• Andrew Bogut's sore knee will keep him on the shelf for 7-10 days according to John Hammond.  For more details, check out Bogut's new and rather excellent blog, which pegs his return as 1-2 weeks away:

  I have a left knee bone bruise, along with a joint effusion. Basically the hit I took has created fluid and the fluid is moving around in there causing stiffness and pain. I tried to play the second half but there wasn't a chance I could move towards that knee little own jump or push off it at all So I was left with no other choice but to leave the game early. We are currently in Atlanta and I had a MRI this morning which confirmed the above. The doctors and physio's we have looking after us have suggested a 1-2 week off time. Not the best news I wanted to hear. I cannot stand missing games especially due to injury, it really frustrates me. I've been playing through a fair number of injuries lately, and against the Magic I finally started to feel good again.

  Losing Bogut has to be the worst possible news the Bucks could get, not only because Bogut's arguably the team's "best" all-around player at this point, but also because the gulf between Bogut and the Dutchmen who back him up is so massive (sorry, Dan and Francisco).  While the Bucks have made do without Michael Redd by playing Ramon Sessions, Charlie Bell, and occasionally Richard Jefferson at the 2,  they simply don't have the same flexibility at the center position. 
  
  Without Bogut and Redd, the Bucks would deserve a parade for winning any of their remaining games this week--in Atlanta, in Detroit, and home against Cleveland.  But Skiles will at least have the opportunity to go smaller against Atlanta and Detroit, neither of whom plays with a typical back-to-the-basket center.  While Gadzuric will likely start, don't be shocked to see Charlie Villanueva or Malik Allen playing some center against Al Horford and Rasheed Wallace.  Expect Joe Alexander to also see more regular minutes. 
  
• BrewHoop favorite Rob Peterson of NBA.com has a great look back at the incredible career of Oscar Robertson, who celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this week.
  

  Imagine our bemusement, then, to know now that Robertson averaged a triple-double for the first five NBA seasons with 30.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game in 384 games. Stick that in your trophy case for a moment and gawk at it: 30, 10 and 10, every season for five years.
  
  Could you imagine what ESPN would do with Oscar if he played today? They'd probably give him his own channel. He would own Nike ... and adidas. In this Internet world of today, how huge Robertson would be in Europe or China? And how many articles would be written about him opting out of his contract in 2010?

• The Bob Boozer Jinx writes that the Bucks might as well wave the white flag without Bogut against Atlanta, Detroit and Cleveland--but that makes next week all the more important. 
• Tom Enlund looks at the Bucks' early rebounding success. Kudos to Enlund for looking beyond raw rebounding numbers, which is what most in the media are still stuck on doing; because of differences in pace and field goal percentage, rebound rates offer a much better barometer of a player or team's proficiency on the glass.  As we noted last week, the Bucks are getting good rebounding rates from virtually every position, which Skiles echoes:

  "We felt Bogut and Charlie V., statistically, are good rebounders," said Skiles. "But we didn't plan on Mbah a Moute being able to go in there and get a 17-rebound night, or 10 in the first half, some of the things he's done. I don't know how anybody could plan on that.
  
  "Richard was coming off a year where he averaged a little over four rebounds and he's over five, almost at six which is where we'd like him to be. Each guy is chipping in a little bit. (Ridnour) has always been a pretty good point guard-rebounder which is a little bit surprising. And Ramon is too. That's how you end up doing it. If each guy gets one more a game, it adds up."
  
  "We work at it and we're conscientious about it."

• Alex has collected all the latest power rankings right here, where the Bucks rank anywhere from 12th (Hollinger) to 21st (those damn bloggers).  And be sure to also check out Ty's advanced power rankings blog--he's got the Bucks ranked 17th right now.
  
• The Bratwurst notes that the new-look Bucks are boring--in a good way.

Thus far Adrian Griffin has mostly been known as one of Scott Skiles' favorite binkies from Chicago, and we've previously wondered aloud why the Bucks would pay the 34-year old the handsome sum of $1.71 million to sit on the bench when his deal was non-guaranteed.  Well, score one for rationality: Griffin has been cut and veteran power forward Austin Croshere was claimed off waivers on the eve of the Bucks' season opener.  

Croshere provides the Bucks a reasonably mobile big off the bench that can occasionally hit threes (34% career), and while at 33 he's not someone you want playing extended minutes, he could certainly find his way into the rotation given the Bucks' complete lack of depth up front.  Either way he's of more use than Griffin and costs less than half as much, so it's difficult to complain.  The move also provides further evidence that Skiles and company have been less than thrilled with their PF rotation this preseason, which has consisted mainly of Charlie Villanueva, Malik Allen, and rookie combo forwards Joe Alexander (who's better suited to SF) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (who's also seen time at SG).

