Krause's Corner
with Dennis Krause

MARQUETTE'S JAMES LEARNS FROM BUCKS
Marquette sophomore guard Dominic James is one of the most exciting players in college basketball. He’s also gaining some insights from members of the Bucks. In a recent interview for my Time Warner Sports television show, James told me that he learns a great deal from the NBA. “I love to watch Mo Williams play. He’s a great guard. Michael Redd, Charlie Bell, I love to watch them play,” said James.

"I’ve watched a lot of film of Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Jason Kidd. We run a lot of pick and roll situations so I try to watch NBA offenses that are guard-oriented."

James raves about the instruction he gets from Marquette coach Tom Crean. He's also had a chance to get some up-close tips from a couple of Bucks players. "I've had a couple of opportunities to talk with Mo and Charlie. They came back and played with us. It's just great having those guys around. That's one of the benefits of playing in an NBA city. Any chance that you get, you try to pick their brain. They know little tricks about the game that can help me and our team win."

SUNDAY AFTERNOON MATINEES
The Bucks victory over the Knicks was the first of four Sunday afternoon games at the Bradley Center this season. There have been several important Bucks games on Sunday afternoons but the two that I think of immediately had much different outcomes. On May 12, 1974, the Bucks lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics on a Sunday afternoon at the MECCA. On a brighter occasion, the Bucks ended the Lakers' NBA-record 33-game winning streak at the MECCA on Sunday afternoon January 9, 1972. With the Suns' winning streak ending at 17 Monday night, it's hard for me to believe that any team will threaten the Lakers streak. The 1970-'71 Bucks hold the second-longest winning streak with 20. In this age of incredibly intense media coverage, the pressure would mount on any team that got into the 20’s with a winning streak.

THE MOST DOMINANT NBA CHAMPIONS
One measuring stick of the level of excellence of an NBA champion is its overall playoff record. It's certainly not fool-proof. A team can coast through the playoffs because of weak competition or be forced to struggle through long series because of talented foes. The 1970-'71 Bucks went 12-2 in the postseason, an impressive record. Starting with the 1984 playoffs, NBA champions had to win 15 games in the postseason. When the first round was extended in 2003, the playoff victory total for champions was raised to 16.

Let's put that in historical perspective. Red Auerbach won nine championships as Celtics coach. Only in his last year (1966) did Boston have to win more than eight postseason games to capture the title. You can tell from the following numbers that recent champions have taken their share of playoff losses on the way to glory.

Postseason Record of Last Four NBA Champions:

2003 San Antonio ... 16-8
2004 Detroit ... 16-7
2005 San Antonio ... 16-7
2006 Miami ... 16-7

When I studied the best playoff records since 1984, only one team really caught me by surprise. I certainly don't think of the 1999 Spurs as a dominant team, but their postseason record in that lockout season ranks with the best.

Best Postseason Records of NBA Champions From 1984-2002:

2001 L.A. Lakers ... 15-1
1999 San Antonio ... 15-2
1991 Chicago ... 15-2
1989 Detroit ... 15-2

SUNS SPOTS
The Phoenix Suns make their annual visit to the Bradley Center Friday night. It's a good excuse for me to pass along these meaningless but fascinating facts about the Suns.

The Suns initial group of investors in 1968 included Henry Mancini, Tony Curtis, Ed Ames and Andy Williams...After losing the legendary coin flip with the Bucks for Lew Alcindor (and taking Neal Walk with the second pick), Phoenix did get some consolation before the 1969 season. They won a coin flip with Seattle for the services of Connie Hawkins...Tom Chambers was signed by Phoenix in 1988 as the NBA's first unrestricted free agent...The 1977-'78 Suns won 49 games in the regular season but were stunned 2-0 by Don Nelson's young Bucks in the playoffs.

BUCKS-BULLS NOTES
With the Bulls in town Wednesday night, it's a good time to dig into the history of this rivalry and the Chicago franchise. The series was tied 98-98 coming into this season. The Bulls have won the first two meetings. The Bucks and Bulls have faced each other three times in the playoffs. The Bucks swept Chicago in four games in 1974 in the Western Conference finals. Milwaukee also defeated the Bulls three games to one in the first round in 1985 in Michael Jordan's first playoff series. Chicago prevailed three games to one in 1990 in a first round series. One of the secrets of success of the 1990's Bulls was that they avoided the stress of 7th games. Michael Jordan was just 2-1 in Game 7's, The Bulls lost to Detroit in 1990 and beat New York in 1992 and Indiana in 1998. By contrast, Bill Russell was 10-0 in Game 7's in an era where there were fewer playoff series.

