Notes from the St. Mary's-Santa Clara and St. Mary's-San Francisco games

Haven't had a chance until tonight to recap the St. Mary's-Santa Clara game the other night. The great Ted Robinson and I worked the game for Comcast SportsNet.

What a great atmosphere at Santa Clara's beautiful Leavey Center where Broncos coach Kerry Keating has done a great job of creating a winning culture.

Speaking of Coach Keating, he uses timeouts after his team scores to set his defense up, similar to what Ben Howland does at UCLA. This is the exact opposite of how most coaches use timeouts to set up their offense. It demonstrates that he's not afraid to do things differently and go against the grain.

As for the game, Santa Clara's freshman guard Kevin Foster really put on a show. The 6-2 Foster is one of the most talented freshmen on the West Coast and it will be interesting to see if he ends up on the NBA radar as he develops as a player. He scored 26 points on 9-12 shooting against a good St. Mary's team.

This question is whether Foster can learn to play the point position. He's too small as an off-guard, but is a flat-out shooter with three-point range. He's had some great games this season (21 vs Arizona, 20 vs Portland, 31 vs St. Mary's and Patrick Mills in January). Even with SMC focusing on him defensively, he still scored at will. On the flip side, defensively, he must improve as he's a liability at times.

SC senior center John Bryant (pictured above defending Omar Samhan) is a potential second-round pick. In their second meeting of the season, Bryant out-played SMC's Samhan. Samhan got the better of Bryant the first time they played.

As for Samhan, he's likely a late second-round pick or an overseas player. Bryant also has late second-round potential and could be a high-level player in Europe. Bryant is a better rebounder than Samhan, but Bryant can't match Samhan's speed or mobility and is poor in transition, both below most NBA centers in Athleticism . Omar's also a better passer. After battling their weight early in their careers, both guys are in terrific shape.

Bryant, who's been invited to the Portsmouth Invitational in April, has good hands and puts up numbers on the glass. He scores with his back to basket. Still, I'm concerned about his transition defense and worry that he can't play in an uptempo game. Plus, he's poor laterally defending the pick-and-roll.

St. Mary's forward Diamon Simpson is an D-League prospect where he could be a back-up. I think he'd be a good mid-level Euro League player. After posting a 23-point, 9-rebound game against San Fran, he had trouble with the big front line of Santa Clara.

It's clear that St. Mary's misses Patty Mills, who broke his right hand late last month and is out for 30 days or so. Mills is a guy who makes his teammates better. Even sitting on the bench, he has a great attitude and energy. It's like having another assistant coach. He's really showing terrific leadership. His value goes up even when he's not playing.

After watching him for two years, I can say Mills is an NBA first-round prospect. He has great speed with the ball and has improved as an outside shooter. Still, he's got to improve as a defender. Further, as a PG, his assist-to-turnover ratio is a red flag and lack of strength and size a concern.

There's no arguing his value to his team. The Gaels are like a different team without him on the floor.

Two nights before the SMC-Santa Clara game, Greg Pappa and I worked the USF-St. Mary's game. In that game, SMC coach Randy Bennett had his third PG in three games (Mills, Mickey McConnell, and Wayne Hunter). Carlin Hughes also slid over to play the point.

Before transferring to SMC, Hughes played the point for two seasons at D2 Montana State-Billings where he put up big assist numbers. Against USF, he did a nice job pushing the ball in transition.

Diamon Simpson showed some perimeter 3-man skills by stepping out on the floor vs USF. He outplayed USF junior forward Dior Lowhorn, the WCC's leading scorer, in this game. Simpson is the best defensive PF in the WCC and an excellent shot-blocker and rebounder at this level.

Lowhorn, who's played for four coaches in college (Bobby Knight, Jessie Evans, Eddie Sutton, and Rex Walters), is a mid-level European player who is an offensive numbers player. He lacks inside toughness who should be a more dominant rebounder.