I'm not sure Croshere does anything the freshly-waived Matt Freije can't do for less money, but we all know the NBA hates young players who weren't lottery picks.  So guys like Freije, Nick Fazekas, and Elton Brown will continue to be ignored when they have the potential to actually be decent role players.  Fortunately, the Bucks will only be on the hook for $798k of Croshere's $1.26 million deal; as a veteran signing for the minimum, Croshere gets anything above the two year veteran's minimum paid for by the league.  As a result, the Bucks save about $903k and are probably (ever so) slightly better on the court as well.

In other opener-related news, Gery Woelfel writes that Villanueva is likely to start tomorrow night alongside Andrew Bogut, who tested his perpetually sprained ankle today in practice.  Meanwhile, Ramon Sessions may start in place of Luke Ridnour, who missed today's practice with back tightness.  Sessions has been wildly inconsistent this preseason, but the irony is that a significant proportion of Bucks Nation would secretly (or not so secretly) like to see him get a shot at starting at some point anyway.  Well, that chance may come sooner than expected.

First things first: the Bucks take on the Pistons in the 32nd Annual MACC Fund Game tonight at 7:30 at the Bradley Center.  As you probably already know, the MACC Fund has raised over $30 million for childhood cancer research since 1976, when it was started by Eddie Doucette and Jon McGlocklin.  The Bucks have obviously been huge supporters of the MACC Fund over the years, and tonight is always a highlight of the fundraising year, so be sure to make it down to the BC if you can--Bucks basketball and a great cause is tough to beat.

Of course, the Bucks on the court have been fairly easy to beat thus far in the preseason. Though they've been dealing with a number of key guys recovering from injuries, the "highlight" of the preseason thus far was their solid first half in Detroit on Wednesday--a game they still lost 85-71.  The good news is that Charlie Villanueva had his shot working (his passing not so much) and scored 20, while Andrew Bogut dropped in a quick six points and five boards in the opening quarter as the Bucks raced to a 25-12 lead. 

From there things went downhill, as the Pistons outscored the Bucks by at least eight points in every quarter.  Ramon Sessions had 10 dimes, but couldn't buy a bucket in going 0/8 from the field.  And Luc Richard Mbah a Moute seemed to be getting his name mentioned constantly by Ted Davis, but not always for good reasons. Luc made just 1/12 shots and notched five turnovers--not exactly the numbers you look for from your utility forward.  But he atoned for it a little with seven boards, five assists and four steals.  He also apparently threw a pass to Malik Allen, which wouldn't have been a problem if Allen wasn't walking to the scorer's table to check in.  Speaking of Allen, the veteran big man quietly dropped 18 of his own with 8/15 shooting from the field.

Last night in La Crosse looked more like the Monday loss against Minnesota, as the Bucks were outscored in every quarter by the Mavs en route to a 105-79 loss. The Mavs led by a bizarre 59-39 score through three quarters, before both teams stopped playing defense in the final stanza--the Mavs outscoring the Bucks 46-40.  That's right, the Bucks scored more points in the last quarter than in the first three combined.  Joe Alexander made his debut, but let's hope he was still feeling some of the effects of his abdominal injury--that way we can better explain his 0/6 shooting in 17 minutes.

Luke Ridnour had better luck in his debut, scoring eight (4/7 fg) along with six assists and one turnover in 16 minutes.  Mbah a Moute was also prominently involved again, playing 33 minutes and scoring 10 (3/6 fg) along with seven boards.  Sessions struggled from the field (2/7 fg) but got to the line eight times and finished with 11 points, a big-like nine boards and three helpers.  While Ridnour, Alexander, and Richard Jefferson returned to action, Scott Skiles gave Mike Redd the night off. Either way, the Bucks will need to start getting something together--their key guys are getting healthy, they've had a few games to shake some of the rust off, and they've got two nationally televised games in China next week.  We all know this isn't a quick-fix situation, but competitiveness doesn't seem like too much to ask.

The ant with the mad dance skills. (link-tip: Ball Don't Lie)

• If the mildly disturbing video introduction isn't quite enough, feel free to meet the Forte Wayne Mad Ants mascot: The Mad Ant, a.k.a. Nightmare Ant. Trouble following? Forte Wayne is the Bucks new NBDL affiliate.
• Vote in our latest poll, which asks: Who's the best Buck? Andrew Bogut leads at time of this post.
• SI.com's Paul Forrester offers well-reasoned analysis as he contemplates three challenges that Scott Skiles faces.
  
