The NBA Morning After: The Style’s in the Substance Edition

December 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Morning After is a look at the night that was in the NBA along with other NBA-related fodder.

– Playing in the second game of a month or so stretch without team enzyme Brandon Jennings, the Milwaukee Bucks caught the Los Angeles Lakers looking under the Christmas tree and executed to perfection the chafing kind of game that really, they always must play to be effective, but even more-so now, and especially last night, with only ten players suited up. Ten players, and poor Brian Skinner still didn’t get any burn.

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Filed Under: NBA Tagged With: los angeles lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA

The NBA Morning After: Embrace the Heartbreak Edition

December 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Morning After is a look at the night that was in the NBA along with other NBA-related fodder.


When Amare Stoudemire’s nullified game-winner ripped the net in Madison Square Garden, ending an exhilarating 48 minutes wherein the Knicks for the most part exhibited confident, manic-by-design basketball, there was hardly enough time to process what we’d just seen before we had to acknowledge that yes, the New York Knicks are once again a team worth paying attention to.

And they clearly are, and that is a good thing. When everything is flowing as effortlessly as it was for much of last night, they will push the elite teams in this league. With D’Antoni as coach, they’ve had a system ready and waiting. It wasn’t until this season, and the additions of Stoudemire, Felton and Fields that the blueprint and pieces have been so in-sync, rather than rubbing against one another like sandpaper. So yes, there is finally an upside for the New York Knicks, a reason to get excited, one that isn’t five years down the road. For a rebuilding team, that is arriving.

Last year, on a smaller market scale, the Milwaukee Bucks arrived. We Feared the Deer and watched as John Salmons became the consistent wing scorer they needed. We watched as they pushed forward after the devastating Bogut injury and took an apathetic Atlanta Hawks team to the brink in the playoffs. Safe to say, any expectations of Milwaukee last year were far surpassed, because there probably weren’t any.

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Filed Under: NBA Tagged With: boston celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, New York Knicks, san antonio spurs

The NBA Morning After: Small Picture Edition

December 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Morning After is a look at the night that was in the NBA along with other NBA-related fodder.

– In a game that is often very confusing for me, the Milwaukee Bucks put an end to that 12-game winning streak business in Dallas, defeating the Mavs 103-99.

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Filed Under: NBA Tagged With: Chicago Bulls, dallas mavericks, indiana pacers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, new orleans hornets

The NBA Morning After: Possibilities Actualized Edition

December 8, 2010 By 1 Comment

The Morning After is a look at the night that was in the NBA along with other NBA-related fodder.

The Miami Heat. Holy shit. Road game in hostile environment? Yup. Opposing team strong in the front-court and point guard positions, Miami’s two biggest weaknesses? Yup. A focused, unrelenting, fast-paced, ice-cold statement win? Yes, yes, yes and yes.

For the first time this season, the Heat played The Game We Were All Waiting For, when everything looked beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Have we finally seen the Dark Passenger?

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Filed Under: NBA Tagged With: boston celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, detroit pistons, Golden State Warriors, indiana pacers, los angeles clippers, los angeles lakers, memphis grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, new orleans hornets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, phoenix suns, sacramento kings, san antonio spurs, Toronto Raptors, utah jazz, washington wizards

The NBA Morning After: Glass Half Empty Edition

December 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Morning After is a look at the night that was in the NBA along with other NBA-related fodder.

– Things got out of hand rather quickly in Indiana as the Pacers dropped an asteroid on the Raptors, 124-100. There should be a way to work an “extinction of the dinosaurs” comment into every Raptor loss.

– NBA to New Orleans: “All your Hornets are belong to us.”

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Filed Under: NBA Tagged With: atlanta hawks, Chicago Bulls, indiana pacers, los angeles clippers, memphis grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, new orleans hornets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, sacramento kings, Toronto Raptors, utah jazz

The NBA Morning After: John Wall Edition

November 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Welcome to the Morning After, a look at the night that was in the NBA and other NBA-related fodder

– Cartier Martin drilled a three late in the fourth quarter to send his Washington Wizards into overtime against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, who will have to continue looking elsewhere for their first victory of the season as Washington edged them out, 116-115.

