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The Milwaukee Bucks are searching  for the loudest, most passionate fans to join the Cream City Clash, the team’s  renamed high-energy fan squad devoted to cheering on the Bucks and creating an  enthusiastic atmosphere on game nights at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Members of  the Cream City Clash are given FREE tickets to every home game courtesy of  Bucks Head Coach Jason Kidd. The group will occupy 82 seats at each home  contest.

The Bucks fan squad has been a  fixture at the BMO Harris Bradley Center since 2009, when former Bucks center  Andrew Bogut started the group then called Squad 6. When Bogut departed from  the team, the fan squad was briefly renamed Sector 7 before being taken over by  Coach Kidd in 2014-15. The new “Cream City Clash” moniker combines Milwaukee’s  traditional nickname with the term “clash,” which can be used to refer to a  group of bucks.

To identify the best fans who possess an over-the-top and  excessive enthusiasm for the Bucks, the team will host live auditions  from 4:30 to 5:00 p.m.  on Saturday, Oct. 10. Each person who participates in  the audition will receive one free ticket to the Bucks’ preseason game  vs. Detroit later that night. Those interested should enter the BMO  Harris Bradley Center through the Potawatomi Gate  on 4th street to check in. Bucks representatives will  be in the East Atrium lobby to register applicants and escort them into the  building. Fans intending to audition must  arrive for registration between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.  to be considered. There will be no exceptions.

Fans are encouraged to come decked out in Bucks gear from  head to toe, with their faces and hair painted, and equipped with signs,  noisemakers and anything else to display their Bucks pride. There is no limit  to creativity, which is what will make the Cream City Clash such a strong and  successful group.

For more information please call Brian Begley at (414)  227-0597 or email at bbegley@bucks.com.

Devoted and energetic  Bucks fans over the age of 16

Live audition to be a part of  the Milwaukee Bucks’ Cream City Clash fan squad

Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015
    3:30 to 4:30 p.m. – Registration**Fans auditioning must arrive between 3:30-4:30 to be considered, NO exceptions
  4:30 to 5:00 p.m. – Live Auditions

BMO Harris Bradley Center
  East Atrium inside the Potawatomi Gate
  1001 N. Fourth St. Milwaukee, WI

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Bucks Search for Fans to Join the Cream City Clash

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A New Beginning

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DMC Answers YOUR Questions

Kendall  Marshall was never going to get away with not getting a little column here. Not  after he made a shot from well, well beyond half court at the end of the first  quarter in Dallas the other night (visual  evidence at the 0:28 mark in the video above).

After six regular  season NBA weeks, not one player has made a shot from beyond half court.  Marshall netted one a good second after the first quarter buzzer. And so teams  are still a combined 0-for-112. Last season, there were 16 makes. Prediction remains: The Bucks will make one this  season. 

But this  story is not about shots from beyond half court. This story is about a  different type of shot that also counts as three points and is also further  away than usual from the basket.

Here is the  distance of the NBA 3-point line: 22 feet in the corners ranging to 23.75 feet  behind the top of the key.

Here are the  distances of Marshall’s made 3-pointers in feet this season: 26, 26, 26, 26,  28, 26, 27, 26, 26.

These are  approximates. Nonetheless. All nine of his 3-point makes have come from at  least two feet beyond the arc. That is a lot. Not only that, Marshall is  converting at a 60.0 percent clip on threes in that same 26-to-28-foot range (compared  to his 0-4 mark from 23-to-25 feet).

This is all  very not normal. Except for Marshall, this is all very quite normal.

In a way it  makes sense that Marshall would make an absurdly long heave, a shot from beyond  half court. Think about it as something like a full court pass. If you could  pick anyone on the team to drop a centimeter-perfect full court pass on top of  the basket, it would probably be Marshall. Marshall or Jason Kidd, I guess.

But what  about these shots from a couple feet behind the 3-point line?

Well it  wasn’t always like this for Marshall. Over his two college seasons at North  Carolina, he shot 36.6 percent on threes. In his first season in the NBA he  struggled from long distance, making just 31.5 percent. Then he made an  adjustment last year.

Marshall has  a distinctive long-range shooting form. It is consistent. And it works well, provided  he has enough time and space. It goes something like this: catch, bring ball  down to near-waist level, bend knees, cup side of ball with right hand, jump as  though you are jumping over a penny and only a penny, push forward with left,  hold follow-through. Something like that.

Last season  with the Lakers, Marshall explained his new shooting situation like so:

Naturally  this form lends itself to catch-and-shoot opportunities far better than  off-the-dribble attempts. Of his nine threes with the Bucks this season, the  majority have been catch-and-shoot types, and just two have been preceded by  more than a single dribble. Defenders have been at least four feet away from  Marshall on all of his nine 3-pointers.

