Scott Skiles ramblings

It is time for your intrepid author to keep you updated on all the trivial, ..er, important happenings in the NBA. How about that really important Piston vs. Bucks game?

Scott Skiles is suspended for the game.

Skiles will miss the Bucks’ road game at Detroit on Friday, and Jim Boylan will serve as the team’s coach.

Skiles was whistled for two quick technical fouls by referee Sean Wright with 29.7 seconds left in the first quarter on Wednesday. The Bucks coach went out on the floor to dispute a non-call after Hakim Warrick went to the basket and scored. Skiles wanted a foul called on Wizards center Brendan Haywood.

An angry Skiles was hit with a technical by Wright, then quickly was whistled for a second technical foul and an automatic ejection.

The NBA said in a statement Friday that Skiles was suspended for one game without pay “for his actions directed at a game official and for not leaving the court in a timely manner.”
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Why does your intrepid author want you to know about Scott Skiles exhibiting a temper? Isn’t that like Tiger looking at a blonde girl that is not his wife? Ohh, cheap shot there, my apologies. No, it was interesting because Jim Boylan coached as an assistant for Tom Izzo who coached as an assistant for Jud Heathcote, both at Michigan State University. Scott Skiles played at MSU for Jud, while Tom was the assistant coach. Also, starting guard Charlie Bell played for Tom Izzo.

Scott Skiles with one of his best friends

And if that is not remarkable enough, then how about this, your intrepid author, NBAObsessed himself, went to MSU during the Magic Johnson years and was at the MSU victory over Wofford tonight. Yes, the mighty Wofford Terriers.

Skiles suspension is symbolic as MSU is going through a series of suspensions on their football team right now and Scott got in a lot of trouble at MSU, mostly for drinking.

Charlie Villanueva

In a return to Milwaukee, Charlie Villanueva had to send out tweet.

Villanueva did not play in the Pistons’ 92-85 loss in Chicago on Wednesday after suffering a broken nose in a game Sunday against Atlanta.

But Villanueva sent out a tweet a few hours ago that said, “Watch for the mask man in tonight game against the Bucks.”

Villanueva will have to wear a mask to protect the injury, which he sustained on a play in the fourth quarter of the Pistons’ 94-88 victory over the Hawks. He was fouled by Atlanta’s Zaza Pachulia and as Villanueva fell to the floor he collided with teammate Ben Wallace.
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Image: Zuma Press

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There are some fans out there, along with many writers and coaches, that believe that Blake Griffin already has the ROY trophy sitting above his fireplace on the mantle proving what everyone thinks about him being a type of Patrick Ewing of the new age of the NBA.

Brandon Jennings is here to serve notice that he is one rookie that is just not going to lay down and allow Blake to walk off with the trophy.

Milwaukee Bucks 129 Golden State Warriors 125

Brandon Jennings just missed Wilt Chamberlains all time rookie single game record of 58 with a Buck Rookie high of 55.

Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor and who became the highest-scorer in
NBA history, held the franchise record for points in a game by a rookie with
51, which he scored on February 21, 1970.

But Jennings, who didn’t even score in the first quarter, lifted his name
among the greats with a virtuoso performance, sinking 21-of-34 shots,
including 7-of-8 from three-point range.

He scored 29 in the third and fell just two points shy of Michael Redd’s
franchise record for points in a game. Jennings was also just three points off
the NBA record for points in a game by a rookie, as Wilt Chamberlain scored 58
points twice in his first year.
source

Watch some of the action in this YouTube.

Brandon Jennings is coached by Scott Skiles and Skiles is a man that knows a little something about scoring as he put up 25 a game as a senior with Michigan State University, before the 3 point shot was available. He has complete confidence in Brandon’s game and allows him to stay on the court and make mistakes that other coaches would pull him out of the game for doing. This has really elevated the confidence of Brandon in his own game.

The 55 points by Brandon reminded Coach Skiles of a game with Michael Jordon when he got hot.

