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The Milwaukee Bucks had an impressive draft. Picking 14th and 42nd, John Hammond selected North Carolina big man John Henson and Kentucky shooting guard Doron Lamb. Henson is a known commodity to Pistons fans, as he was high on Detroit's draft board going into the 2012 lottery. While Lamb was not as widely followed, he should have been: Lamb averaged 48% shooting over two years in college-- from the perimeter. Given that Milwaukee's draft record has been hit or miss over the last five seasons, this might shape up to be one of the team's better rookie classes.
The Situation
Two relatively similar Central Division teams with relatively similar records face off in a game that probably won't be interesting to anyone outside of Milwaukee or Detroit. Given Milwaukee's roster, their pretty solid draft probably won't have much impact on their record in 2012-13. John Henson was a smash in 13 minutes of their preseason opener, but he'll rest squarely behind the newly-extended Ersan Ilyasova in the depth chart. Then there's Ekpe Udoh, Samuel Dalembert, Drew Gooden, Joel Przybilla, Larry Sanders... man, and I thought our frontcourt was logjammin'.
There's not a lot of exciting things to say about this Milwaukee team, but to be fair, the feeling is probably mutual. Given Milwaukee's roster depth and lack of contractual deadweight (even Drew Gooden is moveable compared to Charlie Villanueva), they're in position to make some nice moves. It's either that or overpay to match a ridiculous offer for Brandon Jennings next season.
Keys to the Game
Go Young, Get Testy: Pretty soon, Detroit will start pushing its regular season rotations just to get the team ready for opening night. That means tonight might be the team's last nights to get creative. If it were me, I'd start Terrence Williams, Kim English, Kyle Singler, Austin Daye and Viacheslav Kravtsov. Winning doesn't count tonight. Seeing who can rise when tested does count tonight.
Convince John Hammond that His Team Needs a Veteran Wing: Loooook into my eyes. The Bucks need veteran glue at small forward. They don't need no more buffoonery. Udrih for Prince, straight up. You waaaant to do this, John Hammond.
Feed the Moose: "Wait, I thought you wanted to play the unproven guys tonight, Mike?" I do. And I don't care if Greg Monroe is on the bench. Get it into your heads that you need to get Greg Monroe the rock, so throw it to him on every other possession whether he's on court or not. Take this, all of you, and learn from it. Do this in memory of Sheed.
Question of the Game
The Gibbler. FGOTB?