Loyola Marymount at St. Mary's recap

Worked the LMU-St. Mary's game last night for Comcast SportsNet. SMC won by 25 as four Gaels players scored in double figures.

SMC not only has a good team, but an excellent coaching staff.

St. Mary's center Omar Samhan (pictured here in red), who's averaging a double-double this season as a junior, is a potential late second-round NBA pick. He reminds me of former NBA player Paul Mokeski, an excellent role player who played in more than 700 games in the '80s.

Like Samhan, SM senior forward Diamon Simpson is also averaging a double-double this season. He's a potential NBA summer league player who could catch on with a D-League team. His game reminds me of PHX forward Louis Amundson, who played at UNLV.

PG Patty Mills had 11 pts, 8 asts, and 3 stls in 26 mins against LMU. He's a mid- to late-first- rounder. Mills is a combo guard who reminds me a lot of Leandro Barbosa with the Suns. He must bring it every night as a defender and continue to be a pure PG.

LMU freshman guard Jarred DuBois is a lefty who is playing on a struggling Lions team that lacks talent. Mills totally outplayed him in the second half. DuBois, who's averaging about 35 mins per game, led LMU with 17 pts in 31 mins. He also had 6 turnovers, but keep in mind that he doesn't have much to work with right now. DuBois reminds me of Elliot Perry, a 10-year NBA vet who earned Most Improved Player honors in the mid-90s.

Notes from the Arizona-Cal game

Went to the Arizona-Cal game Friday night in Berkeley. Cal won, 69-55. [Here's the box score.]

Coach Mike Montgomery is a 5-man away from having an outstanding team at Cal. As the game went on, Cal picked apart UA's changing defenses. Defensively, Cal did a nice job of fronting 3/4 post-ups and had good weak side help on lob passes.

Cal's role players outplayed their counterparts at UA, which had just one point from the bench.

For Cal, three guys stood out:

Jerome Randle (introduced as "Bulldog") is an offensive-minded PG who needs to be a more consistent defender. He's playing more under control and shooting the ball better. He pushes the ball well and does a great job of splitting and getting in the lane for floaters off the middle pick-and-roll. [Good story about Randle here. And here's another.]

Cal 2-guard Patrick Christopher has a shooter's mentality and did a good job defending Chase Budinger. He also had possessions when he defended UA PG Nic Wise. Christopher had the biggest impact on the outcome of this game. Can go and get lobs, and finish. He was 9 of 18 from the field and was Cal's best player tonight at both ends of the floor. [Good piece on Christopher here.]

Theo Robertson is a 3-man with a great basketball body. He's a solid defender who plays within himself and can shoot the ball (I watched him in warm-ups and he has a great stroke).

Off the bench, Cal's Harper Kamp, a 6-8 forward, battled inside versus UA's Jordan Hill defensively. At the offensive end, he was a big key with his hi-lo passing against UA's zone defense. Kamp had five assists off the bench and led the Bears in both assists and rebounding.

Arizona has a trio of great college players in Wise, Jordan Hill, and Budinger.

Hill plays center at UA, but would be an NBA 4-man. He's been ranked by some as the Pac-10's best big man. Puts up big numbers at the college level (18 pts, 11 rebs). Had a big-time offensive tip-dunk and showed some ability to finish at the rim.

He has an NBA body -- athletic and active -- and runs the floor well. He also has decent hands and can catch the ball in traffic. He gets a lot of offensive touches, but surprisingly, had three of his shots blocked.

Should be a high NBA pick, and will improve with experience and strength.

UA small forward Chase Budinger handled on a pick-and-roll with Hill and got to the rim. Can run and finish at the rim. His game is better-suited as a pro than in college because of the open floor in the NBA. Defensively, he's a 3-man as I don't see him as an NBA off-guard.

He's bouncy, but had only two rebounds in this game. Really struggled to finish his mid-range shots (4-17 FG) and had zero FT despite 17 FGA.