“I was in a game when Michael had over 60 once. I don’t know exactly what to say,” Skiles said immediately after the victory. “(Jennings) felt we needed to be picked up and we went to our pick-and-roll game and spread the floor and he got hot again.”

Center Andrew Bogut wasn’t so sure.

“I don’t think we were working the roll game, I think we were just working the pick game,” Bogut said. “He was doing a hell of a job shooting the ball.”

source

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LeBron James put up 55 points on the hapless Milwaukee Bucks.

James scored 16 points in the first 2 minutes, 50 seconds of the third quarter, almost single-handedly turning a six-point halftime deficit into an eight-point Cavaliers lead – and he could have scored two more if he hadn’t missed a pair of free throws along the way.

James scored his previous season high of 52 points at New York on Feb. 4. His career high of 56 came at Toronto on March 20, 2005.

source

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Peter Vescey has this to say about Michael Redd the long distance shooter.

An entrenched Bucks source does not believe Michael Redd will be traded this season.

“We need to make the playoffs this season to regain our fan base,” the source informed.

Yet the vultures continue to circle.

“Everyone is interested [Portland, San Antonio and Dallas, etc.], but their offers are pure [garbage],” said Deep Dish.

source

Teams are always interested in a player that can shoot the lights out.

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Michael Curry will try to right the Piston ship

The NBA is proud to bring a brand new coach to your area. They did it for 8 teams.

Think about that. 8 new coaches.

Ever heard of a brand new coach immediately winning it all? It has probably happened, but not to my knowledge.

Usually you just fired the last coach because the team stunk so bad he could not make them win.

So this year we bring you the 8 trying to make the magic happen.

Michael Curry, Pistons

Curry, 40, was an assistant to last year’s coach, Flip Saunders, who was fired. From 2000 to 2004, Curry was president of the National Basketball Players Association. He’s also a former NBA vice president for basketball operations and played for six teams in an 11-year career.
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Michael is lucky. He inherits a veteran team with a real honest to god chance to win it all. The team knows him. The GM, Joe Dumars, knows him. Heck, the hotdog vendor in section 133 knows him. Michael Curry was a defensive minded team oriented over achiever as a player. He even used to plan out bike trips and movies for when the players were on the road.

But can he coach? Well, he can as an assistant, but can he as the head coach?

Vinny Del Negro, Bulls

Del Negro, who has no coaching experience at any level, follows interim coach Jim Boylan, who replaced Scott Skiles. Del Negro, 42, formerly was assistant general manager for the Phoenix Suns and played for five teams in a 12-year NBA career.

Scotty Skiles and Jim Boylan is a tough act to follow. Vinny has his hands full with that crew in Chicago. Skiles whipped and beat them to play defense and play as a team. Boylan found out they are lacking depth, size, speed, etc. Good Luck!

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Club President Pat Riley named Spoelstra, a seven-year assistant, to succeed him. Spoelstra, 37, is the youngest coach in the league.

This guy just has the job on loan until Pat Riley sees a good enough team to take over. Sure doesn’t hurt to have Dwyane Wade and the Matrix auditioning for jobs.

Larry Brown, Charlotte Bobcats

Have witnessed Larry up front with my Pistons and he is an amazing coach and complicated man. He is always chasing after something that is missing in his life. Some think he is looking for his father that left him at young age, not literally, but figuratively.

Larry will put them in half court sets and make them play playoff style basketball. If teams listen, they win, but most young players do not want to play that way. Example: Chauncey Billups was close to a triple double one night and Larry pulled him and said “You don’t have a clue as to how to play point guard for me, do you?” Think about it.

Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks

This one will be fun to watch. The Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki were often shooting before crossing half court and now will be playing half court. Rick was the Piston coach before Larry and he alienated so many people that he had to be fired with a winning record. Chauncey Billups used to say they knew exactly what plays would be run in the last two minutes as Carlisle called all the plays. Rick also does not like to double on defense. Can Dirk defend?

Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks

Mike has his hands full until the Knicks can clean house and find some D’antoni style players. He needs speed and outside shooting to go along with a pass first dribbling point guard, a la Steve Nash. Mike is a great coach and the players love his style. The ball gets shared and the pace is quick.

Can he play enough defense to win a title though?

Must be Michigan week in the NBA or something

Michael Curry, Detroit Pistons
Larry Brown, former Detroit Pistons coach
Rick Carlisle, former Detroit Pistons coach
Vinny Del Negro replaces Jim Boylan former assistant at Michigan State University
Before Jim Boylan was Scott Skiles former player at Michigan State University
Mike D’Antoni was brought in to replace Isiah Thomas former Detroit Piston
The D’Antoni wanted to trade Zach Randolph former player at Michigan State University
Terry Porter, former Detroit Pistons assistant coach
Scott Skiles, former player at Michigan State University
Scott will work for GM John Hammond and he worked under Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons.

Terry Porter, Phoenix Suns

A hustling guard as a player and an average coach at Milwaukee, Terry will have some talent to work with, but will drastically change the style for the Suns. Terry is a real believer in defense.

Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks

Scott will have some hungry players in Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson. Maybe not enough talent to win, but that has never been an issue with Scott. He just wants you to bring the desire.

Photo source Newscom

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The masked man, Andrew Bogut, gets a lot of dough

Image details: Chicago Bulls v Milwaukee Bucks served by picapp.com

It is a big pile of money. Bigger than you will see in your lifetime of slaving at a regular job.

Andrew Bogut will sign a 5 year extension for 72 million bucks.

The signing should also silence critics who feel the team hasn’t shown a commitment to winning, Bauman said. The hiring of Scott Skiles as coach and the trade for Richard Jefferson demonstrated to Bogut that the team was making a push to be competitive.

“These moves show Andrew this team is committed to winning now,” Bauman said.

The extension does not affect the nearly $7 million Bogut is owed for the upcoming season, the final year of his rookie contract.

Despite the Bucks’ struggles in the past two seasons, Bogut indicated he wanted to stay with the team.

He played in 78 games last season, averaging 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds.
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Ordinarily, you would find me critical of a signing like this, but this is not the ordinary. John Hammond helped Joe Dumars build the Pistons and now he is trying to do the same with the Bucks. Think it over; they now have Michael Redd at shooting guard, Andrew Bogut at center, and Richard Jefferson at small forward. That is a pretty powerful nucleus. Throw in Scott Skiles at coach and this team is ready to move up the ladder!

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It had to happen sooner rather than later.

John Hammond has signed on to be the General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. John has been right there with Joe Dumars for 7 years. He is ready for his own team.

The Milwaukee Bucks have hired John Hammond as their new general manager, hoping the former Detroit vice president can bring some of the Pistons’ success to a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001.

“He is a proven NBA talent who has played an essential role in a winning NBA organization,” Bucks owner Herb Kohl said in a release distributed Friday night during the third quarter a 102-86 loss to Boston that dropped the Bucks to 26-53.

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Oh, the Bucks just don’t realize how lucky they are to get this guy. Having heard him speak numerous times on the Piston pregame show, John worked closely with Joe Dumars to build and keep the Pistons strong. The man knows basketball.

John Hammond will be missed by Coach Flip Saunders and President and GM Joe Dumars

Image details: Detroit Pistons Introduce New Coach Flip Saunders served by picapp.com

John turned down jobs at Toronto and Portland already, just waiting for the right opportunity. Joe Dumars and John can usually be seen sitting together at every game. It seemed like every sentence out of John’s mouth was “Joe and myself have been talking about…”.

You can expect John to assemble a strong team around himself, perhaps stealing some personnel from the Pistons.

