The Warriors game and the Bucks rookies

Wednesday's game between the Bucks and the Warriors reminded me of my high school days. We had a pretty good team, but whenever we matched up against some real urban competition, it was like we were playing underwater while they were playing on the moon.

I got that same sensation Wednesday night watching the Green and Red. The Warriors were just playing at a different level and a different speed that the Bucks just couldn't match. And, like my high school team in similar predicaments, the Bucks got blown out.

Also, I didn't look at the numbers after the game, but my eyeball impression was Mo Williams played one of his worst games of the year. He looked really, really tired on defense and he was making lazy decisions with the basketball (late passes/ill advised passes/poor shot selection) that weren't like the Mo we've come to know this season... another sign of fatigue.

Update: I just calculated Mo's overall Position Adjusted Win Score numbers and my face almost melted like that dude in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I won't even give you the results, but rest assured if my man Mo played that way every night he would cost the Bucks many, many victories. On the other hand, Andrew Bogut and a certain Chinese fellow both had well above average games (by Win Score) last night. Read on for more about Yi and his fellow rook...

The Milwaukee Bucks Rookies

Yi Jianlian

Don't give up on Yi yet. He is generally playing well below average for a power forward (though, as mentioned, he had a great game against the Warriors), but I went back and compared his numbers against the rookie numbers for Dirk Nowitzki, and Yi's numbers are actually much better. In fact, they're more comparable to Nowitzki's second season than his rookie season. I think by Yi's third season he should be a big time player.

The one caveat is Yi's age. Its widely believed he is 22, whereas Nowitzki wasn't 22 until his third season. But not a huge deal. They both had to adjust in the same manner, regardless of age.

PS -- I just wanted to prop Yi for a sweet rebound followed by a two handed stuff last night. He looked like he was playing on a pogo stick.

Ramon Sessions

Did you forget about this guy? So did I. But, on a tip, I looked at his numbers down at the NBDL Tulsa 66ers franchise. Phenomenal!

He had a poor last game, but overall he's burning the developmental league down. His numbers, if projected upward, would make him a well-above average point guard.

I don't know how NBDL numbers actually translate to The Show. But I know his terrific play cannot be taken as a bad sign, that's for sure. And if I am not mistaken Michael Redd, another Bucks' second round pick, first showed signs of being a real player by lighting up the summer leagues... essentially the NBDL of its day.