Sat May 23, 2009 10:58 am
Sat May 23, 2009 11:09 am
Sat May 23, 2009 11:11 am
Sat May 23, 2009 11:12 am
Hammond, Bucks Go Separate Ways
ESPN - 10/10/2008
Milwaukee, WI - Now former Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond has been relieved of his duties by the Bucks Head Office.
After only being hired in April of this year, Hammond made the trade that sent Richard Jefferson to the Bucks and sending Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to the New Jersey Nets, selected Joe Alexander in the 2008 NBA Draft as the 8th pick, signed guard Tyronn Lue and forward Malik Allen. He also was responsible for the major deal involving the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, having Maurice Williams leaving for Cleveland, and Luke Ridnour coming to Milwaukee.
As the Front Office of the Milwaukee Bucks reviewed his transactions, they decided that the team was not going in the direction that was needed to make it a playoff-contender.
"I am sad to have to say goodbye to John (Hammond) but the team is just not working with him here," a bold Herb Kohl, Bucks owner, said during the press conference.
Replacing John Hammond is long-time basketball expertise Jeremy Mason. He was on his way to a unbelievable NBA career until a serious injury stopped his career before it started. Note that this is not the same Jeremy Mason out of UCLA (Sit dynasty), who is raising eyebrows of the NBA Scouts with his amazing talent.
Sat May 23, 2009 11:39 am
Bucks get Gay
Y! Sports - 14/10/08
Milwaukee, WI - The Milwaukee Bucks and the Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to trade forward Rudy Gay for Richard Jefferson, Luc Mbah a Moute and a 2009 2nd Round Draft Pick.
New Bucks General Manager Jeremy Mason has been thinking about the deal even before agreeing as the role of GM.
"I never really felt like Richard Jefferson fit with the Milwaukee Bucks group," Mason said at the press conference, "But don't get me wrong, Richard is a great player, and I'm sure Memphis will embrace him with open arms,"
"I can't wait to see how the combination of Michael (Redd) and Rudy will work out," said coach Scott Skiles, "it's lucky we got him before training camp so we can really make this Bucks team into something special,"
It is rumored the original trade of just Gay for Jefferson didn't work out because it was a "one-sided deal". Memphis countered it with Jefferson, Malik Allen and a 2nd Round Pick, but Mason swapped Allen with Mbah a Moute, and it was agreed.
In this trade, Milwaukee get a young scorer who can relieve some of Redd's duties. He is also a willing defender, and has said he will do his best to improve under Skiles and his team. Memphis get some experience in their young team, which includes up-and-coming scoring O.J Mayo.
Note: Rudy Gay agreed to let Michael Redd keep his #22, and Gay will change to #24.
Sat May 23, 2009 4:42 pm
Sat May 23, 2009 5:11 pm
Sun May 24, 2009 4:45 pm
Bucks Late Comeback Not Enough for Win
NBA.com - 28/10/08
113-109
Chicago, IL - Michael Redd could not do anything but sigh, as his team would fall to the Chicago Bulls in the closing moments of the 4th quarter, and only by 4 points. Not even his 50 point performance could change the scoreline.
His 18 points in the quarter was overshadowed by the poor defense his team was playing, allowing Chicago to score 32 points that quarter. With his team down 9 with two minutes to go, Redd hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut it to 3. Ben Gordon would answer with a tough jump-shot, but a lay-up plus a foul by Andrew Bogut cut the lead to 1. That was as close as they got. After picking up his final foul with 9.6 seconds left, and his team down by 3, he could only hope that one of his other teammates could make amazing happen and somehow come away with the victory. It never came. His intentional foul on Tyrus Thomas would cause him to go 1-2 from the free-throw line, but a missed three-pointer by newly-acquired Rudy Gay would seal the game for good, and Chicago would dribble out the clock, giving them the win.
Despite a close finish the game started out quite the opposite. Chicago opened up a 8-0 lead in the opening minutes because of sloppy play and lazy defense by the Bucks. Open lay-ups and jump-shots were their offensive weapon. Not until Michael Redd hit a three-pointer at the 6 minute mark put Milwaukee on the scoreboard. Chicago continued, with points from Derrick Rose in his rookie debut, and Ben Gordon, and blew the game wide open. They finished the quarter on top by 18 points, 35-17.
