Bucks-Bobcats Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 24 2011 6:41PM

The rosters look different for both the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Bobcats, partly due to a draft-night trade involving each team.

It remains to be seen if those changes will translate to more victories.

Charlotte hosts Milwaukee in each club's season opener Monday night as both seek a return to the postseason after a one-year absence.

In a three-team trade with Sacramento during June's draft, Charlotte acquired seventh overall pick Bismack Biyombo and former Buck Corey Maggette before drafting Kemba Walker - who led Connecticut to the national championship - with the ninth selection.

Milwaukee got Stephen Jackson and Shaun Livingston from Charlotte, along with 19th pick Tobias Harris.

Owner Michael Jordan's Bobcats decided to overhaul their roster after a 34-48 season, already having traded Gerald Wallace to Portland in February.

Coach Paul Silas hopes Maggette can bolster the scoring, a category in which the Bobcats ranked 29th in the NBA in 2010-11. Mostly, though, Charlotte is looking for young guards D.J. Augustin and Gerald Henderson to continue their solid play from the second half of last season as the rookies develop.

"That's what you need are guys who are going to go at it all out because let's face it, we're not the most talented team in the world right now," Silas said. "We have certain aspects of our team that we can really accelerate and that's what we have to do."

Augustin averaged 15.3 points after Silas was hired to replace Larry Brown on Dec. 22, compared to 12.8 before his arrival. He and Walker have seemed to bring out the best in each other during camp - something Jordan anticipated.

"Mike looked at Kemba and saw himself," Silas said. "Mike said, 'This guy has it.' He said if he can lead (Connecticut) to the championship then he has what I have - and that's the determination to do it."

Walker hopes to bring that winning attitude to a Charlotte franchise that hasn't won a playoff game in its seven seasons of existence.

"I'm very competitive in whatever I do. I don't like to lose," Walker said. "And growing up and watching Michael Jordan play I know he didn't like to lose. That's the same kind of mentality, that whatever-it-takes mentality."

Milwaukee hopes a Charlotte castoff in Jackson can help provide the scoring it greatly lacked in 2010-11.

The Bucks (35-47) averaged an NBA-worst 91.9 points and shot a league-low 43.0 percent last season. Jackson averaged 18.5 points in 67 games for Charlotte last season after topping 20 in each of the previous three with the Bobcats and Golden State.

With Jackson alongside Brandon Jennings and a fully healthy Andrew Bogut, coach Scott Skiles thinks the Bucks can be a more dangerous team.

"We feel like we've got a lot of versatility there, and theoretically, a deeper team's going to be a better team," Skiles said. "It's always a better team, but this year, it's going to be more important."

Bogut suffered a horrible arm injury in April 2010, and he played through the lingering pain most of last season to average 12.8 points and a career-high 11.1 rebounds. The former No. 1 overall pick feels he'll be more prepared this season, especially with the extended time off due to the lockout.

Bogut had a broken hand, dislocated elbow and sprained wrist from the initial injury.

"The trauma of the injury, the nerves and the ligaments and the muscles sustained, it was a tricky process trying to mentally get back on track," Bogut said. "The blessing in disguise was the lockout."

The Bucks ranked third in the league last season allowing only 92.7 points per game, but lacked the scoring to be more competitive. Jennings, who averaged a team-high 16.2 points, said he hopes they can surprise teams over the course of the 66-game season.

"We're always the underdog," Jennings said. "I think that's the best thing about it, not to get so much attention and just sneak up in there, be one of those teams that sneak up in there."

The home team has won each of the last 10 meetings between Milwaukee and Charlotte.

Augustin's 19 points lead Bobcats over Bucks 96-95

By STEVE REED
Posted Dec 26 2011 11:14PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas floated the idea last week of playing point guards D.J. Augustin and Kemba Walker at the same time once they got comfortable with each other, even though it might put his team at a big size disadvantage.

Apparently they're comfortable.

When crunch time arrived Monday night both were on the floor. Augustin scored 19 points, Walker added 13, including two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining, as the Bobcats erased a 14-point second half deficit to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 96-95 in their season opener.

"The Bucks had two guards out there -- two points -- so I figured I could go with two points out there and stop them, hopefully," Silas said.

But the big spark came on offense.

Augustin and Walker combined to score the last seven points for the Bobcats to hold off a late charge.

"That's one thing about Kemba Walker - he ain't gonna give up at all," Silas said. "He stepped up and made two big free throws and it won the game. It was just phenomenal what he did for this ballclub at such a young age having never played professional basketball. He's got it."

Gerald Henderson added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats.

Brandon Jennings had 22 points for the Bucks, while Andrew Bogut had 17 points and nine rebounds.

Augustin injured his left ankle in the final minute when a Bucks player stepped on his heel, but X-rays after the game were negative.

Augustin said the win, which he called "crucial" for the team's confidence, helped ease his pain.

"We stuck together," Augustin said. "We got down by 14 points and we're a young team. A lot of young teams might give up but we never gave up."

The Bucks led by as many as 14 in the third quarter, but the Bobcats finally got their transition game going and made some easy baskets on the other end.

"They took it to us in the third quarter and we had a hard time responding," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "They got all over the offensive glass and we were flat-footed. They were quicker and more athletic. They outplayed us in the third quarter and took control of the game."

The highlight came when Walker drove past Larry Sanders and hit a driving one-handed scoop shot while drawing a foul. That play drew Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, seated courtside, leaping off his seat.

