- Andrew Bogut's sore knee will keep him on the shelf for 7-10 days according to John Hammond. For more details, check out Bogut's new and rather excellent blog, which pegs his return as 1-2 weeks away:
I have a left knee bone bruise, along with a joint effusion. Basically the hit I took has created fluid and the fluid is moving around in there causing stiffness and pain. I tried to play the second half but there wasn't a chance I could move towards that knee little own jump or push off it at all So I was left with no other choice but to leave the game early. We are currently in Atlanta and I had a MRI this morning which confirmed the above. The doctors and physio's we have looking after us have suggested a 1-2 week off time. Not the best news I wanted to hear. I cannot stand missing games especially due to injury, it really frustrates me. I've been playing through a fair number of injuries lately, and against the Magic I finally started to feel good again.
Losing Bogut has to be the worst possible news the Bucks could get, not only because Bogut's arguably the team's "best" all-around player at this point, but also because the gulf between Bogut and the Dutchmen who back him up is so massive (sorry, Dan and Francisco). While the Bucks have made do without Michael Redd by playing Ramon Sessions, Charlie Bell, and occasionally Richard Jefferson at the 2, they simply don't have the same flexibility at the center position.
Without Bogut and Redd, the Bucks would deserve a parade for winning any of their remaining games this week--in Atlanta, in Detroit, and home against Cleveland. But Skiles will at least have the opportunity to go smaller against Atlanta and Detroit, neither of whom plays with a typical back-to-the-basket center. While Gadzuric will likely start, don't be shocked to see Charlie Villanueva or Malik Allen playing some center against Al Horford and Rasheed Wallace. Expect Joe Alexander to also see more regular minutes.
- BrewHoop favorite Rob Peterson of NBA.com has a great look back at the incredible career of Oscar Robertson, who celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this week.
Imagine our bemusement, then, to know now that Robertson averaged a triple-double for the first five NBA seasons with 30.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game in 384 games. Stick that in your trophy case for a moment and gawk at it: 30, 10 and 10, every season for five years.
Could you imagine what ESPN would do with Oscar if he played today? They'd probably give him his own channel. He would own Nike ... and adidas. In this Internet world of today, how huge Robertson would be in Europe or China? And how many articles would be written about him opting out of his contract in 2010? - The Bob Boozer Jinx writes that the Bucks might as well wave the white flag without Bogut against Atlanta, Detroit and Cleveland--but that makes next week all the more important.
- Tom Enlund looks at the Bucks' early rebounding success. Kudos to Enlund for looking beyond raw rebounding numbers, which is what most in the media are still stuck on doing; because of differences in pace and field goal percentage, rebound rates offer a much better barometer of a player or team's proficiency on the glass. As we noted last week, the Bucks are getting good rebounding rates from virtually every position, which Skiles echoes:
"We felt Bogut and Charlie V., statistically, are good rebounders," said Skiles. "But we didn't plan on Mbah a Moute being able to go in there and get a 17-rebound night, or 10 in the first half, some of the things he's done. I don't know how anybody could plan on that.
"Richard was coming off a year where he averaged a little over four rebounds and he's over five, almost at six which is where we'd like him to be. Each guy is chipping in a little bit. (Ridnour) has always been a pretty good point guard-rebounder which is a little bit surprising. And Ramon is too. That's how you end up doing it. If each guy gets one more a game, it adds up."
"We work at it and we're conscientious about it." - Alex has collected all the latest power rankings right here, where the Bucks rank anywhere from 12th (Hollinger) to 21st (those damn bloggers). And be sure to also check out Ty's advanced power rankings blog--he's got the Bucks ranked 17th right now.
- The Bratwurst notes that the new-look Bucks are boring--in a good way.
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Wednesday Notes: Bogut out 7-10 days, the Big O turns 70, power rankings galore
By
Frank Madden
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