This latest Brandon Jennings Under Armour commercial has been circulating 'round the web for a couple days now, but just in case you haven't caught it, feel free to watch above. It's a bit of a docu-mercial, with a run-time of just over two minutes. A fresh and stylish spot though, fitting in with Milwaukee Bucks players' rich history of commercial stardom...

Consider: Eric Murdock was selling Bucks basketball like no one else in '93, I linked to this Charles Barkley/Robert Traylor Nike Camp Force commercial earlier this season, 2001 was our time, and no one will soon forget the first time they saw Ersan Ilyasova pitching Casper computers.

But there remains one commercial that stands a cut above, because once upon a very special cinematic place and time, Yi Jialian stole imaginations, minds, and at least a couple hearts through yogurt: When Yi's Milkshake Brought All the Girls to the Yard. And big-ups to Frank for the original review of the masterpiece.

I could watch this over and over (h/t BLKOUT)

I still tend to start sweating and look around nervously when the words "Bucks" and "playoffs" are mentioned in the same sentence, but after yesterday's win it's hard to avoid thinking about what April might hold.  A crushing collapse of epic proportions?  A shocking upset of a first round Goliath?  I'll play it safe and say it'll probably be something in between, but that's certainly not a bad outcome all things considered.  Rome wasn't built in a day, and the Bucks' metamorphosis from lottery fodder to legit contender won't happen in a single season either.   It's OK--we're having fun anyway.

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More photos » Jeffrey Phelps - AP

Bogut's been doing plenty of this lately

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I normally only get to do one "Whoa, the Bucks are actually good!" post per year, and unfortunately it's usually in November.  You probably know the drill: the Bucks jump out to a semi-promising start; nervous optimism ensues; plane crashes into mountain about a week later.

But hey, at least there's been consistency.  Since we started this website/self-help group in 2007, the first month or two of the season have always provided at least some mostly misplaced hope.  Believe it or not, November 2007 offered an opportunity to say nice things about Larry Krystkowiak's coaching (they were 7-4!), while in 2008 we still had some good feelings in late December (one game out of the playoff hunt!).

So it was only natural for the Bucks to offer us some early-season optimism back in November, though the Brandon Jennings Effect meant more talk about Jennings than the Bucks' 8-3 start to the season.  But as Scott Skiles told Charles Gardner this week, the Bucks' reaction to their early season success probably wasn't the real story--instead, it's how the Bucks handled the slump that saw them drop 15 of 19 games between November 23 and December 30.

"Sort of the M.O. of our franchise the last several years has been to get down, fall behind a little bit and boom, just cave. And the season's over by now.

"To sum it all up, we didn't quit, and at least we've given ourselves the opportunity to have a very good season. And now we have to take advantage of that with a quarter of the season left to play."

And so here we are, a whopping 62 games into the season and the Bucks are not only in the playoff race, but among the league's hottest teams at 33-29, the fifth seed in the East, and winners of nine of ten.  How'd we get here anyway?

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More photos » Morry Gash - AP

Will Michael Redd ever wear a Bucks' jersey again?

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The Bucks announced today that Michael Redd will finally undergo surgery to repair his torn ACL tomorrow.  The Bucks had initially hoped to have the surgery done much sooner than last year, when Redd had surgery on March 3.  No word on a timetable for when he might return, which probably isn't surprising given the conversation now seems more focused on if he returns. 

Redd injured his knee on January 10 against the Lakers, tearing both the ACL and MCL nearly a year after suffering the same injury in a home game against Sacramento.  There's no mention of surgery to repair the MCL, which I assume means it will be allowed to heal on its own.  Unlike the ACL, the MCL usually doesn't require surgery. 

As you're all painfully aware, Redd has an $18.3 million player option for 09/10 that he'll obviously be taking, though insurance will cover 80% of his salary once he's missed 41 straight games (and doesn't play in any games).  Because Redd was injured in the 34th game of this season, he'll be covered by insurance for the last six games of 09/10 and all of next season unless/until he comes back.  As a result, the Bucks have a clear incentive to keep him on the sidelines even if he's medically cleared to play, and his value as a trade chip will be highest as an expiring contract that's mostly insured.  For that reason I have to doubt that we'll ever seen him in a Bucks uniform again, though it's certainly possible he returns in a new locale in 2011.

Either way, I think I speak for all of us when I wish Michael the best as he begins the long road of rehabilitation.  Regardless of how you felt about his game--and his contract--Redd was the face of the franchise for much of the last decade and was a model citizen every step of the way.  The value of having a team full of good people is easy to overlook, but as we've seen all too often it's not something to be taken for granted.

