<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In maybe the least shocking development of the series, the Detroit Pistons had their elimination-game boot on the Milwaukee Bucks' throat long before sunset in the unnaturally early made-for-LeBron start. Afterward, Michael Redd said, "You have to play like a madman against this great team. We didn't do that." Check that, Mike. You did. Even when the Bucks were down by 30-plus with most of the usual suspects checked out by the time Tayshaun Prince's half-court swish to end the first quarter showed exactly what kind of Game 5 this would be, Redd was playing like it actually mattered. He crashed the boards with a raging fury when most of his teammates weren't even in the freeze-frame, taking on the mighty Pistons four at a time. He had eight offensive rebounds when the rest of the Bucks combined for two, forcefully going to the basket for 13 free-throw attempts when the other 11 managed but 10. The Bucks might have taken umbrage when the series was first characterized as Redd-on-five, but when it mercifully ended Wednesday night at the Palace with a 122-93 beat-down, history showed it was exactly that. After being gang-tackled in Game 1, Redd adjusted in ways the others could not. He averaged 27 points for the series against the NBA's best defense, but more than that, Redd finally proved that he could be more than just a pretty scorer. Thankfully for the future of the Bucks, Redd demonstrated he could be one tough hombre, the lead-by-example star to be built around when the extreme makeover begins this off-season. The refreshingly candid Andrew Bogut was dead-on after the game when the rookie said that dramatic changes must be made with this team. Except for the $90 million invested in Redd, few of the senator's mega-dollars were well-invested. Jamaal Magloire must be traded if Bogut is to flourish. Bobby Simmons, who got $47 million as a free agent, was absolutely invisible in the series (14 for 42, 33 points). And for his $6 million a season, Dan Gadzuric barely got off the bench against the Pistons except for garbage time in Game 5, only to sprain his ankle. Although Redd's maximum contract had its critics - including me - because of defensive issues and the question of whether he had the will and the star power to carry a team on his back, in retrospect his re-signing was the best move the Bucks made in what otherwise proved to be a shaky off-season. He'll never be a 25-year-old Gary Payton on the defensive end, but it was T.J. Ford and Mo Williams who were scorched by Rip Hamilton's 40-spot in the series finale, not Redd. So, yes, the Bucks will have many serious questions to address this summer, especially without a first-round draft pick, but Redd won't be one of them. If there were any questions about his toughness and his leadership skills, he answered them by fearlessly throwing his body into the teeth of the league's roughest customers. Except for Game 3, where were the rest of the Bucks against the Pistons? That, among others, is a question general manager Larry Harris must address as he tries to make sense of the roster. How much of it has to be ripped apart? And is this the right coaching staff going forward? But the one thing the Bucks should not have to worry about for the foreseeable future is Michael Redd. He proved that against the Detroit Pistons. </div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"It's disappointing, but I think there have to be some dramatic changes made next season," said Bogut, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 National Basketball Association draft. "It's all I can hope for, that there will be some changes and we'll see what happens. "There are logjams at certain spots. Certain guys aren't playing that probably could play more. It's very tough, because we have a lot of great players coming off the bench. "We just need to clean some things up. The core is obviously three or four guys, but we need to clean up those other role players. I wish I had played a more important role this year, but it didn't work out like that. Hopefully that's what is going to happen next year. I'll be unhappy if it doesn't.</div> Link Hmm...maybe some of Bogut's frustration could be coming from the fact that he's being forced to masquerade as a 4 when he should be learning what it's like to play the 5 against NBA competition. Maybe it's because Terry Stotts has no idea how to use the #1 pick in the draft, and doesn't try to get him the ball AT ALL. I'd probably be pissed off if I was Bogut, too. However, it's pretty discouraging to hear that from your young star after his first playoff appearance. Hopefully it's nothing more than he's inexperienced with losing in the postseason and he needs to learn how to not make comments that could hurt the team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Schaddy:</div><div class="quote_post">Hmm...maybe some of Bogut's frustration could be coming from the fact that he's being forced to masquerade as a 4 when he should be learning what it's like to play the 5 against NBA competition. Maybe it's because Terry Stotts has no idea how to use the #1 pick in the draft, and doesn't try to get him the ball AT ALL. I'd probably be pissed off if I was Bogut, too. However, it's pretty discouraging to hear that from your young star after his first playoff appearance. Hopefully it's nothing more than he's inexperienced with losing in the postseason and he needs to learn how to not make comments that could hurt the team.</div> I thought Bogut, being a pretty competitive player, is probably frustrated by the fact they lost the series more than how he's being utilized. My son Michael Redd is official though. He put up 27 points on 52% shooting from the field and 47% from downtown against the best defense in the league. When you think about it, Redd is just as potent on offense as any other offense. He's also attacking the basket more instead of just settling for jumpers. I saw a lot of nifty layups from him during the series. This should be a confidence builder for him for next season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting slpnsld23:</div><div class="quote_post">Bogut is just being a baby....</div> yup
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting slpnsld23:</div><div class="quote_post">Bogut is just being a baby....</div> A bad teammate? Overstepping his rookie boundaries? Sure. A baby? Hardly. Bogut's one of the toughest players in the league. >j<
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting slpnsld23:</div><div class="quote_post">Bogut is just being a baby....</div> Would you care to elaborate? Bogut is a very intense player, maybe even a bit too high strung, and he takes losses hard. He's been a very good team player all year long, and he's probably just frustrated with a) the team's performance the fact that he's playing out of position and c) that he was hardly ever given enough touches in the post to be the effective player we need him to be. If Bogut came out and said "The reason we lost the series is because I didn't shoot enough, and Stotts is a bad coach", I would classify that being a baby. What he said, while not what I'd like to hear from him, is not something that I'd call being a baby. He just finished off a frustrating year, and as a young player needs to realize how to word things better and not come off as being aloof or whiney.