Since the  start of the 2013-14 season, only four players have made more threes from  beyond 27 feet than Marshall. Some of the names may be familiar.

Even better: out  of the top 10 above, Marshall ranks second in accuracy at 42.6 percent,  trailing only Klay Thompson. With the Bucks, Marshall is 2-for-3 on threes from  beyond 27 feet.

Well, after  making exactly zero in his first two NBA seasons, Marshall happens to also be  2-for-3 on another type of shot with the Bucks. The hook shot.

Kendall Marshall posting up is becoming a thing.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 6, 2014

(Credit to basketball-reference for the shooting chart above and to stats.nba.com for additional stat magic.)

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The Far-Out Threes of Kendall Marshall

Giannis  Antetokounmpo helped the Greek Senior National Team post a 5-1 record in the  2014 FIBA World Cup. He was not, however, the only member of the Milwaukee  Bucks who played an integral role in his homeland team’s overseas success last  summer.

Zaza  Pachulia, who has competed for the Republic of Georgia National Team for the  past seven seasons, played some of the best basketball of his international  career as Georgia went 4-2 during FIBA Eurobasket Group E qualifying play in  August.

The  performance qualified Georgia – bordered to the west by the Black Sea, to the  north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia and the the southeast by  Azerbaijan – for the 2015 Eurobasket tournament, which will be played in  Croatia, France, Germany and Latvia in September.

“It  was a great summer – probably one of the best summers I’ve had,” Pachulia said.  “We finished No. 1 in our group and we qualified for next year’s European  Championships. We were missing three tough players and still made it.”

The  achievement was especially rewarding for Pachulia, who endured a difficult  2013-14 season to begin his second go-round with the Bucks. He sustained a  right foot fracture on Dec. 4 and missed 28 games. He displayed impressive  resilience, though, returning to the lineup to finish his 11th NBA  season averaging 7.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and a career-best 2.6 assists per  game.

The  Bucks, however, wound up with a franchise-worst 15-67 record.

“Our  season ended early,” Pachulia said. “That was the first time in seven years for  me that we didn’t make the playoffs. It was very disappointing, obviously. Once  you know the feel and intensity of playing playoff basketball, you want to be  there. It was very disappointing that we didn’t make it.”

Pachulia’s  emotions were dramatically different a few months later.

“It  was great, especially having the year we had last year, then winning with the  national team,” Pachulia said. “I kind of got my confidence back. That’s why  I’d call it one of my best summers ever.”

Pachulia,  known throughout his career as a tireless worker and exemplary teammate, admits  that he and his Georgian teammates were put to the test in preparation for  their Eurobasket qualifying run.

“I  started working out earlier, since it was a longer summer, then joined the  Georgian National Team from Day One,” he said. “We practiced twice a day every  single day, a typical European training camp. We traveled and played games, and  as a leader of the team, I played 30 to 35 minutes a game.

“The  biggest challenge for us was playing in some really hot arenas and gyms. I lost  so much weight. It was crazy, but it was good. It puts less pressure on my  knees.”

Pachulia  was rewarded for his commitment.

He  scored a game-high 19 points and collected eight rebounds, two assists, two  steals and two blocks in leading Georgia to a 73-62 victory over the Czech  Republic on Aug. 10 in his hometown of Tbilisi, Georgia.

After  totaling team-highs of 19 points and six rebounds in 74-73 loss to Hungary on  Aug. 13, he rang up a team-leading 25 points, nine rebounds and two assists in  91-90 overtime triumph over Portugal on Aug. 17.

Pachulia  had 10 points and seven rebounds in an 86-67 loss to Czech Republic on Aug. 20,  then contributed 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in  79-59 win over Hungary on Aug. 24, and finally came up with 15 points, 10  rebounds and nine assists in 71-59 triumph over Portugal on Aug. 27.

Pachulia  followed the developments of the Bucks’ summer of 2014 with interest from afar.

“I  didn’t know what to expect, but I know one thing – that no one wanted to have  the season we had (in 2013-14),” he said. “I obviously knew there were going to  be changes. When I was overseas, I was reading on the Internet about our new  players.

“I  knew the coaching style would be different and we’d have a younger team than we  had last year.”

When  the 30-year-old Pachulia arrived in Milwaukee for training camp, he found  himself as the elder statesman on a team including a trio of 19-year-olds – Giannis  Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker and Damien Inglis.

If  anyone can relate to what the Bucks’ youngsters are experiencing, though, it is  Pachulia. In fact, he got a much earlier introduction to professional  basketball than any of them did.

He  left his homeland at the age of 14 – straight out of grade school – with the  intention of becoming a professional basketball player.

His  parents accompanied him to neighboring Turkey, where he joined the club team  Ulker – a feeder program for a professional team with the same name – while  continuing his academic studies. His parents remained with him to ease his  transition.