As for who will step into Hammond’s spot in Detroit, there’s no talk yet of front-runners — but there are several internal staff members who could become candidates. George David, the director of player personnel, has been with the Pistons for 11 years. Director of basketball administration Jeff Weltman joined the team last summer but has 20 years of NBA experience; he was assistant general manager in Denver for five seasons and spent 13 years with the Los Angeles Clippers.
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An interesting speculation by ESPN has John letting Coach Larry Krystkowiak go and hiring Rick Carlisle. Coach Carlisle was fired by the Pistons so they could hire Larry Brown. Rick is an excellent coach that preaches individual responsibility and calls all the plays from the bench. He runs a very tight ship, in fact often too tight and upsets many people around him. They could win with Rick, but he would not last long. He would be the coach to put the seriousness back into the franchise.

There will not be much talent to begin with, but Rick Carlisle has never let that stop him before.

Hammond inherits a roster made up of one star – shooting guard Michael Redd – and a smattering of young talent – Mo Williams, Charlie Villenueva, Andrew Bogut and Yi Jianlian and a top-10 lottery pick in June’s draft.

This should be a very interesting hire.

NBA Basketball special comment John will turn things around in Milwaukee, but there is a long ways to go. Will he be given enough time?

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Dwight Howard has tremendous upside

Normally the All Star game is not a big ticket with your intrepid author.

A game with little or no defense has a hard time holding my interest.

In fact, today’s basketball with all the rule changes towards offense has really bothered me in recent years.

But this year may be an exception. The league is just so filled with exceptional talent.

One starter in particular could become a dominant force in the NBA sooner than we think. That man would be Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

Hmm, may just have to tune in after all. Here are your vote getters.

The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the second returns of the 2008 NBA All-Star voting program are attached:

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,186,690; LeBron James (Clev) 1,005,733; Chris Bosh (Tor) 313,983; Paul Pierce (Bos) 268,926; Yi Jianlian (Mil) 192,828; Caron Butler (Was) 150,042; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 121,991; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 120,783; Rashard Lewis (Orl) 116,168; Antawn Jamison (Was) 106,370.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 777,764; Jason Kidd (NJ) 559,333; Vince Carter (NJ) 468,051; Ray Allen (Bos) 464,810; Gilbert Arenas (Was) 422,463; Chauncey Billups (Det) 238,125; Michael Redd (Mil) 183,309; Richard Hamilton (Det) 121,663; Joe Johnson (Atl) 109,443; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 109,345.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 970,778; Shaquille O’Neal (Mia) 466,292; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 124,348; Ben Wallace (Chi) 114,245; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 100,622; Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 89,900; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Clev) 55,217; Emeka Okafor (Cha) 51,490; Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 43,036; Eddy Curry (NY) 37,252.

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Carmelo Anthony (Den) 767,722; Tim Duncan (SA) 722,059; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 686,853; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 281,299; Josh Howard (Dal) 251,756; Shawn Marion (Pho) 240,752; Shane Battier (Hou) 227,112; Luis Scola (Hou) 222,896; Kevin Durant (Sea) 191,542; Grant Hill (Pho) 152,898.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 941,716; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 663,141; Steve Nash (Pho) 526,493; Allen Iverson (Den) 514,291; Manu Ginobili (SA) 220,620; Jason Terry (Dal) 200,693; Baron Davis (GS) 194,048; Chris Paul (NO) 189,646; Tony Parker (SA) 183,173; Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 178,152.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 813,305;Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 463,916; Erick Dampier (Dal) 171,386; Marcus Camby (Den) 161,807; Pau Gasol (Mem) 118,759; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 85,715; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 69,691; Tyson Chandler (NO) 69,083; Andris Biedrins (GS) 67,862; Chris Kaman (LAC) 66,315.  source

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did your favorite player make the cut?

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We only have to look to Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports to tell us about the Top 5 most disappointing teams of the season and, to be sure, you have your favorites as well.

Your intrepid author’s illustrious comments are in italics.

We are the most disappointing. Oh no!

1. Houston – They discovered the truth about this team’s limitations. From Tracy McGrady’s mental and physical fragility to an absence of athleticism, they were a flawed power. They’re devoid of an identity, stuck between what they were with Van Gundy and what they’ll never be with Adelman. source

What the heck? This team is slow and has put everything into two guys that have never won anything.