PG Nic Wise is small and quick. He can really turn the corner on the pick-and-roll and can change directions with the ball. He didn't have a single FTA in this game, but when he's on the floor, the Cats are a different team.

Defensively, the Cats did a lot of mixing up their defense versus a Cal team that shoots the ball well in 3-point FG percentage.

Arizona, which has had big wins over Gonzaga and Kansas, opened in a 1-2-2 zone and mixed up full-court zones with a 2-1-2 full-court zone defense after made baskets and a 2-2-1. After timeouts, they came out in a 1-3-1 trapping half-court zone. The first possession of man-to-man defense came at the 15-minute mark of second half.

On offense, UA ran 5-out motion and 4-out 1 in with Hill as the post-up man. They also ran ("tap head") flex-cut offense, a 1-4 high with UCLA cut. In the second half, they ran a double-high pick-and-roll with Wise into a double-screen away for Budinger.

Key stat of the night: UA had zero FT in the first half. [Here's the first-half box score.]

Plenty of scouts and NBA people at the game.

Recap of the UVA-Georgia Tech game

While visiting ATL this week, made it a point to get to the Virginia-Georgia Tech game last night. It was a great game as UVA won in OT, 88-84. Big road win for the Cavs, who hadn't won on the road this season, losing at Syracuse and at Minnesota.

UVA did a good job trapping the ball and rotating out. They mixed in some zone defense with their man to man.

Several NBA scouts were at the game, including CLE, MIN, MIL, and MIA.

As is the tradition with UVA, guard play is a key for the Cavs, who are led by 6-foot-6 frosh Sylven Landesberg, a McDonald's All-American last year from Queens.

He's a 2/3 man, but because of his ballhandling skills, can play some point when needed. Needs to work on becoming a more consistent shooter, but he's already earned Freshman of the Week honors three times.

Landesberg scored a lefty layup five seconds into game. He knows how to make backdoor cuts. Plays at a good pace. Can get in the lane and can really score in transition. Finishes well on floaters. He will improve as an outside shooter. Played unselfishly and with a lot of poise. Did not force shots. Has a nice crossover dribble. Draws contact off dribble-drive. Had 26 points in 41 minutes.

For Georgia Tech, Gani Lawal is a 6-foot-9 4-man who could be a late first-round or early second-round prospect if he improves his perimeter skills. At this point, he has limited range. [At the top of the key, UVA did not even guard him.]

Strong player who rebounds well and can finish inside. Lawal is very active and looks to post up and seal in the early transition. Has ability to draw fouls (he got to the FT line 14 times against UVA), but needs to work on his ball skills and his lateral quickness.

Finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds.

[I watched Lawal play last week against USC and he was outplayed by Taj Gibson, who scored 15 points and had 14 rebounds to Lawal's 3 points, 5 rebounds, 3 turnovers.)

UVA center Alade Aminu is an athletic player (he was a triple-jump star in high school), but struggled to finish inside, missing a couple of dunks. Not an offensive threat, though he scored on offensive tip-ins. [Had one offensive move he showed: From the right block, he shoots a jump-hook baseline off the glass.] He had 13 points and 12 boards before fouling out.

A senior, Aminu plays within his limitations and plays hard. He could be a low-level European League prospect.

Senior guard Lewis Clinch (who missed the first seven games of the season with academic issues) plays the off-guard, but with Mo Miller out with a broken nose, he's seeing some time at the PG spot.

At the 2-position against UVA, he was 3-10 from 3-point range and 3-7 from the line. Playing with confidence. Has the ability to get in the lane. Does not have NBA speed or quickness, though he might be a D-League prospect as a possible backup. His third three of the game was the go-ahead basket. Did a great job from the guard spot on the defensive glass with nine rebounds.

Georgia Tech's freshman PG Iman Shumpert has a scorer's mentality. At times he over-dribbles and can be careless with the ball (7 TOs vs UVA), but he has good size for a point guard. He was in foul trouble which affected his defense late in the game. A former McDonald's All-American, it will be interesting to see how he develops his PG skills. Finished with 18 pts, 6 assists, 5 rebs.

