Predictions, prognostications, premonitions and prophesies

1. Biggest Buck- Jennings leads us in scoring with 18 ppg while shooting a mild 42%, but still not consistent
2. Gooden- Like you said, injuries surrounding medicore play.
3. Hometown Hero until someone fucks it up- Leuer plays limited minutes early and is a solid scoring option while nobody else can hit a shot, but Skiles doesn’t play him any more anyways because he’s not a defensive specialist or whatever his stupid reasoning is.
4. Jax’s holdout- continues until early-January until he finally realizes he isn’t worth that much. He’s traded at the deadline to a playoff team for a 2nd round pick and a scrub.
5. Bogut- More injuries, will play around 40 games and average 12 and 8.
6. Backup center- Brockman, Illyasova, Sanders eat (or nibble on) minutes at center while Bogut is out, and back him up. Gooden plays a bit at C but is usually injured.
7. Defense/offense- Top 8 in the league in defense, bottom 8 in offense.
8. Save us Tobias- Harris plays 10 mpg as a rookie, logging a few points/rebounds.
9. Dunleavy a good sign?- yes, he averages 14 ppg while shooting 47% from the field. Accounts for almost all of the perimeter shooting, except BJ will hit a few here and there and Delfino can get hot occasionally.
10. The finishing touch- bucks finish 33-33, 8th in East, swept in the 1st round by the Heat, Skiles not fired but on the hot seat for next season.

I don’t expect an awful season, but still a very Bucks-esque season. Jennings won’t break out like he needs to, but if he shoots 42% from the field that’s an improvement. I also think his distributing will be a bit better, and with Dunleavy (and maybe Delfino) hitting some shots his assists will come easier (I say 6.5 apg).

But for the most part, more of the same from the Bucks, and another unsatisfying season.

1. Bogut plays in 60/66 games and puts up the following averages: 16 points on 55% shooting, 11.5 rebounds, 3 blocks. He is voted to the All-NBA 3rd team at center.
2. Stephen Jackson’s faux-holdout is quickly forgotten as he starts off the season hot, averaging 22 points/game until he gets hurt in late January, causing his averages to dip.
3. Gooden is put into a bench scorer role, where he averages 12 and 6 and coexists wonderfully with heady players like Livingston and Dunleavy.
4. Once Gooden moves to the bench, Skiles will introduce a starting 5 of Bogut, Mbah a Moute, Jackson, Udrih, and Jennings, who will (somehow) be one of the most defensively effective lineups on the team.
5. Ersan Ilyasova will be traded at the deadline. It doesn’t matter what for, all that matters is that he’ll be on the outs. His potential will be missed.
6. Tobias Harris, unable to get any PT, will be relegated to the D-League, where he will average 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, with 52/37/87 shooting.
7. Jon Leuer and Jon Brockman become the Bucks’ human victory cigars, checking in during Bucks blowouts. They will have 5 such appearances (outside of regular duty).
8. Darington Hobson becomes a stats-per-minute dynamo, and his name is endlessly floated in trade scenarios.
9. The Bucks will finish 38-28, good for 5th in the East. They will play (and defeat) the 4th seeded Boston Celtics, who will be without 2 of their Big 3.
10. (and here’s the kicker) Jennings will close the season on a tear, as Skiles discovers a small-ball lineup that plays to his strengths: Jennings, Udrih, Livingston, Jackson/Delfino (depending on matchups), Bogut. With extra ball-handlers and better offensive skills around him, Jennings will be able to find opportunities to spot up, hit open teammates, or run a 1/5 P&R, all of which will help him put up points like he did in November of ’09.

Yes, I realize how delusional this all seems, but you have to admit, it’s at least within the realm of possibility.

I’ll take it as a king gesture. I’ll try to participate in this poll, but I need the advantage of at least having watched next Wednesday’s game.

Bucks don’t need both Dunleavy and Carlos. On the contrary, New York is short of all around role players that can assist their stars.Something liike that?

Here`s my list.

1. Bogut will have his best NBA season and will lead Bucks to playoffs.
2. Delfino will not play as much as last year, but he’ll continue to be a Skiles favorite and will recapture his team balance role about half season. Same will happen with Alec Boeder. ( Boeder will be renewed in 2013, not so sure about Carlos.)
3. Jennings will have a better year but not as good to neither meet previous expectations nor change Victor’s will to trade him. Former rookie Jacob Grinyer will support Jennings passionately and finally write his first recap by August.
4. Jackson will leave the team and criticize every little aspect of its game, spirit, talent and city that houses it. Before he publicly fights with Skiles, Steve Van Horn will show us some advanced stats that proved collision was inevitable.
5. Talking about probabilities, Van Horn and Unklechuck will metaphysically debate about what is this thing we call reality. Are numbers really facts? Can we make decisions only based in something as inaccurate as perceptions or intuitions? I’ll take Chuck’s side, but I will continue to try to read Steve’s post till the very end. This will be happening by April, worst Buck’s season period.
6. By that time, CanadaBucks will secretly consider resigning to Bucks and Raptors fandom and finally follow a team that has a good, young, athletic (and Afro-American) scorer. He won’t and will become a Tobias Harris advocate in the same way I am with Delfino.
7. Advocates mentioned, Mbah’ a Moute will continue to have his own one in Dan Sinclair. Both will have a fine year.
8. Big Crazy Dave fatherhood will conspire against his permanent and loyal following. The Australian Army will regret it.
9. Brewhoop will keep growing its international fan base and Frank will kindly welcome all newcomers. Neither Slovenians nor Turks will show, though. Keiththejourno will at least write 5 fan posts.
10. CDRforthewin will make one stellar appearance when Bucks lose epically at home (hopefully not with Chicago).

However… I may be losing my touch as the resident Jennings hater.

I saw an interview that D.Krause did w/ him, and BJ seemed candid, insightful and downright mature and professional. Gasp!

Now don’t get me wrong – I still want JH to trade him before the league finds out that he’s actually TJ Ford V.2 – but I gotta say that I was impressed w/ the way the young man conducted himself…