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**narek** · 04-20-2008, 06:10 AM

The JS beat writer grades the team today, and has few good words to say:

Quote:

Krystkowiak lost some players to a certain degree because of his handling of Redd. The pre-season message was that all players would be treated equally, but as the season wore on, some wondered if Redd wasn't getting preferential treatment when he was not benched after questionable shot selection or defensive breakdowns.

Making matters even worse was the fact Redd and Krystkowiak were not on the same page. Redd admitted after the season that there was no chemistry between them.

That was never more obvious than after a home loss to New Orleans on Feb. 13, when Redd fired up a quick and ill-advised three-point shot in the closing seconds when a two-point basket would have tied the game. Afterward, Redd laid the defeat at Krystkowiak's feet, saying the Bucks had been going for the victory and he was only following the game plan by taking a three-pointer. It would later come to light that that was not necessarily the plan.

Quote:

Part of the problem was that Kohl allowed himself to be held hostage by the University of Utah and hired a first-year coach before he was ready, and Krystkowiak did not shy away from taking his share of the blame.

On the other hand, this was one of the most dysfunctional groups of players to share a Bucks locker room in a long time. It was a soft group that was horribly inconsistent, did not play hard or together consistently, and underachieved badly on the court.

A lot more at the link, http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=741432, including stuff on the "committee" and team chemistry (or the lack there of).

**narek** · 04-20-2008, 06:13 AM

The actual player grades are here: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=741401

He gave Bogut a C+, the highest grade.

Quote:

Bogut continued to show steady improvement and is slowly developing into one of the better centers in the Eastern Conference. He was among the league's top 10 in blocked shots (1.73) and almost cracked the top 10 in rebounding (9.8). During a stretch of the season when the Bucks made a concerted effort to go to him in the low post, he consistently produced double-doubles. He rarely missed a game and wanted to go back into the contest in Atlanta after suffering a broken nose. Free-throw shooting (58.7%) remains a work in progress. It will be interesting to see how the Bucks handle his contract situation this summer.

Quote:

MO WILLIAMS: C-minus
There were times in the second half of the season when the Bucks hyped Williams and Redd as one of the highest-scoring backcourts in the league. That left some to wonder, though, if that was a good thing, because over the past two seasons the Redd-Williams combination has provided some prolific offensive numbers but not many victories. Williams played much of the season with a thumb injury that probably will require surgery and had some of his better games when he played off the ball. Late in the season when he might have been worn out more mentally than physically, Williams was shut down with the dreaded "pubic symphysitis".

**narek** · 04-20-2008, 06:15 AM

The team grades:

Quote:

OFFENSE: D
It was stunning that a team with so many offensive weapons could not find a way to put more points on the board. The Bucks scored 97.0 points per game (20th in the league) and shot 44.9% (19th). Their 34.4% three-point shooting ranked 25th. In training camp, the focus was on defense, and the offense suffered. The feeling was that the offense eventually would come, but it never did on a consistent basis. The offense clicked when the players worked together and moved the ball, but that was too often not the case. After one game, a player said he felt like ordering a cake and celebrating after finally getting his first shot well into the contest.

DEFENSE: F
After the Bulls shot 67% - the highest shooting percentage by an opponent in Bucks history - in a victory at the Bradley Center on Monday, the Bucks dropped to last in the league in defensive field-goal percentage (48.0). The Bucks finished tied with Memphis for last in that category, which most basketball people believe indicates how proficient a team is on defensive. The Bucks had some of the worst individual perimeter defenders in the league, so possibly a better team concept should have been devised to help ease the pain. A couple players with a defensive mentality should top the off-season wish list.

The rest of the depressing reading as at http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=741412.

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