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Filed Under: NBA Tagged With: los angeles lakers, memphis grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, portland trail blazers

Awesome Bradley Center Video Intimidates Atlanta Fans Into “Fearing the Deer”

April 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
fear-the-deer-video

The Milwaukee Bucks have been one of the more interesting stories of this year’s NBA Playoffs.

Despite the loss of center Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd – the team’s top two players entering the season – the young Bucks earned a 6th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and are giving the 3rd seeded Atlanta Hawks all they can handle in Round 1.

In short, the Bucks are proving why their rallying cry, “Fear the Dear”, is appropriate.

And the video below, played recently at the Bradley Center and starring the Bucks’ mascot Bango, proves it even more.

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Filed Under: Funny, NBA Tagged With: bango, bradley center, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, video

Michael Redd Injury Update: Out for the Season with ACL and MCL Tears

January 25, 2009 By 1 Comment

Michael Redd Injury Update: Out for the Year with ACL and MCL TearsA tough, injury-plagued season for former Ohio State star Michael Redd and the Milwaukee Bucks got even tougher today as it was announced the Redd will miss the remainder of the season with ACL and MCL tears. During the Bucks’ Saturday night victory over the Sacramento Kings, Redd landed awkwardly on the foot of Luke Ridnour. An MRI on Sunday revelaed the extent of the damage.

Michael Redd missed 14 games at the beginning of the year with an ankle injury and was just starting to round into shape. He had been averaging 25 points per game during a strong January run, and as recently as Wednesday night torched the Dallas Mavericks for 27 points during the Bucks’ 133-99 victory.

“I’m deeply disappointed but everything in life happens for a reason and this is God’s plan for me,” Redd said in a statement issued by the team. “I have faith in my teammates and coaches to continue to work together to make our fans proud. I will be supporting them wholeheartedly from the sidelines and working equally hard to return to the court in the best condition possible for next season.”

The injury to Michael Redd adds to the injury woes of the 22-25 Bucks, who are also playing without center Andrew Bogut. Bogut has missed the last six games with back spasms. Currently, the Milwauke Bucks are 22-25 and in third place in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.

Filed Under: Featured Column, NBA Tagged With: michael redd, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA

Bench Leads Milwaukee Bucks to Win Over Chicago Bulls

December 4, 2008 By 3 Comments
michael_redd

The Milwaukee Bucks have struggled so far this season. In Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls, however, the team managed to find the perfect balance of defense and offense in their 97-90 win at home.

The starting lineup for Wednesday included both Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut, players who had suffered injuries in previous games. According to the Bucks’ team report from Wednesday afternoon, Bogut’s return was questionable but he showed up and played roughly 27 minutes. Though at times he was noticeably limping, Bogut played a solid game. He was sent to the locker room early in the fourth quarter and reports indicate he suffered from an injury to the face.

Michael Redd and Milwaukee Bucks Beat Chicago BullsThe bench contributed in a big way to the Bucks’ victory. Charlie Villanueva and Dan Gadzuric scored 23 and 11 points respectively. The bench as a whole put up 40 points in comparison to Chicago’s 25 bench points.

The Bucks played well in the first half, heading into the locker room with a 12 point lead after the second quarter. Richard Jefferson was a big play-maker for the Bucks during the first half, battling back from Deng’s domination in the first quarter. At halftime the Bucks had a 53% field goal completion.

The third quarter began and the Bulls began to whittle away at the Bucks’ lead. Early on Deng dominated for the Bulls with Gordon taking over and scoring 16 points to tighten the gap to 72-74 with Bucks still on top.

Jefferson and Villanueva were solid scorers in the fourth and Mbah a Moute played very good defense. Gadzuric made the final shot with 14 seconds left, sealing the score at 97-90.

While the Milwaukee Bucks pulled out a win against the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night, there is still work to be done with this team. Even though they went out at halftime having made 53% of their field goals, they ended the game only making 47%. The Bucks are the only team in the NBA to not break 50% in a win. This game has showed that Milwaukee has the talent and the teamwork to balance scoring with defense. Now they have to figure out a way to incorporate it into the rest of the season.

Filed Under: Featured Column Tagged With: andrew bogut, Chicago Bulls, michael redd, Milwaukee Bucks, richard jefferson