The Bratwurst – Milwaukee Bucks Blog

Michael Redd, formerly the biggest star on the Milwaukee Bucks before some kid from Compton showed up, is finally back on the court. It’s been quite the journey with Redd the past three years, watching him be limited by injuries to an average of 52 games each of the past three years.  Hopefully, for his knee’s sake, he never dunks the ball again.  Despite cries from fans to trade him and his large contract, there are plenty of reasons to be excited that #22 is back on the court.

1. Complete scorer. Michael Redd is more than just a perimeter jump shooter, he is a complete scorer. He gets inside and scores efficiently. I bet you didn’t know he attempted the same percentage of inside shots as head-down-drive-and-throw-it-up Lebron James did last season. Redd shot a better effective field-goal percentage from inside and got his shot blocked less than King James while doing so too. Michael Redd is a complete scorer, a team will always have a need a player that can score at will.
2. Scoring droughts.  Think back to some of the Bucks tough losses.  The ESPN game in Oklahoma City where the team couldn’t score in the third quarter.  The trouncing at home where the team went 11 minutes without scoring. Michael Redd can score in more ways than one, when his jumper isn’t going, he can take the ball inside to either find a good shot or get fouled. As much as I love Ersan Illyasova and Carlos Delfino, they can’t be relied on to do that when the team needs them. Redd has the tools to make scoring droughts much shorter.
3. The corner three. It’s one of the most efficient places to score from on the court. If Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut continue to run the pick and roll with success, the Bucks are going to want Michael Redd hanging out in the corner ready to shoot open shots as his man runs to double the player cutting to the basket with the ball.  If I had to pick any player from the Bucks roster to knock down an open corner three to save my life, I’m picking Redd.  With Redd having less pressure to create on his own shot with Jennings in the backcourt, the chances of Michael breaking his own record of 8 three-pointers in a quarter are higher than they ever were with TJ Ford, Mo Williams or Ramon Sessions at the helm. If Redd’s man doesn’t leave him to help guard the cutter, it’s likely the man guarding Delfino or Illyasova will. An open three for Delfino or Illyasova is good news for the Bucks as well. The Bucks are simply a more potent team from three with Redd on the court.
4. Replacement value. When Michael Redd is out it means more minutes for Charlie Bell. I like Charlie Bell as a player, but only in small doses. Forcing him to log extensive minutes is not in the Bucks or Bell’s long-term interests, as illustrated no more clearly than Skiles recent benching of Bell after his minutes had increased with Redd out. While Bell looked good for a stretch, things definitely appeared to be a downward trend, perhaps towards the abysmal shooting percentage he had during the 2007-2008 campaign (he ended up shooting 38.1%, he’s at 38.7% this year). More minutes for Redd results in fewer minutes for Bell, which should translate into better shot selection, more energy, and Flintstone being a better asset to the Bucks.  All of this of course also results in less playing time for potential future-Michael-Redd Jodie Meeks, who despite being regarded as a shooter is only shooting 34.1% this year. Less Jodie Meeks is probably a good thing in the short-run, Redd himself became a star after riding the bench behind recent inductee into the 20,000 point club, Ray Allen.
5. Pressure. Brandon Jennings has looked decently poised at the end of games when he has it going.  Andrew Bogut has shown significant improvement overall offensive improvement this year. They’ve both had stretches where they have played poorly too. Throwing Michael Redd into the mix minimizes the pressure on them to perform at at a high-level on the offensive end every night for the Bucks to have a shot to win. Also, when the Bucks lose, Redd’s presence will deflect attention from Jennings, giving him room to grow as a player and person.

We were treated to flashes of this working to perfection in the recent Portland 2/OT win. Redd hit some open shots.  Defenders stayed home on him, giving Jennings more room to work with on his way to the basket. Charlie Bell wasn’t on the court in crunch time. Jodie Meeks looked good in a suit with Francisco Elson.  The team as a whole didn’t force as many bad shots. Redd didn’t have to have the ball in his hands to affect the game.

It also went poorly at times, with flashes of Redd of old, jacking up a contested three off a pass from Jennings early in the shot clock after having made an open three just a moment earlier. It’ll take time for Michael Redd to adjust to his new role where he doesn’t have to be the man every time down the court, but when he figures it out, and he will, the Bucks are going to be a significantly better team.