As you can read here, free throws had a huge impact on this game. GT did a good job getting to line (33 FTA), but only made 16 (48%). They came into game with a 59.9 free throw percent (last in the ACC). On the other side, UVA hit on 17-22 of their FTs (77%).

Many thanks to UVA assistant Rick Brunson for his hospitality at the game.

Notes from the Boise State-USD game

In San Diego to watch the Boise State-USD game last night. [BSU won, 75-72.]

Couple of my notes from the game:

USD 4-man Rob Jones did an excellent job defending Boise's leading scorer Mark Sanchez in the first half, limiting him to just five points. Sanchez finished with 20 points, but Jones didn't guard him much in the second half.

Jones did the same thing last month when he limited Nevada's Luke Babbitt to just three points in a USD win.

Jones is built like a 3-man, but can play the 4 spot in the WCC. He plays with a lot of confidence and has great strength and quickness, which help him draw fouls. He reminds me of a poor man's Fennis Dembo, who played for me in the CBA and won an NBA title with the Pistons in 1989.

Only a sophomore, Jones' feel for game will improve with experience. At 6-6, 230, he'd be a good tight end prospect, similar to Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.

Off the bench, USD guard Trumaine Johnson had a big impact. Just back from a suspension that's kept him out for the first 12 games of the season, the 6-foot-2 sophomore can really get in lane off the dribble penetration. He's one of a couple of USD players who can create his own shot. Johnson's an inconsistent outside shooter, but in "flat" situation, he can get to the rim and draw fouls.

Gyno Pomare did a good job defending post. A 6-foot-8 forward/center, he found gaps in the BSU zone. Against Boise's man-to-man defense, he established great post position. He's a senior who plays hard. BSU doubled Pomare on the catch in the last four minutes of the game. I'd rate him as a mid-level European League prospect.

For Boise State, PG Anthony Thomas had a big first half, connecting on all six of his shots from the field, including four 3-pointers. He also had six rebounds in the first half.

At 6-foot, 205, he's a strong point guard who played the best game of his three-year career. He has good defensive anticpation and a strong upper body. He's not an NBA prospect, but is one of the better guards in the WAC and worth a look in Summer League play.

He did a good job getting over picks on the pick-and-roll. As the game went along, it looked like his conditioning may have affected his play. He didn't look to score as much in the second half, but came up with a critical steal with 1:09 left in the game.

BSU senior Mark Sanchez, the WAC player of the week earlier this month, is a nice college player, though not at the NBDL level. At this point, he's likely a low-level European League prospect.

At 6-foot-7, he showed good 3-point range and, when USD had a big on him, he found ways to score. [When USD's Rob Jones defended him, Sanchez struggled to get good looks.]

Boise State connected on 9 of 11 from 3-point range and had good interior passing. The Broncos got several key baskets off baseline out of bounds "pick the picker" action.

After timeouts, USD did a good job executing, but the Toreros' lack of transition defense hurt.

Also, this game showed the importance of not only getting to the FT line, but converting. USD shot 65 percent from the line (13-20) and missed four FT from 1:33 until the end of the game.

USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion is really a beautiful arena. With BSU fans in town for the Poinsettia Bowl, the Bronco fans -- including the BSU band -- were out in force.

Scouting San Diego, Reno, ASU, and SDSU

Was in San Diego earlier this week for USD's first annual "Tee-Off and Tip-Off" charity event benefiting the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund and Father Joe's Villages.

While there, I had the chance to watch a couple of games: Reno vs USD and San Diego State vs Arizona State (on TV).

In the first game, USD controlled the tempo as Reno had trouble scoring. I thought San Diego did a good job executing at both ends of the floor. They're well-coached. Reno also did a nice job mixing up their defenses and the guys played hard the entire game.

