In a matchup that paired Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls, Toronto teased by storming to an early double-digit lead, but Milwaukee finished with poise and a win. Michael Redd scored 35 point to lift the Bucks to a 107-97 win over the Raptors as the former continued to look like a playoff contender while the latter team played more the part of pretender.

Chris Bosh made nary a mistake en route to 31/5/12 on 12-14. Andrea Bargnani also came quite alive with 21/8/2 and converted 5-6 from deep for the Raps, but Luke Ridnour, Charlie Bell, Redd, and company had fourth quarter fun to propel the home team.

Three Bucks

• Michael Redd. Embracing a team concept under Scott Skiles, no Buck reached 30 points for almost two months before Redd scored 31 last week. Now the two-guard has surpassed that mark twice in the last three days. Worry not though, because Milwaukee has won both of those games. In a largely lethargic first period for the hometown cagers, Redd ripped the Raps for nine straight points to help Milwaukee hang, and the Bucks rode Redd's 16 points into a three point halftime deficit that seemed like it should have been a lot more. Michael supplied a season-high 35 points along with six rebounds and four assists.
  
• Charlie Villanueva. Charlie loved playing Milwaukee when he was a Raptor, and he sure seems to like playing the Raptors now that he's with Milwaukee. CV entered the game with nice numbers (14.6 points on 54.0 % FG and 44.0 % 3PT) against his former north-of-the-border mates. Villanueva was productive (25/6/4), and timely, with a jumper to end the first, a stuff of Will Solomon's layup attempt at the second quarter buzzer, and a jumper to provide Milwaukee a 99-97 lead late.
• Ramon Sessions. Ramon hasn't spent much time up here since December commenced, but with Ridnour sort of skidding after a couple scorching weeks, it's nigh time Sessions reasserts himself. Tonight was a step in the right direction as the backup point guard made the most of his 23 minutes with 11 points and eight assists.

Three Numbers

• 7. Luke Ridnour was virtually invisible until the last few minutes, but still finished second among Milwaukee starters with a mere seven points...
• +77. So how did the Bucks win then? Well, bench contributed 51 points, and the Bell/Villanueva/Elson/Sessions foursome performed wonderfully and combined for an unbelievable +77 differential. Redd (+11) was the only Bucks starter with a positive differential.
• 11. Milwaukee nailed 11-26 from long range, led by Redd's 4-10 effort. The three-pointers were plentiful, and they came at just right the time, including three in the last three minutes. Well-done.
  

Three Good

• Starry night. The lack of stars (Andrew Bogut, Jose Calderon, and Jermaine O'Neal didn't play) was an important pregame theme, but Chris Bosh and Michael Redd shined brightly in a starry night at the Bradley Center. The Team USA gold medalists didn't guard each other on the court, but they might as well have because no one could guard them anyway. Playing on a different plane, both guys made the spectacular look routine as the game progressed.
  
• Getting better. I have to admit Milwaukee got better, a little better, all the time. A painfully slow start (remember when the Bucks were down 21-8?) saw Toronto take control, ever so briefly. But Milwaukee proceeded to outscore Toronto by five, six, and then seven points in the final three quarters. Ridnour, of course, took the getting better theme to the extreme. He started 0-5 but buried a pair of hugely clutch three pointers late in the fourth quarter to boost the Bucks to victory and turn from scapegoat to mobbed hero.
• Pleading the fifth. They won without their top perimeter player (Redd) early this season, and now they've won without their top post player (Andrew Bogut). After looking lost and meek on both sides of the ball early, the Bucks broke through for a win for the first time in five tries playing without Bogut.
  

Three Bad

• Toronto's J's. The Raptors are top ten in two-point and three-point jump shooting accuracy. And really, it's no wonder that a team with a Jamario, Joey, Jose, Jason, Jermaine, and Jake can shoot the J. But it was a pair of B's (Bosh and Bargnani) who beautifully shot Toronto into a lead for most of the game. We lamented how Milwaukee lost while making half its shots against Charlotte on Saturday. This time, the Bucks prevailed despite the Raptors shooting 54.2 % overall and 42.9 % from deep. 
• Jefferson. Richard Jefferson clunked his way to 1-7 for 6/2/2 in probably his worst game as a Buck.
• Not seeing Joe Dunk. This back-and-forth contest didn't allow time for the first-round pick. After his fourth DNP in eight games, it looks we really do need to vote Alexander into the All-Star weekend contest if we hope to ever SeeJoeDunk, you know, a basketball, not that we have anything against oreos or anything.

There's nothing good about losing a home opener, but somehow I came away from the Bucks' 91-87 loss to a tired Raps team feeling....not so bad? The fact that I think Toronto is going to be a good team has something to do with that, and the Bucks' woeful preseason also left us with plenty of reasons to be concerned.  So on a night when the Bucks didn't seem to have much of an answer for Jose Calderon (25 points, nine assists) and Chris Bosh (20 points, 6/10 fg, 10 boards, six dimes) and got poor shooting nights from Richard Jefferson and Michael Redd (10/32, 28 points combined), there was something kinda fun about watching the Bucks claw back into the game and nearly win.

Neither team was at their best in the first half, with the Bucks grabbing an 8-0 lead early thanks to six quick points from Charlie Villanueva before the Raps eventually fought back to take a 41-39 halftime edge.  The Raps made their move in the third, leading by as many as 13 before the Bucks fought back in the fourth to take the lead on a Jefferson drive with three minutes remaining.  However, Calderon hit a go-ahead triple with 21 seconds left and Redd's potential tying jumper missed with eleven seconds remaining.