While  Zaza was trying to balance school and his budding basketball career, his father  passed away, so he suddenly became his family’s sole breadwinner. He intended  to return to Georgia with his mother, his aunt and his grandmother, but they  urged him to stay his course, so he became a pro at the age of 16, making about  $2,500 a month.

“I  was all my family had,” he said. “I got used to it real quick. I had to.

“Whenever  I played, I was playing against older guys. I had the body to be able to  compete with them – I was probably 6-6 or 6-7. Every day, I was getting better  and better. That’s what they liked. I was working hard.”

He  was listening, too. His development as a pro was helped along by American  teammates Joseph Blair and Qadre Lollis.

“I  had some great teammates,” Pachulia said. “I can say they played just as  physically as NBA players do. That was a big help to me.

“Also,  they’re Americans. They understand basketball. They knew one day I was going to  come here. Every day, they were helping me and teaching me more and more. They  prepared me for the NBA.”

Years  later, Pachulia has accumulated more than 5,000 points and 4,000 rebounds over  a career that has spanned 11-plus seasons and surpassed 750 games.

He  is still thriving in the hard-knock world of an NBA post player, and he has  embraced the same sort of veteran leadership role his former teammates filled  over a decade ago.

“It’s  exciting, especially when we have so much young talent,” Pachulia said. “The  future is bright for this team. It’s all about working hard and making progress  every single day.

“We  have a great coaching staff. We have to listen and learn from the coaches and  keep moving forward. It’s good to be part of it.”

Pachulia  is always willing to pass along helpful advice to the young Bucks, but he is  playing much more than an advisory role for a vastly improved Milwaukee team.

The  6-11 center was averaging 6.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals  in 20.7 minutes per outing through the Bucks’ first 22 games of the season,  helping them achieve a 11-11 start. He had a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double  in a 117-113 victory over the New York Knicks on Nov. 18.

“I’m  part of the team,” Pachulia said. “I obviously bring experience – I’m the  oldest guy on the team. But I’m not looking at age. I’m still a part of the  team, and I’m going to compete. I’m going to get better just like they are.  That’s how I approach it. I’m going to enjoy it and try to play the right way.

“My  job is also to help these guys get to play the right way.”

Therein  lies the beauty of Zaza Pachulia’s basketball career. It has taken him all over  the world, but he has continually traveled a one-way street.

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Transcontinental Post Man

The NBA has named Jabari Parker the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for November and we couldn't be more excited. To celebrate Jabari's award we have a special ticket offer to see the Rookie of the Month and the Bucks take on the Miami Heat this Friday.

Offer expires at 5pm CST on Thursday, December 4th

Get seats regularly priced at $29 (blue seats on the map below) for just $12.

Plus,  100 lower level seats will be available for $12, but hurry, they won't last long.

Photos: Jabari's November Games in Photos

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Rookie of the Month Special!

Jabari Parker  finished his first month in the NBA on Saturday night against the Rockets by leading  the Bucks in points (19), rebounds (9), assists (5), steals (2), and something  else (something).

Full  disclosure: Parker also led the Bucks in turnovers (4) against the Rockets.  Harden also led the Rockets in turnovers against the Bucks. In fact, he leads  all of the NBA in turnovers this season. Not that it is an inherently good  thing on its own, but the Rockets can live with Harden’s turnovers, because he  has so much on-ball responsibility, and typically makes good things happen.

Parker could  not quite keep up with Harden and the Rockets, but with a boost of  assertiveness he did manage to beat the best at his own game, converting a  career-best 13-of-14 free throws on the night. At Duke as a freshman, Parker  got to the line more than six times per game. In the pros, he is at roughly  half that number. That number just went up and it is going to keep going up.  How high it goes will help determine how high Parker rises on the scoring list,  on the lists where you can easily find Harden.

Here are the  top-10 rookies so far according to me. This is not a prediction of what is to  come, only an evaluation of what has happened so far.

In terms of  per-game averages, he leads all rookies in scoring (11.9), and ranks second in  rebounding (6.1) and steals (1.3). But this is not just a matter of crediting  Parker because he is playing a lot and putting up solid traditional stats. In  fact, he ranks just as highly among rookies in PER (15.1) as he does in minutes  per game – third in both. And the two players who rank above him in PER (Aaron Gordon  and Nikola Mirotic) only are ahead ever-so-slightly and they haven’t played  nearly as many minutes. There is a long way to go, but Parker rated first in NBA.com’s latest rookie rankings,  he was recently the consensus pick as top rookie so far at ESPN.com, and should be on his way to  his first of multiple Rookie of the Month awards.

