The Bratwurst – Milwaukee Bucks Blog

I’ve been getting emails left and right asking me how I felt about the Bucks chances this year. In fact, someone even stopped me at a keg party last weekend and wanted to know what I thought. The fact that drunk people are asking about the Bucks I think is a good sign that people care about this team and that they honestly are confused about this team (because drunk people generally know everything). Instead of answering those individually I thought I would break it down on here player-by-player.

Let me say something before I start. Lots of people want to say they were terrible for all of last year. Not true, without Bobby Simmons ever playing a game, they were struggled out the gate and then put it together until Michael Redd got hurt on that meaningless dunk. Everything went downhill from there.

Charlie Bell: I’m glad he’s back, we didn’t really have anyone to replace him. I don’t think he’s as great as a defender as everyone says he is, but he’s definitely solid on offense in small doses. He provides a welcome punch off the bench to spell Redd or Mo. His contract is too long, but that’s what happens with restricted free agency. He’s going to produce worse numbers than he did last year, but play a more important role off the bench. Don’t look to see the Bucks use that three-guard lineup much anymore with the return of Bobby Simmons, a healthy Charlie V, and the addition of Yi.

Andrew Bogut: He’s been getting knocked a lot for not contributing enough in terms of numbers, but I don’t think he’s been asked to do a lot. The team was pretty good when he got here. If he was an Atlanta Hawk his numbers would be a lot better right now. That said, I think he improved last year without Jamaal Magloire taking up space. He took the summer off for the first time in a long-time and I hope that will help ease the problem of him looking so tired running up and down the floor late in the season. I think he’s building a hunger for winning and I think he’s going to be a better rebounder and defender this year, but I don’t expect to see huge improvements.

Dan Gadzuric: Most dissappointing player. He hasn’t really gotten any better. He still looks nervous out there with his out of control style. Apparently he doesn’t have any trade value because of his huge contract. At one time looked like he had a huge upside, now he just looks lost on the end of the bench. Could be a great cheer leader in close games. Worst signing of Larry Harris’s tenure.

Royal Ivey: I don’t expect him to play a lot. Upside, he gets some garbage minutes and shows some promise. At least he’s cheap. Downside? He plays a lot because someone is hurt.

Yi Jianlian: Upside? He’s good. Downside? He’s bad. No one really knows what to expect, but I would imagine he’ll look better than he did in those summer league games because he won’t be getting double-teamed and will be surrounded by better players.

Desmond Mason: Understanding the fact that a Ruben Patterson implosion would have been much more likely with a reduced playing time role with the addition of Yi and return of Simmons, I think it was a good move to swap him for D-Mase. I see Desmond being brought off the bench to stop 2’s and 3’s that Redd and Simmons are having trouble containing. Expect to see him score a lot in up-tempo, transition games and put up nothing for numbers in half-court offense games. I consider him a fair swap for Patterson, whose numbers only looked so good because there wasn’t anyone else around to put anything up because of injuries. As long as he brings energy and hustle I’ll be happy.

David Noel: Wouldn’t be shocked to see him spending time in the NBDL putting up good numbers as long as everyone else is healthy. He showed flashes of brilliance last year, but looked lost at other times. I think he’s a diamond in the rough find, that’s going to take another year to get polished.

Michael Redd: Lots of points, lots and lots of points. He needs to improve on his desire and making that desire wear off on teammates, but I don’t think he is far from that.

Michael Ruffin: He’s on the team purely for rebounding. Brett thinks he’s pretty terrible on offense, so my money is on Samaki Walker getting more playing time.

Ramon Sessions: They would be wise to put him in the D-League and let him develop, people from Nevada have been emailing me all summer telling me of his potential and if they’re even 50% right about what they say I think he could develop. You hopefully won’t see him on the court for the Bucks a whole lot this year (which means we have a healthy team).

