- Bill Simmons has rethought his initial projection of the Bucks finishing sixth in the East with 41 wins, putting the Bucks at 12th in the East in his expanded preview. Simmons makes a couple reasonable points about the Bucks: none of the bigs are proven post guys and the team in general doesn't draw fouls, meaning they'll struggle to win when they don't shoot well. I think that'd be a much bigger concern if the Bucks were trying to contend for a title, but considering they're mainly trying to sneak into the playoffs I don't see those as impossible to overcome. In case you're wondering, the Bucks are averaging 15.6/21.6 from the stripe while opponents are averaging 20/27 from the line.
- And while Simmons has backed off his anti-Yi stance, he does take some time to take a shot at Charlie Bell:
Reason No. 12,350 why I love the NBA: Charlie Bell continuing to hold a grudge that the Bucks waited so long to offer him a fair contract before eventually matching Miami's $18 million offer. I was a key member of our 28-win team last season. I don't really have a position, and I don't do anything all that well ... and that's how you treat me??? What a league. Let's add that to the "Where Amazing Happens" campaign, as well: "Where Charlie Bell Complaining About An $18 Million Contract Happens."
- John Hollinger's quantitative power rankings are out and the Bucks are ranked 16th.
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Charles Gardner has your daily "Yi is good" article.
"He's done a great job," said Bucks center Andrew Bogut. "He's going to have games where he doesn't score the ball well. Once he learns that getting rebounds, blocking shots and playing 'D', you can still stay on the court.
"A lot of guys don't understand that in the league. It takes guys two or three years to figure that out. Just because you're not scoring, you can still do other things. That's what I've been trying to do; the games I haven't been scoring well, I try to play defense and rebound."
- In the wake of Yi being left off the all-star ballot, Jim Paschke writes that he'd prefer a rookie-free ballot anyway.
I happen to think rookies should not be included on the ballots at all. Let the first-year players of note and ability participate in the annual Rookie-Sophomore game as a way of blending into the All-Star hoopla. Getting used to the NBA in general during your first year is tough enough.
More importantly, they must establish themselves in the league before any consideration is given to their All-Star ability. Perhaps there are exceptions, but why shouldn’t all players "earn" their spurs? Half a season, in your first shot at the league, isn’t enough in my opinion.
Jim also has details on the Bucks' latest community events. My favorite picture is of Yi reading a kids' book with his interpreter.
Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty