March 2004 Milwaukee Bucks Wiretap

Van Horn can't get Bucks going

Apr 27, 2004 5:50 AM

So desperate was Terry Porter to get Keith Van Horn involved in the Bucks-Pistons series that he inserted the struggling forward into the starting lineup for Game 4.  The idea was for the Bucks to go small and get more points in transition.  The result?  Well they did score 92 points, but unfortunately for them the Pistons scored 109 to take a 3-1 lead in the best of seven series.

Van Horn's return?  11 points, three rebounds and three turnovers in 36 minutes.  The 11 points marked a series high, and unless things turn around quickly Milwaukee most likely will have only one game left in their season.

"We were just trying to get Keith started," Porter said. "He was not in his rhythm off the bench."

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

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Bucks confirm Ford to have surgery

Apr 24, 2004 9:40 AM

"Rookie guard T.J. Ford will undergo cervical spine surgery during the first week in May, Milwaukee Bucks officials confirmed after the team's practice Friday."

The surgery will be performed by Robert Watkins at the Los Angeles Spine Surgery Institute at St. Vincent Hospital in Los Angeles.

Milwaukee Bucks GM Larry Harris expects Ford to be ready ready about a month or so before the start of training camp.

"Somewhere between the third and fourth month, he will be back on the court with activity," Harris said. "We're looking the middle of August, certainly September, that he will be back."

Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

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Pistons look to Rasheed, Prince

Apr 24, 2004 8:55 AM

Perry Farrell of the Detroit Free Press writes that if the Detroit Pistons want to take control of their series with the Milwaukee Bucks, both Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince need to take more shots.

Wallace is averaging 16.5 points while shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range., while Prince is averaging 15 points shooting 45.5 percent from the field.  More importantly though Wallace has been averaging 12 shots and Prince 11 a game.

"He's a mismatch for anybody, so we must get him a little more involved and play off him a little more," said point guard Chauncey Billups on Wallace. "We've been working on a couple of things as far as getting the ball down low and letting him open the game up. If you have a player like that you have to take advantage of his abilities."

Detroit Free Press

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Surgery an option for Ford

Apr 23, 2004 9:10 AM

Milwaukee Bucks rookie point guard T.J. Ford might undergo offseason surgery on his spine.

Ford, who has been out since February 24 after taking a hard foul from Minnesota's Mark Madsen, plans to make his decision soon.

"That's always been an option," Ford said of possible surgery. "In a couple more days we'll be able to release something and talk more about it.

"I went to a lot of specialists, just getting information and trying to get as much research as possible on my injury."

Ford averaged 7.1 points and 6.5 assists in 26.8 minutes per game this season.

If he has surgery, no one knows how long he will be out according to Bucks head coach Terry Porter.

"I don't know what surgery does; I don't know how long the rehab process will be."

Ford expects to be back bt training camp.

"Definitely, I will be playing again."

Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

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Rally thwarted as ball escapes Rasheed's hands

Apr 22, 2004 7:45 AM

What was harder for the Detroit Pistons, losing home court advantage or the circumstances of how it happened?

The Milwaukee Bucks deserved to win Game 2, yet the Pistons were still in with a chance to win the game down two points with 4.1 seconds left.

The Pistons 11 game home winning streak all but ended at this time when the ball sailed out of Rasheed Wallace's hands and out of bounds as he set up for a potential winning three-pointer.

"It definitely was a wakeup call," said Chauncey Billups. "I said before this series this was a tough team. To me it's like playing a four seed. We didn't have the same intensity for the first 45 minutes that we had for the last three. I think some of you guys might have taken them lightly, but I knew they would keep coming at us."

Redd agreed.

"We should have been a fourth seed and we gave that away," he said. "But we're a tough team. We deserve to be here."

Richard Hamilton was thrown out of the game with 4:58 left in the fourth quarter after his second technical foul.  He had 18 points.

Detroit Free Press

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Kukoc revives Bucks in Game 2

Apr 22, 2004 7:36 AM

Forgotten man Toni Kukoc turned out to be the difference between a 0-2 deficit and evening up the series against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, scoring 15 points off the bench in a 92-88 win.

Kukoc, playing in his 93rd playoff game, was 5-of-5 from the field in the second quarter, scoring 10. He also hit a couple big shots in the fourth quarter as Detroit desperately tried to get back into the game, including a big three pointer with nine minutes remaining then a tough fallaway jumper at 6:27 help hold off the Pistons.