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As linked to in Wednesday's Notes, Henry Abbott wrote a terrific piece about the future of Team USA. If you think it's too early to consider such things, well, it's quite simply not. The 2010 World Championships are just around the corner, and building a team, as we've learned, takes time.

The thought, competition, and scrutiny that goes into creating national soccer teams is incredible. Basketball is following that path.

There are plentiful questions, like whether the LeBron/Kobe/Wade troika will sign on again. James already said he'll only play if Kidd does, and Kidd should not and will not. Kobe, while not old, might want to save energy to win the NBA title without Shaq he wants so badly. Wade's all-out style also might not agree with four more years of intense summer ball.

Plus, they already accomplished the mission of restoring order in the basketball world with the gold in Beijing. There is a lot to lose in the next two tournaments, and only a little to gain.

That said, here are my roster thoughts going forward.

Return, pretty please

LeBron James: Some are holding off on anointing him the greatest player in the world. Not I. In 2010 and 2012, he'll absolutely be the most dominant basketball force, and the most important player to Team USA success.

Kobe Bryant: Recruited to save USA Basketball, and did just that against Spain in the fourth quarter of the gold medal match.

Chris Paul: Best point guard on the planet will be 25 and 27 years old in the next two major competitions.

Dwyane Wade: Leaped back into the forefront of stardom. Wade played pressure defense and ignited transition offense, the places where Team USA differentiated itself in Biejing.

Deron Williams: Formed a dynamite two-headed point guard attack off the bench with Paul, and showed nice chemistry on the court with CP3 as well. Only will improve in next four years.

Chris Bosh: A relative unknown among superstars, Bosh established himself as the team's best post player on both ends of the court in Beijing. His 77.4 % field goal percentage was absurd, but his 86.2 % free-throw percentage was perhaps even more comforting.

Dwight Howard: Mobility makes him a nice fit on team that plays at breakneck speed. Strength separates him from competition.

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Five observations after Team USA's positively easy, 92-69 (recap/quotes) thumping of Greece:

• Team USA won each quarter against the Greeks. That might not seem like a huge deal, but it's indicative of frighteningly consistent play and a truly thorough win over a strong opponent. And accomplishing the feet is unusual. It marked one of just five games out of 18 in the Olympics so far that a team has won each quarter. The others? Germany over Angola 95-66. USA over China 101-70. Australia over Iran 106-68. Argentina over Croatia 77-53. Angola or Iran can suffer such a fate, sure, but it's just not something that happens to elite teams like Greece. For more perspective, consider that the Bucks outscored its opponent in all four quarters once in 82 games last season.
• Dwyane Wade is both a sixth man and the best player in the tournament thus far, though I won't bother arguing with someone who picks LeBron James, and Chris Bosh has been nothing short of brilliant. The Marquette product is leading the world averaging 18.3 points, and he's doing it efficiently, as his scalding-hot 76 % field goal percentage attests to. He burned Greece's vaunted defense for 17 points and five assists in just 20 minutes. Unreal per-minute production to be sure. And guess what? His defensive performance may have been even better. He finished the game with six steals, two more than the entire Greece team had. Next time someone talks about Americans not being able to defend, well... It's not that one Team USA guy off the bench is better at defense than the best defensive national team all put together, but yeah. Might want to hush that talk for a bit. And when I say a bit, I mean until further notice.
  
• So, is there anything wrong with this team after such a swanky performance? Yes. The team's starting point guard not only hasn't scored (or attempted a shot for that matter), but has more turnovers (5) and fouls (5) than assists (4). Fortunately, Chris Paul and Deron Williams are equally adept and are both getting almost twice as many minutes as Kidd. The more unforeseen problem is free-throw shooting. Team USA rank 11th out of 12 teams at 64.4 % at the line. Remember Wade's silly field goal percentage? Well, it's better than his 66.7 % mark from the stripe. That type of strange split is supposed to be reserved for guys like Shaq, not someone who won a Finals MVP at the free throw line (he made 58-71 in the Heat's four wins). James is an even more egregious culprit so far, converting on only 4-10. They are better shooters typically, so the numbers will improve. And more good news is Team USA ranks second in free throws attempted, even if it doesn't seem like they are getting to the line a ton. Thus, free throw shooting isn't a big worry, though I sure hope not to see Dwight Howard in at the end of a close game with the way Chris Bosh is playing, and can shoot from the line.
• Speaking of a hypothetical (because that's all we have right now) close game late in the fourth quarter, will Michael Redd be on the floor, as many assumed before tournament began? Despite ranking 10th in minutes played with just 33, his four three-pointers are the most on Team USA. But his role has been sharply reduced since last summer's FIBA Americas tournament, when he was fourth on Team USA in scoring with 14.4 points.
• The Redd question is even more salient because similar to the free throw issues, Team USA has shot a woeful 29.2 % from beyond the arc, good enough only for last. This is particularly baffling not only because of the short line and collection of excellent shooters, but because of the team's hot outside shooting in the FIBA's a year ago, when Team USA hit 47.0 %. For that reason, I'm not really buying that Kobe and company are having problems adjusting to the short line. The teams are far better defensively at the Olympics than the FIBA's, so that certainly plays a part in the decline, but mostly, it's an aberration based on a small sample size. As such, the numbers are only going to go up, just like with the free throw shooting. That's good news for Team USA and bad news for the rest of the world.