The Sixers  have not won an overabundance of games, but Noel has blocked a shot in all but  one of his 14 games and has even hit double-figures in scoring in four of his  last six games. His rebounding could and should improve, and he already leads  all rookies in blocks (1.3) and steals (1.6) per game. And this helps: Noel also  leads all rookies in minutes per game (30.5), helping make up for the lost time  of a lost season last year.

Sure, he is  getting more minutes than he would anywhere else, but McDaniels looks like a  second-round keeper for the Sixers. He is a sometimes-menace on defense  (already has games with 4 and 3 blocks), and over the past two games is  averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds along with a 46.8 FG%. He can defend a  little, shoot threes a little, and finish in transition a lot. Outlook is good.

He is a power  forward with a both a 3-point shot (39.5%) and the ability to rebound (second  among rookies in total rebound percentage at 15.9). Mirotic also ranks second  among rookies with a 15.9 PER, just a touch above Parker, but he has played  roughly half as many minutes as Parker. He is probably already the eighth or  ninth man on a good Bulls team when they are fully healthy, and he has been  clearly better than #11 overall pick and teammate Doug McDermott.

Off to an  encouraging start from beyond the arc (44.0%), Wiggins has struggled to finish  elsewhere on the court. He is tied with Parker for the rookie lead in terms of  scoring per game and shot attempts per game, but he simply doesn’t do it as  efficiently, and that shows up in his 9.5 PER. That said, he has shone very  brightly at times, like his night against the Kings when he put up 29 points (9-of-10  on free throws, 2-of-4 on threes) and four steals.

Really  unfortunate that Gordon broke his left foot after just 11 games, because the  youngest player in the NBA this season had been one of the best rookies in the  game, ranking second among all rookies in PER (15.4). He was a low-usage player  with a small sample size, but Gordon showed off the ability to keep things  simple as a finisher on offense and was a disrupter on defense. He even made  his last three threes before going down with the injury.

Napier is  pushing Norris Cole for minutes, as the 23-year-old has arrived with a decent  portion of an NBA game. He ranks second behind only Gordon with a 60.1 TS%,  particularly impressive as a point guard. But he has also been turnover-prone,  with a straight 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Payton’s 42.1  TS% is third-worst among the 25 rookies who have played 100 minutes this  season, and that hurts. So he has lived down to his reputation as a poor  shooter thus far (even struggling badly at the line), but leads the class  easily in assists per game (and per minute) while earning some praise for his  defense (he recently had five steals in 22 minutes off the bench against Napier  and the Heat) and vision on offense.

A starter in  all 15 games for the Nets, Bogdanovich had cooled off considerably after a  strong mid-November when he twice put together games with 22 points on over  70.0 percent shooting… but recovered a bit over the weekend with a 13-point,  5-rebound effort against the Bulls.

The best  rebounder in the class so far (in terms of total rebound percentage) has  started seven games already with Dwight Howard out. Against the Bucks on  Saturday night, he gave a solid eight points and five rebounds in 21 minutes,  which is a reasonable representation of what he has been doing over the past  few weeks.

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Top Rookies After One Month

The  Milwaukee Bucks today announced the fan-friendly “Sneaker Summit” will return  to the BMO Harris Bradley Center following its successful Milwaukee debut last  year. This year’s bigger and better Milwaukee Sneaker Summit will take place  from noon until 3:30 p.m. prior to the Bucks’ 6:30 p.m. tip vs. the L.A.  Clippers, which will feature a special halftime performance by DMC from the  groundbreaking hip-hop group Run-DMC

Founded  in 2004, “Sneaker Summit” is a traveling convention at which sneaker  enthusiasts from all walks of life gather to buy, sell, trade, browse and  discuss everything from rare, vintage and collectible shoes to the latest and  most exclusive sneakers, fashions and accessories. Attendees at the Bucks  Sneaker Summit will be invited to bring up to four pairs of their own sneakers  to sell or trade at the event, but even casual fans will enjoy this celebration  of sneaker culture featuring displays from stores exhibiting the latest  fashions and hardcore collectors showcasing today’s most rare and sought-after  footwear. Additionally, all fans in attendance will have the chance to win  autographed sneakers from Bucks legends as well as current Bucks players.

“We  want to offer our supporters all of the best possible experiences, and this  event is a unique opportunity for Bucks fans to celebrate art, music and  world-class basketball under one roof,” said Bucks President Peter Feigin. “The  Milwaukee Bucks are proud to bring basketball and sneaker culture together  through this event that fits right into the growing and vibrant creative  community in Milwaukee.”

Tickets  start at $30 and include admission to both the Sneaker Summit and the  Bucks/Clippers game. Fans who already have game tickets can show their ticket  at the door to receive admission to the Sneaker Summit for just $10. For more  information on Sneaker Summit or to purchase tickets, log on to www.bucks.com/sneakersummit.

Any  local vendors interested in participating in this unique event can contact  Sneaker Summit at info@sneakersummit.com.