Dan Moris Blog

I’m more than a fair weather fan of the Milwaukee Bucks. I will say that it can be difficult to be a fan of the team while living a three hour drive away from Milwaukee. First of all, the Bucks don’t enjoy a statewide following like their fellow in-state professional teams, the Packers and Brewers. Secondly, the NBA is often viewed as a league filled with overpaid and all-too-often uninspired players - something that doesn’t play well with sports fans in the upper midwest. Despite that, I’ve always maintained a status of a fan of the organization since the early 1990’s. Even moreso than the screwed-by-the-NBA 2000-01 Bucks team featuring the “Big Three”, this team and season has been my favorite.

This year’s team has been such a pleasant surprise. Beyond Andrew Bogut (who had yet to really live up to his potential) and Michael Redd (who is always injured), the roster read like a who’s who of run-of-the-mill NBA roster fodder. Guys that you know if were on any other team, you wouldn’t care to remember their name. Heck, they’ll be someone else’s roster fodder next season, anyway.

I loved the drafting of Brandon Jennings. That’s where my heightened interest in this season began. The team needed some swagger and confidence. So long as the young Buck could listen to his coach, Scott Skiles, I believed he could be a difference maker. He really opened my eyes at the beginning of the season when he easily outplayed last year’s Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose in a game against the Bulls. Wow, this guy is the real deal. Soon after, he dropped 55 points against the Golden State Warriors. (see the video below)

As exciting as it was to have one of the NBA’s top rookies, I remained cautious with my optimism. After all, most of the NBA’s best rookies aren’t playing for teams competing for championships or even playoff spots. Then I began to notice just how well the team played together and just how good each of these individual players could be. Back-up forward and Turkey native Ersan Illyasova is a budding star. Carlos Delfino is good at everything, fills the stat sheet and plays great defense. Luke Ridnaur and Luc Mbah-Moute are players that every good NBA team should have. Signing Jerry Stackhouse, to replace the again injuried Michael Redd, has provided a stable veteran boost. John Salmons has been nothing short of spectacular since he was acquired in trade from Chicago. This is a very good pro basketball team.

That said, this team’s noteworthy resurgence wouldn’t be possible with Andrew Bogut. The Austrailian-born center has not only had his best season as a pro, but he has created a buzz for the team by creating Squad 6, a dedicated group of Bucks fans sitting together (in seats purchased for them by Bogut himself), always standing, leading cheers and chants at the Bradley Center. I don’t know if I ever felt as bad for an injured player as I did for Andrew when he broke his wrist and separated his shoulder in a fall in a game against the Suns last week. The guy who I felt was at the heart of this renewed vigor in the Bucks had his season ended much too early.

Without Bogut, the team’s chances of getting far in the playoffs are greatly reduced. But, don’t count out this team. A winning attitude is contagious and makes athletes take their level of performance to new heights. As proven in this past week’s victories, this team still has a winning attitude. This team still has a chance to make some noise. I can’t wait to see it. Fear the Deer.