The second quarter the scoring went back and forth, with both teams shooting over 50% from the field. Points came from no-one in particular from both teams, but spectacular dunks came from Tyrus Thomas and even Brad Miller had caught an alley-oop from Rose. Rudy Gay got into the passing lanes and a 1-0 breakaway dunk, and Michael Redd threw some accurate passes to give Milwaukee easy shots. Milwaukee finished the quarter on a 8-2 run, with shots from Charlie Villanueva and Andrew Bogut, to cut Chicago's lead to 13, 63-50. Chicago finished the half shooting 63% from the field.
Then Michael Redd caught fire. Scoring 16 of his 50 points in the quarter, he brought Milwaukee right back into the game. Whether it was poor offensive execution or the Bucks showing signs of good defense, the Bulls were limited to only 18 points in the quarter, compared to Milwaukee's 29. With help from Andrew Bogut, the Bucks were able to get within 1 of Chicago's lead. However John Salmons would answer, with key buckets at the end of the quarter.
Michael Redd shot 20-40 from the field, including 7-16 from downtown. In his first game as a Milwaukee Buck, Rudy Gay had a sub-par performance with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, but shooting 6-17 from the field. Ben Gordon was the high-scorer for the Bulls, scoring 29 points, but the player of the game was Derrick Rose, in his first ever NBA game, having 25 points and 13 assists, a double-double.
Player of the Game
Derrick Rose
25 points, 13 assists, 6 turnovers
7-8 FG, 1-2 3PT, 10-13 FT
Sun May 24, 2009 7:11 pm
Thunder Win in NBA Debut
NBA.com - 29/10/08
103-92
Oklahoma City, OK - The Oklahoma City Thunder gave their fans a show in their team's debut in the NBA, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 103-92.
Milwaukee, coming off their season opener loss to Chicago, came in obviously fatigue-effected. The Thunder seemed more "into" the game then their opponents.
Bad passes, bad defense and missing easy shots was Milwaukee's night in a nutshell. Michael Redd, coming off a 50 point game and 50% shooting from the field, scored a measly 20 points, but on 8-26 shooting, a disappointing 31%. Rudy Gay, despite the loss, had 30 points and 7 rebounds, on 10-19 from the field. Kevin Durant and Jeff Green combined for 45 points (24 and 21, respectively) and in his rookie debut Russell Westbrook scored 13 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds.
Like the previous game, Milwaukee started behind in the first quarter, with the Thunder going on a 6-0 run before Rudy Gay drove to the basket for an easy lay-up. Kevin Durant hit two difficult three-pointers, and then Ramon Sessions had an easy baseline jumper thanks to Charlie Villanueva's nice drive-and-kick. Oklahoma City made nice passes to backdoor cutters and out rebounded the Bucks on the offensive glass to put themselves in front. Some nice post moves by Dan Gadzuric kept the lead within 10, and the Thunder finished the quarter up 28-18.
In the second quarter, Malik Allen, who was considered in the trade for Rudy Gay but then was switched with Luc Mbah a Moute, scored all of his 8 points over a 6 minute span, to cut the lead to 4 with 4 minutes to go. But, scores from Earl Watson and Robert Swift made sure that was as close as the Bucks would get. Michael Redd, despite struggling the entire game, scored 3 of his field goals in this quarter, all inside the painted area. Again the Thunder capitalized on the offensive boards as Milwaukee was slack to box-out. The Bucks had cut the lead by 3, and were down 42-49.
Rudy Gay scored 14 of the 25 Buck points that were in the third quarter, but Oklahoma City had an answer for all of his points. Three pointers from Chucky Atkins and Kyle Weaver, and inside buckets by Nenad Krstić were the key to the Thunder keeping themselves at a distance to their opponents. At times it would look like the Bucks would go on a run, but somehow Oklahoma City had a counter to their momentum. Milwaukee went into the fourth quarter down 67-73.
Jeff Green made sure the Thunder were going to win in the fourth quarter. Taking advantage of the Bucks tired line-up, they out-ran, out-hustled and out-muscled Milwaukee throughout the quarter. Michael Redd hit a coupe of shots, but his struggle continued, and Rudy Gay was unable to carry the entire team on his back. Green hit two three-pointers in a span of 15 seconds, which sealed the game for good, and their was still two and a half minutes to go. But with the fatigue-effect Bucks starting line-up on the bench, their reserves had little opportunity to cut into the lead.
Player of the Game
Jeff Green
21 points, 5 rebounds
9-18 FG, 3-4 3PT
Mon May 25, 2009 2:00 am
Mon May 25, 2009 2:57 am
Mon May 25, 2009 6:09 am
Mon May 25, 2009 9:14 am
Mon May 25, 2009 4:07 pm
Tue May 26, 2009 2:51 am
nba_baller wrote:I use the free program Photoscape, as it as its own GIF editor and it gives you little but enough customization.