• SI.com's Chris Mannix pens an article about Richard Jefferson moving forward from the Nets.

  "You know, I was frustrated," said Jefferson in a telephone interview. "But now I'm excited. People misconstrued that I was unhappy going to Milwaukee. Man, I was unhappy about leaving the only team I had been a part of. I was the last one standing from the team that went to the Finals, the guys that won three straight division championships, the guys that made the Nets respectable -- and respectable for a long time. I didn't want to go. But it wasn't about Milwaukee."

• The Bucks don't have a high ceiling according to Dime. Their best-case scenario doesn't include the playoffs. Worst case scenario = worst in the league.
  

  How good is Richard Jefferson? When he had Jason Kidd and Vince Carter running 1-2 to his 3, the Nets seemed to peak at a second-round playoff exit. In RJ’s new home, the Ramon Sessions/Michael Redd backcourt doesn’t quite measure up to Kidd/Carter. Is Jefferson good enough to vault the Bucks into the playoffs on his own? Not really.

• Dime poses the question: Which new NBA offseason acquisition will have the biggest impact? Joe Alexander tells Dime it's Richard Jefferson, in between raving about Ramon Sessions.
• Dime also reports that Alexander, apparently inspired by Nas, is voting for Obama in '08.
• Dime is attempting to determine the best backcourt of the last 20 years. The '00-'01 duo of Sam Cassell and Ray Allen is up for consideration.
• Tim Chisholm of TSN reports the Bucks are finally moving forward.
• Hoopsworld offers a generally favorable Bucks preview.
• ESPN.com's John Hollinger doesn't get the additions of Francisco Elson, Tyronn Lue, and Malik Allen.
• Bob Wolfley of JS Online reveals the Bucks regular season television schedule, with 70 of 82 games to appear on FSN Wisconsin.
• Yahoo's Bucks report notes former assistant coach Brian James is rumored to replace the Phoenix-bound Scott Williams as television analyst.
• NJ.com's Dave D'Allesandro reveals that after a busy summer, former Buck Yi Jianlian is exhausted in Jersey.
• Ty at Bucks Diary wants native Milwaukeean Carl Landry back in town.
• The Las Vegas Sun's Rob Miech writes the Bucks are working out former UNLV point guard Kevin Kruger.
• The Columbus Dispatch reports September 5 is Michael Redd Day in Columbus, Ohio, as declared by Mayor Michael B. Coleman.
• A couple weeks ago we linked to a JS Online story reporting Charlie Villanueva working with a shoe donation program. Skeets at Ball Don't Lie explains CV is still making a difference.
• Thanks to Kelly Dywer for the generous words about BrewHoop in Ball Don't Lie's rundown of the best Bucks blogs.
• A little off-topic, but entertaining nonetheless: The Denver Egotist breaks down (okay, tears apart) the new OKC Thunder logo. (link-tip: TrueHoop)

• John Schuhmann of NBA.com reports that Michael Redd and Team USA are now in Macao, preparing for their remaining exhibition games before the Olympic schedule kicks off on August 10.  Their next game will be on Thursday at 7 am central, when they take on Ersan Ilyasova and the Turkish national team.  And while Team USA is taking their job seriously, there's still some room for fun:

  As the players were shooting around before practice began, Dwight Howard asked a courtside observer, "If I start shooting like Michael Redd, will I start making my jump shots?"
  
  Howard then proceeded to do a perfect imitation of Redd's unique lefty stroke ... without the successful results.

• Truman Redd at Bucks.com profiles Andrew Bogut's Olympic aspirations.

  "Being the centerpiece of our offense and our defense, teams tried not to let me get the ball in the post," Bogut said as he turned back a few pages of his career. "I love getting double-teamed because if I can’t score, I’m going to find the open man.
  
  "A lot of teams tried to get me in foul trouble. They would go at me a lot, try to draw cheap early fouls. They’d flop a lot to try to take charges."

  It's kind of funny to hear Bogut talk about opponents trying to flop against him, isn't it?  In fairness, I don't think Bogut's a flopper in the truest sense, as he generally relies on legitimate collisions to take charges, rather than throwing himself to the floor at the slightest contact (a la Vlade and even Bob Horry). 
  
• Bogut and Australia are in China taking part in the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament.  The Boomers begin play on Wednesday against Yi Jianlian's Chinese team, followed by African champion Angola on Thursday.
  
