Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 7:00 pm EST
PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Andrew Bogut's long road to the NBA will
reach its final destination Tuesday.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, Bogut makes his
regular season debut for the Milwaukee Bucks when they open play
with a visit to Philadelphia, which will welcome back Maurice
Cheeks in his coaching debut with the 76ers.
The 20-year-old Bogut, who hails from Australia, left Utah after
two stellar seasons as one of the nation's top collegiate
centers. A 7-foot, 245-pounder, Bogut was a key acquisition for
the Bucks, who have lacked an inside presence in recent
seasons.
Bogut impressed as the preseason passed, capping it with a
17-point, seven-rebound effort in Wednesday's loss to Denver.
Other stars of that game for Milwaukee were Michael Redd, who
led the team in scoring last season with a 23.0 average, and
guard T.J. Ford, who will make his first appearance Tuesday
since the 2003-04 season.
Ford suffered a spinal cord bruise during his rookie season,
causing him to miss all of the 2004-05 campaign. The Bucks
still rewarded the point guard by exercising their 2006-07
option on him Friday.
Also making their debuts for the Bucks, who finished 30-52 last
season, are new coach Terry Stotts and former All-Star center
Jamaal Magloire. Stotts was hired in July in place of the fired
Terry Porter and Magloire was acquired Wednesday from New
Orleans in exchange for swingman Desmond Mason and a conditional
first-round pick.
Stotts was 52-85 from 2003-04 with the Atlanta Hawks.
Milwaukee's new additions will contend with a Philadelphia squad
hoping to build on last season's 43-39 record under Cheeks, who
starred with the 76ers from 1979-89 and coached the last four
seasons in Portland.
A defensive stalwart in his playing days, Cheeks inherits a
squad missing its top shot blocker in Samuel Dalembert, who may
miss up to two weeks after suffering a strained right quadriceps
in practice Thursday.
Coming off a stellar campaign in which he averaged 30.7 points
and a career-high 7.9 assists, Allen Iverson again will be the
focus of everything the Sixers do. He showed little rust in
preseason by averaging 29.0 points in four games but has been
bothered by a right knee condition.
Iverson owned the Bucks last season with averages of 45.3 points
and 8.8 assists in four games, all wins. Philadelphia has won
the last five meetings between the teams.