Bobby Simmons: The most misunderstood of all Bucks players to put on a jersey in recent years. At the start of the 2005-2006 campaign, he was attacking the basket, the team was winning close games, he was playing good defense, and he looked worth every penny. Then he got some weird foot/ankle/joint injury, nagged him, he quit attacking the basket, and the Bucks quit winning close games. That problem led him to having surgery and missing all of last year. If he were to count as an off-season pickup, he’s easily the best one we’ve got and is going to have the biggest impact of any player that didn’t wear a jersey last year. I fully expect him to earn his keep this year, unlike everyone else in Milwaukee.

Awvee Storey: I don’t expect him to play a whole lot since I see D-Mase stealing any minutes that would be his. He gets the award for “Player Most Likely To Be Released When Herb Kohl Gets Mad”. As long as he doesn’t punch Yi in the face and cause an international incident, I’ll be happy.

Charlie Villanueva: He better still have that huge chip on his shoulder that he supposedly had at the start of last year. He seemed to drift all too often last year, most likely due to his nagging injury. When he’s playing the 4 (and I don’t know where he’ll line up with Yi on the court quite yet), he better find himself closer to the basket unless we’re spacing for Bogut to go 1-on-1 or isolating for someone to drive. Jury is still out on him, but if I had to make the TJ Ford trade again I would still do it.

Jake Voskuhl: I don’t know a whole lot about his game, but I dearly hope he has some drive to rebound because we’re going to need it. He’ll get more minutes than Gadzuric, I have no doubt. In fact, I think his signing signifies the end of any faith in Danny G getting better. Look for him to get key minutes in games when Bogut gets in early foul trouble. I don’t think anyone is looking for him to score, and that’s a good thing.

Samaki Walker: He’ll be better than Michael Ruffin, but they’ll both spend their fair share of time on the inactive list. Injury insurance as far as I can tell, better than Jared Reiner last year.

Maurice (Mo) Williams: I think he’ll be better this year than he was last. Everyone keeps talking about him and using the term “All Star”, either that he is or isn’t, but that’s irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. All Star numbers aren’t needed from Mo. Solid, consistent production, fewer turnovers, and a drop in forced shots are what will make him worth his money. He might not make as many stupid mistakes now that he’s not pushing things in a contract year, but he might not play as hard on defense either, which would be hard to swallow for an already bad Bucks defense

Earl Boykins: Isn’t on the team anymore, but a lot of magazines and online articles are missing this fact so I thought you might want to know the truth. Brian Skinner isn’t a Buck anymore either.

Larry Krystkowiak: He’s a huge improvement over Terry Stotts, who never should have been the head coach. Larry got into an actual fight with Shaq, Terry Stotts probably wouldn’t fight the ball boy. I’m not advocating tall men throwing down, but I think it speaks volume about the intensity of the two. Terry Stotts wasn’t to blame for last year’s failure, but might as well fix the steering wheel while the car is in the shop.

Larry Harris: I think he’s done a pretty good job building the team. He’s eliminated all of his mistakes other than Dan Gadzuric. Jamaal Magloire? Gone. Steve Blake? Gone. Earl Boykins? Gone. Yi’s play will going to be the make or break point in his time with the team, but there wasn’t anyone I really would have drafted ahead of him. To his credit he managed the Yi stalemate, talked down Charlie Bell, and made Desmond Mason like him again, and kept Ruben Patterson out of any trouble. I think he would have looked pretty smart last year had everyone stayed healthy, and I think he made a lot of moves this year that should help improve the team. I still think the team needs a bruiser down-low to push the team into true contention. My only complaint is that he seems to spend too much time tinkering with small roster moves for players who might never play a minute, but I guess you have to do something to keep busy.

I would pleased if they made it into second round of the playoffs. I would say they’re playing to expectations if they exited after winning a few games in the first round of the playoffs. If they don’t make the playoffs or are more than a game away from getting that 8th seed? I would say they’re underachieving.

Health is obviously the greatest concern for this team, as last year proved. If Bogut develops into a great post player, I think they’re instantly a contender in the East. If he doesn’t they’re probably stuck in the same mediocrity they’ve endured for the past couple of years.

NOTE: Brett probably thinks something completely different, and he uses numbers to back up his claims. Don’t trust solely what I say.