The Bratwurst - Milwaukee Bucks Blog

Now that the Bucks have at least cemented the return of their starting five and are nearly certain that they’re getting a few players back, I figure it’s time for me to offer my advice up to Coach K on how I would run things.

Center: Andrew Bogut starts, Gadzuric backs him up. Occasional action can be seen at this position by Brian Skinner (assuming he comes back).

Power Forward: Charlie Villanueva starts, Bobby Simmons backs him up (see Small Forward) or Brian Skinner on a match-up by match-up basis.

Small Forward: Desmond Mason starts (with the goal of having him lock down the other team’s best perimeter player early) and doesn’t log serious minutes unless he is playing well, Bobby Simmons comes in as the 6th man for whoever is playing the worst (Charlie Villanueva or Desmond Mason). David Noel logs minutes when Simmons is in the game already and Mason needs a break.

Shooting Guard: Welcome to the Michael Redd show. Charlie Bell (assuming he returns) gets action at this position for about 8 minutes a game.

Point Guard: Mo Williams starts obviously, playing the majority of the minutes. Charlie Bell is the first off the bench to replace him, with Lynn Greer getting action when Bell is already on the floor.

Question Marks? Yi, obviously, let’s assume he won’t be playing and that he’ll be traded. Obviously we need to get something in return, but what I don’t know. Ersan Illyasova (one of my favorite players) is reportedly going back to Europe to play. Ramon Sessions will probably be in the D League (it’s a great resource to develop players). I have no idea what their intentions are for Damir Markota, but he looked pretty good in Summer League play. Does he start to compete with Gadz or Skinner for minutes?