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Join NBA stars from around the league in celebrating Hoops for St. Jude Week and help fight childhood cancer. NBA stars including Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay, Shane Battier, Danny Granger, Steve Blake, Kevin Love and Coach George Karl have teamed up for Hoops for St. Jude by donating $20,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

You can support Hoops for St. Jude Week by making a donation to St. Jude or by bidding for hope on items during the eBay auction at www.hoopsforstjude.org. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and others have each donated an autographed team jersey. Don’t miss your opportunity to own a piece of NBA history while helping a child with cancer.

Hoops for St. Jude Week – turnings hoops into hope for the patients of St. Jude.

For more information, visit www.hoopsforstjude.org.

More photos » Chuck Burton - AP

Bogut ranks second in the league in blocks per game

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Obvious statement alert: Andrew Bogut is damn good. 

If you were looking for further evidence of Bogut's evolution from "solid-but-frustrating" to "near-elite" NBA center, forget about the big fella's offense for a moment and consider that Wisconsin's favorite Australian is now second behind Dwight Howard in shot-blocking, averaging 2.3 blocks per game.  Yep, the guy known more for his uncanny flopping ability is proving he's also more than capable of the more manly, highlight reel-friendly stuff, too.

Just as impressively, blocking all those shots hasn't limited Bogut's ability to draw charges; he continues to rank among the league's leaders in charges drawn per game (0.82), trailing only Nick Collison, Jared Jeffries, and Kyle Lowry.  As Tom Haberstroh from the excellent stats site HoopData noted last week, that also put Bogut in the league's top five in "defensive plays" per game, which adds together a player's blocks, steals and charges drawn. 

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More photos » Gary Dineen - NBAE/Getty Images

Salmons in, Hakim out

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Are we done yet? I think so. 

Two trades in the span of 24 hours sees four players shipped out and three players (and three 2nd round picks) heading to Milwaukee.  No huge names in or out, but for the most part John Hammond made the Bucks somewhat better today without making them any worse in the future.  In general I'd say that's a good thing, or at the very least not a bad thing.  A quick recap: 

In: John Salmons, Royal Ivey, Primoz Brezec, 2010 2nd (via Philly), 2011 2nd (via Chicago), 2012 2nd (via Chicago), right to trade 2010 1st rounders with Chicago (top 10 protected).

Out: Hakim Warrick, Joe Alexander, Jodie Meeks, Francisco Elson

In the end, the Bucks managed to add a likely starter in Salmons--perhaps not saying that much given Charlie Bell has been starting at SG--as well as three future second round picks.  The only real cost was the as-yet-unrealized potential of 2009 second rounder Meeks, who struggled to find the golden shooting touch he showed at Kentucky and had barely played since the arrival of Jerry Stackhouse.  He may yet turn into a useful NBA player, but that will largely depend on whether he can get comfortable as a shooter without big minutes (easier said than done).  Thanks to their tolerance for Salmons' 10/11 salary, the Bucks lost little in the way of rotation players, especially considering that Warrick (for better or worse) has seen his playing time evaporate over the past month. 

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One deal is close to done--John Salmons to the Bucks for Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander--but there's still a few hours left before the deadline hits.  Gery Woelfel keeps the trade talk going by suggesting the Bucks could be talking to the Sixers about a deal that would send Royal Ivey and possibly a draft pick to Milwaukee for Jodie Meeks. [Update: John Hollinger tweets it's Meeks and Francisco Elson for Ivey, Primoz Brezec, and a 2nd rounder]

Bucks fans know all about Ivey's high-effort, low-output style, but mostly this deal begs the question of whether a) the Bucks are so disenchanted with Meeks that they simply want to get rid of him or b) they want to acquire some backcourt depth to move Luke Ridnour.  Or I suppose c) they may be silly enough to think that Royal Ivey is actually a useful NBA player...well, I won't accuse them of that quite yet.   

Frank Isola at the New York Daily News reported yesterday that the Knicks contacted the Bucks about a deal involving Ridnour and Jared Jeffries, which makes sense considering how desperate Donnie Walsh is to get rid of Jeffries' cap-killing 10/11 salary.  The Bucks apparently balked at the mention of Jeffries ($6.883 million next year), whom the Knicks need to get rid of in order to open up more 2010 cap space.  That was a major factor in the Knicks' offer to the Rockets of Jordan Hill and a 2012 first for Tracy McGrady, but with McGrady heading to Sacramento for Kevin Martin all bets are off.  There's some suggestion McGrady could still end up in New York, but if New York is left out in the cold look for someone to try to fleece the Knicks in order to take on Jeffries' contract.  The issue for the Bucks is that they're less well positioned to jump on the Jeffries' contract grenade next year now that they've acquired Salmons.  JJ and Salmons would put the Bucks' 10/11 salaries over $62 million (not including Hill or anybody else), which could create luxury tax concerns next year.