"I hit some shots early and that kind of opened the game for me," Kukoc said. "Got active and felt pretty good energy wise. I've been in enough of these games so I do what I can."

"Big minutes," Milwaukee guard Desmond Mason said. "I talked to Toni after the last game and told him, 'We need some of that veteran playoff leadership. You've been in these wars before, man, so you can help us a little bit more.' In practice the last couple days, he's been a little bit more vocal and it's helped our team."

Detroit Free Press

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Game will start with Code Redd

Apr 21, 2004 6:37 AM

The Pistons don't expect Michael Redd to have another game like he did Sunday in their playoff opener.

They don't expect him to shoot 4-for-10 from the field.

They don't expect him to score only 11 points.

They don't expect him to commit seven turnovers. Six came in the disastrous third quarter, including two offensive fouls and a strip by Lindsey Hunter that led to an easy basket.

There's definitely a Redd alert in the Pistons' camp. Game 2 is tonight at the Palace, and "I'd be real surprised" if Redd has a second straight off game, said Pistons coach Larry Brown.

"Michael Redd had a phenomenal year, and it's a great matchup, Rip and Michael Redd."

Rip Hamilton won round one with 21 points and eight assists, both team highs.

When Hamilton wasn't hounding Redd, Hunter and Mike James took turns. Redd averaged 24.8 points against the Pistons during the regular season and shot 46.8 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 89.5 percent from the free throw line.

The Bucks need similar numbers tonight from Redd, who averaged 21.7 points overall for the season.

Detroit Free Press

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Pistons don't impress Jones

Apr 19, 2004 6:26 AM

Milwaukee Bucks guard Damon Jones isn?t a Pistons believer. But they plan on converting him real soon.

Jones, a former Piston, didn?t give the Pistons much credit for their lopsided 108-82 victory Sunday at the Palace in the opener of their best-of-seven series.

The Pistons set a team playoff record for steals with 14, and their defense forced the Bucks into 25 turnovers, which the offense turned into 28 points.

?Their defense didn?t cause us any problems; we just turned the ball over,? Jones said. ?Whenever you give a team like Detroit 22 fast-break points, they?re going to win games.

?But this is just Game 1. The series is not won in Game 1. So, all the chest bumping and all the antics on the other end. ... Hey, if you feel like you?ve got the series won, that?s fine. But you?ve got to come out and play Game 2.?

Detroit News

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Pistons are wary of Bucks

Apr 18, 2004 6:44 AM

After four days of stage setting ? four days of healing, practicing and planning for the teams; four days of hyping, analyzing and prognosticating for the fans and media ? the Pistons and Bucks at last begin their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series today at The Palace.

The way the Pistons see it, this series isn?t going to be the slam-dunk everybody seems to think it is.

?I don?t understand that,? said Chauncey Billups, when he was told the No. 3 seed Pistons are overwhelmingly favored to beat the No. 6 seed Bucks. ?I consider that team a No. 4 seed, I really do. It?s just that we?ve been playing so well and winning games down the stretch. That?s the only reason we?re favored. All the games we had with them were tough games. They match up well with us.

?All that favorite stuff is for the bettors in Las Vegas. We don?t buy into it.?

All four games between the teams were decided by six points or less.

Detroit News

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Bucks suddenly in big trouble

Apr 15, 2004 5:39 AM

OK, so the Bucks were one of three or four feel-good stories in the NBA this season. Right about now, the reaction there is, so what? The shelf life on that account expired, say, last weekend.

And when Detroit gets through with them in the playoffs, who outside of a 100-yard radius of the Bradley Center will remember if the Bucks won 20 games or finished .500 in the regular season?

The idea was to move on from the success of the first 79 games and make the last three count toward genuine playoff progress.

That won't happen now, not after a potentially ruinous three-game losing streak that culminated Wednesday night with an 89-87 dagger from Toronto, which had less to gain than the cast of "Caddyshack" at the Oscars.

The Bucks had three chances to get this right and failed each time. And now they've gone from a home-court series against Miami, the one available team they matched up well against and probably would've beaten, to giving the Pistons a Palace-sized advantage?

The Bucks will be lucky if they don't get swept.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

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Chase for 4th spot on

Miami Herald

X marks playoff spot for Bucks

Milwaukee Journal-Constitution