Uh, Canada? Team USA hung a 55-point beating on them last night.
- Team USA opened its exhibition schedule with a 120-65 thumping of Canada last night (video above). Mike Redd picked up where he left off last summer with 20 points in 18 minutes, tying Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade for the Team USA lead. Redd's apparently taking his specialist role to heart, as he made 6/8 from the field--all from three point range.
- Alex asks: Olympic gold or NBA title?
- Kelly Dwyer opens up his DVD collection and takes his magnifying glass to game five of the Bucks/Pacers first round series from 2000 (part I, part II).
Cassell hits another jumper, this time it's banked in. Both teams are trading buckets, and I'm absolutely convinced that these were the best two teams in the East that year. The Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000, and we all saw a lot of that team (thanks to Turner and NBC, we had no choice), but this Bucks team is much better.
These are two deep, potent teams. By the time I finished typing that last paragraph, Jalen Rose and Ray Allen just traded jumpers. - Watch Andrew Bogut talk Olympic hoops.
- Truth About It breaks down the Gilbert-fueled Milwaukee/DC feud. I think at the end of the day no one would be going out of their way to rip Milwaukee if the Bucks were winning games; funny how that can make up for all the other problems a city has (see Detroit as exhibit A). But until the Bucks become relevant on the court, the combination of small market + cold winter + losing = no respect. That's just how it's going to be.
- Dave Berri looks at rookie summer league performances. As you might guess, the number's aren't great for Joe Alexander, but they were actually worse for O.J. Mayo. Something else you might not have expected? Luc Richard Mbah a Moute ranked fifth out of 32 rookies in per-minute production, tying Vegas MVP Jerryd Bayless
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Royal Ivey is now a Sixer. Ivey's hard work and penchant for floor burn were appreciated, but he's below average in essentially every phase of the game. I wish I could say he's a hard-nosed defender or something, but the fact was that opposing guards had their way with him most of the year. As the Bratwurst pointed out, getting in a defensive stance and fouling a lot doesn't equal good defense.
- Bucks Diary crunches numbers on the Lue and Allen signings.
- Ted Bauer at ESPN the Mag chronicles Sam Cassell's greatest hits.