| Bucks Looking To Hit The Jackpot In The Lottery Authored by Serge Yusim - May 22, 2007 - 10:57 am
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Prospect Report: Brook Lopez Of StanfordFor a team looking for a well-developed offensive game at center, Brook Lopez is the 2008 Draft’s best option.
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championship contender, as was the case with Michael Jordan ('91, '92, '93, '96, '97, '98), Hakeem Olajuwon ('94, '95), and Tim Duncan ('99, '03, '05), signed in a free agency coup, with the Lakers nabbing Shaquille O’Neal ('00, '01, '02) away from Orlando being the most recent and notable example, or traded for as the final, yet incontrovertibly crucial, piece to a championship puzzle (Rasheed Wallace ('04) and Shaquille O’Neal ('06)).
The Bucks thought they acquired such a player when they drafted Andrew Bogut with the number one pick two years ago. However, despite being a solid center thus far in his NBA career and showing a marked improvement in his sophomore campaign, the Aussie has hardly been spectacular, nor has he been able to consistently demonstrate the tremendous potential that landed him atop the 2005 draft. As a result, Milwaukee has not shown the kind of progress one would expect of a team that has drafted a center with the number one pick. At this point in time, it would be at best dubious and at worst foolish to pin the Bucks’ future championship
hopes on Andrew Bogut.
During the 2006-2007 season the Bucks suffered a myriad of injuries that wreaked havoc on their starting lineup and devastated any hopes the team might have had for a playoff spot. Out of the expected five starters, Bogut missed 16 games, Charlie Villanueva missed 43 games, Michael Redd missed 29, Mo Williams was absent for 14, and Bobby Simmons missed the entire season. Consequently, Milwaukee won just 28 games and finished with the 3rd worst record in the
league.
That nightmare of a season has the potential to produce the kind of a franchise-changing player that can one day lead the Bucks to an NBA title. The Bucks have a 15.6% shot at the number one pick and a 15.7% chance of getting the number two pick. This year is also unique, as there is not one, but two can’t miss prospects in Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. If the basketball gods smile upon the Bucks as they did two years ago, when the team won the lottery with just over a 6% chance of doing so, and Larry Harris walks away with a top two pick, either one of these two young franchise changers have the enormous potential required to bring the Milwaukee Bucks back to the elite level the team enjoyed during its two Finals appearances in the 70s and its only championship run in 1971.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s lottery, the Bucks are guaranteed a top 6 pick in the draft and with it a great young player that will undoubtedly be an asset to the team. Yet, as of right now, it seems that only Oden and Durant are the kind of players capable of one day leading the Bucks to a championship and taking the franchise back to its glory days. Let us hope Larry Harris doesn’t forget to bring his lucky charms to the drawing.
You can e-mail Serge Yusim questions or comments at
SergeYusim@yahoo.com |