• Drew Olson at OnMilwaukee with an interesting take on why Mo Williams might not be traded soon.

  Allen and Lue are role players, but they are regarded as hard-working guys who should upgrade the chemistry of the team. Of course, the best way to do that will be by trading Mo Williams and / or Charlie Villanueva. But, Williams really can't be dealt until he recovers from thumb surgery.

  This is the first suggestion I've seen that Williams' surgery could impact his trade value. He played with the injury for much of last year (that wrap wasn't just a fashion statement) and never missed a game, so I always assumed the damage wasn't that serious.  He had surgery in early May and reportedly should be fine by camp.
• Olson also drops this interesting little nugget:

  It's probably nothing, but some Brewers players were chatting the other day and they seemed convinced that owner Mark Attanasio is interested in buying the Bucks, or at least a stake in the team.

• Those of you strangely fascinated by jersey numbers (like me) will be pleased to know that Bucks.com now has official numbers listed for all their new acquisitions.  With Desmond Mason already wearing #24, Richard Jefferson is apparently going with the #44 that he wore back at Arizona.  RJ wore the #24 his entire career in New Jersey, though it's unclear if that was in part because Keith Van Horn wore #44 for the Nets when Jefferson was a rookie.  Van Horn also wore that number in Milwaukee, while the immortal Jiri Welsch was the last Buck to wear it.  You have very small shoes to fill, Richard. 
  
  Speaking of small feet,  the #11 once worn by little guys Earl Boykins, T.J. Ford, and Lee Mayberry will now belong to Joe Alexander.  Joe also wore those digits at West Virginia and in Vegas, so no surprise there.  Meanwhile, fellow rook Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will inherit Royal Ivey's #12 after wearing #23 at UCLA. Tyronn Lue will opt for his favored #10 and Malik Allen will take #30.  Lue has never worn a number other than that, while Allen switched from #35 to #30 last year.  For a listing of every Buck and their number from the past 40 years, check out Basketball Reference. 
• SI's Ian Thomsen takes the plunge with his first round of 08/09 predictions. He's got the Bucks finishing ninth in the East but also lists John Hammond behind only Kevin Pritchard and Ed Stefanski among his executive of the year favorites.
• Kwame Brown has signed a two-year deal with the Pistons, further reducing the number of affordable free agent bigs on the market. The Bucks worked Brown out a couple weeks ago, but would not have had the cap room to match the Pistons' two year, $8 million offer.
  
• Here's your 08/09 Energee dance team. I think there's technically supposed to be an exclamation point in there somewhere.

Uh, Canada? Team USA hung a 55-point beating on them last night.

• Team USA opened its exhibition schedule with a 120-65 thumping of Canada last night (video above). Mike Redd picked up where he left off last summer with 20 points in 18 minutes, tying Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade for the Team USA lead.  Redd's apparently taking his specialist role to heart, as he made 6/8 from the field--all from three point range. 
• Alex asks: Olympic gold or NBA title?
• Kelly Dwyer opens up his DVD collection and takes his magnifying glass to game five of the Bucks/Pacers first round series from 2000 (part I, part II).

  Cassell hits another jumper, this time it's banked in. Both teams are trading buckets, and I'm absolutely convinced that these were the best two teams in the East that year. The Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000, and we all saw a lot of that team (thanks to Turner and NBC, we had no choice), but this Bucks team is much better.
  
  These are two deep, potent teams. By the time I finished typing that last paragraph, Jalen Rose and Ray Allen just traded jumpers.

• Watch Andrew Bogut talk Olympic hoops.
• Truth About It breaks down the Gilbert-fueled Milwaukee/DC feud.  I think at the end of the day no one would be going out of their way to rip Milwaukee if the Bucks were winning games; funny how that can make up for all the other problems a city has (see Detroit as exhibit A).  But until the Bucks become relevant on the court, the combination of small market + cold winter + losing = no respect.  That's just how it's going to be.  
• Dave Berri looks at rookie summer league performances.  As you might guess, the number's aren't great for Joe Alexander, but they were actually worse for O.J. Mayo.  Something else you might not have expected?  Luc Richard Mbah a Moute ranked fifth out of 32 rookies in per-minute production, tying Vegas MVP Jerryd Bayless
  
• Royal Ivey is now a Sixer. Ivey's hard work and penchant for floor burn were appreciated, but he's below average in essentially every phase of the game.  I wish I could say he's a hard-nosed defender or something, but the fact was that opposing guards had their way with him most of the year.  As the Bratwurst pointed out, getting in a defensive stance and fouling a lot doesn't equal good defense.
  
