Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Sayson: Budding Bucks can't buy any luck By Homer Sayson Secondovertime
CHICAGO —Although it's still the preseason, broken bones and mangled bodies are already strewn all over the NBA, making some rosters look like a makeshift Baghdad ER.
But no team has suffered more casualties than the Milwaukee Bucks, a team packed with youth and potential and seemed poised to make a lot of noise in a quite noisy East Conference.
When the Bucks open their 2006-07 season this Nov. 1 at the Palace in Detroit, they will do so with a huge hole in the middle. No thanks to sophomore center Andrew Bogut, who will be sidelined for six to eight weeks after spraining his lower left leg.
The 7-foot Bogut, 21, didn't exactly have a monster rookie outing last season (9.4 pts, 7 rebs per game), but he did carry his 245 pounds around. Just meanly enough to help the Bucks finish with a 40-42 record and make the playoffs as an 8th seed.
Besides trying to patch his troubles at center, Bucks coach Terry Stotts also has to deal with a missing tire. That's because the usually reliable Bobby Simmons will be out for at least a month due to a stress reaction in his right heel.
The 6-foot-8, 228 pound Simmons played guard-forward for the Bucks last season and averaged 13.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per. Simmons, 26, proved to be a wonderful complement to sweet-shooting All-Star Michael Reed, the heart and soul of Milwaukee's offense.
Unless the Bucks find capable replacements to their two ailing starters, NBA Christmas in Milwaukee won't be too merry and bright.
SICK KNICK. The Isiah Thomas coaching regime in New York started on a winning note as the Knicks beat the Nets 111-97 on Oct. 13. But Friday the 13th also brought bad luck as forward Jarred Jeffries sustained a non-displaced fractured right wrist.
Jeffries, 24, will miss three to six weeks. And he will sorely be missed for his energy, enthusiasm and defense, endearing hardcourt qualities that New York didn't embrace during the pitiful, one-year Larry Brown experiment that turned into a 23-59 bust.
A five year veteran, the 6-foot-11, 240 pound Jeffries played in 77 games last season, averaging 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per. He shot 45.1 percent from the field.
OUT OF TUNE. Ex-Laker Derek Fisher won't be playing beautiful music as the point guard of the Utah Jazz anytime soon. The 32-year old lefty fell hard during an Oct. 14 game and suffered a bruised pelvis.
There is no timetable for his return and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan is worried sick and told Espn.com that the young guns in Utah (Derron Williams and Dee Brown) might not be able to carry Fisher's playmaking load: "I don't think either one of them is quite ready for that 'coz they're still struggling with what we're trying to do."
Before moving to Utah, Fisher left the Lakers after signing a fat deal with the Golden State Warriors worth over $35 million. He averaged 13.3 points and 4.3 assists last season as the Jazz playmaker.
FINAL WORDS. From Sofio Ycong (swiftfoods.com.ph): "I read in your Oct. 16, 2006 column that there is a Homer Sayson fan club. I would to be a member."
Sorry to have misled you Sofio, but no Homer Sayson fan club exists. It's only a figment of the imagination of Cherry Ann Cueva, my longtime fan and avid reader.
