The Bucks in March

Another bad month for the Milwaukee Bucks in what has been an horrendous calendar year. Do you realize the Bucks have now lost 31 out of 40 games since New Year's Day?

No Buck had a very exceptional month of March, but once again, old reliable SF Ruben Patterson is the Buck of the Month. Through all the muck and mire, he just keeps putting up what are for him very good numbers. Consider what an upgrade he has been from last year's primary SF Bobby Simmons. Simmons never had any month in '05-'06 that was as good as any of the months Patterson has had in '06-'07.

On the downside of March, Mo Williams was awful. He has a weird habit of putting up great months early in the season, and then fading as the season wears on. Earl the Pearl Boykins didn't play much last month, and didn't do much when he did play. Michael Redd was either spectacular (see the Mavericks game) or well below his par (see the Rockets game). As I suspected, though, he was hurting, and is now day-to-day. I say 'Why not shut him down for good?' There's no use playing him anymore in these meaningless games.

Here are the Milwaukee Bucks Eff48 numbers for March:

4-9
1. Ruben Patterson..................................25.81
2. Andrew Bogut.....................................25.58
3. Lynn Greer........................................24.92
4. Michael Redd......................................24.17
5. Ersan Ilyasova.....................................23.74
6. Charlie Villanueva................................23.59
7. Brian Skinner......................................18.83
8. Charlie Bell.........................................18.08
9. Mo Williams.........................................16.10
10. Earl Boykins.......................................16.06
11. Jared Reiner......................................13.69
12. Damir Markota....................................13.40
13. David Noel.........................................10.34

What the hell is Eff48?: Eff48 is a statistic found on NBA.com that measures the sum of positive statistics a player produces for his team without regard to playing time. It rewards sustained all-around productivity, and penalizes one-dimensional play and indiscriminate "gunning". The Eff48 formula is (points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks) minus (missed field goals + missed free throws + turnovers) divided by minutes of playing time and then multiplied by 48. Here's a rough estimate of how to read the statistic: <20.00: Poor; 20.00-25.00: Okay; 25.00-30.00: Above Average; >30.00: Outstanding; >40.00: Spectacular.

Update on the Race for Third Worst

Even without Caron Butler on the floor, the Bucks were able to hold off the Washington Bullets yesterday and lose their crucial matchup to maintain their one game lock on the third worst spot. Seattle has fallen off the chart with an untimely winning streak, and the main competition appears to be the Atlanta Hawks, who are, like the Bucks, in a death spiral. The more intriguing question is: Can the Bucks catch the Boston Celtics? With 10 games remaining, including a pair against the Celts, the Bucks have moved within 2.5 games of the second worst record. Stay tuned.

1. Milwaukee Bucks (--)

2. Atlanta Hawks (1.0)

3. Charlotte Bobcats (2.0)

4. Portland Trailblazers (3.5)

5. Philadelphia 76ers (3.5)