Tue May 26, 2009 7:58 pm
Wed May 27, 2009 8:04 pm
Bucks Annihilate Raptors for First Season Win
NBA.com 1/11/08
120-92
Milwaukee, WI - Rudy Gay came went into the locker room at the end of the game happy. He knew his 34 points was the key to their thrashing of the Toronto Raptors for their first win of the season which came in their first home game in their home opener.
Their routing of the second half was the main factor in the victory. They shot 10-16 from three-point range, got them to commit 10 turnovers and blocked 3 shots, totaling a whopping 70 points in the half. The main scorers were Michael Redd, 18 points, Rudy Gay, 16 points and rookie Joe Alexander, who scored all of his 14 points in the second half.
The game didn't start so well for the Bucks though. Their now becoming more frequent poor first quarter performance had the Raptors leading the entire first quarter. Chris Bosh opened the game by hitting a elbow jump shot, which followed points by Shawn Marion and Andrea Bargnani. Michael Redd shooting slump continued in the first quarter, as he missed his first two shots before making a nice drive to the basket for a tough lay-up. Rudy Gay also started badly, as he could not get any of his shots outside the paint to fall. Andrew Bogut missed easy lay-ups, and the Raptors took advantage to take a early lead of 9, 29-20.
Then the Bucks caught up. Going on a 12-2 run at the start of the quarter, mostly thanks to Rudy Gay. His high-flying dunks and athletic drives to the basket motivated his team to come back. Both Ramon Sessions and Charlie Bell hit three-pointers, and the score was cut to 36-32. But Jason Kapono it a shot to bring the lead back up to 6. Michael Redd checked back into the game, and went on his own 6-0 run to tie the game, including a three-pointer. The game then continued with back-and-forth scoring from either team, and the score was tied at 50 at the end of the first half.
The back-and-forth scoring continued for a couple of minutes, with shots from Anthony Parker and Charlie Villanueva. After a time-out by the Bucks and some motivation by coach Scott Skiles, captain Michael Redd and co-captain Rudy Gay, the Bucks came out firing. Playing the passing lanes and playing tough defense forced Toronto to take bad shots. Fast break, 1-0 opportunities were practically handed to Milwaukee on a plate. More dunks from Gay, a dunk from Redd and a dunk from Ramon Sessions along with other baskets gave the Bucks a nice lead, and for the first time in the season Milwaukee was up at the end of the third quarter, 79-70.
In the fourth quarter, the Bucks continued their scoring streak, scoring one of the highest point totals in Buck's history in a quarter, with 41 points. This is when Milwaukee completely broke away and opened the lead up. This was mainly due to Redd and Gay, but Joe Alexander's point run, including two three-pointers, was a show in itself.
In the end, Rudy Gay, along with 34 points on 14-20 shooting, had 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Michael Redd finished right behind with 33 points on 12-16 shooting, 46%. For the Raptors, Jose Calderon had a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists. Andrea Bargnani finished with 13 rebounds.
Player of the Game
Rudy Gay
34 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists
14-20 FG, 1-4 3PT, 5-6 FT
Thu May 28, 2009 1:10 am
Thu May 28, 2009 4:29 pm
Bucks Get First Road Win Against Knicks
ESPN News - 2/11/08
89-86
New York, NY - The Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks today, 89-86.
The two teams matched up quite well, and the difference between the teams never went over 10 points. The strong end of the game for the Bucks was what won them the game. After the first and second quarter, the Bucks had the lead which is the first time they lead at the end of the first quarter and the end of the half this season. A good third quarter for the Knicks gave them a lead into the fourth quarter, but Milwaukee was able to pull away at the end.
Rudy Gay scored reasonably well, notching 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Both Michael Redd and Luke Ridnour struggled from the field, combining for 8-27 from the field. Andrew Bogut cleaned the glass well with 15 rebounds to go with 8 points. New York had three players over double figures for scoring, Al Harrington, Eddy Curry and Larry Hughes, scoring 23, 22 and 19 respectively.
Thu May 28, 2009 4:40 pm
Bucks Trade Bogut for Camby
Y! Sports - 3/11/08
Milwaukee, WI - The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers have announced today that they have successfully completed a trade, sending 6"11ft Marcus Camby to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Keith Bogans.
Bucks General Manager Jeremy Mason thought the Bucks needed more of the punch in the front court both defensively and offensively, and although Bogut's defensive numbers have been good, he still lacks the offensive skills needed. Also, Bogut's 6-year contract did not fit in well with Mason's plans for the Buck's future.
