Author: Rudy L.B.

The 1-0 Milwaukee Bucks take on the 0-2 Houston Rockets Saturday night in downtown Milwaukee at the Fiserv forum. This is the Bucks home opener.  The probable starting lineup for the Bucks is Jrue Holiday at the point guard position, Jevon Carter (a surprise) at shooting guard, Giannis at small forward, Bobby Portis at power forward and Brook Lopez at center.  Vegas has the Bucks at an 85% chance to win the game and 13 point favorites. The keys for the Bucks will be to shoot the three (31% right now as a team) and push the tempo on the…

The Milwaukee Bucks won on the road in Philadelphia, beating the Philadelphia 76er’s 90-89 to win on Thursday. After going 0-5 in the preseason, the Bucks won a hard fought road game in the city of brotherly love 90-89. Like so many NBA games, it came down to 4th quarter play. A key 3 pointer from former Marquette Warrior Wesley Matthews helped seal the win for Milwaukee. Much maligned NBA vet Grayson Allen had a key drive and pass to set up the play. Allen started the game with Jevon Carter who also played well. Giannis led all Bucks with…

The Milwaukee Bucks are going to be in the thick of things during the 2022-2023 season. With good players, good coaching and lots of experience this team should surpass 50 wins in the regular season after finishing 51-31 last year. (The Bucks lost to the eventual Eastern Conference Champs, the Boston Celtics.) It has been a pretty good regular season run for the Bucks with records in 2020-2021 of 46-26, in 2019-2020 of 56-17 and in 2018-2019 of 60-22.    Even GM’s across the league agree: the Bucks are a favorite to win it all. But does that mean they will?…

MAYDAY: Redrafting the 1992 NBA Draft This one feels a little personal to me. I’ll never forget going with my Dad to the old Bradley center, a preseason look-at for the new look Bucks. I was at that age where sports were really starting to matter. We sat in the front row (I think the seats were like $10) and it felt magical. I wanted us to get a 10-pack of games, convinced through a Bucks marketing piece that would be the only way to survive a winter in middle school. Instead, I settled for a preseason “family night” style…

The Milwaukee Bucks took the safe pick in selecting Jabari Parker second overall in the 2014 draft. Today, Parker remains a free-agent, eligible to sign with any NBA team. (Should the Bucks scoop him back up?) While many would consider that to be a “bust”, there certainly was much worse when it comes to the draft that year and eventual player performance related to their pick position. Dante Exum at 5 or Nik Stauskas at 8 certainly did not pan out, performance-wise. (I always have to be careful here because they still did MAKE THE NBA. That in itself is…

The Milwaukee Bucks took a risk by selecting Thon Maker 10th overall in the 2016 NBA draft. Today he is playing in China.  The Bucks franchise could have looked a lot different without Maker. Of course, hindsight is “20-20”, but that pick has come to shape how the team even looks today. Maker as a “fit” That was a key draft for the team, looking to add to the rising star that appeared to be Giannis and getting serviceable minutes and efforts out of number two pick Jabari Parker. But, contrary to popular opinion at the time, it really has…

The Bucks NBA preseason starts up this month and there are a few fun things to keep on the radar for NBA fans. (Isn’t this the best part of the year for sports? Soon we’ll have  NFL football, the MLB playoffs, college football, and NBA training camps!) Right now it appears the Bucks will have a soft opening of Sept. 28th for training camp. And of course, unlike the NFL and MLB, NBA practices are closed affairs, offering fans few opportunities to watch practice, save the preseason games. So, most of what we will learn about the status of Brook…

Brook Lopez is the key to a Bucks series win. Since his return from a back injury, he has helped the Bucks get their championship mojo back. The seven foot 34 year old  is one of the keys to a Bucks series win, beating up on the blocks and keeping control of the game. While the numbers for Brook are not high scoring like Giannis or Jrue, if he manages to have a higher-points and rebound number, the Bucks seem to win. Brook only averages 25 minutes a game but those minutes have been impactful. If he can hit 30…

The Bucks lost game four Monday night in a meeting they really could have used. Losing 116-108, the Bucks did a good job of getting Boston to turnover the ball. (Celts 11 vs Bucks 8) They also did a good job of getting to the free throw line. But at times the Bucks offense looked stagnant and filled with very few passes and set plays that were effective. The Bucks lacked rhythm. They did not have very many assists. (25 vs 18 for the Bucks). The Celtics get paid too and Al Horford looked like a younger version of himself.…

It looks like the Bucks coaching staff might lose a coach. (And honestly, did anyone doubt Darvin Ham wouldn’t get his chance.) The Los Angeles Lakers (per sources) have requested permission to interview Ham. When and where that might happen, of course, has yet to be confirmed but when it does you’d have to think he’d be a top option for the Lakers. Ham understands the NBA, understands how to motivate stars, and has the ability to implement a top-tier system that would help bring a team success. Coming from the Greg Popovich (and now Mike Budenholzer) tree has got…