Monday Bucks Notes

David Noel is now flying in Tulsa, where he's scoring more than 20 per night. (InsideCarolina.com / Jim Hawkins)

• It was the Sixers with 119 and the Bucks with a lot less than 119 on Sunday at the Bradley Center. To be exact, the Bucks lost 119-97 in one of the team's poorest showings at home this year. We're used to the blowout road losses, but getting rocked at home hurts even more. Here's coverage of the damage:
  • Brew Hoop recap.

    .603. The Sixers' field goal percentage speaks to defense-optional approach that has doomed the Bucks all year.  While the Sixers made their share of tough shots, they had many more that were uncontested or barely so.

    The defensive issues are sadly par for the course, and strangely, so is Andrew Bogut getting owned by Samuel Dalembert. Dalembert really has Bogut's number. And they both seem to recognize this. Sessions is definitely the only good thing to take out of this game and even that has a lot more to do with the future than the present.

  • Tom Enlund's JS Online recap.

    It was the second straight home loss in a "favorable" late-season scheduling stretch that was supposed to breathe some life into the Bucks' fading post-season hopes. Instead, it was a defeat that only left more questions about what has gone so wrong in a season that initially had held such promise.

    Indeed, the Bucks aren't capitalizing on the home games; they are 1-3 in their last four at the Bradley Center. Playing away against the Wizards and at home against the Jazz, Celtics, and Cavaliers in the next week and a half doesn't make the future too promising, but the Bucks have surprised us before.

  • Kelly Dwyer's Ball Don't Lie recap.

    A pretty simple exercise in aggression: Philly came out looking to attack the paint, and take advantage of a Milwaukee team they saw as uncaring in the midst of an anonymous mid-March matinee setup.

• It's Monday, and that means Power Rankings, and this week, Blogger MVP/ROY Rankings:
  • Thank you to TWolvesBlog, who kindly hosts Blogger MVP/ROY Rankings Round 8. Comments and interesting results are aplenty. TwolvesBlog makes it fun by counting down from the bottom of the ROY list rather than starting at the top of the MVP list. By the way, a Buck got a (tenth-place) MVP vote, and it wasn't from me. Here's the ballot I submitted:

    MVP: 1. LeBron James 2. Chris Paul 3. Kobe Bryant 4. Dwight Howard 5. Kevin Garnett 6. Tim Duncan 7. Steve Nash 8. Dirk Nowitzki 9. Chris Bosh 10. Deron Williams
    ROY: 1. Kevin Durant 2. Al Horford 3. Luis Sola 4. Sean Williams 5. Thaddeus Young

  • ESPN.com's Marc Stein ranks the Bucks 25th.
  • ESPN.com's John Hollinger also has the Bucks 25th.
  • Marty Burns of SI.com pegs the Bucks 24th.
• Is it too early to start speculating about NBA draft possibilities? No? Good answer. With March Madness approaching, it's a good time to get a look at some of the nation's top players on a big stage. Just remember that these guys have been hoopin' for the past few months, and to not judge them solely on what they do in a tournament game or two. That said, O.J. Mayo is an intriguing prospect, and just looks like an NBA player when you watch him, like when he dropped 25/8/4 in a 77-64 win over #7 Stanford on Saturday. He's a really good shooter, is strong, and even bothers to play defense. He could be something of a novelty around these parts. His draft stock is also rising in the minds of many:
  • Ty at Bucks Diary is rethinking O.J. Mayo.

    But in this case I'm reconsidering. Mayo has excellent size for a 2 guard, and apparently he isn't the prima donna I stereotyped him to be. But mainly I'm doing it because of three lines contained in the "Strengths" column of his scouting jacket:

    • Perimeter defense
    • Hands in passing lanes
    • Work ethic

  • Also check out what Jonathan Givony of Draft Express recently wrote about the star freshman.

    A guy that everyone seemed to want to see fail because of the way he was built up by the media early on in his high school career, seems to be having his revenge on his critics, living up to the hype and then some, while doing everything on floor for USC.

• David Noel notched 18/7/6 in a 107-104 win for the Tulsa 66ers on Saturday. He also hit 3-6 from outside, raising his three point shooting percentage to 48.3 %. Like Ramon Sessions did, Noel is dominating the D-League, highlighted by a 37/9/5 game on March 1 in a 119-116 overtime win.
• MKE Online's Veronica Rusnak talks to The T-Shirt Guy, sometimes known by his real and decidedly less catchy name, Nedeljko Eremija.  

  "I started the whole 'Mo Money for Mo' thing with my T-shirt, and it grew from there," he said. "(Bucks TV analyst) Jon McGlocklin first started commenting on it - and showing it on TV- and mentioned 'The T-shirt Guy.' I decided, 'That's my name now. I'm going to be The T-Shirt Guy."

• We know Yi Jianlian has struggled the past couple months after a fast start to his NBA career, but don't blame it simply on his first-year status. Jim Paschke in Paschketball, with help from USA Today, dispells the concept of the "rookie wall."
• Bucks.com reveals the 40th Anniversary Bucks Team, a group of twenty elite Bucks players chosen by fans. Kareem rightfully led everyone in votes, and Michael Redd cracked the top five.
• You can vote for the Energee Dance Team starting today on Bucks.com as they face off against the New Jersey Nets Dancers.