• Bucks Diary crunches numbers on the Lue and Allen signings.
• Ted Bauer at ESPN the Mag chronicles Sam Cassell's greatest hits.

• The Bucks improved to 3-1 in Vegas with their 81-67 win over Minnesota yesterday.  Check out our liveblog here, and the JS also has a brief recap.  Darius Washington filled in nicely for Ramon Sessions, scoring 19 points along with seven assists, while Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was all over the place, adding 13 points and 10 boards in just 22 minutes.  Joe Alexander struggled from the field (2/11 fg) and finished with just 8 points and four boards. He created plenty of decent looks for himself, but like in the Vegas opener just couldn't get his shot working.  Former Vandy PF Matt Freije had another nice shooting night with 16 points on 6/10 fg, while Racine native Matt Lojeski stepped up with 14 points on a tidy 5/7 shooting. 
  
• Sessions sat out the game with a minor hip injury but might play this afternoon when the Bucks finish their week with a game against the Cavs at 5:30 central.
• When asked what the Bucks have been preaching to their youngsters, assistant coach Kelvin Sampson told me after Saturday's game that it's largely about developing good habits. "Just play smart.  Many rookies try to do too much, but we've gotten some very nice work from our young guys in that respect."
  
• Alexander has clearly struggled for consistency on his shot this week (14/43 fg), starting with his 2/13 debut and further compounding his shooting woes with a 2/11 effort yesterday. That will understandably make some fans a bit anxious, especially given the type of monster scoring games we've seen from the likes of Jerryd Bayless and Anthony Randolph, both of whom the Bucks passed on. Bayless looked nearly unstoppable again yesterday in scoring 36 points in the Blazers' win over the Suns.
  
  But Bucks GM John Hammond has made it known from the start that Alexander's game is still raw, and he doesn't seem too concerned with his lottery pick's deference thus far.  "If the biggest problem we have with Joe Alexander is that he is a little too unselfish, then that's something we can certainly live with."
  
• One thing that's been interesting to watch is how the Bucks have come together nicely as a team in spite of the generally chaotic nature of summer league.  Sampson notes that much of the credit goes to the guys who have been here before.  "Our veterans have been great.  Sessions, Storey, and John Thomas are guys who have been extremely selfless in terms of helping our young guys and being vocal leaders.  Thomas especially has been doing a great job for us even though he hasn't gotten that many minutes."
• While the additions of Tyronn Lue and Malik Allen mean that there's little chance of any non-roster players from Vegas making it onto the Bucks' opening night roster, Sampson reserved praise for a number of the free agents.  "Rod Wilmont and Aaron McGhee have stood out. They've not always gotten major minutes but they've both come in and played their roles nicely.  Matt Lojeski has certainly surprised some people and opened eyes with his play, and 'Ole' [Olumide Oyedeji] has done that as well.  In general our guys have just had a great attitude and really played as a team."
• If you're keeping score at home, Lue's deal is for one year, $2.2 million while Allen will make $1.3 million next season, slightly above the league minimum for a player of his tenure. Allen also has a player option for 08/09.

• Ramon Sessions guided the Bucks to their second straight Vegas win, a 79-67 win over Denver.  Sessions messed around and nearly got a triple-double with 13 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds along with just two turnovers.  Joe Alexander had another slow start with a scoreless first half (0/3 fg), but he got it going in the second by making 5/7 shots to finish with 10 points, seven boards, and three blocks. Fellow rook Luc Richard Mbah a Moute matched Alexander with 10/7, while Olumide Oyedeji had his second consecutive strong game with eight points and 11 boards.  Rod Wilmont chipped in 13 as well.  Check out RealGM for the blow-by-blow.
• We found out yesterday Tyronn Lue was coming to Milwaukee, and today we learned the Bucks have also signed veteran big Malik Allen.  Allen played two seasons for Scott Skiles in Chicago, which probably isn't a coincidence.  Though a PF by trade, he has the bulk (6'10" / 255) to guard both big spots and gets by almost exclusively as a mid-range jump shooter on the offensive end.  He doesn't do much of anything inside and is a sub-par rebounder as well.
  
• Charles Gardner reports Allen got a two-year deal worth $1.5 million per season while Lue signed for one year and $2.5 million.  It's not like that's a ton for either, but I'm a bit surprised Allen would get two years and more than the minimum ($1.07 million for a seven-year vet).  Lue's agent Andy Miller told Phoenix papers yesterday his client was signing for the BAE of $1.91 million with an option for a second year, so it's not clear if that changed or not.