Think about how NBA history would be different. In 1979, the Bulls called "heads" for the first pick in the NBA draft. The coin flip ended up "tails". The Lakers got "Magic" Johnson and the Bulls got David Greenwood...Former Bucks guard Guy Rodgers still holds the Bulls record for assists in a game with 24 in 1966...Tom Boerwinkle had 33 rebounds in the game on March 9, 1971 when the Bulls ended the Bucks franchise-record 20-game winning streak. Boerwinkle holds the Bulls record for rebounds in a game with 37 against Phoenix in 1970...Kareem holds the Bucks record for points in a game against the Bulls with 44. Michael Jordan scored 50 against the Bucks twice for the Chicago scoring record in the series...Former Marquette star Maurice Lucas was a first round draft pick by the Bulls in 1974 but opted for the ABA...Former Badger Wes Matthews was Michael Jordan's teammate in Jordan's rookie season of 1984-85...Former Bucks coach Larry Costello was briefly the Bulls coach in 1978-'79...Jerry Sloan's career high of 43 points came against the Bucks on March 5, 1969...Speaking of Sloan, the 1966-67 expansion Bulls handed the powerful Sixers one of only 13 losses that season in a game played in Evansville, Indiana. That was where Sloan played college basketball...That first edition of the Bulls also included future Bucks Guy Rodgers, Bob Boozer, Len Chappell and McCoy McLemore and former Marquette star Don Kojis. The coach was Johnny "Red" Kerr, still a Bulls broadcaster.

REDD'S INJURY CREATES OPPORTUNITY
I'm not going to lie. Michael Redd's injury is a serious blow for the Bucks to absorb. It doesn't help that Charlie Villanueva is also out for at least another week. Still, if you look around the NBA, this has been a bad year for injuries to star players. At least Terry Stotts doesn't have to wonder day-to-day. He knows that he has to craft a new and different rotation and move on. Charlie Bell, Ruben Patterson and David Noel will have to share added responsibilities and the Bucks will also have a chance to try some bigger lineups when the matchups warrant. I feel badly for both Michael and the Bucks but nobody around the league is going to shed any tears. The games keep coming and the Bucks will have to do the best they can.

RADIO VOICES IMPORTANT TO NBA
Last Friday night, an NBA legend was at the Bradley Center a few feet away from me. He was greeted with little fanfare. In fact, very few people in the building even know who he is. His name is Joe Tait. For 35 years, he's been the radio voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a young NBA fan, I would listen to Tait on WWWE.

I've written in this space before how much the work of former Bucks play-by-play man Eddie Doucette meant to me in developing a love for the NBA and radio. As a young fan, I also loved spanning the radio dial at night when out-of-town stations would give me an opportunity to hear talented play-by-play men make the NBA come alive in my imagination. Tait was certainly one of those. The Cavaliers "Miracle in Richfield" season of 1975-'76 lingers in the memory.

Jim Durham was calling the Bulls on WIND in the 1970's and, to this day, I still think he might be the most brilliant basketball play-by-play man I've ever heard on radio. His crisp and descriptive delivery painted a wonderful picture of where the ball was on the court. I also remember hearing the unique styles of George Blaha calling the Pistons and the late Bill King with the Warriors.

Perhaps the most memorable radio call in NBA history was Boston's Johnny Most bellowing "Havlicek Stole the Ball". I remember getting Johnny Most's autograph at the MECCA. I think he might have gotten some cigarette ash on my jacket. He struck me as a guy who had seen it all. You could tell by the lines on his weathered face and by that voice that croaked like a hinge that needed oil. Marv Albert and Chick Hearn began their legendary NBA careers on radio before adding television duties. I didn't have a chance to listen to them growing up on a regular basis, but Most, Albert and Hearn probably make up the "Mount Rushmore" of NBA radio announcers.

In this age of television and the internet, the NBA should not forget how important radio is to building and sustaining a fan base.

EXPANSION COACHES FACE TOUGH JOB
The Bucks host the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night. That led me to thinking about how the Cavaliers hold an interesting record. Their first coach, Bill Fitch, lasted the longest of any NBA expansion coach.

His tenure in Cleveland lasted nine years, from 1970 until 1979. The late Larry Costello of the Bucks held the second-longest tenure of expansion coaches, making it through eight full seasons and part of a ninth in Milwaukee. He had the quickest success, thanks to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. The Bucks won the NBA title in just their third season of existence. If you look at the 17 expansion franchises since 1966, Dick Motta of Dallas was the only other coach to last longer than four seasons. Motta led the Mavericks for seven seasons from 1980 to 1987.

Bernie Bickerstaff is currently in his third season with the Charlotte Bobcats. History tells you that he probably won’t last much longer. Here’s a complete list of the first coaches for expansion franchises and the length of their tenure. It’s interesting to note that Johnny “Red” Kerr is the only man to be the first coach for two expansion franchises. He went from Chicago to Phoenix. Also, Scotty Robertson lasted just 15 games with the New Orleans Jazz. He was fired after a 1-14 start in 1974.

Cleveland: Bill Fitch (9 years)
Milwaukee: Larry Costello (Over 8 years)
Dallas: Dick Motta (7 years)
Orlando: Matt Goukas (4 years)
Miami: Ron Rothstein (3 years)
Charlotte Bobcats: Bernie Bickerstaff (In 3rd season)
San Diego Rockets: Jack McMahon (Over 2 years)
Chicago: Johnny Kerr (2 years)
Minnesota: Bill Musselman (2 years)
Seattle: Al Bianchi (2 years)
Vancouver Grizzlies: Brian Winters (1 and a half seasons)
Charlotte Hornets: Dick Harter (1 and a half seasons)
Phoenix: Johnny Kerr (1 and a half seasons)
Portland: Rolland Todd (1 and a half seasons)
Buffalo Braves: Dolph Schayes (1 year and one game)
Toronto: Brendan Malone (1 year)
New Orleans Jazz: Scotty Robertson (15 games)

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