2. Bulls – Yes, the Bulls struggled to compartmentalize the Kobe Bryant trade talks and some of their own failed bids for contract extensions. Nevertheless, this is still largely a winning, young core. Sure, general manager John Paxson wishes he could have do-overs on choosing Ben Wallace over Tyson Chandler, and Tyrus Thomas over LaMarcus Aldridge, but he’s still had far more makes than misses.

Surprise, no Kobe, no winning. The Skiles message could last so long with a team that just lacks an inside presence.

3. Milwaukee – Among league executives, there’s a belief that the Bucks are close to declaring everyone available, except for Yi Jianlian and Andrew Bogut. Larry Harris is fighting for his job as general manager. Owner Herb Kohl mandated playoff contention in the offseason, and the Bucks are spiraling. In the horrific 45-point loss to the Pistons, one league executive monitoring the game said of the Bucks, “After five minutes, that team just quit.”

Stop picking on this team. They are what they are, and that is very young. Yi and Bogut can be for real given time and teammates.

4. Miami – The Heat are bad now and Shaquille O’Neal’s cap-clogging contract doesn’t expire until 2010, when Wade can opt-out into free agency. He is the biggest sports star in South Florida, but he has to wonder how long and how hard Riley will go as the Heat’s emperor. After all, he has rebuilt Miami twice now, won his elusive post-Lakers title, and it’s difficult to believe he’ll summon that winner within to stay with the grind.

Riley eventually burns all his teams out. Shaq is old and Wade has zero teammates. The Shaq trade was for an instant title and it worked. Now it is over.

5. New York – Thomas promises that he isn’t leaving until he’s delivered that championship. Of course, the fear in New York is that Dolan will hold him to his word. Everyone keeps saying that it can’t go on like this, but it does and it probably will. As much as Thomas has feigned befuddlement over his players’ effort, those inside and outside the locker room at MSG have privately doubted his work habits as coach this season. To think that he’s even preparing for opponents, even putting in the hours, is debatable.

You have heard from me on the Isiah Thomas situation before. Bad management, poor coaching, and selfish players. Lots of talent, but no way to channel it.

Houston and the Bulls can still improve in this season. The other 3 have an uphill battle.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Do you have any disappointing additions?

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Chauncey prefers to shoot not dunk

The Detroit Pistons won their ninth game in a row and did it in impressive fashion destroying the Milwaukee Bucks 114 to 69.

The Pistons suddenly aren’t content with simply beating teams; they are humiliating them. Here what was reported in the papers.

They made the Milwaukee Bucks look like a D-League team Monday, ending 2007 with a 114-69 romp before the 200th straight sellout crowd at The Palace.

“You get into a certain part of the season where things are getting comfortable for you and you just want to continue to ride that wave,” Tayshaun Prince said. “That’s what’s going on right now.” source

The Pistons ended up December 15 – 2. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Detroit!

As stated before, it is the young guys that are helping Detroit seem like a rejuvenated team.

Also reminiscent of that championship run is the way the Pistons’ bench is contributing. Jarvis Hayes contributed 14 points off the bench. He, Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo helped the Pistons spread the lead in the second quarter and led the Pistons to a 28-12 advantage in the fourth.

“These are young guys and when they get into the game they are really taking advantage of their minutes,” Billups said. “They are so aggressive and so hungry when they get their chance. I’ve been calling them the Zoo Crew because they are like some caged animals when they get out there. I love watching them play.”

Chauncey dunks

In a wild move in the game, Chauncey Billups took a long pass from McDyess and dunked the ball. Chauncey rarely ever dunks. It seems Afflalo had been bragging about his vertical leap and Chauncey had to show him he could dunk. So far Afflalo has no dunks in the NBA.

Rip Hamilton could not resist commenting on the dunk.

“That dunk was so old-school,” said a non-impressed Hamilton. “He should have gotten a technical foul for hanging on the rim. But he said to me, ‘I had to let all the cameras get their snapshots in so everybody can see I can still dunk.’ “

The Pistons are winning and having fun. What could be better!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will Billups dunk again this season?

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