For Reno, sophomore guard Armon Johnson, last year's WAC Freshman of the Year, is an inconsistent shooter, but he can get his shot off. A lefty, he changes speed with the dribble, which is high at times. He could be a possible NBDL prospect in two years. For a young guy, he really communicates with his teammates well and shows signs of leadership.

Another young guy for Reno, freshman Luke Babbitt, is a PF at the college level, but he does not have an NBA position. He's 6-9, but must get stronger. Has ball skills. In warm ups looked to shoot ball well with range. Like Johnson, Babbitt is a lefty who really favors his left.

On the catch, USD did a good job shrinking the floor and collapsing on him. At this point, other young guys like Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan are way ahead of him.

For San Diego, Gyno Pomare, a 6-8 PF who was suspended for the team's first game at UNLV, is a good 4 /5 man in the WCC. He should be considered an NBDL or European league prospect. He doesn't have enough lift for the NBA game. A throwback-type player. Efficient. Plays within himself.

Rob Jones is at the other forward spot, though he has a PF game. I could see him playing football at the next level. He's the perfect 3/4 man at the WCC level. Good defender, good mid- range game. Has nice pull-up jump shot from 15-17 feet. Loses focus as a passer. Did a great job defending Luke Babbitt, preventing the former McDonald's All-America from scoring until less than two minutes remained in the game.

USD's Brandon Johnson was the best player in this game [see photo above]. He's a real pit bull. With a strong scorer's mentality, he's a bit of a poor man's Nate Robinson.

Has deep range (NBA 3-point). His size hurts him on dribble-drives trying to finish inside (gets shot blocked at college level). At this point, he's likely an NBDL prospect and NBA summer league player.

Still, he had the biggest impact on the game. He need the ball in his hands.

A number of NBA scouts were at the game: Herb Livsey (ATL), Jim Kelly (TOR), Chet Kameron (MIA), and Tony Ranzone (DET).

The Arizona State-San Diego State game (which I watched on TV) was interesting as ASU's Herb Sendek runs the Flex Offense, Princeton Offense, and various and half-court sets.

Sun Devil sophomore James Harden is a talented left-handed guard who will be a first-rounder and an NBA player. Had some scouts at this game, too, as former NBA coach Gene Shoe and PHX Gm Steve Kerr were on hand.

Pauley, Jenny Craig Pavilion (USD), and USC's Galen Center are all terrific arenas for hoops. But college basketball in early November is a tough draw in California. Crowds were relatively small for all of the games I've seen recently.


[Side note: My reference to the University of Nevada as "Reno" is a bad habit I picked up nearly 30 years ago. My Dad coached the Reno Bighorns of the Western Basketball League in the early 1980s. He used to watch games over at the U of N, back when it was commonly known as "Nevada-Reno." He would always call the school "Reno" for short. I've always called it that, too. Certainly, I mean no disrespect to the university.]

When playing Boston, quick contested shots, turnovers are recipe for trouble

Watched last night's Bulls-Celtics game while passing out Halloween candy.

In an 82-game season, every team has 5-10 out-and-out off-nights. The Bulls had one of those last night against BOS.

Part of the problem was that Chicago's shot selection was poor. Yes, Boston's defense is arguably the league's best, but the Bulls took way too many shots out of context.

Against a team like the Celtics, the ball must move from the first side to the second side, and back to the third side. In other words, you've got to make the defense move. What you don't want is to come down and take the first contested shot on the first side.

Quick contested shots will kill you against Boston and the Bulls took way too many of those. As evidence, CHI had just three assists in the first half.

But it wasn't only quick contested shots that hurt CHI. They turned it over 10 times in the first half and didn't play with much energy. Again, against BOS, these things will kill you.

The good news for CHI is that D. Rose got to the rim in transition. In fact, Rose in transition and CHI's foul shooting (10-10 FT) was the offense. He can finish with either hand and has a terrific cross-over.

CHI's T. Thomas was 1-10 from the field in the first half (2-17 for the game), which is likely why BOS left him open from 17-20 feet.