"Yeah, that's my guy," Walker said of Newton, who met after both signed endorsement deals with Under Armor earlier this year.

The Bobcats got a huge lift off the bench from center Byron Mullens, who was acquired in a trade last week with the Thunder. Mullens was 5 of 7 from the field matching his career high with 10 points.

"We practiced all training camp on pushing the ball to get easy buckets and we were doing that in the third quarter," Henderson said.

The Bobcats led 89-81 with 2:10 left, but the Bucks needed less than a minute to erase that deficit. Jennings hit a pair of 3-pointers and Mike Dunleavy added another from the corner to take the lead.

"Coach Silas was mad," Augustin said. "We can't let that happen."

But Augustin made a driving layup with 36.5 seconds left to give the Bobcats a 93-92 lead they'd never relinquish.

Dunleavy had a chance to put the Bucks ahead but missed an open 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. Walker was fouled and made both free throws to seal the win.

Stephen Jackson had a frustrating game against his former team.

After downplaying his return to Charlotte before the game, Jackson fouled out and was charged with a technical foul. He was just 1 of 5 from field and finished with six points.

Before the game, Silas laughed off the notion of this being just another game for the emotional Jackson, saying, "Stephen Jackson is going to try to kill us. He wants everyone to know we made the biggest mistake in the world."

But it was Shaun Livingston, who was also a part of the draft-day trade that sent Jackson to the Bucks, who hurt the Bobcats in the first half. While Jackson was struggling with foul trouble, Livingston had 11 of his 14 points as the Bucks built a 52-41 lead.

Jackson wasn't thrilled with the officiating.

"I don't know why you would think anything would be different just because I came back here to play the Bobcats," Jackson said. "It's the same calls I've been getting for 11 years."

NOTES: Next up for the Bobcats is a home game against the Heat, a big test for a young team. "I watched them play on Christmas night and they look like they have a chip on their shoulder," Augustin said. "We know they have a great team so we have come in and play hard like we did tonight." ... Newton had front row seats to Monday night's game. At one point he went over to Bobcats owner Michael Jordan and shook hands and chatted. ... Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter also took in Monday night's game from a private box. ... Both teams were without their starting strong forwards as Tyrus Thomas sat out for the Bobcats while Luc Mbah a Moute didn't play for the Bucks.

Bucks-Bobcats notebook

By Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com
Posted Monday December 26, 2011 10:45PM

THE FACTS: D.J. Augustin scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 96-95 come-from-behind victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Opening Night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Kemba Walker added 13 points in his NBA debut including two free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings scored a game-high 22 points.

QUOTABLE: "My guys were really hitting the boards tonight. Just battling. That's what I've been preaching, preaching, preaching. Tonight everybody started to do that. That shows that we're going to try every game and that gives us a chance against anybody.
-- Charlotte head coach Paul Silas

THE STAT: Rebounds. The Bobcats outrebounded Milwaukee 52-39 on the night. Charlotte, which was playing at a big size disadvantage at each position, was able to limit one of the league's best rebounding teams to just 14 boards in the second half including two offensive rebounds in the second half.

TURNING POINT: Charlotte rookie point guard Kemba Walker. The Bobcats took control and brought the NFL's Cam Newton to his feet late in the third quarter after Walker took on Milwaukee's Larry Sanders and crossed him over. He was able to convert a three-point play which drew Charlotte to within a point at 66-65. The Bobcats closed out the third on a 13-0 and trailed just once the rest of the contest.

QUOTABLE II: "We just needed to score points. We practiced all training camp to push the ball and get buckets. In the third quarter we just scored points out there and things started to click out there"
-- Charlotte guard Gerald Henderson

HOT: D.J. Augustin. The Charlotte point guard netted 19 points on the night, including seven points in the final 12 minutes of play where he was 2-for-3 from the floor, 3-for-4 from the free throw line and added two assists for good measure.

NOT: Stephen Jackson. The new Bucks guard was limited to just six points on 1-for-5 shooting before fouling out in his return to Charlotte. The guard, a notorious technical-foul magnet, picked up his first technical of the season with 7:35 to play in the third quarter and fouled out with 3:56 to play. He was also credited with three of the team's 12 turnovers.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Charlotte's utility man Boris Diaw fell just shy of a triple-double. Diaw, who was listed as the team's starting center at just 6-foot-9, scored nine points and dished out a game-best nine assists while also grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Charlotte owner Michael Jordan was in his usual bench-side seats, but he wasn't the biggest star in the stands on Opening Night. The crowd erupted with cheers as Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was announced during a break in the action. In addition, New York Yankees great Derek Jeter was in attendance as a guest of Jordan.

ROOKIE WATCH: Walker scored 13 points in his league debut, including a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. Walker's final two free throws with 9.9 seconds to play put Charlotte ahead by four points and sealed the victory. He added three assists and seven rebounds to his stat line. Fellow Bobcat first-round draft pick Bismack Biyombo had one turnover in six minutes of play.

NOTABLE: Charlotte center Byron Mullens tied his career high with 10 points ... Charlotte put five players in double figures.

UP NEXT: For the Bucks, Tuesday vs. Minnesota, Friday vs. Washington, Monday @ Utah. For the Bobcats, Wednesday vs. Miami, Friday vs. Orlando, Sunday @ Miami

• Bucks: Harris, Mbah a Moute
• Bobcats: Najera, Williams

• Bucks: Gooden, Jackson
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #29 Mark Lindsay, #38 Michael Smith
• Attendance: 17173
• Duration: 2:19