of their last 12, they are only 3 games out of the #8 playoff spot. If they can hold on and win a few until Redd and Mo come back, this team could explode through the Conference. Nobody will have as much offensive firepower as they will. The Bucks have only scored over 100 1 time in the last 9 games since the dynamic duo went down. The Bucks will assuredly score over 100 on an almost nightly basis when they come back. Their record when they score over 100 pts? 14-8, that's a 63.6 winning percentage. With Boykins and Bell coming off the bench, I would say that we could raise this % up to 67% over the final 30 games that Redd and Mo likely will be back for, the Bucks could very well get into the playoffs and be peaking at the right time.
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