The Celtics recognized that when Thomas picks on the pick-and-roll, he likes to pick-and-pop, but isn't likely to roll on the PNR. Once he puts the ball on the floor and attacks off the dribble, he'll be more effective.

BOS really took advantage of CHI's lack of a post-up game. Deng is always a high percentage shooter because of his quality shot selection and his ability to post up, but that wasn't the case against the Celtics (2-10 FG).

When Hinrich ran the pick-and-roll, the Bulls got better looks than what they got in the first half.

Defensively, in the 4Q, Nocioni had trouble matching up with BOS's P. Pierce and fouled out in 13 minutes.

As for Kevin Garnett, he was phenomenal in the first half.

Game has gotten easier for LeBron

Had a chance to go back and watch several opening-night games that I'd Tivo'd, including the Cavs-Celtics game, which BOS won.

Despite the loss, CLE should have a great season. They have a dominant superstar in LeBron; they have outstanding rebounding; and they have great team speed, especially when they play James at the 4-spot along with Varejao at center, Gibson and Mo Williams. With this lineup they can play "small ball" and really spread out the defense.

When they go big -- with Ilgauskas (at the 5), Varejao (4), James (3) and two guards -- they're equally tough to stop.

So it really comes down to "who" and "how" -- who plays and how do they play on a given night.

Bad news for defenders: LeBron has really improved in pick-N-roll situations. The game has become so easy for him. He doesn't get enough credit for how well he moves without the ball.

Gibson's a perfect third guard with great quickness, solid defense, and the ability to hit the the 3-ball.

The big difference for Cavs this year as opposed to last season is how they get out of the blocks. Last season, CLE didn't start the year with Pavlovic and Varejao, and James was slowed some by injuries. And they still won 45 games. It's likely they would've won 10-12 more if they'd had an injury-free start to the season.

As for coaching, Mike Brown is an excellent X's and O's coach with the right temperment and personality for an NBA coach. And CLE's front office has done a great job putting together a versatile roster with almost no holes.

Strong defense helps Lakers get off to quick start

Was in LA last night and had a chance to go to the Lakers-Clips game at Staples. The Lakers won by 38 after beating Portland by 20 in Tuesday's opener.

Offensively, the only Clippper offensive advantage was early in the first quarter when Tim Thomas matched up against Gasol. Thomas had 7 points early before picking up two quick fouls.

After that, the Clippers struggled to score vs the Lakers defense. The slower the Clippers' pace, the more time the Laker defense had to get set.

Speaking on defense, the Laker defense was outstanding, holding the Clips to 37% shooting from the field. They did a great job of keeping the lane compact and limiting the dribble-penetration.

The weakside corner (3 balls) was the only area of the floor the Lakers didn't have covered at times as they did a great job scrambling and rotating to open men.

Baron Davis looked uncomfortable in his first game in an LAC system where Coach Dunleavy called the offensive sets througout the game. The Clippers played at a slower pace than had been talked about in preseason.

Davis only played in one preseason game due to injuries. His lack of reps was evident as he shot just 4-14 from the field. The lack of PT in the preseason likely had something to do with his inability to get into a flow.

Guard Eric Gordon, a Clipper lottery pick, saw most of his action in the 4Q. Gordon is a promising young player who will likely see more minutes as the season goes on, but he struggled in this game.

Undrafted Mike Taylor is a surprising young player with good quickness. A former NDBL player, he's frail, but has good upside. I thought he played well late in the game last night.

In the exhibition season, Taylor shot 9-12 in a win over the Lakers. He also had 11 points (4-4 FG) in 11 minutes against Denver.

The center match-up was no contest as Bynum totally out-played Kaman. When Camby gets healthy he'll really help the Clippers' interior defense. Chris Mihm saw some action in the 4Q for the Lakers, scoring 10 points in 9 minutes.