"Marcus Camby provides us with the combination of a offensive and defensive player, who can and will help this team tremendously," Mason said in the press conference.
Marcus Camby has a reported 2-year contract, which fits in well with the 2010 off-season being one of the most talented-filled free agent possibilities, with players such as Lebron James and Dwyane Wade being able to consider going to another team.
The Clippers, a star-studded cast of players, wanted and got a young center who could potentially develop into a dominate force in the NBA. They also get role player and potential sixth man Keith Bogans, whose contract expires at the end of this year.
Note: The Bucks also today announced the firing of their current prospect scout and their trainer, and the hiring of their new prospect scout and trainer, Jevon Dennis and Wes Chambers.
Thu May 28, 2009 8:58 pm
Bucks Win Third Straight Game
NBA.com - 5/11/08
94-92
Milwaukee, WI - As the final buzzer sounded, Bucks fans left the Bradley Center in a daze of excitement of what they just saw. One of the closest games the Bucks will have all season, and they pulled it out with a win.
It came down to the final second. After Washington came back from a 14-point deficit to cut the lead to 1 many times, this is what it resulted to. Michael Redd missed the second of the two free-throws he had to make it a 3-point lead. Antwan Jamison rebounded the ball, and there was exactly 1.0 second left on the clock. One shot, three possibilities - a miss, game over - a 2, overtime - a 3, the game-winner - so who got the ball and what did he do? Gilbert Arenas! Agent Zero! Who else has made the buzzer-beaters he has throughout his career? He went for the game-winner... but that was anticipated by Luke Ridnour, who got a tiny piece of the ball as it left Agent Zero's hands. As the ball bounced off the front of the rim and the buzzer sounded, the Bucks were relieved: game over; they won.
The game started out with the Bucks on a run. Feeling confident after coming off two wins, and recently adding Marcus Camby to their line-up, the Bucks opened up the game with a pick-and-roll of Redd and Camby, resulting in Camby's first shot and make as a Buck. Camby continued his scoring, going 4-4 in the first quarter, 3 of those field goals open jump-shots. Michael Redd also started the game pretty hot, hitting 2 of his 3 shots against the smaller Juan Dixon, who had to guard him. Redd would take advantage of his size later in the game, but in the first quarter he only had 4 points. Rudy Gay would also be a huge factor, scoring as did Redd, but with more confidence, and he had 8 in the quarter. The Wizards however stayed close, thanks to Caron Butler and Jamison, and the Bucks finished the quarter on top, 29-25.
In the second quarter, Washington kept the Bucks on their heels. Despite conjuring up 10+ point leads throughout the quarter, the Wizards would eventually go on their own run to cut the lead to as close as a tie. This was thanks to Juan Dixon and Nick Young off the bench. Washington's bench points in total was much, much better then the Bucks: 16-2. That's right, the only person to score off the bench for Milwaukee was Fransisco Elson, who made his inside lay-up off a pass from Redd mid-way through the second. In the end, the Bucks went into the half up 57-50.
The low-scoring third quarter saw teams going back-and-forth with either turnovers or points, take your pick. The Wizards, who at the end of the game recorded 20 turnovers, made most of them in the third quarter, as did Milwaukee. Despite this, Michael Redd scored most of his points in this quarter, while being guarded by Juan Dixon and Caron Butler, who picked up his 5th foul near the end of the period. Also, Rudy Gay made some shots, including a three-pointer and a dunk. The Bucks went into the fourth quarter, up 78-69.
Rudy Gay had another spectacular performance today, scoring 26 points on 10-16 shooting, including 3-6 from downtown, along with 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Michael Redd had the game-high 35 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, on 16-36 shooting, but committed 6 turnovers and missed 0-8 from the three-point line. Newly acquired Marcus Camby went 11-16 from the field, which was 6-7 in the first half, as well as 9 rebounds. Gilbert Arenas, who started the game ice-cold, finished with 27 points and 8 assists. Antwan Jamison and Caron Butler scored 22 and 18, respectively, and Jamison also had 7 rebounds.
Note: Both Michael Redd and Caron Butler came into the fourth quarter with 4+ fouls, but managed to keep themselves from getting fouled out.
Player of the Game
Rudy Gay
26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists
10-16 FG, 3-6 3PT, 2-2 FT
Fri May 29, 2009 2:15 am
Fri May 29, 2009 2:19 am
Fri May 29, 2009 2:37 am
Fri May 29, 2009 11:28 am