As for the bench, the Laker reserves had a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the entire game. Whoever wasn't in the game showed a lot of support for the guys on the floor, standing and cheering for their teammates.

It was the second night of a back-to-back for the Lakers, but it didn't show as it's a deep team and Coach Jackson does an excellent job of juggling minutes.

Ariza, Farmar, and Odom all had 20-plus minutes off the bench for the Lakers and it was the bench that opened up the game in the 2Q with a 17-0 run. Seven Lakers scored in double figures.

Coach Jackson's decision to bring Lamar Odom off the bench seems to have worked out well.

Coach Dunleavy had a great quote about Odom:

"He's like a queen on the chess board. He's got the ability to move position from position, almost other than center. He can play the point, forward, he handles the ball, he can distribute, he can make plays, he can play the mobile forward."

Rose more physical than expected as Bulls top Bucks

Like a lot of people, I was curious to see how D. Rose would come out last night for the Bulls in their opener against the Bucks. [CHI won by 13.]

It's clear he's going to be an outstanding player. Teams will start going under more screens with him and force him to shoot the ball from the outside. He's as quick with the ball and gets places as good as any guard in the league.

Guys bounce off him, too. He's more of a physical presence than I'd expected or seen in the preseason.

Coach Del Negro will have his work cut out trying to find minutes for all of his backcourt guys. Sefolosha started at the 2 spot and played the first six minutes. Hinrich and Gordon both came off the bench, with Hinrich moving to PG when Rose leaves the game.

Having both of those guys puts a lot of pressure on second-unit guys from the other team because of their scoring..

And it gets trickier for Coach Del Negro when Larry Hughes comes back. With Rose, Hinrich, Gordon, Hughes, and Sefolosha -- how are all of those guys going to get consistent minutes? That's a challenge. Factor in Gordon playing for a contract and it gets really interesting...

Tyrus Thomas has improved and had a nice line last night. The Bulls need someone on their front line to step up and give them consistency. That could be Thomas.

As for the Bucks, they're in need of versatility and athleticism. The 4 position is going to hurt Milwaukee. Villanueva, the starter, had three fouls in 9 minutes, and is a defensive liability.

The Bucks are also dealing with health issues with Ridnour, Lue, and Bell. On top of that, there are eight new players on this roster with a new staff trying to find the right strategy.

It's one reason MIL allowed the Bulls to shoot 44 free throws compared to their 20. Only Redd got to the FT line more than four times for the Bucks. They also turned the ball over 19 times, including five from Ridnour. [In his defense, he's not 100% due to injury.]

To make things worse, MIL was outscored 20-1 in fast break points and didn't hold the Bulls below 25 points in any quarter. The lowest CHI shot in any quarter was 47%; 51% for the game.

It's one game. Coach Skiles will get it turned around. In fact, he has a 5-point plan that he's working from.

Observations from the Lakers-Blazers game

Had a chance to watch the Lakers-Blazers opener last night, which LA won, 96-76.

Portland has a great young nucleus with a bright future. They have so many pieces. But they're missing a starting point guard.

Brandon Roy, who starts at the point for the Blazers, shot just 5-15 from the field. With a true PG who could create easier looks, a great scorer like Roy would be much more effective, especially against a good team like the Lakers.

As for the other point guards on the roster, Steve Blake is an excellent guy for your team, but he's a back-up. Bayless isn't ready to be a starter right now. And Rodriquez is a back-up fourth guard on a playoff team.

As for the frontcourt, the Blazers have tremendous depth (and youth) up front at the power forward/center position with Aldridge, Oden, Przybilla, Frye, and Diogu.

Rudy Fernandez had a nice offensive game, shooting 3-5 from 3-point range in 29 minutes and scoring 16 points.

As for LA, the Laker defense has really improved since last season. The second unit changes the pace and tempo for them.

Off the bench, they've got great a great combination of youth/energy/experience Vujacic, Ariza, and Farmar, all of whom really pick up the defense off the bench while the starters set the tone with execution and playoff experience.